Gabriel was having a hard time reading Ilana. Even after the passionate embrace they’d shared downstairs, she’d become aloof since the group arrived at Maisha’s private quarters.
Now, as Maisha led them to her spa, Ilana stood slightly apart. Maisha offered her a private changing room and bathing suit, but Ilana showed no hesitation in joining them in the nude as she began stripping her jacket off her shoulders.
Gabriel avoided watching her as best he could but her form haunted his periphery. She moved with no artifice, just the natural follow-through of somebody comfortable in her skin. He felt shy in comparison, a strange feeling that annoyed him – again.
Gabriel didn’t mind his body, it was just more of an afterthought. The body housed the mind, which was why he took care of it. One unit of exercise per day, as prescribed. A nutritional replicator profile optimized to his personal biology. Monthly regen sessions, as recommended. He was in fine enough shape. And yet he felt self-conscious now.
Steam spilled into the changing room from the spa, all lit in low, golden tones. Gabriel was grateful for the softening effect. As usual, Maisha had thought of everything. She was currently handing out the silk robes she’d printed out for them.
As she led them to the pools, she chatted with Ilana about the recent upgrades she’d designed. For Maisha, everything was an experiment and her personal space was the lab. She used her spa to grow aquatic plants and animal life engineered to benefit human ecology.
Ilana’s robe clinched at her waist and accentuated her hips. Gabriel could see the shaded contours of her legs through the sheer fabric. He’d never been so distracted in his life.
It took every ounce of his willpower to focus on Maisha’s words and not on the way he’d grasped Ilana’s hips as he’d driven into her in her steam-filled shower the night before.
Compared to her distance now, she’d been so close to him then – their bodies communicating so fluidly, their connection so raw.
Ilana slipped off her robe as she followed Maisha into a shallow, steaming pool with a surface peppered with lily pads and lotus flowers. Gabriel noticed Ilana glancing his way as he de-robed, hung his robe onto a nearby tree branch, and joined them in the water.
Usually, Gabriel came to Maisha’s spa to relax. And usually, he did just that. A handful of other people waded in the waters as far as he could currently see. No doubt there would be more in the other pools and lazy river. Although Maisha could certainly afford to live alone, she liked having a menagerie of friends and chosen family on board. Her ship was a source of near-constant activity. Sometimes Gabriel wondered how Maisha put up with it.
Trees with thick trunks and weeping branches provided ample cover and privacy in the low light, accented with pops of luminescent flowers of all different colors. Ilana’s face was flushed and lit in shimmering ripples as she awed over the sight. The soft curve of her cleavage billowed over the surface of the pool, her skin practically sparkling under the effect of the enhanced water. Gabriel was used to the intensity of Maisha’s brain but he could imagine how overwhelming this sensory experience could be to a newcomer.
Maisha activated the transparency on this side of the pool, opening the windows to the brilliant sight of the moon cradled in the magnificent glow of the Earth.
Gabriel liked this view. From a comfortable distance.
“Wow,” Ilana wondered. “I bet this never gets old.”
“Never,” Gabriel agreed without thinking.
She smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
He wished he could ask what was wrong but they hadn’t built up that intimacy. They’d essentially had an incredible first date, now crystallized in time like a perfect snowglobe.
“Oh, there’s Lupe. I’ve been meaning to ask him something,” Maisha said, in the most transparent ploy Gabriel had seen in a while. “Would you excuse me a moment?”
Gabriel sighed internally and shook his head, hoping his gaze carried the full weight of his exasperation as she turned and waded away. At least he couldn’t deny Maisha made a great wing woman. She’d gotten that scheming twinkle in her eye when he’d confided in her some of the events of the night before as well as his uncertainty today.
He turned to Ilana. “I swear I didn’t plan for her to do that.”
She laughed, the bright sound bouncing off the water. “She’s good at that.”
“Good at what?” He was curious about Ilana’s perspective on all of this – his life. He also felt protective of Maisha now that she was out of earshot.
“Smoothing things over. Moving things along.” Ilana raised her fingers delicately above the surface. Each drop that fell from her fingertips burst and diffused into rainbow tones before disappearing into the rest of the pool. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
She was a striking sight, her flushed body curving in and out of the pool, her skin shimmering under the celestial light, her eyes bright and alert. Had Gabriel been a poet, he might have had the words to describe the way she made him feel. Like a punch in the gut, every time he looked at her, followed by a yearning like hunger.
“Have you made a decision?” Gabriel realized that sounded too vague and somewhat ominous. Clearly, he was not a poet. He clarified. “About the job offer.”
“I haven’t submitted my acceptance yet.”
He raised a brow. His intuition had been right. “Yet.”
She nodded with a small smile, running her hands up and down her arms, spreading the water droplets over her skin. Gabriel’s throat went dry with the kind of thirst that he knew water couldn’t quench. She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I’m not great at this.”
“Which part? Bathing with new acquaintances or small talk?”
“Small talk.” She waved her hand. “I’m fine with skinny dipping.”
“Hmm.” Gabriel circled out his arms and turned to lean his shoulders against the edge of the pool. “As long as the water is warm enough.”
“Suit yourself.” The mischief was back in her eyes. “But nothing beats the rush of a good, cold dunk to remind you that you’re alive.”
“I’ll have to try it sometime, then.”
“To answer your question, I’m not great at small talk.” She chuckled. “Or any extended intimacy talk, really.”
He raised a brow in question and waited for her to expand.
After a beat, she continued. “Most people I’ve hooked up with were on their way off-planet. And until just recently, I was never going anywhere.”
Gabriel studied her for a moment then turned back to the view. “To be frank, I’m not great at this part either. I make it pretty clear that I don’t make time for much outside the lab.” He’d known this; he’d just never put it into words before. Now they came out like a confession.
She was studying him now. “You ever hook up with anyone at work?”
“Never. It’s far too risky. Too destabilizing.”
She smiled at that.
That made him pause. “What?”
She tilted her head, her smile widening. “I like all of your syllables.”
Gabriel considered this an excellent time to lean in to kiss her. It was also about the time he noticed that they’d drifted closer to each other. She was easily within reach now.
Ilana looked at him intently, her gaze falling to his lips. “Fuck,” she muttered.
“I know,” he murmured and leaned in. Her scent lingered in the steam around them.
But instead of meeting him halfway, she leaned back. “You see, this is the problem.”
Gabriel was admittedly not thinking with his big head. He kept his voice even in the most convincing veil of patience he’d ever managed. “What is the problem?”
“If I take this job, we will essentially be working together.” Her tone took on a new intensity, the words rushing one after the other. “You said so yourself – you don’t hook up with co-workers. In fact, you used a very big word to express how much of a bad idea it is. This is a serious opportunity for me and I don’t want to fuck around with that.” Then she muttered, “No matter how much I’d like to fuck around with you.”
Gabriel nodded, absorbing her words. He took a long breath, using the moment to gather all the thoughts and emotions currently firing his synapses in all directions – arousal, first and foremost, then understanding mixed with the fear of losing her. “Your concerns are legitimate. I suppose we would be ancillary to each other, although I doubt we’d actually be working together. The Admiral is technically a client, not my employer.”
She tried to hide her grin but failed. “I hate to break this to you, but being technically correct is the worst kind of correct.”
“Now that,” he countered, “is absolutely incorrect. ‘Technically correct’ is the most robust kind of correct. Thereby, the best kind.”
Ilana shook her head with a smile, her eyes shining. Gabriel could spar with her like this forever. He felt a thrill every time she opened up to him with her authentic, unguarded self.
Eventually, her smile fell. “That’s still not enough for me,” she said quietly.
Gabriel wanted to continue discovering their chemistry more than he’d wanted anything he could remember recently… even the success of his work, he realized now. Would he take a step back to pursue a relationship? “Maisha and I will consult with the Admiral’s office but I doubt that you and I will even deal with related departments.” He didn’t want to give her up but he recognized that her decision was ultimately out of his control. He raised his hands out of the water and bowed his head. “However, I am happy to respect your comfort level.”
She sat with his words for a minute. Gentle tones of trickling water chimed faintly through the spa, mixing with the hushed murmur of voices. Despite the presence of others in the pool, the steam cocooned them in a private haze.
Gabriel’s entire body was taut with anticipation at what she’d say next. He’d meant what he said – he would respect her decision either way. But that didn’t mean he liked the thought of letting her go. He wondered if he would have more quiet moments like this with her or if this would be another singular encounter crystallized in his memory.
“My comfort level,” she murmured with a mirthless laugh. “Has always been zero. Work was always completely off-limits. Hell, anyone in town was off-limits.”
He figured there must be a story behind this. “May I ask why?”
“It was always easier to leave the fewer connections I had,” she said, her tone matter of fact. “And I was hellbent on leaving from the moment I learned my first constellation.”
“Hmm,” was all he said.
“But, I guess… those concerns don’t really apply anymore.” She worried her lip, her brows drawing together. “Since I did end up finally leaving.”
“Hey.” Gabriel reached out his hand over the surface of the water, palm up towards her.
She extended her hand into his. Her fingertips had started to prune. She was warm to the touch, her skin flushed red all over.
“You don’t have to decide anything right now.” He cradled her hand, running his thumb up and down the back. “The night we had together was…”
He trailed off. Ilana squeezed his hand in encouragement. Their night had been… spectacular? Lovely? No – either would come on too strong, despite being accurate.
“Unforgettable,” he continued, trying to keep the emotional turmoil out of his voice. He had no script for this so he fumbled for the right words. “But you don’t owe me anything. You’ve got bigger decisions to consider. Regardless of whether you’d like to repeat our… extracurricular activities, I enjoy your company and I hope that continues.”
Her lashes fluttered as she met his gaze. “It was unforgettable for me, too.” He couldn’t tell if her eyes had gotten glossy or if it was the spa, but her body had visibly relaxed, her shoulders sloping softly. “And thank you… for all of that. It really means a lot.”
“You’re welcome.” He released her hand. “But you don’t have to thank me for exhibiting the bare minimum of human decency.”
“Ugh.” Ilana groaned and leaned back her head, dipping her hair into the pool. “Can you just stop it already?”
Gabriel blinked. “Stop what?”
“Being all gentlemanly,” she pouted. “Respecting my boundaries. Making me want you more. This would be a lot easier if you were just an ass about it.”
The tension left Gabriel’s chest in a laughing breath. She was not freezing him out, at least. “So my plan is working. Excellent.”
Ilana laughed again and Gabriel delighted in the sound. “Also, you’d be surprised how hard it is for some people to meet the bare minimum of human decency,” she said.
He knew she’d meant it as a throwaway comment. But he didn’t like to think about what she’d experienced to earn such a perspective.
“What is it about humans and communal bathing, anyway?” she mused after a minute, hanging from the edge of the pool. “We’re in a hot tub in space orbiting the planet where our ancestors sat around in hot springs thousands of years ago.”
“I can’t blame them. Even rodents know hot baths are a good time. Have you ever seen a capybara?”
“Not in real life, but my sister is obsessed with them.”
“Well, don’t be alarmed, but there’s a pink one in the water just behind from you now.”
“What,” she swirled her head, “are you talking about?”
“Maisha shares your sister’s love for animals. She also loves bright colors. Add in her bioengineering degree and, well…”
Ilana followed his gaze to where the flat-topped heads of a family of capybara peeked out of the water like little pink rocks, only their eyes and nostrils visible. She gasped. “Am I tripping right now? Is this real life?”
Gabriel laughed. “Last I heard, Maisha hadn’t installed hallucinogens into the air supply. You’ve never encountered bioengineered creatures before?”
She shook her head. “Can I touch them? Are they friendly?”
“They’re dumb as dirt and entirely benign. Here.” He clicked his tongue a few times. The biggest capybara peeked up its head before drifting gradually closer to his outstretched hand.
Ilana looked genuinely delighted as she reached out to a second capybara trailing behind the first and sank her fingers into its thick fur.
Maisha emerged from the steam with her arms wrapped around a rotund purple and pink polka-dotted capybara, her legs floating behind her. Her friend – Lupe, Gabriel supposed – trailed behind her in a similar fashion. He was hanging onto a capybara that looked like it could weigh thirty kilos if it weren’t engineered to be as light as air.
“Ah, I see you’ve met Capy-24. And… 27 through 29. They’re buoyant, by the way. And perfect for the lazy river. Which y’all should try.”
“You mentioned,” Gabriel said dryly.
The capybara next to Ilana had fully nestled into her embrace. Gabriel was jealous, he could not lie. “They don’t have names?” she asked.
Maisha thought about this. “Way too many to keep track of.”
“How do you remember their numbers?”
“I was going through my pink phase when I was making the 20s models.” Maisha ran her fingers up the forehead of her capybara as it chewed leisurely on a reed. “They’re not sentient, anyway. It’s just bio-matter engineered with capybara DNA. Kind of like… a fancier potato.”
“Huh.” Ilana giggled as she used one of the animals as a float.
When in Rome – and the Romans did love to bathe. Gabriel followed suit, draping his arms over another large rodent and joining the others towards the mouth of the lazy river.
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