“Elanie,” I said, almost too stunned to reply.Almost. “I have never referred to anyone as a ‘fuck buddy’ in my entire life. And are you serious? How? How is he coming? I haven’t seen him on the itinerary.” My blood ran cold, which was absolutely upside down. Under normal circumstances, the news that Raphe would be on the ship would cause the exact opposite effect.
“He didn’t want me to list him. I told him he was being ridiculous, but he said he wanted to surprise you.”
“That’s…sweet,” I managed. I was surprised, all right. My right foot falling off would have surprised me less. Raphe was coming. He’d be here tonight. And instead of racing to mypod to decide which dress would make my tits shine or how I could steal twenty minutes alone with him before the ball, I was thinking about Freddie, my mind stubbornly tracing over his crooked nose, toying with the soft strands of his hair.
Raphe was gorgeous, easy, uncomplicated. A sure thing. And as a private lawyer to one of the largest and wealthiest of the Aquilinian Royal families, he was also extremely busy and could never stay on the ship longer than a day or two. I was under no illusions as to how much of his precious time he was spending on me tonight. Normally, this was a massive turn-on. But nothing about my life was normal right now.
Sighing, Elanie said, “Sure. Sweet. Whatever you say.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I braced my hands on my hips.
“Honestly, Sunny,” she said. “I do my best to stay out of your love life. The way you choose partners is too much like throwing darts at a board blindfolded. It’s dangerous for any bystanders and occasionally leaves holes in the wall. No offense.”
That stung a bit. “What exactly is the point you’re trying to make here, Elanie?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “All these lovers. All these random encounters. It all seems so…futile.”
Thatstung a lot. “Futile, is it?” I snapped. “Do you know what’s futile? Refusing to install a recommended upgrade.That’sfutile.”
“No need to get personal,” Elanie said, flinching like she’d flicked a trestal on its beak and was offended when it decided to peck her back. “I’m only stating the facts.”
When we reached my pod, I bowed to her. “Thank you for letting me know about Raphael.” Straightening, Islapped my hand on the security panel, then winked. “Gives me plenty of time to think about my life choices while I sharpen my darts.”
After a scalding showerand a few moments standing under the quikDri, I sat on the edge of my bed, twirling a longer strand of my hair around my finger. I’d accessed the ship’s manifest a few minutes ago to see that Raphe had already boarded. He always stayed on deck twenty-three, toward the bow of the ship—about as far from staff quarters as possible. He did this for me, for privacy. He was very thoughtful when it came to clandestine hookups.
Andooh, he was staying in the Afterglow suite. It was one of our most luxurious accommodations, boasting a fully automated bar, a jetted tub so wide you could swim in it, and a nullGrav pod—which might be interesting—and with the portside wall made entirely of flexGlass, the views from the suite were phenomenal.
All things considered, I knew I should be more excited than I was. I knew I should be throwing something on and running to the Afterglow suite before I had to report for duty. I knew I shouldn’t feel this conflicted. I needed tostopfeeling this conflicted. There was nothing to feel conflicted about. Nothing had changed.
I sat up straighter, inspiration striking. Maybe Raphael’s visit was a good thing. Maybe the best way to reestablish my professional boundaries with Freddie was to reestablish my personal relationship with Raphe.
Standing from the bed, I walked to my closet, and—without even thinking—grabbed my favorite little black dress, pulled it on, and smoothed it over my hips. Afterspending an extra ten minutes on my makeup, I made my way to the Fire Ball.
The main deckballroom was an inferno. Serving drones drifted through the air with trays so full of fiery cocktails they looked like they carried torches from table to table. Digital flames engulfed the room’s eight marble columns, crackling and popping as they climbed the pillars to lick at the rafters. Fire danced across the floor in some marvel of interactive lighting that submerged the entire room in a blazing river. Whenever a guest walked across the floor, the flames parted and reformed or slid up their legs to wrap around their thighs. It was stunning, enthralling. In the five years I’d known her, I’d never been so proud of Tig.
Suspended from the rafters, sixteen iridescent-skinned, long-limbed Ulaperian acrobats spun from metal rings or dangled from wide swaths of silk. They wore black contacts over their round, pearlescent eyes, which—while well suited for the darkness of their outer-rim planet—were far too sensitive for the lighting in the room. But the effect turned them into writhing, erotic fire demons.
I gasped as one of the acrobats released her silks, falling in a death drop all the way to the floor before catching herself with a foot hooked around the shimmering fabric. The trick drew everything from shocked screams to dog whistles to wild applause from the guests standing at the bar or seated at their tables.
The Fire Ball was a celebration specific to theIgnisar. Occurring between several planets’ major holidays and festivals—the Tranquis Yuletide, the Solstice of New Earth and Mars, Ulaperia’s Great Conjunction, and Blurvos’s GooFest—the Fire Ball exploited all of them, providing an excuse for the guests to eat too much, get shit-faced, and participate in nonstop debauchery until sunrise sim. Tonight, nothing was off-limits, nothing was taboo, hedonism ruled, and I had to remain a sober voyeur until they kicked everyone out.
I spied Elanie ducking behind the red velvet curtain at the far end of the ballroom, presumably to keep an eye on the wizards and their goat while they prepared for their magic show. I wanted to apologize for our argument, but after a few steps in her direction, Freddie waltzed into view, and I hit an invisible flexGlass wall.
He hadn’t noticed me yet, so I let myself notice him. He was devastating in a fitted black suit, crisp white shirt, slim black tie. His hair was impeccably styled. It mesmerized me, the way he moved fluidly through the ballroom, winding around tables and guests like a stream around its banks. He bent down to swipe an errant cocktail napkin from the floor, tucked it into his back pocket, then said, “Oop!” while spinning on his heel to snatch a saltshaker from a server before they accidentally placed it on a Blurvan’s table. Touching the server’s shoulder, he told them something—judging by their horrified expression, it was likely what salt does to a Blurvan’s gelatinous lower half.
“Sunny.” Lena Ramesh’s voice yanked my attention. “Come say hello.” She waved me over to the table where she, Sonia, and Sai sat sipping steaming bright-red beverages in tall glasses shaped like flames.
I was surprised they’d decided to bring the boy. But the Fire Ball didn’t typically go fully off the rails until well after sunset sim. So why not?
As I crossed the room toward their table, I stepped to the side just in time to keep Tig from bowling me over as shebeelined back to the control booth with her hood up and her head down.
“Careful, Tig.”
Yanking down her hood, she said, “Sorry, Sunny. But I’m trying to get”—she pulled at her collar, her slightly bloodshot eyes darting around the room—“thefuckout of here.”
With a small laugh, I took Tig by her shoulders and squeezed. “The party is miraculous. The effects are amazing. Your best work yet. Tomorrow, I’m taking you for a spa day to celebrate. And a massage,” I said when Tig’s shoulders tensed. “I feel like I’m squeezing a bolt of lightning.”
“That’s exactly how I feel,” she said with a nervy warble. “But I don’t really like spas. Or massages.”
