Maybe if I knew what kind of porn he liked I could use the intel to entice him. But there weren’t that many porn searches in his history. I guess he could have cleared them, but when I looked back a few months, well before we started talking, I finally found something. Not porn exactly, but it was still pretty interesting. The search file was highlighted, which I’d already discovered meant it was a frequently visited file. I opened the history and found that it was averyfrequently visited file. And it was nothing but pinup girls. Most of them weren’t even fully naked. Just… lots and lots of pinup art.
So, yeah. I understood the assignment.
“Zoddi, is there somewhere I can get clothes custom-made?” I asked.
He looked puzzled. “All clothes are custom-made.”
“Seriously? Wow. Okay. Um. Well, can we go get some made then?”
He frowned but nodded. “You want to go shopping.”
“Yes,” I said. “I do.”
Shopping in Eissoi was incredible. It was like what I imagine couture houses are like on Earth, but much faster. Zoddi and Xokat took me to a designer near the beach after I told them I wanted something to wear around Eissoi in the daytime. The designer was a young female named Esti, and her shop was just a parlor in her home. We sat down at a table where I showed her some of the pinup art I’d downloaded from Yiri’s nexus core, and she started sketching designs on a large frame. Short, vintagestyle sundresses, lingerie, high-waisted shorts, and bustier tops, a cute polkadot bikini.
“What about something like this?” I asked, showing her an evening gown I’d looked up on my own.
“Oh, yeah,” she said excitedly. “I can do that.”
After an hour of feverish sketching on Esti’s part, she used a little laser tool to take my measurements and uploaded her sketches to a sleek device in the corner.
“Let’s pick one or two designs for now,” she suggested. “I’ll make the rest and deliver it to your home by tomorrow.”
I picked a blue sun dress with red heels and the evening gown. When the device started working, I couldn’t stop watching. It was like a spider spinning a web inside a glass tube, weaving the fabrics in perfectly sized and shaped pieces that were then fit together. It was magical. A fashion 3D printer that spun cotton and silk, or at least the Venastean equivalents.
“I can’t thank you enough for coming to me,” Esti said as she carefully packaged the dresses a short while later. “You’re going to make me a household name with these designs.”
I laughed at the idea. “This is vintage fashion on Earth,” I said. “If Yiri didn’t like it, I probably never would have thought to ask for things like this.”
“It’s kind of you to consider his tastes,” she said. “Not many females would.”
“I don’t think I’ll be dressing for him all the time,” I said, “but dressing for his reaction is kind of for me, too, isn’t it?”
Esti’s eyes flashed. “With a male like Mr. Ahlon,” she said, “I imagine you’re right.”
I almost let the little green jealousy monster rise up in me at that comment, but I liked Esti. She had a friendly disposition, and she’d been nothing but welcoming to me, so I put it aside. My husbandwasa fiercely attractive male, whether he would admit it or not. I was going to have to get used to other femalesacknowledging that. And as long as they were respectful about it, I could probably let it slide, right?
“Thank you so much for this,” I said as Zoddi paid her with Yiri’s account. “I’ll be back to see you soon.”
After a lot of gushing and profuse thanking for my business, I left Esti’s with Zoddi and Xokat in tow. We made a stop at a store that sold cosmetics and beauty products. I picked up a few things Esti had suggested for my hair since my curling iron didn’t work without a plug-in, and then headed home.
An hour later, dressed in the little blue sundress and red heels, my hair styled in a vintage-inspired updo, I wandered around the estate with Xokat trailing at a respectful distance. The day was sunny and breezy, and I had to keep my hands on my skirt to keep it from blowing up, but at that particular moment, that was kind of the point. I chose a terrace overlooking the beach and beckoned Xokat closer.
“C’mere, Cool Kat. I want you to take a picture of me,” I said.
He blinked owlishly. “I don’t know if I should,” he said.
“Please? I need you to send it to Yiri.”
Xokat swallowed hard, but nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’m going to face this way, and you take the picture from behind me. On three.” I leaned over the stone railing of the terrace, making sure to jut my bottom out in an exaggerated fashion. Letting go of my skirt, I put my hands on the stone, let the breeze have its way, and looked back over my shoulder with the pretense of surprise as Xokat saidthree.
He cursed, eyes down, holding out his frame as I flounced over to see the picture.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “Delete it, and we can do it again. Maybe inside? Away from the wind?” He swallowed hard as I took his frame. “We don’t have to mention this to Mr. Ahlon, do we?”
“Don’t worry about it, Kat,” I said. “This is exactly what I wanted. You did a great job. I’m going to go ahead and send it to him.”
