He waved when he saw her approach.
“Sorry I’m late,” Alexa said. “Where’s Raul?”
Pigeon shrugged. “Not here yet. And no worries, I was just enjoying a beer in the meantime. The Terraform Championship is on.” He flicked a finger toward a screen behind the bar.
Alexa saw the two empty glass bottles next to Pigeon’s elbow. “Or three.”
“Hey. I’m on break, and it’s not like there’s anything for me to do anyway,” he teased.
It was a running joke with the others. Pigeon was an engineer for a brand new ship that did not need an engineer…yet. He was often found reading a book in the lounge or playing word games on his wristcon in the middle of the day shift.
“And the Captain’s hired help didn’t like me sticking around to check out theQuestor’swater system with them,” Pigeon continued. “Apparently, it’s working just fine. It was fine the twelve times I checked it, but why listen to the expert?”
“Really? They found nothing wrong?” The water was almost always cold on theQuestor, at least during the night shifts when most of the crew showered. “Odd.” She liked cold water, so she didn’t mind if the water system got fixed or not.
“It is what it is. They don’t want us peons getting too comfortable now.” Pigeon smiled.
Alexa leaned her elbows on the bar. “I think you’re right.”
Pigeon cocked a brow. “You go shopping?”
She started to shake her head but stopped, recalling what she’d bought, what was hiding in the bag hanging over her shoulder. “For some new clothes,” she muttered. What would Pigeon or Raul say if they saw what she splurged on?
What would they think? She had no intention of wearing it, ever, especially not for Hysterian. If she wore the lingerie, it would be for herself.
What if Hysterian finds it?
Hell…Alexa secured her bag to her side.I need to return it.What if someone found it, even if it wasn’t Hysterian? No one would look at her the same way. A month ago, she wouldn’t have cared what Pigeon, Horace, or Raul thought about her. She did now. She cared a lot.
She liked having their respect. She wanted to keep it.
The man sitting on the stool beside Pigeon strode off. Alexa slid into his seat. “Can I…ask you a question, Pigeon?”
Pigeon lowered his beer. “Depends.”
She swallowed. “Have you ever really wanted something? And I mean really wanted something, something you knew you shouldn’t have, whether it was because it would be bad for you, or it was out of your reach?”
She wanted Hysterian. She shouldn’t want Hysterian.
“Yeaah… Why?”
“What did you do?”
Pigeon swiveled to face her. “Well, that’s not the kind of question I was expecting from you. Want to tell me what’s wrong?”
“No.”
Pigeon rubbed his chin. “Okay. It’s private. Is this about you and the captain?”
Alexa stiffened. “What?”How did he…?
“You and the captain? That’s what this is about, isn’t it? Please, don’t tell me it’s about Raul… You can do better than that.”
“I—” What was she supposed to say? “How did you know?”
Pigeon laughed. “I’ve been around a long time, been around a lot of women too for a great deal of it. I know when a man’s messing up the peace. As a dad, I hated it. The captain has eyes for you. Is that the problem?”
“No, that’s not it.”
