“You look so gorgeous when you laugh,” he marveled aloud. “You should do it more often.”
“I think I will. With you around. Isn’t it funny, how two serious people can make things seem so... light?”
“Mmhm.” Elio wondered if his staring was too obvious. Too much?
But apparently, it wasn’t. Her wide eyes turned to something half closed with slow, steady seduction, and her mouth lost its laughing grin. Lost the laughter, but not the smile, he realized, as she pursed her lips and pressed a kiss to his lips.
“Oh! Oh, I... Was I supposed to see that or not?” Ardol’s voice was a startled cough behind them.
“Hmm? What? Oh, no. I mean,” Elio swallowed and looked desperately at Lycen.
She draped a lazily possessive arm around his shoulders. “Baby boy is changed and sleepy. You can take him back to Jade for his milk,” she stated, not answering the question in words.
Ardol looked between them, a slow smirk spreading over his face. “Good job, you two. You know... I was telling Jade that you two dark horses should team up. It’s always the quiet ones who drop the biggest surprises.”
“It’s not a secret,” Lycen declared, squeezing him tighter. “It’s just new.”
“Well, here’s to all the new things,” Ardol lifted an imaginary glass in their honor. “After I bring Aran back to Jade, why don’t you two take the night off and go have a little Valentine’s fun for yourselves? I hear this human concept, Cupid, is never off duty.” He gave them a wink.
Elio rolled his eyes, but Ardol was his mentor and superior—at least in terms of managing freight and intergalactic coordinates. “Sure, Ardol. We’ll go celebrate.”
LYCEN SHIMMIED OUTof her uniform into a frosty blue dress, so short that it showed most of her thighs.
Why bother? In the simulation, they’d wear whatever the program offered.
It’ll be fine. We just keep to the All Audiences levels. We won’t go into any of the hidden levels. We’ll dance. See some comedy.
Still, she never went on dates, and she never dressed up—well, not when Elio could see her. Would he like the dress? Would he find her furry body too alien after his life among smooth, silky-skinned humans?
A beep told Lycen that Elio had arrived at her quarters, and the doors slid apart at the touch of a button. She wiped hersweaty palms on her dress and wondered if the slender straps and draped neckline would give the wrong impression.
“Oh. Lycen. Wow.” Elio froze after entering, eyes wide. “You look... Wow.”
“So do you.” Lycen gulped down the tide of salivation that had suddenly sprung into her mouth at the sight of her date. Dark hair, swept back to show off his unlined forehead and his thick, smooth brows. A tight white shirt that tucked into tight black pants. All of his muscles were on display, or near enough, and she suddenly wanted to pry his clothes off and lick every inch of him.
That’s just the old, feral ways talking. Civilized Canids don’t growl and lunge, lick and mark.
Even if we suddenly want to...
“I’ve never actually gotten to do a simulation or a holo-excursion. I didn’t know how to dress. Is this a fancy one?”
“Um. It’s called Nights of Anubis West. Anubis West is a famous city in the Jackal Republic. There are clubs, dancing, shows we can see... We can still interact with each other. Hold hands.”
Elio took hers and squeezed. “Good, or I would have to quit before we started.”
“Aww. Don’t worry, we’ll be stuck together all night—or until the party ends.”
“Party?” Elio gave his outfit another doubtful look.
“The way we look on the outside won’t matter inside. I just wanted to dress up a little,” she confessed with as much nonchalance as she could muster. She turned and retrieved two metal chips, careful to keep the thick packaging over the rest of the accessories that came with the holo-excursion. “Here. You have a personal computer, right?”
“Sure do.” Elio stuck out his wrist to reveal the small rectangular device that took up a third of his forearm. “I knowit’s a Sapien-Three holdover, but I still find them useful. They’re so convenient.”
“It will be tonight. The chip for the game just patches into your external port on the device. I put on the one that came with the kit, and plug in my chip.” Lycen slid a shimmering cuff over her wrist and flipped open the surface to reveal a currently blank screen. She handed Elio a small metallic square with a golden jackal’s head on it.
Elio took it and studied it with a puzzled frown. “It has an ABOA rating. Adult Beings Only?”
“Oh, that’s just because there are some adult things in the simulation, drinking. Some questionable shows. We don’t have to go to them.”
