CHAPTER 1
Coral steps into the booth with a wide smile to Feather and I scowl at my book.
The characters on my screen haven’t done anything wrong… it’s me.
Always me.
Not sure when I realized I was better at being quiet and stand offish… that it was, honestly, in everyone’s best interest, but it’s just easier this way.
Eventually, I say something that makes me want to crawl into a deep dark hole somewhere, never to be seen again,orthey ask a question that makes me want to stab them.
Why do you sit like that? How tall are you? Are you even eighteen? Are you a gymnast? Can you do… any random thing people who are “normal” can do?
The comments about my size aren’t always ill-intended. I mean, how could someone possibly ignore that I’m a towering four foot six inches tall. But it gets exhausting. And I prefer to simply not know people rather than want to bury my fist in their stomach when they decide it’ll be fun to infantilize me.
At least Phantom’s alien clientele doesn’t automatically know I’m smaller than I’m “supposed” to be.
That makes me scowl harder. God, I hate when people start telling me what I’msupposedto be.
I turn fully upside down in the chair and stare at the page I’ve been on for the last five minutes.
There are too many people in here, but thankfully, I pulled the third slot today.
Phantomcouldput us all in our booths at once, but if we all had our choice of cocks at the same time, and more than one woman picked the same cock… I don’t know how the quantum connections between the booths work, but I have a feeling that could be a problem.
Coral chooses fairly quickly compared to some of the other participants I’ve been queued up behind.
Feather looks at me a moment before the wall lights up with a neon depiction of a leopard’s face. I don’t know how, but she always seems to know, right before the booth tells us it’s ready. I’ve asked if she has some sort of ear piece, but she swears up and down that she doesn’t.
She smiles at me and holds out her hand. “You’re up, buttercup.”
The random nicknames she uses are for everyone. So, it doesn’t bother me when she calls me something like “baby girl.” She has called Lavender that before, and the gorgeous purple haired woman is at least five foot nine.
I roll out of the chair, ignoring the looks I get for the bastardized version of an old gymnastics move. I try not to do those around other people—it just invites questions and comments and stereotypical jokes—but some habits don’t die… no matter how hard you try to kill them.
“Have fun in there,” Feather says with a bright smile.
“You too.” I smile back at her, even though I die a little inside as I replay the words over and over again in my head.
And that’s why we don’t talk to people.
Because nothing ever comes out right… even the simple little things.
I escape into the booth and breathe a sigh of relief as the doors close behind me.Thank God.
As soon as I step inside, a small hole opens to my right and I place my ereader inside. It will be waiting for me in my private locker room after I’m done.
“Welcome back, Jade,”the booth bot says.“Fourteen participants, including one late entry, have requested an introduction to human participants.”
“Late entry? I thought these spots were filled months ago?”
“Affirmative, the hole reservation list is three months out at the current date. This late addition paid to skip the line.”
Which means he’s either got lots of money to burn, or considers the money he paid to get here to be the equivalent to a tip.
“Oh goodie.” I have fun in the booth, sure, but I’m here to make money. At the end of the day, the tips are what I’m doing this for. Phantom payswellbut the more I make, the sooner my family is out of debt and I’m free to talk to Phantom about never going back to Earth again.
“Do you have any preferences this time?”the bot asks“Or would you prefer to avoid repeats?”
