When I catch Roman looking at me, I say dryly, "Sorry about the juice…"
"Don’t sweat it. I’ll grab another one."
Pretty soon the conversations pick back up, and everyone focuses on some unrelated topics. Eliano doesn’t look bothered either.
Meanwhile, Bashir wraps up his victory streak and circles the arena, drawing applause. Some people even whistle and cheer.
I watch him for a moment, then lean slightly toward Eliano.
"Just speaking theoretically, do you think you could handle Bashir?"
Eliano snorts. "I could. But what would that actually accomplish? They run this brawl regularly. Once a week I’d have to stand in the middle and fight forty alphas charging at me. Sorry, that perspective does not exactly tempt me."
"I’ve got a feeling they won’t let this go," I say with a heavy sigh. "Now they know you can fight."
"I’ve got the same feeling," Eliano mutters darkly.
"Sorry…" I add reluctantly, even though I don't regret splashing the juice at Jeff; he deserved it.
"Nah." Eliano just shrugs. "Thanks for what you said. He was annoying me too," he mutters, looking away.
Well. At least I could show him I took what he said to me to heart.
In the meantime, victorious Bashir still stands in the center of the ring, unshaken, accepting something from Pip’s hands,some kind of reward. His beta, Fred, steps up to him and kisses him passionately, right there in front of everyone.
I expect that after the fights there will be some kind of afterparty, but to my surprise, at exactly 9:30 pm… everyone heads home!
It’s almost weird, the wristbands beep, and everyone suddenly stands up, like well-trained pups!
On our way back, I ask Roman about it.
"9:30 is sacred here," he explains. "Everyone has to be home by then. Those are the program rules. Dancing and drinking happen on other days, when there are no fights."
So Eliano and I head back to the house.
I have no clue what’s supposed to happen now.
Eliano doesn’t look even slightly interested in pushing things toward sex. He sits back down with the laptop, which I’ve already started thinking of as his, so I grab my stack of papers and go back to sketching tattoo ideas.
Around 9:55, Eliano heads for the shower. When he comes back, he lies down on the bed next to me, pulls the blanket over himself, and turns onto his side.
That catches me off guard.
To be honest, I half expected him to say something, to circle back to what happened between us earlier, but nothing like that takes place.
And yeah, maybe there’s a small sting of disappointment in me.
About half an hour later, I hear him fall asleep. His breathing evens out, quiet and regular, turning into a soft, rhythmic sound.
Meanwhile, I’m wide awake. My body feels wired, restless, like I’ve had too much adrenaline and nowhere to put it.
As quietly as I can, I slip out of bed, leave my wristband behind, pull on my jacket, and sneak out of Unit 71.
The place is dark and still. Only the small round lamps along the promenade are lit, and all the blinds in the other units are shut.
I wonder if the other couples are having sex, or if sex during a movie is considered more than enough here.
I circle around the house and head toward the back, an area I haven’t checked out yet. Just like Miller said, there’s some rattan furniture back there, tucked away and partly hidden by shrubs on both sides.
