Kat had barely set foot inside the cabin, boots thudding heavily on the grates beneath her, when Kiara waved her over.
“No Todd, then?” Kat asked, feigning a grin for the twin’s sake.
“He’s still a guppy,” Kiara said quickly. She took one look at Lee and then at Kat’s fading grin, and wrinkled her nose. “That’s it. We’re going to go find Kamata.”
“Kamata? Why?” Kat asked.
“That’s you and me, I mean. Sorry Lee,” Kiara called over her shoulder, looping her arm through Kat’s as they swiveled to face him. “This whole trip has been much too dismal for my taste, even your playlist was a bit of a downer. We’re in need of a shake up, so I’m claiming your girlfriend for the night.”
“Oh, we haven’t labeled things—” Lee started to say.
“Don’t even try to deny it. I’ve seen you two.” Kiara rolled her eyes.
“Do you want us to help with the samples?” Kat twisted back around, yanking free as she remembered the bins they’d stowed beneath the observation deck.
“I’ve got them.” Lee tapped the side of one of the bins with his boot before dipping his head from Kiara to Kat. “You take care of her.”
Kiara saluted him, her black zircon piercing glinting under the lights as she grinned back at him with clear mischief in her eyes.
Lee pulled Kat in close. But what began as a swift parting hug, quickly evolved into something risqué and borderline indecent as he pressed his body into hers, her eyes glazing at the contact as the heat stormed up her spine. Then she caught the smirk on Lee’s face as he started to pull away.
“Nice try,” she breathed. Reaching up to her tiptoes, she pulled at his earlobe with her teeth, just sharp enough to make him quiver. “I’ll be thinking of you tonight. Maybe we’ll have to bring out thebigguns.”
With Kiara still chuckling behind them, she let her friend take hold of her arm once more, physically hauling her away.
“Thank you,” she mouthed over her shoulder.
CHAPTER 22: LEE
KAT WAS with the girls tonight.
Well, the twins.
But still.
Lee slowed his gait as he crossed into the stairways of the Heptagon, arms laden with the sample bins. What was he going to do with the rest of his night? What did he usually do when he had free time?
Hang with Kat.
He started up towards the labs. He would get these off his hands, that was the first thing. The actual sample processing they would do later. The mission reports as well could wait another day.
But beyond dropping off the samples… he wasn’t sure what he should do with himself.
He could just go lie down like he’d kind of been planning. It had been a long day and a long first week back. But topping another flight of stairs now, he found he still had energy to burn in his limbs.
He chuckled quietly to himself. When had Kat become his whole personality? Although to be honest, they’d been that way since they first set foot on the Academy ship and claimed their dorms. Maybe even before that.
Instant attraction and compatibility. That’s what it had been for them, hadn’t it?
Seriously, though. What did he even like to do when Kat was away? Hit the Wall? Go for a run? He thought about messaging Flyn or Whistler, or even Marco to see about surfing or something, but honestly all of that was way more fun with Kat.
He ended up down several floors, his shoulders instantly loosening as he pushed through the doors to the greenhouses. Home sweet, loamy home.
A handful of cadets roamed the plots with the greenhouse attendants. Lee approached the first, accepting his assignment from the holochart. Flexing his fingers against the worn fibers of his gloves, Lee settled into a mungbean plot and began the methodical cultivation.
The greenhouse attendant’s homemade nutrient-rich solution had long since filled his nostrils, a soft sort of self-gratification cushioning his consciousness as he finally slipped his gloves from his fingers, tucking them into his cubby. He nodded over to Ilan on his way out.
His head felt clearer than it had in a long time. He’d been a little more absent from the greenhouses than usual as of late, a feat he planned to rectify with this final term to make the most of it.
