Page 4 of Derius

Derius smothered a smile. She’d looked him over head to toe and he could tell she still liked the view, even if she was mad at him. If only the resort manager had a way to keep her here, Derius was sure he could get past her defenses eventually and at least explain his behavior of three years ago, if not resurrect their relationship. After all he had this entire tropical paradise working for him, to soften her mood.

They walked to the admin offices in silence. Derius made a few attempts at polite conversation, calling her attention to a flock of the vividly colored birds winging out over the ocean and pointing out an intriguing little curio shop later but Leonie gave him only raised eyebrows and monosyllables in reply.

Geoff Delain, the resort manager, had the top floor office in the admin building. The surroundings were as luxurious as the rest of the IDA facilities. They had to wait a few minutes while he finished an interstellar com and the receptionist offered them real coffee and pastries. Then she ushered them into the office.

Delain was impeccable in a white tropical suit and a turquoise silk shirt, rising to greet them by name, and shaking hands. “Please, be seated and let me know how I can be of service today.”

“I can’t go through with this date,” Leonie said bluntly. “I want to be let out of my contract and allowed to leave today, on the next shuttle.”

Delain checked with Derius, who kept his face blank. “May I ask why?”

“We have history,” Leonie said awkwardly. “It was…unpleasant. I wouldn’t date this man if he was literally the last male in the Sectors.”

“I see. A lot of energy there.” Delain leaned forward. “Are you afraid of Mr. Tate? Do you feel in physical jeopardy?”

“Of course not.” Her response was incredulous and instant, which was a relief to Derius. He’d never forgive himself if he scared her.

“I’m afraid I need you to step outside for a few minutes,” Delain said to Derius next, taking him by surprise.

Assuming the manager wanted privacy to probe why Leonie was so adamant, in case she did have safety reservations she couldn’t or wouldn’t utter in front of him, Derius rose. “I need to be on the record first that I very much want to continue this date under any restrictions Leonie wants to impose. I just want the chance to explain my past behavior and to apologize to her.”

She turned her face away and pretended to be studying the exotic flower arrangement on the table across the room.

“Duly noted.” Delain rose and escorted him to the door. “Salinda can get you coffee while you wait. It shouldn’t be long. You understand I must speak to Ms. Bradnum in private.”

Derius refused the offer of more coffee from the receptionist and paced the small waiting room for about ten minutes until Mr. Delain reopened his office door and invited him in again. Leonie was sitting with a rigid spine, two bright spots of color in her cheeks. She didn’t look at him.

“As I was saying to Ms. Bradnum just now, Resort Planet is not only for dating couples but we also host conferences, corporate retreats, weddings and tourists. Of course the Ardannan dating facilitation is a huge part of our portfolio but not the only piece. Unfortunately we’re completely booked up right now—there’s a huge wedding this weekend with guests coming from all over the Sectors for one thing—and I’m regretfully unable to accommodate her request for alternative sleeping arrangements. It’s the same story with the shuttles. We can’t squeeze another person onto a shuttle and violate the physical laws of travel in space or the Interstellar Commerce Commission regulations.”

“And the contract I signed to come here is unbreakable,” she said in a harsh voice. “Don’t forget to tell him that.”

“Your government insisted on a number of special provisions in the umbrella agreement,” Delain told Derius smoothly. “My advice to Ms. Bradnum and to you is to do your best to enjoy the remainder of your stay. Don’t think of it as a date any longer. Think of it as an opportunity to explore the resort and perhaps to talk in a neutral setting and resolve this tension you’re both so plainly holding in your lives. We do have a counselor onsite if you’d care to⁠—”

“No,” Derius and Leonie said at the same time. They exchanged hostile glances.

Delain chuckled softly. “Ah, a point of agreement at last. Promising, eh?” He rose and clearly the meeting was over so Derius left his chair and Leonie reluctantly got to her feet. The manager escorted them to the door and stood and watched as they acknowledged the goodbye from the cheery receptionist and departed.

“That was a waste of time,” Leonie said once they were outside.

“Listen, I don’t know what was in the fine print of the contract—I didn’t bother to read it,” Derius admitted. “The government said ‘you’re going’ and I went. But just between us if there’s anything you find objectionable that I can do something about, tell me. I don’t want you to be miserable for the next five days.”

She walked in silence, then said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll manage. I have work I can do. You should go be with your friends and do what Delain said, have fun.”

There was no more conversation as they proceeded to the hotel and up the gravlift to their room. Housekeeping had cleared the breakfast dishes and remade the beds in their absence. Derius hesitated in the sitting room but Leonie marched straight to her room and shut the door. At least she didn’t slam it this time.

His friends were at the beach this morning so he changed into his swimsuit and put his shorts and a tee shirt on. He knocked at her door and said, “I’ll be at the beach with the guys if you need anything.”

There was no response so with a shrug he left the room and headed for the beach.

The resort was built along a gorgeous strip of coastline with white sand and turquoise water and Derius had no trouble locating his friends and their dates. Several of the guys were surfing, which sounded good to him, so he signed out a board from the kiosk, charging it to his room, and headed for the breakers.

Surfing—simply being near the ocean actually—always cleared his head and riding the waves worked the tension out of his body. He had time to think about Leonie while waiting for the next good wave to arrive but was at a loss for how to move them forward. Obviously the two of them weren’t going to be doing the couples activities the resort had laid on for the Ardannans but he hated the idea of her sitting in the hotel room working.

The group came together for lunch, with the men going to pick up a huge takeout order at a café on the edge of the beach and then spreading the food out picnic style on blankets on th sand. The three girls were pleasant and Derius could tell at least a couple of his friends were well on the way to being smitten with their human dates. Braden was nowhere to be seen but Derius remembered he’d said he had something else lined up even though his date hadn’t shown up.

“We’re going shopping tomorrow afternoon,” Serita, one of the dates told Derius as she dipped fried shrimp into a hot sauce. “There are so many cute stores on the strand. Would your date like to come? I know the guys are planning to go hang gliding or spearfishing while we’re spending credits.” She leaned a little closer. “I understand you and your girl have a rough history so I was thinking if she wanted to get out but not be with you⁠—”

“That’s kind of you. I don’t think Leonie’s much for shopping but I’ll mention it to her.”