Pandora: Liminal Space Book 2

Chapter Eleven

Garrett glanced through his clothing, idly fingering his more elaborate clubbing costumes and wondering which to go with. He probably wouldn't get much of a chance to use them on Pandora, and he probably wouldn't have time for the brief period he would be spending on Olympus getting things ready for the science staff. He could make a scene tonight in something that glittered like a starry sky, or he could keep it simple and attract less attention.

finally went with something more subdued, in amethyst and garnet jewel tones that clung to him and left nothing to the imagination but didn't scream his presence, and accented it with cool blushes of color over his cheekbones, forehead and down the bridge of his nose. He pressed tiny sparks of light to the edges of his eyes and the shell of his ear, then called it good and went to meet Robbie and Wyl.

Wyl looked about like Garrett had expected, punky with his hair on end and clothed in sheer black fabric everywhere except his groin, where it was opaque, probably at Robbie's insistence. He had thick boots on, black chain jewelry and black shadow limning his eyes. He was hot, but Robbie was absolutely gorgeous, if clearly self-conscious. Wyl had chosen white for him, pants that clung just enough to his hips to stay up and a sleeveless shirt that could have been painted on. The shirt wasn't quite low enough to meet the pants, and everywhere that bare skin showed, there was the faintest shimmer of glittery white, not from skin but from some kind of accent powder. Garrett looked from Wyl, who was smirking, to Robbie, who said flatly, "Don't ask."

"Not worth my life," Garrett agreed. He took in their looks and let himself feel a little flattered, and then the three of them took an official car to the club, courtesy of his father's insistence.

As before, there was no problem with the bouncer, and the stir they caused making their way to the dance floor was gratifying. The crowd parted and made room, and Garrett turned to his friends with a grin. "Dance with me."

Wyl didn't have a problem with that, sidling over and sliding down in a way that turned even Garrett on, and Wyl wasn't his normal type at all, but Robbie was still looking self-conscious and on edge. Garrett pulled him close and murmured, "Just pretend we're alone. Or better yet, you're alone with Wyl. No one is watching you." Lies, lies. "Just hold onto him and move."

Despite his protestations to the contrary, Robbie did have a sense of rhythm, and when he relaxed enough to get going he moved beautifully, intensely, focusing on Wyl to the exclusion of everyone else and moving against him like sin. Wyl managed to split his attention between Robbie and Garrett for a while, but the magnetic pull of his lover overwhelmed him and soon Garrett was alone, and not minding it. He kept dancing for a while, moving from person to person and space to space until he was at the edge of the crowd again.

A hand touched his back, just fingertips, tentative but familiar. Garrett turned and smiled at Isidore, who was standing a little ways back but looking hopeful. He caught the young man's hand and pulled him forward into an easy embrace, swaying a little to keep them feeling as though they were dancing. "You found me," he purred.

"I thought you might come in tonight," Isidore said, slowly letting his arms creep up to Garrett's shoulders. "My aunt works at the governor's mansion, and she told me that you were supposed to be leaving tomorrow. So I took the night off, just in case."

Isidore's skin was too dusky to reveal a blush, not in the dim lights of the club, but Garrett could feel the heat of it from a few inches away. "I'm glad you did," Garrett told him, meaning every word of it.

"Are you leaving tomorrow?"

Garrett hated to disappoint him, but there was only one answer he could give. "Yes. I am."

Isidore gave him a half smile and a nod. "Yeah, I figured as much. You've never come in with friends before. Are they hanging out with you tonight?"

"I think at this point I'm on my own," Garrett said. Robbie and Wyl would find their own way home when they were ready.

"What do you want?" Isidore asked, his silver-inset eyes shining brightly. "We can do whatever you want."

"So easy," Garrett mused with a grin. "Didn't I warn you about that last time?"

"Last time was amazing," Isidore replied. His smile was so cute and earnest that Garrett just had to kiss it, and Isidore melted into his arms, his nervous tension vanishing at this sudden affection. They kissed for a long time, finally stopping when Garrett saw that they were attracting a crowd. He smoothly pushed them back towards an alcove, the most private spot you could get in The Palladium that wasn't a toilet.

"Maybe we should leave," Garrett suggested softly.

"Where do you want to go? The hotel?"

The idea didn't appeal for some reason. This was his last night on Paradise and he wanted to really be on it, to see it. The planet had never truly been home to him, but he wanted to feel it somehow before he was confined to the sterile shipboard environment for the next few months. "Some place out of doors. Private, if possible."

Isidore looked at him consideringly. "Do you mind taking my bike?"

"Is it enclosed?"

"Um...no."

Garrett considered it. His outfit would suffer, but it wasn't like he had to worry about impressing anyone after this. Not in these clothes, anyway. "That's all right. How far are we going?"

"It's just outside the city limits. Twenty-five, maybe thirty minutes," Isidore promised.

"Then take me, I'm yours," Garrett said. Isidore smiled again, just a little bit, before turning and leading the way out of the club. They went behind the bar and through the service entrance to the parking lot out back, where one of the many vehicles parked towards the edge of the lot was Isidore's bike.

"Nice," Garrett said as Isidore led him over to the vehicle. Garrett didn't know anything about bikes, but he could tell quality when he saw it, and this ride had a vintage look to it, bright and shining and obviously well-maintained, much sleeker and less modified than a lot of the more modern aerial bikes.

"It's my baby," Isidore said as he keyed off the alarm. "I was a bike mechanic before the garage went under. I spend way too much money keeping this one running, but I can't bear to give up on it."

"How old is it?"

"Almost half a century," Isidore replied, throwing his leg over the bike. "It was my dad's."

"You're doing a great job keeping it up," Garrett said as he joined him, wrapping his arms around the young man's waist and leaning in close. He felt Isidore's breath catch in his chest, and smiled over it.

"Thank you," Isidore said faintly. "Uh...do you want a helmet? I only have one..."

"You've got the gyroscope keeping us upright, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm fine." Garrett pressed a kiss to Isidore's neck. "Let's go."