Galactic Gambit

Chapter 17

Neo dragged her hand across his shoulder as she walked away and out of the kitchen, bottle still in hand. She looked back as she crossed through the door, his lips were parted, and his eyes were burning with hunger as he stared her down. She had to bite her lip to hold back a smile as she turned away from him. Half expecting him to follow, and half expecting him to be stuck in place, she entered her room and dropped across her bed.

Heart still beating furiously fast, she took a few steadying breaths, still unable to contain the smile he had forced upon her. There wasn't a single time that she could think of that she had been made to feel this way about someone. She couldn't tell if it was merely attraction, or if it was something chemical, but she felt like she almost couldn't control herself around him, and that was dangerous. She was in danger. The one thing she had told herself to always avoid, to always run from because the pain of losing it may be worse than the pain of never having it. She couldn't be falling for someone she'd only known for days. It was impossible and not how things happened, or so she thought.

Sleep found her fast, weaving its way through her liquor relaxed limbs and pulling her into a deep slumber where she dreamed. The sleep was too heavy for her to recall what she had dreamed, though she knew that she had. There was a vague memory, the feeling of it lingered still when she woke. The alarm on her comm band was ringing incessantly in her ear. She shut it off with a groan, pulling herself out of bed.

The smell of Fynn cooking something was circulating through the air system, but it would have to wait. Her bladder was on verge of bursting as she shuffled across the hall to relieve herself. When she finished, she went to the sink to brush her teeth and pop a few pain relievers for the headache. As she was brushing with toothpaste smattered on the corner of her mouth, Asa walked in. His eyes were still heavy from sleep and his hair was slightly ruffled. He wore no shirt, and loose-fitting trousers that hung low on his hips. Neo jerked her eyes back up and focused on the mirror in front of her.

Asa said, "Good morning, Captain," as he walked in and stood beside her at the sink. He reached across for the toothpaste, his arm brushing against hers in the process. Neo ducked her head to spit and rinse her mouth, as Asa kept his eyes on her from the mirror.

Neo swiped the back of her hand against her mouth before she said, "Morning," then left the bathroom without another word. Everyone else was already in the kitchen. Reiyna was seated with just a few slices of toast on her plate and Pax was at the counter scooping a plateful of whatever concoction Fynn had worked up. She cut across the kitchen and reached for a plate from the cabinet, as she waited for him to finish. When he turned to go to the table, he saw her standing there behind him, and touched her elbow gently and quietly asked, "Can we talk about what happened later?"

"I'd rather not bring it up again," she answered as she moved around him, grabbing the spoon and scooping a few scoops of the rehydrated eggs and taking a few slices from the stack of partially burnt toast. Pax hesitated before taking his plate to the table, but did so without pressing, which she appreciated. Or maybe, as she noticed when she turned to take a seat, it was Asa who had been fiercely staring at him as he walked in. Neo pretended not to notice as she sat beside Reiyna and Fynn. Any hopes that Pax had of Neo sitting next him had been dashed, and Now Asa was going to take the last seat right beside him.

Neo ate in a hurry so that she could get to the deck and monitor the course. Thankfully Reiyna held Neo's focus as she finished her food, talking to her about her egg, and how she hoped it would hatch soon. Although Neo didn't know the first thing about caring for a baby Phantasma, she thought having a pet aboard might be kind of cool though.

As Fynn was finishing his last few bites of food, he asked, "W-what are we g-going to do next?" Neo chewed on her toast as she thought.

Before she could respond, Pax chimed in, "We're going to take Asa wherever he wants us to take him."