Page 77 of Sunastara & the Venusian
He pushed his chair back.
I commed frantically, blood shooting up my throat and into my cheeks. There was no way in hells he’d been serious about the whole table thing. Was there?
“My apologies,” he told the room. “But I have a meeting with the Gorbulon-7 contingent on deck twenty in five minutes.” Picking his Orion’s Tooth up from the table, he said, “Thank you. It has been a pleasure having you all on board,” to the FFKs. Then to me, privately,
After he left, Chan started talking about something, New Year’s, maybe. Maybe Vorp’s current position in orbit around their sun. Who could say? I could only hear Freddie’s voice in my mind, see his stormy eyes blazing across the table, feel the echo of his lips on my skin. When the meeting adjourned an absolute eternity later, I tried to rush to my pod, but cold fingers wrapped around my wrist, stopping me in my tracks.
“Axel,” I said after spinning toward him. I tried to keep my tone light, but his timing was terrible. “What can I do for you?”
The smile he gave me was all charm. “Will you be at the New Year’s party?”
Was this the pass he’d been about to make when we’d stood outside his door? “I will, of course. I’ll be working the floor.”
His thumb ran over the inside of my wrist, his voice sinking low. “That’s good. I enjoy spending time with you.”
Tano giving me looks. Axel rubbing my wrist. Something was off. Either way, I needed to nip this in the bud. “Axel, I enjoy spending time with you as well. But…I’m not available anymore. I’m with someone.”
“You’re what?” Elanie cried, materializing as if the wizards had conjured her out of thin air.
“What’s Sunny doing?” Chan asked, cruising up next to Elanie.
Tig and Reya joined our growing group, and all I needed now was Rax and Morgath shouldering in beside me to turn this whole situation into my absolute worst nightmare.
Raising an amused brow, Axel said, “Sunny was just telling me that she’s with someone.”
Puffing out my cheeks, I muttered, “Thank you, Axel.”
“Is it Freddie? Are you and Freddie together?” Tig’s voice rose with every word. “Really?Reallyreally?”
“I guess the trestal egg is out of the nest,” I said with a brittle laugh. “But yes. Freddie and I are a thing. Can we please not make a big deal out of this?”
Chan, apparently afflicted by a temporary bout of deafness, fist-bumped the air and hooted like a deranged mountain owl.
Freddie commed.
I looked at my friends—and the Kravaxians—findingnothing but happy faces. Well, maybe entertained was a better way to describe the crooked tilt of Axel’s lips.
Eventually, everyone went their separate ways, but I reached out for Elanie’s elbow before she escaped. “Darling, do you have a moment? I’d like to say something to you.”
“Is it brief?” she snapped, true to form.
“It is,” I replied. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but I know Freddie and I have one being to thank for bringing us together.”
Her brows slid together. “Good for you.”
Releasing her elbow, I said, “You’ve been there for me for years—a steady, supportive presence. A true friend. You’ve also been there for Freddie while I’ve been dealing with my…life. And I know you told him to come find me in the sensory room.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Her voice was stern, but her brown eyes misted.
I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “Elanie, do you know? Do you know why that day is always so hard for me?”
