Page 9 of Unfinished

Sienna lifted her wrist and activated her comm device. “Send message to Tasha: meet me at my apartment for dinner tonight. I’ve got news,”she half whispered. The coast was still clear and she cleared her throat as the device made a whooshing noise to let her know her message was on its way.

Sienna didn’t have to wait long to receive a reply.

I’ll be there. Order me the salt and pepper tofu from the Green Mango.

She laughed as she read the floating hologram before she swiped it away and sent her device back into sleep mode. A little shiver chased its way from her shoulders down her spine, but it was the good kind of anticipation. Sienna hadn’t been this excited for anything in a long time, and Tasha would tell it to her straight. She’d definitely been operating under the influence of some red hot rage the night before, but Sienna couldn’t help thinking that maybe her crazy idea might turn out to be more than just a late night lark.

“How’s your mother doing, Sienna?”

She glanced up when her supervisor strolled up to her desk. Vince Johnson was giving her his usual charming smile, one hand lodged in the pocket of his slacks as he leaned back and his sharp eyes scanned her workspace.

“She’s doing great. I was just there this weekend for lunch,” Sienna replied.

“That’s wonderful. A lovely lady—that’s your mother.” Vince made a clicking sound with his mouth and tipped his head, and his non-existent hat, before he sauntered back towards his office.

Sienna’s pent up breath came out in a loud exhale. Not for the first time, she regretted taking a job based on her family’s connections, but she knew she was lucky to have the opportunity. She glanced sideways towards the large windows facing the city. Without their help, she probably would’ve never landed a position with this kind of view. She spun her chair back towards her desk and then went ahead and put in an order at the Green Mango. The evening couldn’t come fast enough.

* * *

Sienna grabbedthe box with their food delivery from one of the lockers in the lobby before she headed to the elevators. She hummed as she waited for the car to stop at her floor. She stepped out and took a right, stopping short when she saw Tasha waiting beside her door. Her friend gave her a quick wave, and Sienna returned it, picking up the pace so they could hurry up and get inside.

“I don’t know why I’m surprised to see you here. I guess it’s just a good thing I didn’t give you access to the apartment too. You probably already would’ve done some stealth redecorating if you’d had the chance,” she said as she positioned herself in front of the bio-scanner.

“You might be right about that, but I’m here often enough it would make sense. Here, let me take that,” Tasha said as she reached for the delivery box. “Just make sure to hold the door for me.”

Sienna stepped inside, pushing the door with her hip so that her friend could go through. “Thanks for coming so quickly. I know I didn’t give you much notice.”

Tasha dropped the box on Sienna’s kitchen counter, briefly glancing back before she focused on opening the food. “You know I don’t mind, plus you knew I wouldn’t be able to resist once you dropped the line about giving me some news. So, spill—what’s going on? Is it about the visit to your mom’s? I swear to God, Sisi, if she convinced you to get back with Edgar, I’m going to have to make a trip out there myself and give her a talking to.”

Sienna laughed as she shut the door. “No, nothing like that, although it wasn’t for lack of effort.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t about the visit. I’ll tell you, but let’s get our food to the table first—and don’t call me Sisi. I think I was six the last time anyone else besides you called me that.”

“Oh, you know you love it, and you love me. I’m even willing to share my tofu with you—I’m that good of a friend.” Tasha grinned as she pulled down some plates from one of the shelves and started filling them with some seriously delicious smelling food.

Sienna was thankful for all of the restaurant options here in the cities. She wondered what kind of food was popular on Xithilene. Those were the kind of details that the press releases and info-vids just didn’t cover.

“Seriously, though, what happened? Don’t keep me in suspense.” Tasha handed Sienna a plate, and they both walked over to the small dining table set against the wall.

“Well, I did something last night.” She pressed her lips closed into a sort of tight, nervous smile, the kind that tried to hide the fact that inside she was feeling fit to burst with repressed excitement.

“Yes…” Tasha added when Sienna didn’t continue fast enough. “You did something. Okay, what was it? You already promised me it wasn’t Edgar-related.”

“I guess you could say it was a little bit Edgar-related.” Sienna pinched her pointer finger and thumb together before she speared a big cube of tofu on her fork, but she decided to put Tasha out of her misery before she took a bite. “Don’t worry. He just got me angry enough that it spurred me to do something kind of impulsive. Have you seen those ads up on the buildings in the arts district in the East-Central arm of the city?”

Tasha raised an eyebrow. “I think you’re going to have to be a bit more specific than that. Ads for what?”

“Xithilene—” Sienna coughed, the word getting stuck in her throat and coming out garbled. She could feel the heat in her face and knew she must look flushed. She didn’t know why it felt so hard to just spit it out.

“What was that?”

Sienna thumped her chest with her fist in an attempt to dislodge the discomfort that’d settled there. She was thirty-six, not six, as she’d just reminded Tasha. Time to woman-up and just admit it.

“Xithilene. Xithlene dancers. That’s what the ads show,” she said. Taking a quick drink of water gave her something to do with her antsy hands as she waited for her friend to respond.

Tasha tapped her long nails against the table. “Okay…and?”

Oh, God. It just wasn’t getting any better. Most of the time it felt like she and Tasha could communicate with just a glance, but of course she needed Sienna to spell it out for her today.

“You’ve heard about the Mate Portal Program, right?” She didn’t wait for a reply, just barreled forward. “I made a profile—last night. Edgar let himself into my apartment while I was on my way back from my parents’, and after I kicked him out, I just did it. Filled out the whole thing. Gosh, I’ve been thinking about it all day. I’m about to crawl out of my skin, and I don’t know if I should look. What if no one even responded? What if it was all a big mistake?” She looked up and winced. Tasha’s eyes were so wide-open that she looked like she’d just choked on something. “Will you check the site with me? I need some emotional support. I can’t do this alone.”

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