Rishi grinned. “Too many people like the Elliniká, and I’d be out of business.”
Praxiteles shook his head. “There aren’t enough of us to worry you. There are many more people in this one city than in all the plains of Celadon.”
His plate was clean. She offered him more food, but he declined.
“You know,” Rishi said, deciding that this was a good time to make her request, “I really hated eating lunch alone today.”
He looked down at his empty plate. “I apologized already, lady.”
“I know, I know.” Rishi put one hand on his arm, and then thought better of it and moved it away. Really, she needed to go out cruising sometime soon or she would make a fool of herself. “I’m not angry or annoyed. But the thing is, I’ve always hated eating alone. And since you need someone to tell you about how things work on Subidar, and I need someone to eat with me, I thought perhaps we could eat our meals together all the time, when it doesn’t interfere with your work.”
He lifted his eyes to hers, confusion written plain on his face. “You want me to eat with you always?”
“Except at breakfast and when you’re working, or on special occasions like my party next week.”
“Very well, lady.”
Rishi suffered a pang of guilt. He sounded almost resigned. “You don’t mind eating with me, do you? I wouldn’t want to do anything that made your life more difficult.”
His expression grew almost solemn. “I don’t mind at all, lady.”
She wondered if he would tell her if he did wish to eat elsewhere, and concluded he probably wouldn’t. She decided not to worry about it for now. How terrible could it be for him to eat his meals with her? “Good. Then I’ll see you tomorrow at lunch.”
He stood up when she rose from the table, but she wouldn’t let herself look back to see if he was still standing there after she went through the door.
PRAX drifted past the common room. It looked like yet another poker game was forming, but Prax wasn’t in the mood for company. He went to his own room but left the door open so he felt less closed in. He lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Back home on the plains, his family would sit for a while after dinner, doing the kind of work you could do and still talk to each other. His mother would weave, and his father would mend the harnesses and saddles that people brought to him for repair. His sister Iphigenia would spin yarn for knitting and weaving. Nikos was very good at working small pieces of wood and bone into useful objects like buttons and hair combs. Sometimes Prax would carve small figures of animals from wood or stone. Occasionally, his mother would ask him to play the bouzouki and sing to them.
Prax rolled over on his stomach and closed his eyes. He felt totally alone. He had no friends here, and no sense of companionship with the other staff. Prax wouldn’t let himself dwell on his feelings for Rishi, so instead he thought about his family and how much he missed them. He wondered if he would ever see Celadon again. He was so absorbed in his misery that he didn’t react to the sound of the door closing.
Suddenly he felt a hand reach out and stroke his shoulder. Shocked and at the same time pleased at the thought that Rishi had come into his room, Prax rolled over quickly and was surprised to see Nakamura sitting on the edge of his bed. Instead of her uniform, she wore a loose robe, dark blue and open at the neck—very open.
“Hello.” She smiled, an inviting smile that lit her face and hinted at future warmth. “I thought you might like some company.”
Prax scrambled to a sitting position. She was very close. His visits to the cities of Celadon had sometimes resulted in invitations from female shopkeepers to step upstairs, but the initial offers had been made more subtly than this; and after he had accepted, he had felt comfortable returning to those shops knowing what was going to happen. More importantly, at that time, he had had no obligation to anyone else except his clan. He had absolutely no idea what to say to Nakamura in this situation.
Nakamura seemed to realize it. She put one hand on his leg and began to caress his thigh, squeezing just a little.
“You don’t have to talk.” She moved her hand and slid it under his shirt. “I think you know what to do.”
Prax pulled away from her. He was very confused by the suddenness of her arrival and by her forwardness, and he wondered wildly if all the women on Subidar were like her. Nakamura reached down and unfastened the front of her robe so it fell open even more. Prax could see she wore nothing under it. Her body was lean and wiry, her skin very white against the blue robe. She had firm, high breasts and a long torso.
Prax felt his mouth go dry. He shook his head as if she had asked a question. “I think you had better go.”
Nakamura leaned over so that her robe came open even more. “Why? She doesn’t own you. You can do what you want with whomever you want.”
“Please go now.”
She smiled at this request. “I’ll go if you kiss me.”
Prax hesitated. He was aware that she didn’t mean what she said, but her nakedness distracted him. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could make himself not want what she was offering.
Nakamura smiled again. “Just one kiss,” she coaxed.
Prax knew she was lying. Still, he leaned over to kiss her. She put her arms around him and pulled him tightly to her, sliding her hands under his shirt and caressing his sides. Prax could feel her breasts pressed against him. He could hear a drumming sound in his ears, and he felt as if he were drowning. He put his arms around her and held her just as tightly as she was holding him. She parted her lips, and Prax responded by making the kiss more passionate than he had intended.
Prax had lost all conscious will when the door chimed. The sound brought him back to a sense of time and place, and he tried to pull away from Nakamura.
“Ignore it!” she said, holding him close. Her breath was warm on his neck.
Prax was breathing hard, as if he had been running a long way. He took a long, deep breath. The door chimed again.
“No,” he said, pushing her away firmly. “You had better go. Now, please.”
She looked at him scornfully. “You want me just as much as I want you.”
Her assumption of knowing his mind irritated him. “I don’t even know you.”
“All right.” She got to her feet. “I’ll come back in a few days when you know me better. And in a few days, maybe you’ll be ready to appreciate a good thing when it’s offered to you.”
She pulled her robe open wide, as if to show him just what he was missing, and then she fastened it up again. When she strolled to the door and opened it, Chio stood there. His mouth dropped open when Nakamura brushed past him without a word.
Chio’s eyes followed Nakamura for a few seconds and then came back to Prax. They widened in alarm. “Prax, be careful! Beecher thinks she’s his private domain. If he finds out you two are together, he’ll have a fit.”
Prax frowned. He could talk and talk to these people, and none of them ever seemed to listen to what he said. “Go away and stop being foolish.”
Chio looked offended. “I just wanted to know if you wanted a lesson in poker. You asked me about it earlier.”
“Not now. I’m sorry if I was rude. You are being foolish, though.”
Chio shook his head. His forehead creased in a frown. “No, you’re the one who’s foolish. Beecher is mean, Prax. He fights dirty, too.”
Prax wanted very much to be alone. “I haven’t been foolish. But I am tired. Go away, please. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“All right. But remember, I warned you.”
Prax went to bed with the door closed and locked. It made him feel like he was in the prison wagon or back on the ship. He lay there for more than two hours without going to sleep. Finally, he got up and dressed again. He took two blankets from the bed, rolled them into a bundle and went out the door.
> He left the house by the security entrance and stepped into the cool night air with a sense of relief. He walked part way up the hill, hearing the peculiar grass crunch with every step. When he found a sheltered spot, out of the wind and with a nice, grassy surface, he spread out the blankets and lay down to sleep.
Chapter Seven
Rishi frowned at her monitor.
“Business is either very bad or very good.”
Rishi jumped, then glared at Hari as he advanced into her office. She switched off the AI. “I didn’t hear you ring.”
“I did ring, but you didn’t answer, so I let myself in.”
She twisted her lips in a fake smile. “Did it ever occur to you that I might not want to be interrupted?”
He sank onto the sofa nearest her desk. “Yeah, but Merschachh didn’t say anything, so I didn’t let the thought hold me back.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s so important?”
He put his feet on a low table, crossed them at the ankles, and then leaned back. “I just wanted to ask you a question.”
She lifted one eyebrow.
He grinned at her. “Show off! Why the hell did you tell Prax you wanted him to eat with you at practically every meal?”
“Prax?”
“Praxiteles is too damn long a name. Are you going to answer my question?”
She shrugged. “I’ve discovered I like eating with him better than eating alone.”
Hari made a face. “Why not Lidiya or Merschachh or even Thulan?”
Annoyed at having to defend her actions, Rishi threw down her stylus. “Because except for you, Praxiteles is the first person I’ve met in my adult life who cares nothing about my money. With Lidiya and Merschachh and Thulan, it’s always there—not only because I’m filthy rich, but because they work for me.”
Hari frowned. “You think Thulan cares about your money?”
Rishi stood up. “I don’t think she’s nice to me because of my money. And I know she’s not afraid of me because of it. But when she looks at me, she sees a poor, lonely little rich girl. Lidiya sees someone who never has to worry about the things she worries about. Merschachh sees someone who occupies the business pinnacle he wants to reach. It’s only with Praxiteles that my money doesn’t get in the way.”
“And me?”
“And you. But you have Anika now. You don’t have time to eat with me anymore.”
Hari jumped to his feet and paced a few times. “Okay, it’s not a bad reason, but having him eat his meals with you is not helping.”
“Not helping what?”
“Not helping him fit in with the rest of the staff.” He put his hands on his hips. “See here, girl. I offered this security guard thing as a way out—a way for Praxiteles to feel he could pay back his debt without slipping between the sheets with you. But if he’s what you want, even cold sober, then why are we bothering with this charade?”
Rishi kept her face impassive. She might as well break the news to him now and get the lecture over with early in the day. Besides, that way she could avoid answering his question. “Since you feel so free to bring up my sex life, I might as well mention that I plan to go out tonight.”
“Out?”
“Yes, out.”
“Where?”
“The Satyr Club.”
Hari groaned. “Buddha and Beelzebub! You can’t settle for a sleazy bar, you have to go to a sex club?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, come on, Rishi!”
She glared at him. “It’s my life, Hari. I will live it my way.”
He said a few more words, but she didn’t recognize the language.
“How can you stand that place?” he said. “When I come out of there, I can’t wait to get in the shower.”
She flushed. No point in telling him she always took a shower as soon as she got home, too, even if she had already showered at the club. “You have my sympathy.”
He snorted. “Fat lot of good that’ll do me when I’m sitting around stark naked, trying to keep an eye on you while a bunch of strangers size me up like a cut of meat.”
“It’s no worse than going to the beach. No one wears clothes to swim.”
“Yeah, but they don’t look each other over for sex right there on the beach, either.”
She smiled and played her trump card. “You don’t have to come.”
He took two quick strides across the room. “You’re not going there alone.”
“Then shut up and quit lecturing me.”
He glared again. “Rishi, this is ridiculous. You’re not some hormonally-driven kid anymore. You’re old enough to exercise some control over your life.”
She curled her lip in a supercilious smile. “I won’t be the oldest one there, and I don’t mean you.”
“I know that. Just because those shallow, self-centered idiots have no more sense than to treat sex like it was shaking hands is no reason you can’t behave better than that.”
“Maybe I’m shallow and self-centered, too?”
“Hah!”
Rishi was losing her temper. Usually Hari would have given up by now. “I’m going out tonight after dinner, Hari. Are you coming with me or not?” She didn’t ask him to send someone else. There was no one else she was willing to let in on her secret.
He threw up his hands. “Oh, I’m coming all right. I’m not letting you walk into that infamous pit alone. I’ll tell Anika not to wait up, just in case I have to take you to the hospital, or worse!”
He left, muttering under his breath the whole time.
Rishi sat down again. She squared her shoulders. Well, at least it was over. Hopefully, Hari wouldn’t complain too much in the flyter.
She flicked on the AI. Back to work.
PRAXITELES was very talkative at dinner. Rishi listened to him telling her about his new tutor with half her mind on her plans for later in the evening.
“I’m glad you like him, Praxiteles. He came highly recommended.”
Praxiteles nodded. “I can believe it, lady. He’s very easy to understand.” He served himself a second helping of salad. “He says my people are Greek. Does that mean anything to you?”
“Greek?” Rishi repeated the word. “Yes, I think so. Greece was a very ancient civilization on Terra, I think. One of the first to have cities and literature and science.”
“Yes!” Praxiteles was clearly elated at the news. “He said so far as he knows, the Elliniká are the only remaining speakers of our version of Greek in the universe. There’s an ancient form of my language that’s still studied, but it’s not the same as what we speak. He wants to record my voice, saying things in Elliniká.”
“Really?” Rishi was having trouble concentrating on the conversation. She was wondering if she would see anyone familiar at the Satyr Club, or if it would be all new people. At least she didn’t have to spend any time worrying over what to wear. “Will that interfere with your reading lessons?”
Praxiteles shook his head. “He said it would take only a few minutes.” He gave her a curious glance. “Is anything wrong, lady? You seem distracted.”
Rishi maintained a bland countenance. If there was one person she didn’t want to know about what she did to relax, it was Praxiteles. He would never understand. “I’m sorry. I had a busy day today. Several things came up while I was working. And I’m having a party the day after tomorrow.”
Praxiteles looked almost hurt. “I see.”
Rishi changed the subject. “So, how did the lesson go?”
“The alphabet is easy enough. I already knew most of it.”
“Good.”
“I also began to work out with the other staff. Chio says I have a very peculiar style of fighting.”
Rishi smiled. “I’m sure you do.” A small fact tugged at her brain. “In fact, I
think I remember the Greeks invented wrestling. Or something like that.”
Praxiteles knitted his brow. “I don’t know if I like the word Greek. It sounds too harsh. I am Elliniká.”
“All right, you’re Elliniká. Tell me about the rest of your day?”
His face lit up in a smile. Really, it was just as well she was going to the Satyr Club tonight. The more time she spent with Praxiteles, the better he looked to her.
“I learned how to enter my name on a terminal,” Praxiteles said with satisfaction. “And I learned how to swear in Miloran.”
Rishi smiled, but in her mind, she was still thinking ahead.
RISHI stepped up to the doorway and held her club badge over the lock. After a second, the door opened.
Rishi stepped through without looking back to see how closely Hari was following her. A willowy hostess in a slinky black gown stepped forward. “Good evening. Is this your first time at Club Satyr?”
“No.” Rishi left it at that. The less said, the better.
The hostess lifted one arm in a languid but gracious gesture, waving in the general direction of the changing cubicles. “Then you know the protocol.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Rishi walked swiftly through the corridor until she found a cubicle that displayed a vacancy indicator. She stepped inside and disrobed swiftly. Once she had nothing on but her gold bracelet with the security fob Hari insisted she wear, she opened a lock box to stow away her belongings. She put in everything except for her badge, and hit the storage key; there was a thunk as the lock box dropped into the storage system.
Next, Rishi approached the log-in panel.
“Good evening,” the automated voice said after she had inserted her badge. “Please indicate your preference for tonight.”
Rishi scanned the menu and made her selection. The console beeped. “Please remove your badge.”
When Rishi pulled the badge from the slot, it glowed a soft golden yellow, for what was termed traditional heterosexual sex with no extra requirements. She slipped the chain around her neck, clipping it so that she wore the badge like a pendant, and went out the door to the encounter chamber.
Worlds Apart (ThreeCon) Page 12