Read Online Cassiel Winters 1: Sky's End by Lesley Young - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lesley Young
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they were way too hard on a first-year cadet.” He seems sincere and gestures to a table of his friends, all third and fourth year cadets, including Stoddard. Ugh . If this guy’s pals with Stoddard, he’s bad news. They’re all smiling at me, except Stoddard. One lifts his drink in a cheer. I smile reluctantly.
My Kir Imperial arrives. I take a sip. And then a big gulp.
I change the subject, relishing how the alcohol settles a happy cloud over all of my thoughts. “Been here for a while?” Oh, that sounded so cliché. My heart has dropped somewhere in my stomach, and my eyes are glued wide open with panic. Super. My attempt to flex my flirting muscle (if I have one), hey I’m pretty desperate considering what I’m about to face tomorrow morning , is lame, at best. What I really want is to know whether he’s seen Daria.
“About an hour,” he says, extending his hand, “I’m Todd Meyers.” Either he didn’t notice my panic, or he’s smooth enough to ignore it.
I look at him. Really look at him. He seems to notice this, and his body language changes. He leans in just a touch. I clasp his hand lightly, and smile, mostly with gratitude at his keeping up the act. He smiles back, glancing down at my lips, now at my eyes, now at my breasts, quickly back to my eyes. The gratitude I’m feeling’s replaced by shyness. “Cassiel,” he cuts my introduction off, announcing my name like I have just won some kind of award. “I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while. Maybe we could do dinner?”
“Oh.” He doesn’t waste time . “I can’t,” I blurt out. His face drops just a smidge, or did I imagine that? Doesn’t matter. A pang of guilt opens a door for him. “But I’ll light-Missive you when I get a chance. Er, it might have to be during your next EL since I might not be around for long,” I tack on, really thinking that the truth’s far worse. I may not be around, ever again, to go for dinner with any cadet, Earth Leave or not.
King .
“Hey, don’t sweat it,” says Todd. Wipe the devastation off your face; he thinks it’s for him . “You know, you could always apply for the civilian side of operations. They’re always looking for smart staff.” He follows up his compliment with another smile.
This would put me in a safe, comfy, mind-numbingly boring job at ESE (now I know why so many women take those jobs; sure beats being translocated by breeders).
“Yeah, we’ll see.” I try to brighten up. “Hey, I was actually supposed to meet a friend here. Lieutenant Daria Preston. Maybe you know of her?”
“Oh sure. She was here about 15 minutes ago.”
She was?
“Where’d she go, do you know?” It takes some effort to rearrange my surprised features and to ask this casually.
“She was waiting at the bar. Talked to a few officers. But she left quickly. Didn’t even finish her Pink Beluga.” His dejected tone suggests he’s put out by that.
I think it’s mildly disturbing how he knows what she was drinking.
I glance back over his shoulder. A face, among the dozens of male faces in my sight line, stands out for some reason. Oh, Lt. Lazarus .
Wait, what’s he doing here?
No, it isn’t him. The messy black hair I spied is gone. Er, was that him ? I could swear I just saw him near the exit. Did he follow me here?
Ah, there’s no law against an officer grabbing a quick drink, Cassiel . You’re really starting to lose it , I think, checking myself.
“Did you see her?” Todd asks, glancing back where I’m staring.
“Ah, I thought I did, but it wasn’t her,” I lie.
It’s odd and kind of annoying that Daria would leave suddenly, right around the same time I Missived that I was on my way. I drink the rest of my Kir Imperial in two gulps. “Well, thanks for the drink Todd. But I’ve got a meeting I’ve got to get back to.”
“Now?” He’s not buying it. “Come on, stay for another.”
I smile but I’m sure he can tell that was forced. “I can’t, honest,
My Kir Imperial arrives. I take a sip. And then a big gulp.
I change the subject, relishing how the alcohol settles a happy cloud over all of my thoughts. “Been here for a while?” Oh, that sounded so cliché. My heart has dropped somewhere in my stomach, and my eyes are glued wide open with panic. Super. My attempt to flex my flirting muscle (if I have one), hey I’m pretty desperate considering what I’m about to face tomorrow morning , is lame, at best. What I really want is to know whether he’s seen Daria.
“About an hour,” he says, extending his hand, “I’m Todd Meyers.” Either he didn’t notice my panic, or he’s smooth enough to ignore it.
I look at him. Really look at him. He seems to notice this, and his body language changes. He leans in just a touch. I clasp his hand lightly, and smile, mostly with gratitude at his keeping up the act. He smiles back, glancing down at my lips, now at my eyes, now at my breasts, quickly back to my eyes. The gratitude I’m feeling’s replaced by shyness. “Cassiel,” he cuts my introduction off, announcing my name like I have just won some kind of award. “I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while. Maybe we could do dinner?”
“Oh.” He doesn’t waste time . “I can’t,” I blurt out. His face drops just a smidge, or did I imagine that? Doesn’t matter. A pang of guilt opens a door for him. “But I’ll light-Missive you when I get a chance. Er, it might have to be during your next EL since I might not be around for long,” I tack on, really thinking that the truth’s far worse. I may not be around, ever again, to go for dinner with any cadet, Earth Leave or not.
King .
“Hey, don’t sweat it,” says Todd. Wipe the devastation off your face; he thinks it’s for him . “You know, you could always apply for the civilian side of operations. They’re always looking for smart staff.” He follows up his compliment with another smile.
This would put me in a safe, comfy, mind-numbingly boring job at ESE (now I know why so many women take those jobs; sure beats being translocated by breeders).
“Yeah, we’ll see.” I try to brighten up. “Hey, I was actually supposed to meet a friend here. Lieutenant Daria Preston. Maybe you know of her?”
“Oh sure. She was here about 15 minutes ago.”
She was?
“Where’d she go, do you know?” It takes some effort to rearrange my surprised features and to ask this casually.
“She was waiting at the bar. Talked to a few officers. But she left quickly. Didn’t even finish her Pink Beluga.” His dejected tone suggests he’s put out by that.
I think it’s mildly disturbing how he knows what she was drinking.
I glance back over his shoulder. A face, among the dozens of male faces in my sight line, stands out for some reason. Oh, Lt. Lazarus .
Wait, what’s he doing here?
No, it isn’t him. The messy black hair I spied is gone. Er, was that him ? I could swear I just saw him near the exit. Did he follow me here?
Ah, there’s no law against an officer grabbing a quick drink, Cassiel . You’re really starting to lose it , I think, checking myself.
“Did you see her?” Todd asks, glancing back where I’m staring.
“Ah, I thought I did, but it wasn’t her,” I lie.
It’s odd and kind of annoying that Daria would leave suddenly, right around the same time I Missived that I was on my way. I drink the rest of my Kir Imperial in two gulps. “Well, thanks for the drink Todd. But I’ve got a meeting I’ve got to get back to.”
“Now?” He’s not buying it. “Come on, stay for another.”
I smile but I’m sure he can tell that was forced. “I can’t, honest,
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