Read Online Mindguard by Andrei Cherascu - Free Book Online Page B

over
twenty years, but also in command  of a field unit on her very first
mission. That was an incredible achievement. Now that her doubts were beginning
to fade away, she was free to absorb everything that had just happened.
    She hadn’t
understood the commander’s reasoning at first. Now, she realized that she was
in no position to question his judgment. He saw something in her that nobody
else had ever seen. If he believed in her, then she had every reason to believe
in herself. She also had every reason to celebrate. She realized that she had
to go find Villo, to apologize for having been such a bitch. Then, they needed
to celebrate together, preferably over many beers at one of the taverns outside
the grounds of the academy.
     
    ●
     
    When Villo
opened the door he was wearing only his pants. His black t-shirt had been
thrown carelessly on the floor. Tamisa had not spent a single moment worrying
about whether or not it was proper for her to show up at his quarters like
that. Since the trainers and cadets at the academy were almost exclusively
male, there was really no reason to ever think about proper intergender
etiquette. Tamisa tried to think of herself as one of ‘the guys’ anyway.
    Villo smiled,
just like he always did. “I’m sorry, the asshole is away at the moment. Can I
take a message?”
    Tamisa pouted,
acting sad. Then, she looked into his eyes and just nonchalantly walked into
the room. “I’m so terribly sorry,” she said, stressing every word for emphasis.
She was smiling because she knew that he would understand. He always
understood; he was Villo.
    “I don’t get it,
have I ever babied you?” he asked. “I mean, the first time we ever met, I
kicked your ass and embarrassed you in front of the whole class.” Tamisa shook
her head theatrically. “I think it’s so sad that you still find joy in that
memory.” 
    “Apology
accepted.”
    “I was
wondering, you know, if you want to go out and maybe celebrate or something. I
mean, it’s kind of a big deal for me.”
    “A big deal,” he
said, nodding. “Yup, you’re the first soldier-girl we’ve had in twenty-four
years and you’re put in command on your first ever mission, right after
returning from a six-months punishment for pissing off the commander.” He
laughed. “Yeah, I’d say that’s a big deal. We should do more than celebrate we
should… we should…” he looked around the room searching for ideas, “I don’t
know… have a pillow fight or something. Just something to reflect the grandeur
of the whole thing.”
    Tamisa started
laughing with more joy than she had felt in years. Villo smiled for a moment,
then became very serious. His voice softened as he looked into her eyes.
“Tammy, I know your story. I know about your life on Aanadya, how much you’ve
struggled to get to where you are now. You should be very proud. I know I am.”
    They both grew
silent. Tamisa kept waiting for him to say something and was very surprised
when he didn’t. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed her, pulling her body
tightly against his. For a second, surprise and panic almost made her fight
back, but that second quickly passed and she threw herself into his passionate
kiss with all the force of a swimmer abandoning her body to the water.
    No way ,
she thought, as Villo gently picked her up and laid her on his bed. How can
this be happening ? For an instant, she wondered just how wrong this was,
what the consequences would be. She dismissed those thoughts for a later date.
For the first time in her life, she decided not to fight. She abandoned herself
in the embrace and the love of her best friend.
    Villo smiled and
his smile was different. She remembered the commander’s words: ‘You are under
the false impression that Instructor Kantil is your friend. I assure you, he is
not’. Villo took off her clothes and threw them on the ground. As she came to
the realization that this had probably never happened before in the history