AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ruth-Ann crosses the room and gives me a very deliberate look, inclining her head toward Ruthie. It’s as if she’s saying go on, make a move. She doesn’t know that I tried and failed. I shake my head. Ruth-Ann makes a face at me and heads back to the bar to chat with Erzah and Zaemen.
“So what do you think about the bar?” Ruthie asks, gazing up at me.
“What about it?”
“You ever think about the future? Like what you want to do if Lord Straik decides he’s no longer going to be a pirate captain?”
Oh, I think about the future all the time. But my future has a very specific look to it. It has spiked, short hair and piercings all over its face and the sweetest smile. “Do you?”
“Never.”
I’m surprised at her answer. “Never?”
“I can’t move past the here and now,” Ruthie confesses. “I don’t know what the future holds for me and I’m scared to think about it.”
“Then don’t think.”
She chuckles, a little confused by my words. “What?”
I’m about to explain myself when I see something out of the corner of my eye. Jerzec is flirting with a human female, but that’s not what gets my attention. It’s that they’re flipping what looks like a credit into the air. Not a credit, I realize a moment later.
A coin. A human coin.
I wish I had a coin to flip, she’d said earlier. We flip a coin to decide when we can’t.
It’s the perfect answer. Why didn’t I see it before? I’m such a keffing idiot.
I touch Ruthie’s shoulder and then climb out of the booth, standing up and stepping on the table in my haste. “Be right back.”
“Where are you going?” She calls, laughing. “You’re not supposed to step on the table!”
I bound off the table and cross the room to Jerzec’s side. He’s giving the female a seductive look, and scowls when I approach.
“I need that coin,” I tell them, breathless. “The human coin. I will give you a thousand credits for it.”
“A thousand credits?” The woman giggles. “It’s literally a penny.”
I don’t know what a penny is, but it’s clear she doesn’t like my offer. “Two thousand credits, then.”
“Done,” the woman says quickly. “But I’m not sure what we can play Quarters with now that we’ve lost our coin.”
“Perhaps we can play something else,” Jerzec says smoothly, leaning closer.
I pull out my credit chip and hold it out to the female. She extends her datapad and I type in the amount, and it dings successfully. She hands the coin over to me, her brows furrowed in a mixture of amusement and confusion. “You a collector?”
“I am decisive,” I tell her.
“Oookay.” Her eyes widen and she shares a look with Jerzec. “Maybe go see if the bartender has any cherries or olives or something? We could use those instead.”
I race away again, clutching the prized coin. It is small and slightly sticky with drink, but I don’t care. It’s the answer to our problems.
Returning to Ruthie, I beam at her as she gives me a puzzled stare. I’m about to ask her to go back to the ship with me, when I remember what Ruth-Ann said. Present a scenario and invite her. Quit putting the decision in her hands. I clear my throat. “I am returning to the ship. Would you like to come with me?”
“Oh, I just got here.” Ruthie looks around, then shrugs, getting to her feet. “But yeah, I’m not in a party mood anyhow. I’m glad for Erzah but my head’s not in it. Are you feeling all right?”
“I have never been better.” The coin bites into my palm, I grip it so tightly.
She downs her drink quickly and I head to the bar to pay my tab. Then we head out, stepping into the street. It’s quiet the moment we get outside, the noisy atmosphere of the cantina dying away immediately. Ruthie walks at my side, her face turned up to enjoy the breeze.
I think about humans and how they like to touch constantly, and I take Ruthie’s hand in mine. If she says anything—noodle, piercing, or even no—I will drop it and apologize.
But she looks over at me, smiles, and tightens her grip on my hand.
My heart soars. “I love you,” I blurt again. “I love you, Ruthie.”
She blushes and her expression turns shy. She doesn’t answer, just squeezes my hand tightly.
I clutch the coin in my other hand and we walk through Port together, and it is the best walk I’ve ever had. Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to propose to Ruthie with our coin tosses…
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
RUTHIE
Kaz is being totally weird. Sweet, but weird.
I like that he’s holding my hand as we head back to the ship, but he’s quiet. Too quiet. Kazex is normally a very talkative guy. He’s got an open face and an open heart, and that’s one reason why I adore him so much. For him to be closed off is not like him. Then there’s the fact that we left the party early.
