by Joseph Lallo
She clutched her hands awkwardly in front of her.
“Do you want to sit down?” Lex asked.
She nodded. Out of habit, he leaned down to clear a spot, having already forgotten it had been cleaned. She sat on the futon. He joined her.
“This the first time I’ve been to your new apartment. This place is barely the size of our old dorm room,” she remarked, looking around.
“Yeah, I’ve been having some cash flow problems.”
Both sat quietly for a moment. When they spoke, it was simultaneously.
“Trevor, I-” she began.
“Michella, you-” he said, continuing, “No, you first.”
“It’s just. I... When we were together, I was happy, you know? We were a good couple. But even then, I felt like you were just a little boy. Not mature. Not living in the real world. I was wrong about you. I thought that you were selfish, that the only person that mattered to you was you. That mess with the Tremor Grand Prix... You wanted what you wanted, and you didn’t care what you had to do to get it. You were willing to destroy yourself if it meant you could have what you thought life was all about. I just... I didn’t have it in me to watch you do that to yourself. Over the last two years you seemed to be straightening out, and then that business with Nick Patel... I was wrong. You saved those people. You risked your life, and you didn’t even want credit. I was wrong about you, and I don’t know what I can say...”
“No...” Lex said, taking her hand in his, “Listen, Michella. You weren’t wrong. You knew me better than I did, and it wasn’t until this past month that I realized it. A lot has happened in the past month. Things I haven’t told you. Things you wouldn’t believe if I did. Things even I have a hard time believing. I learned a lot about myself.”
They hugged for a long time.
“So... where do we go from here? Do you want to tell me the rest of what happened?”
“I do, but... later. For right now, let’s just have right now.”
She smiled and nodded, pulling his arm around her and leaning her head on his shoulder. It was a perfect moment, one that he wished would last forever. One that, inevitably, was interrupted by his chirping slidepad. With a groan, he glanced at it. It was a message from Karter.
“Lex. Got the feedback. Good data. I have a job for you. New ship I want you to try. Get back to me,” it read.
“Who was it?” Michella asked, eyes closed and snuggling closer.
“No one. I’ll tell you later,” he said.
Lex looked at the heavenly creature nestled under his arm. He had a new ship, he had his little apartment, and for this moment, he had his girl. He had everything he needed. His finger hovered over the delete button. With a smirk, he tapped save instead.
Well, almost everything...
###
Thank you for reading this, the first of what I hope to be many Science Fiction novels. Though I genuinely enjoyed writing this, my first love is fantasy. If you like my writing, please take a moment to sample some of my other works. The first book of my Book of Deacon trilogy is available for free at many retailers. If you have anything to say, good or bad, I would love to hear it, in the form of a review, or if you prefer, an email.
Contact Information
Website: http://www.bookofdeacon.com.
Twitter: @jrlallo
Email: [email protected]
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
