Brad stared out the window. “That’s incredible.”
“You play chess?”
“Yeah.”
“You should play her. You’ll lose, but it’ll be an education. She doesn’t take prisoners.”
Brad chuckled. “You ever beat her?”
Jeff smiled and shook his head. “No. In fact I don’t know of anyone that has. I keep hoping to find somebody that can, so I can see how it’s done. I think if I could ever get her into an endgame I might have a chance at a stalemate. She’s not terribly creative, though she certainly has her moments, but her openings are so good – and she knows them all – that by the time we get to the middlegame I’m always on defense, and desperate. And of course the other problem is that she can anticipate so well. She’s always six, eight, ten moves ahead of me, so I’m forever playing catch-up.”
Brad smiled and nodded, then stared out the windows for a moment. “Jeff, can I ask you kind of a, I dunno, delicate question?”
“Sure, you can ask. Won’t guarantee I’ll answer it.”
“Yeah, gotcha. Well, I understand that part of the reason… maybe that’s wrong… not, reason, but, uh, part of what you’re going to be doing is to try and answer some of the many unanswered questions about living in space and on another planet?”
“Right. There’s certainly a lot of exploration, experimentation, observation, and data recording in the flight plan.”
“Yeah, well, as a sci-fi novelist I’ve written about a lot of stuff, space stuff, but much of it is just guesswork.”
“Uh huh. I read one of your books. Liked it a lot. Wish I had that kind of technology. I hope to read more of your stuff – and Diane’s – during the trip when I have a little more time.” He sipped his beer and raised an eyebrow. “What’s on your mind, Brad?”
“Um, specifically… uh, sex in space.”
Jeff smiled. “Ah. Yeah, okay, what about it?”
Brad cringed and smiled, sheepishly. “Um, do you have any plans to definitively study the subject?”
Jeff laughed. “Uh, the short answer to that would be no, no plans. On the other hand, we’re gonna be gone for two and half years, out of which nearly fourteen months will be in space. A lot can happen during that time. So, hell, I dunno. Um, if it does, will we be taking detailed notes and recording data, and writing a definitive scientific paper on the subject when we get back?” He shook his head and smiled. “Probably not. I imagine if, uh… we, whoever ‘we’ might be, get around to that, it’ll fall under the heading of don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“Have you talked about it?”
“Yeah, sure. It’s come up in conversation a couple times, usually in a humorous context. But like I said, we haven’t made any plans. Why do you ask?”
Brad shrugged. “Curiosity.”
“Well, admittedly, we’re a little curious too. But, there’s a lot that we’re planning, and some other things that we’re just gonna leave out of the flight plan and see what happens. This would be one of those items.”
Brad nodded. “Would you want to?”
Jeff laughed again. “Look out the window. Of course I would. Hell, I’m not dead yet. But don’t get the wrong idea about us, particularly Gabe, Abby, Sue and myself. Yeah, they’re out there naked in the hot tub right now, well, all except Gabe, but even she might be if you weren’t here. She actually allowed me to see her in one of her dainty little semi-transparent Victoria’s Secret nighties not too long ago. That was a first.” He nodded toward the hot tub. “But this is just blowing off steam. Obviously, living and working this close together over the past few years, we’ve gotten to know one another pretty well and, uh, yeah, we’re kind of casual about a few things, and take some liberties here and there. But the fact remains, they’re still my employees, and we’ve worked pretty hard to maintain a professional relationship.” He glanced out the window and grinned. “At least, most of the time.”
“I’m sorry, it was wrong of me to ask.”
“No, it’s okay. And by the way, you’re not the first. People are understandably curious. But honestly, even if we did have plans to, um, experiment, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be talking about it. To get this little project off the ground, one of the most important things we need to demonstrate is credibility. We need people to believe that we know what we’re doing and can succeed. If we started talking about space porn, I think we’d be in trouble.”
Brad laughed. “Gotcha.”
Jeff smiled. “Doesn’t mean I haven’t lain in bed at night a few times thinking about it.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. Anyone in particular?”
Jeff stared at his glass for a moment. “Yeah, there’s one that gets my heart beating just a bit faster than the others.”
Brad raised his eyebrows and smiled.
Jeff shook his head. “No, we’ll save that for later. There’s still an awful lot of water to pass under the bridge before we get to that point.”
“Yeah, I imagine so. It’s just that the whole thing is so utterly fantastic, it’s hard not to ask questions.”
“Believe me, we understand that all too well. We’ve answered a gazillion questions in front of senate subcommittees, the President, Jay Leno, and god only knows how many reporters. And we’re always biting our nails, worrying about what the next question’s gonna be.”
“I’ll bet.”
“Yeah. There’s so much that we want to talk about. But there are some things that we’d rather not talk about, and a few things that we flat won’t talk about. Our biggest problem is getting people to ask the right questions.”
Brad nodded and drained his beer.
“Another?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Jeff made up two more boilermakers. “Shall we join the womenfolk? Make sure they’re not talking about us like we’re talking about them?”
“Yeah, why not?”
They returned to the patio and took chairs near the hot tub. “Mind if we join y’all?” said Jeff.
Diane smiled. “Not at all.”
Abby groaned. “Now we can’t talk about you anymore.”
Jeff smiled. “That’s why we’re here.”
“Aren’t you going to come in?” said Diane.
Jeff and Brad glanced at each other, and shook their heads.
“Um, maybe later,” said Brad.
Diane grinned. “What’s the matter, dear, too much excitement?”
He chuckled. “In a manner of speaking.”
“So, what have you two been talking about?” said Gabe.
Jeff shrugged. “You.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah. Brad plays chess. Told him he should play you, and learn the true meaning of humility.”
Gabe grinned. “Go get the board.”
Brad frowned. “What? Hot tub chess?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t need to see the board, but I presume you do.”
Brad’s jaw dropped. “You don’t need to see the board?”
“No. I can see it in my head.”
Jeff patted Brad on the shoulder. “Told you. I’ll get the board.” He went into the house, grabbed a magnetic chessboard and returned. He set the board on the table beside Brad. “Good luck, you’re gonna need it.”
“Yeah.” Brad picked up black and white pawns, shuffled them in his hands, and held them out.
“Left,” said Gabe.
Brad rolled his hand over and opened it. “White.”
Diane frowned. “Don’t chess games take a long time to play?”
Jeff shook his head. “Not against Gabe they don’t.”
“Okay, Gabe,” said Brad, “you’re move.”
Gabe smiled. “e4.”
Brad looked at her, puzzled. “Huh?”
“You’re not familiar with algebraic chess notation?”
He shook his head. “Never heard of it.”
“Ah, I see. Well, then I guess we’ll do this the old fashioned way. Pawn to King four.”
&n
bsp; “Okay. That I understand.”
“Good. Then we’re underway.” She leaned back in the hot tub and closed her eyes. “Just tell me your moves.”
Jeff whispered, “Diane…”
She glanced up at him.
He shook his head and grinned. “This won’t take long.”
Brad harrumphed. “Alright. Pawn to Queen four.”
Gabe nodded. “Ah, you favor the Scandinavian Defense, do you? Pawn takes Pawn.”
“Is that what it’s called? Queen takes Pawn.”
“Yes. Knight to Queen’s Bishop three.”
“Somebody in the Navy taught me it years ago. Queen to Queen’s Rook four.”
“It’s a popular – and very old – asymmetric defense against White’s King’s Pawn opening. Pawn to Queen four.”
“Pawn to Queen’s Bishop three. Can you actually see this in your head?”
She nodded. “Uh huh. Knight to King’s Bishop three.”
“Bishop to King’s Knight five.”
“Hmmm, that’s unconventional. I’m curious to see where you’re going with this. Bishop to King’s Bishop four.”
Brad frowned. “Um… Pawn to King three.”
“Uh oh, Brad, now you’re just guessing. Pawn to King’s Rook three.”
He groaned. “Okay. Uh… Bishop takes Knight.”
She smiled. “Ah, desperation. Queen takes Bishop.”
“Um, hmmm. Uh, Bishop to Queen’s Knight five.”
Gabe rubbed her lips with her finger. “Interesting. Bishop to King two.”
“Knight to Queen two.”
Gabe opened her eyes and stared at Brad. “Alright. Pawn to Queen’s Rook three.”
Brad stared at the board, scratching his chin.
She smiled. “Take your time.”
Chrissie climbed out of the hot tub, picked a wine bottle off the table and walked around the tub refilling glasses. She paused in front of Jeff and Brad. “You two alright? Need anything from the bar?”
“Thanks, Chrissie, I’m fine,” said Jeff.
Brad glanced up at her and, as she stood there naked and dripping wet, wheezed, “Oh lord. Now there’s a distraction I didn’t need. Ahem, thanks, Chrissie, I’m good.”
She smiled. “Sorry.” Then hopped back in the tub.
Brad returned his gaze to the chess board and mumbled, “Good grief.”
“Stumped?” said Gabe.
“I’m just not sure where you’re heading with this. Um… castle.”
Gabe’s eyes opened wide. “Really? Wow. Okay.” She chuckled. “Pawn takes Bishop.”
Brad glanced at her, surprised. “Huh?”
“Yes.”
He shrugged. “Alright. Queen takes Rook. Check.”
She nodded. “King to Queen two.”
“Are you serious?”
Gabe leaned back and closed her eyes again. “Uh huh.”
Brad shook his head. “Okay. Queen takes Rook.”
She sighed. “Queen takes Pawn.”
Brad nearly fell out of his chair. He stared at Gabe. “What are you doing?”
Gabe chuckled. “Beating you, mercilessly. You just don’t know it.”
Brad shook his head. “If you say so. Pawn takes Queen!”
Gabe opened her eyes and smiled. “Men are so predictable. Bishop to Queen’s Rook six. Mate.”
Brad stared at the board, his mouth hanging open. “Son of a bitch.”
Jeff picked up Brad’s now empty glass. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ll get you another drink, you look like you could use it.”
Gabe smiled. “Thank you Brad, that was fun.”
Jeff returned a minute later with another drink for Brad. “You over the shock yet?”
Brad shook his head. “No. Gabe, when did you see that?”
“I saw the opportunity to draw you into a Boden’s Mate when we traded Knight and Bishop, but I didn’t really think you’d castle on the Queenside. When you did, it was over. At that point I saw three different paths to Mate in four to eight moves. I just picked the most entertaining one.”
Diane looked at her with amazement. “And you can do that without ever looking at the board? How?”
“As I said, I can see the board in my head.”
“That’s astonishing. What’s a… Boden’s Mate?”
“It’s simply a checkmate pattern using Bishops on crossing diagonals when the opposing King is blocked from flight by friendly pieces. It’s frequently preceded by a sacrifice to open one of the diagonals.” She chuckled. “And your husband obligingly fell for my Queen sacrifice.”
Brad groaned.
“How good are you?” said Diane.
Gabe shrugged.
Jeff chuckled. “Now, don’t be modest. She’s a Grandmaster and in college was ranked 28th in the world.”
Brad gasped. “28th in the world? Okay, suddenly I don’t feel so bad.”
“Now you know why I’ve never beat her.”
Gabe grinned. “Some years back there was a professional chess player, Jennifer Shahade. She was twice U.S. Women’s Chess Champion. But her major claim to fame is ‘Naked Chess’. Do you suppose this counts?”
Abby shook her head. “More like ‘Naked Audience Chess’. It’s not the same.”
Gabe giggled.
Jeff smiled at Brad. “If you’re thinking of challenging her to a game of strip chess,” he shook his head, “I wouldn’t recommend it.” He glanced at Gabe and grinned. “Even with all the points she’s spotting you right now.”
Brad laughed. “Oh, I dunno, I would have done fairly well with that game.”
Gabe smiled. “No, you wouldn’t have. I didn’t have to sacrifice the Rooks and Queen. It just would have taken a bit longer.”
“Strip chess?” said Diane, grinning.
Gabe nodded. “Pawns don’t count, but for every major piece you lose, something comes off.”
“Have you ever played it?”
She smiled. “Um, no.”
“Who taught you to play?”
“No one, I’m self-taught. I learned by playing Fritz when I was thirteen.”
“Who’s Fritz?”
“Fritz isn’t a who, it’s a what. A computer chess program.”
“Can you beat it?” said Brad.
Gabe glanced at him and shrugged. “Sometimes.”
Brad shook his head. “Good god.”
Susan stood up in the tub, collected her hair and, as she twisted it like a rope, wringing the water out, said, “Alright, entertainment and leisure time over. Abby, Chrissie, we need to get supper started before it gets too late.”
They both nodded and stood.
“I want to help,” said Diane.
Susan shook her head. “It’s not necessary.”
“No, but I want to. You have to let me do something in that kitchen. It’s spectacular.”
Jeff pulled out his iPhone, pointed it at the hot tub, and punched the video record button.
Soon they were all up and climbing out.
Abby turned around and got out right in front of Jeff and Brad. Standing on the edge of the tub she stopped and frowned at Jeff. “What… are you doing?”
Jeff smiled, looking at the iPhone’s screen. “Oh lord. Um, you know, 21st century version of home movies.”
Abby smiled and shook her head. “Pervert.”
Jeff chuckled.
Brad leaned over to see. “Oh god. You’re gonna email me a copy of this, right?”
“You bet.”
Abby turned around. “Okay, everybody smile, you’re on Candid Camera.”
Diane stopped, turned around, smiled and waved at Jeff.
Jeff shook his head. “Mercy.”
She grabbed Abby’s arm, pulled her close, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Alright, while we’re here, best get a picture of my daughter and I.”
Jeff nodded, stopped the video, and snapped a photo of them. “Wow.” He took a few more stills then restarted the video. If he hadn’t b
een so intent on watching Heidi towel off he might of seen it coming, but he didn’t, and Gabe’s soaking wet, balled-up bikini top hit him square in the side of the face with a very audible ‘SPLAT’. He glanced up at her, startled. “Hey! What was that for?”
Abby high-fived her. “Nice shot.”
“Thanks.” Gabe stood, holding a towel over her chest, grinning at Jeff. “That was for being a pain in the butt.”
Jeff stood, nodded and smiled. “Yeah, okay, message received.” He turned off the video, snapped a last picture of Gabe and pocketed the iPhone. As everyone began filing into the house, he walked over to Gabe, grabbed the bottom of her towel, which she clutched more tightly, and dried his face and shoulder. “You could have just asked.”
She smiled. “Yes, but this way was more fun.”
“Uh huh.” He returned to the chair, picked up her top, walked back to her and held it out. “I think this is yours.”
“Yes, looks like mine.” She reached out for it but he suddenly pulled it back and stood staring at it.
“Took me three years,” he gazed into her eyes and smiled, “but I finally came up with a way to get this off you.”
Gabe giggled. “I didn’t know you’d been trying.”
Alone now on the patio, Jeff dropped the top in a chair, grabbed her around her waist, and smiled softly. “Well, it hasn’t been a high priority, but it’s crossed my mind from time to time.”
She pressed against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Really?”
“Uh huh.”
“You know, there is an easier way.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
She whispered, “You could just ask.”
“Would it work?”
She gazed into his eyes, bit her lip, and began panting softly, her breasts rising and falling with each breath. “You’ll never know until you try.”
Jeff nodded. “Well, when the time comes, I’ll ask.”
She smiled softly. “When the time comes, you won’t have to.”
He kissed her, passionately, while running his hands up and down her bare back.
After a minute, their lips parted and Gabe just stood, eyes closed, mouth open, gasping for air. She licked her lips and slowly opened her eyes. “You can do that whenever you like.”
He kissed her again.
She sighed softly, rested her head on his shoulder and, for a long moment, embraced him.
Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) Page 52
