by Kate Rudolph
“Okay, what?” It came out harsher than she intended and Red’s shoulders slumped.
Grandma Sylvie’s face got soft, compassion oozing out of every pore. She came up close to Red and rubbed her shoulders, hugging her to her side. “I’m sorry for the teasing. Did it scare that nice boy away?”
Red glanced at the clock on her tablet and saw that she and Wood had been closer to two hours than her allowed one. No doubt her grandma had been counting the minutes until she returned, wanting all of the gossip. She knew very well that Wood hadn’t been scared off. “He was the perfect gentleman,” Red retorted. If the doors hadn’t been automatic she was sure he would have held them open for her, just like men did in ancient movies.
“A little too gentlemanly?” her grandma shot back, too perceptive for Red’s peace of mind.
“He held my hand.” She grinned as she said it, the warmth of his touch still imprinted on her skin. “And it’s just so easy to talk with him.” She hadn’t realized how long they’d lingered in the cafeteria until they were the only people left and the cleaning bots came out to start flipping service over for the oncoming dinner rush. “He even figured out my favorite color!”
“But he hasn’t kissed you or taken you to bed?”
Red really didn’t want to talk that over with her grandmother, but it wasn’t like she had anyone else. She’d left a good group of friends back on Earth, but in the two years since she’d moved to Mars, they’d lost touch. Communication wasn’t always easy between planets and her old friends had life to get on with. Red might have made other friends on the colony if she ever stuck her head out of the greenhouse, but other than her grandmother and Wood, that didn’t seem to be happening. So she was stuck talking to her grandmother about her sexual frustration and hoping she didn’t collapse into a pile of embarrassed mush before the conversation ended. “Sometimes he’s really hard to read,” she lamented. “I’ll think he’s looking at me like he’s going to suggest we go watch a vid or get coffee in his quarters, you know, it’s code for…”
“Your generation aren’t the first to come up with euphemisms,” Grandma Sylvie reassured her, patting her shoulder before leaning back to sit on one of the stools.
“Okay, so vids, coffee, he really looks like he’s ready. And I’ve tried to make it clear without flat out saying it that I’d be up for it. I’ve mentioned when I have a late morning scheduled, or when I have a day off. And then he backs off!” She threw her hands up in frustration and almost dropped the tablet before setting it down gently. She was twenty-four years old. She knew what a man looked like when he wanted her, and Wood had given her all the signs. So what was the hold up?
Her grandma had a contemplative look on her face. “Has it occurred to you that he’d like you to invite him to your quarters for… ahem… coffee?”
Red’s face heated and she wanted to hide her head in her hands. “I’ve never…” she couldn’t finish it.
“Had coffee?” her grandma prompted gently.
“No!” Red’s gaze shot to her grandma. “Definitely, I’ve had coffee! Or, wait, now I’m confused.” She shook her head and took a deep breath. “It’s just that, the guys I’ve dated before, they always asked me. I don’t know how to ask.”
She’d never known that a grandmother could look so relieved to learn that her grandchild had been sexually active. “Is there someone else you’ve seen him with? I’ve kept my eyes open, but the only person I’ve heard him spending any significant amount of time with is you.”
Red shook her head. The Henderson twins had come in for a cup of coffee while they were talking, and though Bree and Robbie had stopped to say hi, Wood hadn’t spared either of them a second glance as they left. If he wasn’t looking at either of the Henderson twins, he wasn’t looking at anyone else. “No, I don’t think so.”
Her grandma made a sound of frustration, as if she couldn’t imagine how she and Red were related. “Then ask him out. Do you think I get such cute boyfriends by just sitting around and looking pretty? Pfft. Those boys don’t know what hit ‘em.”
“I’m not that brave.” What if he said no? There were only a thousand people in the colony. It wasn’t like she could avoid him forever and pretend it never happened.
“You moved to an entirely different planet, my dear. You’re plenty brave.” She kissed Red’s forehead before standing up and surveying the greenhouse around them. “Maybe you just need some flirting practice.”
“Flirting isn’t the problem.” Once she and Wood got going, the banter flowed like water in a river.
“Are you sure? Why don’t you go try it on him?” She pointed towards the security screen, where a man in a dark outfit sat on a bench in the part of Greenhouse One that was designated as a small park for residents of the colony. There wasn’t much that could be messed up in that area without deliberate sabotage, and many residents were able to rest and recharge around the only greenery they’d be able to see while they lived on Mars.
“Who is that?” Red leaned in and tried to get a better look. She zoomed in the vid and shuddered when she realized who she was looking at. “Wolf? No thank you. He’s creepy.”
“He’s cute.”
Red shook her head at her grandma. No way. Wolf was another newcomer to the colony; he’d come about a week after Wood. He even looked a bit like him, with that predator’s mien and brown eyes. But where Wood made her feel safe when she sat in his shadow, Wolf was the hunter. She feared if she was alone with him, he’d try and devour her whole.
“What’s he even doing here?” she asked.
“Sitting?” Her grandma didn’t seem nearly as concerned as Red thought she should be.
“Doesn’t he have small children to terrify?” He had the look of a man who liked to hear people scream.
“There aren’t any small children here, dearest. And even if he looks a little… dangerous, I’m sure he’s fine. You know how rigorous the screenings are before they allow anyone up here. No one wants any trouble.” A notification on another monitor beeped, drawing her grandma away. Red couldn’t stop staring at the image of Wolf on the screen.
She rarely saw the man. She wasn’t sure what his job was, but whatever he did, it was far away from the greenhouses. Usually they only passed one another in the hallways when she was heading back to her quarters. And that was strange enough. Her hours were odd compared to the rest of the colony and they shouldn’t have reason to overlap with his. On those days when they did, she always had that creepy crawly sense of something climbing up her neck before they ran into one another. It was probably just a coincidence, but that didn’t mean that she was happy to see the man in her territory.
And Wood didn’t like him either, not that she needed to know his opinion to make one for herself. Sure, she wanted him to make the first move, that didn’t mean that she needed him to tell her how to think.
She could remember the only time she’d seen the two of them together. It had been about two weeks after Wolf arrived and just before she and Wood had started to frequently get their lunches together. She’d been outside the commissary to stock up on things, when she heard the two men arguing in harsh whispers in a recessed corner.
“What do you think you’re doing?” That was Wood, but he’d said he would be busy tonight. Red wondered what he was doing there and why he sounded so angry. He’d always been so even, so pleasant, around her. She’d never heard him riding the edge of rage.
“I have just as much right as you. There’s no claim, is there?” Wolf’s voice dripped like honey, viscous enough to drown in and too cloying for Red’s taste.
“We’re not doing that. Not here.” Did the two of them somehow know each other? Neither had mentioned it.
“There’s no escaping it.”
Something happened then, a dull thud and scuffling. Red thought she heard a growl and it sent a shiver down her spine. She was frozen in place, unsure if she should run to her room or run to get security. By the time she managed to take
a step the sounds had faded. She gathered up her courage and rounded the corner, prepared to see two bloodied men ready for another round. Instead, Wood stood there, perfectly composed. She must not have heard what she thought. She’d seen the aftermath of a fight before, and he didn’t have a hair out of place.
“Red.” He sounded surprised.
“Wood. Is everything alright? I thought I heard you talking to that Wolf guy.” She must not have kept the scowl off her face, judging by the look Wood shot at her.
“He’s trouble.”
She agreed. “Here’s to hoping he stays far away from the greenhouses.”
Wood offered her a smile, but it looked forced. After a moment his expression cleared and something seemed to settle in his eyes. “Would you like to get lunch tomorrow?”
She grinned. “That sounds great!”
They’d parted shortly after talking for a few minutes, but Red couldn’t remember what they’d discussed. Not Wolf. He was forgotten. But Wood’s opinion of him had stuck in her head. She glanced back at the security screen and was relieved to see that the bench Wolf had been sitting on was now empty. He wasn’t on any of the other security screens either, which meant he wasn’t in the greenhouse. Thank the heavens. Red had one confusing man to deal with, she didn’t want to add a creepy man on top of that.
She put Wolf out of her mind and returned to her work. She’d need to go and get her hands dirty a little later and she couldn’t wait, but if she didn’t have the numbers down first she’d regret it. She loved digging her fingers in the soil—it was like feeling the life of the whole colony surrounding her—but that didn’t mean she wanted to stretch a two hour long job into four due to a lack of preparation. The men faded from her thoughts as she worked, and by the time she went deeper into the greenhouse, all she was wondering was how she could get up the courage to invite Wood back to her room and if he’d follow her if she asked.
Chapter Three
Red didn’t see Wood at all over the next two days and she saw entirely too much of her grandmother, who asked her how things were coming alone with her young beau every chance she got. Red was pretty sure that Grandma Sylvie had decided the best route to get Red to make the first move was to annoy her so much that she’d jump the man just to get her grandma off her back. It was the stuff all great romances were made of, she was sure. But Wood must have been busy and no matter how obsessed she was with Red’s love life, her grandma had her own work to do, which finally left Red blessedly alone to check on her flowers.
She wasn’t hiding. Adults didn’t hide. But if the thick growth of blooms obscured her from view of the doors and protected her from being spotted by feisty septuagenarians, then who was she to complain? She was waffling between sending a bouquet of flowers to Wood’s room or messaging him with an invite to dinner when she heard the door open. Red’s heart flipped and she bit her lip, hoping the object of her affections was coming by. The last time she’d been in to check on the flowers, he’d asked her to lunch. Maybe this section of the greenhouse was lucky and she could move their little relationship forward.
But the shiver that crawled up her spine and made her stomach drop warned her that Wood wasn’t her visitor. And even before she stood up, out of the safety of her hiding place and into sight of the security cameras and the door, she knew it would be Wolf. He was a few years older than Wood, closing in on forty when she doubted Wood was much past thirty. Shallow lines at his eyes made him look focused and intense, like he’d weathered storms and come out rougher. Battered but not defeated. His resemblance to Wood meant that, if Red was being honest, she couldn’t say that he wasn’t handsome. But there was something about him, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on that tipped him over the line from gorgeous to dangerous. And not temptingly dangerous, just the stay away kind. No one else in the colony set her instincts on edge like he did, no one else had her casting a desperate look towards the exit and wondering whether she’d make it in time if he decided to turn violent.
The predator smiled at her when he spotted her, and his grin got even wider when he realized they were alone. The greenhouses were short staffed and it was rare that two botanists would be in one at the same time by coincidence. Now Red wished for her grandmother’s presence even as part of her was glad that she wasn’t anywhere near Wolf. She didn’t trust the newcomer as far as she could throw him and the longer he stayed away from her people the better.
“Are you the one who tends the blooms?” Wolf asked, running a gentle finger along the petals of one of the nasturtiums.
“Don’t touch those,” she snapped. When Wood did it, she trusted him not to harm the plants and she loved looking at the delicate way his hands caressed her hard work. She was worried Wolf was going to dive in and dig up the plants until there was nothing but a dead mess of flowers and soil.
“Beauty like this isn’t meant to remain untouched,” he said, not moving his hands away. “It must be appreciated before it withers.”
Ew ew ew. There was no way he was talking about the flowers. Red didn’t try and stop the scowl that crossed her face. Maybe if he thought her beauty (ew, gross) had withered he’d finally leave her alone. “Appreciate it from afar,” she said, her voice cold. “I work hard on those and I don’t want them ruined.”
His smile turned to her, far too many teeth, his eyes glinting. “I wouldn’t ruin you.”
Her stomach roiled and Red’s breakfast threatened to make another showing. If Wood had been saying these things to her, she might have been dancing for joy. Wolf made them all sound like a threat, made her want to run away and not look back. “We’re talking about the flowers.” She put as much steel into her voice as she could muster.
“Are we?”
“You’re done talking about anything.” Wood’s voice rang through the room like a bell, drowning out everything else until Red was sure of her safety.
She smiled at him, bright and relieved, even when she saw the dangerous look on his face. He looked a little more like Wolf, his eyes darker and his body coiled like he was ready to pounce, ready to defend her. On Wolf, it terrified her. On Wood, she just wanted to step closer into the heat of his presence. “Hey,” she said. “I didn’t realize you were coming by today.”
A sound rumbled out of Wolf, almost like a growl. He stood beside the nasturtiums and vibrated with contained energy. Though Wood had come in to defend her, Red stepped in front of him. She wasn’t letting a fight happen on her turf, especially not over her. She wouldn’t want Wolf in a million years, and she’d call security before she let him lay a hand on Wood. Wood tried to step around her, to keep her out of Wolf’s path, but she stayed in front, defending her territory and her man as best she could.
If only he would figure out that he was her man.
“It’s time for you to go,” she told Wolf, braver now that she had back up. She wasn’t going to let the men fight, not if she could stop it, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t happy to know that someone was there to defend her from an attack.
“I’ve got as much right as him to be here!” Wolf insisted.
Red’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s here by my invitation. This area is restricted. If you want greenery, go to Greenhouse One. Otherwise, get out.” She stared him down and didn’t even flinch when he tilted his head and the light caught his eyes, reflecting back at her. She didn’t know what kind of enhancement that was and she didn’t care. She just wanted him gone.
Wolf shifted his gaze over her shoulder until he was looking at Wood, challenge in his eyes. “You know my rights,” he said.
Red was lost. They all had the same rights as anyone, the rights of the residents of Mandela Colony. She wanted to glance back at Wood to see if he understood what Wolf was talking about, but taking her eyes off of Wolf didn’t seem like a good idea, not when she was certain he was just waiting to spring at them. So she kept staring and Wood remained a silent sentinel behind her. With a huff, Wolf backed down and turned on his heel, leaving the
m alone in the greenhouse. She didn’t sink down in relief until the main door closed and she and Wood were alone. Then all the strength went out of her and she unconsciously sank back against Wood and he wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling.
“Does he come here often?” he asked, leading her to a nearby chair and helping her sit. He took the seat beside her and grabbed one of her shaking hands.
Red was suddenly cold, awash with adrenaline with no outlet. “No, that was the first time,” she said. “At least the first time he’s cornered me like that. He was in the public greenhouse yesterday.”
Wood’s breathing was suspiciously even, like he was making a great effort not to curse. “You should stay away from him.” He let out a huff of breath and pulled back, taking his hand and his warmth with him. “I have no right to say that, to make that claim. I should go.”
He made to stand and Red had enough. She reached out and covered one of his hands with her own. “I wish you would,” she said. “Make a claim, that is. You’re amazing. And hot. And smart. And funny. God, Wood, isn’t it obvious?”
He sat so still that Red feared she’d broken him. She’d finally said her piece, finally taken that step, and he’d turned into a statue. Maybe she’d been right to be hesitant, maybe he really didn’t want her, despite all the signs. She tried to pull her hand back, ready to go on with the rest of her day, but Wood flipped his hand over and laced their fingers together, holding her in place. Right where she wanted to be.
“You don’t know what that means.” He said the words as if they stabbed him with every syllable, slowly and articulately, gravel in his throat.
“We’re both adults, aren’t we? It means that we like each other and want to see where things go. I’m not asking for your hand in marriage or anything.” She barely cut off a not yet from slipping out. If he was already freaked out, she wasn’t going to scare him away from where this road could take them. Not that she was picking out wedding colors or anything—though green and gold would look great with his coloring—but something just felt so right about the thought of him and her. Maybe it wouldn’t be forever, despite her dreaming, but didn’t they owe it to themselves to explore the possibility?
