" He said to Furry, "And I did miss you so." He said to Furry, "And I did miss you so." "You look tired," Furry observed, stating the obvious. "I am," Nickolai replied with exasperation. "Exhausted even." He looked at his watch. "Shiptime, it's nearly 2400 hours, and I've been so nervous I couldn't take a nap all day." "Let's get you to bed, then." She took his hand and smiled. "That's the best invitation I've had all year." Garth, on the other hand, had reservations looking for expression. "Um, shouldn't I be finding the tour and getting my hotel room ready?" "You don't want to stay with me?" Furry asked, breaking her starry-eyed mutual stare with Nickolai. "I've got two spare rooms right now. Mom and Dad are off-world for the next decade or so." "Um..." "Come on," Furry encouraged him. "It'll be fun. You don't have to go with the tour." She reached out and took Garth's hand in hers. "You won't get into any trouble, okay? Look, it's just what I did with Nickolai two years ago, and he didn't get into any trouble. I mean, other than that he got stabbed and fell in love with me." "That second part was very troubling," Nickolai added, laughing. "You're sure I won't get into trouble?" Garth didn't sound convinced. "Positive," Furry said. "It's perfectly legal. I'll even teach you how to use the SDisk system. Or maybe Kiza will. I dunno. It's late. Come on." Garth looked around, took a deep breath to mirror one of Nickolai's, and nodded. "Lead me to my doom," he smiled. "Wonderful!" Furry said. "This way!" She lead them down a corridor that widened after about two minutes of walking; along one wall six white circles, each about five meters across, waited for passengers. |