Page 10 of Searching the Skies
When the lights came back on for intermission, she caught Marcus staring at her and she glanced in his direction. “What do you think?” he asked.
“It’s…nice,” she said, struggling to maintain eye contact.
“You’re not enjoying it.”
“I am.”
“Geneva…”
“The music is wonderful. I’m enjoying it very much.” She exhaled. “I’m just used to activities that are more…well, active.”
He stared at her for a few silent moments, his dark eyes and full lips giving no indication as to his thoughts. “Would you like to go do something else?” he finally asked.
She considered the best way to respond. “If you’d rather stay here, I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want you to be any more miserable than you’ve already been.” He pushed a small button on the device encircling his wrist. “Come on, let’s go.”
Marcus ushered her out of the theater to where his car waited, summoned by his command. After he whispered a few words to the driver, they climbed inside. Once they took their seats, the electric vehicle plummeted into the space between the theater and the adjacent building. When it stopped moving, Geneva discovered they’d parked on an actual street at the bottom of the city, a place she knew existed in Triayda but had never seen for herself. Her escort seemed unperturbed and, taking her by the hand, strode through a door at the base of one of the immense skyscrapers.
The small pub was mostly empty, though it was hard to tell for sure in the dim blue light. Marcus nodded to the middle-aged man wiping down the bar and headed for a booth in the back of the room. He sat down, and Geneva slid in across from him, looking around wide-eyed and taking in her surroundings. “I didn’t think places like this were even allowed on Pasurea,” she said. “We might be overdressed.”
He loosened his bowtie. “There aren’t enough people in here to care.”
“True.” She folded her shawl and placed it on the seat next to her. “My mother would be horrified if she knew we were here.”
“I figured you would love it for this precise reason.”
Geneva laughed for the first time since arriving on the planet she had once called home. “And to think, all day I heard nothing but her testimonials about what a ‘nice boy’ you were. So polite, so respectable, so…utterly boring.”
He smirked. “I can’t be drinking expensive cocktails in the fancy clubs every single night.Thatwould get boring. Though I’m sure your mother would like to believe as soon as I get home from work, I tuck myself into bed with a glass of water and some bland reading material until I doze off.”
She nodded. It felt good to smile. “Probably.”
Marcus laughed with her, but as he trailed off, he tilted his head to the side and frowned. “Is that why you left?” he asked softly. “Because you were bored here?”
“No, not quite.” She rested her chin on one hand as she pondered his question. “Well, maybe, in a way. I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay.” Two full glasses arrived at their table, and she swirled around the ice in hers with a straw. “I didn’t feel like myself here. Which sounds stupid because who knows who they are when they’re eighteen, right? But I saw everything around me, the people around me, and I knew who I was supposed to become. And it wasn’t the future I wanted.”
“I don’t think it sounds stupid.” He lifted his glass to his mouth and swallowed. “I think it’s admirable what you did. Not a lot of people would have the courage to make such a drastic change.”
She snorted in an unladylike way. “You’re the first person from Pasurea to tell me so. I’m impressed, you even managed to sound convincing.”
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t think it was true.”
A puff of air left her lips. “I’ll feel better if I believe you, so we’ll go with it for now.”
“Well, I’m glad your spirits seem to have improved.” He slipped his jacket off his shoulders, the bright white shirt underneath glowing in the wan lighting. “Though I’m sure a quiet evening with me can’t possibly compare with racing across the galaxies with the Terran military.”
She smirked. “Each has its ups and downs.”
Marcus laughed and took a sip of his drink. “So, what’s it like?” he asked. “Living out in space, seeing different worlds, maintaining control of our ever-expanding empire…”
“Some days there’s a lot of downtime. Other days, I go on assignments where I’m not sure if I’ll make it back alive. And, of course, there’s a lot of middle ground.” Despite her cold drink, warmth flowed through her. “But it’s been fascinating to see what life is like outside the Enegar system.”
“Are you glad you joined?”