Post by spacedaisy on Mar 3, 2019 7:16:22 GMT
“So they had a husband all picked out for you before you even got there?” Tessa sat on the end of the table, her legs dangling over the side, eating an apple as she chatted with Mari about her experience at the colony.
Mari nodded and took a sip of the coffee with a grimace. It was truly awful stuff, but she hadn’t slept well on her journey back and she could use the caffeine. Tessa considered this thoughtfully, then gave her a mischievous look, “Was he hot?”
A slow grin crept over Mari’s lips and she took a second to blow on the steaming hot liquid in her cup, leaving Tessa waiting for her answer. “He was, wasn’t he?! Come on Mari, dish!”
“Why do you even care? You’re not even into men!”
Tessa swung her feet around to rest on the bench, facing Mari now, “It’s not like I’ve never been with a man. I mean, I can appreciate an attractive man without wanting to fuck him. But honestly,” she leaned forward as she went on, “it’s kind of sexy thinking of you getting all hot and bothered, even if it’s over some guy.” She gave her a sly grin and Mari rolled her eyes. She was by now used to Tessa’s over the top attempts to come on to her.
“Seriously Tessa, why do you want to know this stuff?”
“You’re my friend, why wouldn’t I care about what happened and why you came back?”
Friend. Mari’s gaze wandered down to her coffee again, watching the steam float away from her cup like silky ribbons before dissipating. When she had decided to come back, she had been afraid. Would she still be welcome? Would they even care that she came back? Now hearing the word “friend” from Tessa, she knew she made the right decision. She finally looked back up at the doctor, and said almost bashfully, “Thanks.”
“So really, why did you leave?”
“I didn’t want to live a life someone else had laid out for me. I wanted to choose for myself.”
“You mean you wanted to choose who to love,” Tessa supplied the words she had avoided saying. Mari nodded silently.
“What about saving your race or whatever?”
“They don’t need me. They just needed my genes,” she smiled and took another sip as she watched realization dawn on her friend’s face.
“You donated your eggs. Brilliant! Everyone’s happy! They get to bolster the gene pool of the colony, you get to come home, and Zeke stops being such a dick.” Tessa took another bite of apple while she considered it.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean it’s a win-win-win. You’re happy, they’re happy, we’re happy.”
“No, I get that. What did you mean about Zeke?”
Sliding off the table and tossing her apple core into the reclamator, Tessa looked at Mari, “The whole dancing around each other thing nearly landed you somewhere you didn’t want to be, and left him miserable. I think it’s time to drop it and just be honest. You guys are attracted to each other, it’s not like it’s a secret. Hell, even Rigan can tell.”
Mari’s stomach knotted at Tessa’s words, but she didn’t know what to say. It didn’t matter though, the other woman was heading out the door already anyway. She remarked playfully over her shoulder to Mari just before she left the mess, “But for the record, you'd have a lot more fun with me!”
Mari nodded and took a sip of the coffee with a grimace. It was truly awful stuff, but she hadn’t slept well on her journey back and she could use the caffeine. Tessa considered this thoughtfully, then gave her a mischievous look, “Was he hot?”
A slow grin crept over Mari’s lips and she took a second to blow on the steaming hot liquid in her cup, leaving Tessa waiting for her answer. “He was, wasn’t he?! Come on Mari, dish!”
“Why do you even care? You’re not even into men!”
Tessa swung her feet around to rest on the bench, facing Mari now, “It’s not like I’ve never been with a man. I mean, I can appreciate an attractive man without wanting to fuck him. But honestly,” she leaned forward as she went on, “it’s kind of sexy thinking of you getting all hot and bothered, even if it’s over some guy.” She gave her a sly grin and Mari rolled her eyes. She was by now used to Tessa’s over the top attempts to come on to her.
“Seriously Tessa, why do you want to know this stuff?”
“You’re my friend, why wouldn’t I care about what happened and why you came back?”
Friend. Mari’s gaze wandered down to her coffee again, watching the steam float away from her cup like silky ribbons before dissipating. When she had decided to come back, she had been afraid. Would she still be welcome? Would they even care that she came back? Now hearing the word “friend” from Tessa, she knew she made the right decision. She finally looked back up at the doctor, and said almost bashfully, “Thanks.”
“So really, why did you leave?”
“I didn’t want to live a life someone else had laid out for me. I wanted to choose for myself.”
“You mean you wanted to choose who to love,” Tessa supplied the words she had avoided saying. Mari nodded silently.
“What about saving your race or whatever?”
“They don’t need me. They just needed my genes,” she smiled and took another sip as she watched realization dawn on her friend’s face.
“You donated your eggs. Brilliant! Everyone’s happy! They get to bolster the gene pool of the colony, you get to come home, and Zeke stops being such a dick.” Tessa took another bite of apple while she considered it.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean it’s a win-win-win. You’re happy, they’re happy, we’re happy.”
“No, I get that. What did you mean about Zeke?”
Sliding off the table and tossing her apple core into the reclamator, Tessa looked at Mari, “The whole dancing around each other thing nearly landed you somewhere you didn’t want to be, and left him miserable. I think it’s time to drop it and just be honest. You guys are attracted to each other, it’s not like it’s a secret. Hell, even Rigan can tell.”
Mari’s stomach knotted at Tessa’s words, but she didn’t know what to say. It didn’t matter though, the other woman was heading out the door already anyway. She remarked playfully over her shoulder to Mari just before she left the mess, “But for the record, you'd have a lot more fun with me!”