Suri’s Sure Thing – Chapter 11

The shuttle roars down the runway and takes off at blinding speed. I’m used to it now, but it’s always hard on the newbies. Someone a few rows in front of us screams and another person grunts. An unsecured bag rolls down the aisle, and the flight attendant comes over the speakers to remind everyone of where the air sickness bags are. I chuckle under my breath. Amateurs.

I never thought I’d see Erik turn green. He has an iron stomach, the kind that laughs at alcohol and greasy food. And he rarely shows fear. Never a flinch. I’ve only once seen him sick, though he’s nursed me through plenty of awful hangovers.

His hand squeezes mine so hard I hiss. He can’t hear it over the scream of the engines as we ascend into orbit. He should thank the gods that we’re not still sending people into space on the backs of giant rockets. He would never have made it.

I look down at our hands clasped together and marvel at the fact that he took my hand so easily to get on the flight. We rarely touch, and there’s been more than usual lately. He’s always been a gentleman about keeping his hands to himself. We spot each other at the gym, or he will occasionally hug me, but otherwise, he’s consistently been hands-off. The hugs the other night and now this? This is something new.

“Brace yourself. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.” I watch him as he pushes into the chair and starts steadily breathing.

“Shit, Suri. How do you do this all the time?” His voice vibrates with the shaking of the shuttle.

“Because it’s over before you know it.”

The shuttle engines quiet as the atmosphere gives way, and we coast into the vacuum of space. A pencil floats by, and Erik watches it tumble end over end with wide eyes.

Though he’s never been into space, we’re both classified level B employees of the Interstellar Agency, and we can go into orbit whenever there’s room on the shuttles. Most of the other project managers like Erik come up to orbit a few times per year to check on the physical progress of their projects. But this is something Erik has repeatedly avoided. He always said space wasn’t for him.

He looks down at our hands clasped together, my white fingers, and lightens his grip. “Sorry. Did I hurt you?”

I shake my head with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. I can’t believe you’re going into orbit. If you hate it so much, why did you apply to the I.A. anyway?”

He closes his eyes and swallows once. “Because you did. I wanted to work with you.”

“You did? I always figured it was just the best job in town.”

“It is, but I wouldn’t have applied if you hadn’t.” His face is pale, but his smile returns. “Look at what I’m willing to do for you,” he says with a chuckle. He closes his eyes and pushes his head into the seat. “I would do anything for you,” he mumbles.

My heart is as light as zero gravity. This is a side of Erik I’ve never seen.

“How long will it be till we make it to the ship?” he asks.

“About an hour. We’ll circle Orihimé once and speed up to reach a higher orbit.” His eyebrows pull together. “Orbital mechanics. You don’t just get into space and shoot off wherever you want.”

“You’re so smart.” His voice is touched with a hint of awe. He’s often said that I was ‘the smart one’ in my family, but sigh… I have been dumber than a box of rocks lately.

“I’m not feeling very smart at the moment. I let myself go out on a date with Leo again like something had magically changed about him. I got stupid drunk. I tried to kiss you and got shot down. I defied my father. And then! Then! I made myself homeless. Smart? I don’t think so.”

“Did I shoot you down?” he asks, turning towards me. “I think I asked you if you really meant it.”

“What is that supposed to mean, anyway? You confused the hell out of me.”

He sighs as he squeezes my hand. “How long have you known me now, Suri? Come on. How many years have we been friends?”

I remember the first time we met in college. He was the smiling and quiet guy next to exciting and vibrant Leo, the guy I could just hang out with and never have to worry about where I stood or how fun I was. He accepted me, faults and all, whereas Leo broke up with me every time I wanted something different from him. Erik was always the one who stood by me.

“Seven years.”

“And in all those seven years, have I ever played with your feelings? Asked you things I didn’t want answers to?”

I swallow, realizing the error I’ve made. “No. You’ve always been forthright.”

His voice drops. “Then tell me, did you mean it?”

I inhale and close my eyes. “Yes. Yes, I meant it.”

“See. That wasn’t so hard. If you had said so then, who knows what would have happened?”

Maybe we would have kissed, even slept together, and I would have stayed with him instead of rushing out and ending my relationship with my father. I may have even felt that high of a first date that keeps you from making rash decisions, like moving out of your house or zooming up to space at the last moment.

A fire burns in my belly, and I close my eyes to picture a flash of skin, his lips on mine, my hands skirting over his runner’s ass. Oh no. I’m in no shape to be having these kinds of thoughts about Erik.

I pop my eyes open and inhale, trying to force the wave of lust away. Now is not the time, Suri. Looking around, I check the people in front of us, but they are either staring into space, literally, or they have headphones on now. We secured the back row to ourselves.

“Erik, what are you doing here, really? I’m questioning your sanity.”

“I’m questioning it myself.” He leans forward to peer out a nearby window as Orihimé’s deep cerulean waters come into view. “Wow.”

I love this moment when people see their planet from above for the first time.

“We live on a beautiful world,” I say, leaning over him to see too.

He squeezes my hand once before turning away from the window.

“You said you love me.”

I draw in a quick breath and turn my eyes away from him.

“Why did you keep that from me for so long?” he asks.

“It’s stupid —”

“Hey,” he says, jerking my hand. “Remember what I just said about you being smart.”

“I figured you always thought of me as Leo’s ex and a friend, but that was it. I wasn’t sure how I felt until recently. And it’s okay if you don’t return my feelings,” I assure him. “You don’t have to do or say anything for fear of ruining our friendship if that’s all you want. Your friendship is the most important thing to me in this universe, and I don’t want to jeopardize that.”

He is special to me and has been for some time. I know all about his family, his parents, and his ancestors, where they lived, and the food they ate. He had a Japanese great-grandma who never left the domes of Nishikyō back on Earth, and it’s apparent in the shape of his face. The wildness of his hair and the color of his skin are from the South American influence too. When he stares at me like this, I can see the different familial influences on him. I love it.

“I know what I want,” he says, not letting go of my hand. “I was in love with you when you were with Leo. But I put those feelings aside for years to give you something more than just another rebound relationship. I —”

He jerks his leg, and his eyes widen, panic setting in fast.

“What?” I ask, letting go of his hand. Is he seizing? “What’s wrong?” I ask.

He leans forward. “Oh my gods…” he whispers.

There below us, under the seats, are two faces I never thought I’d see on the shuttle.

“Hi, Suri! Hi hi hi hi.” Finn’s grin is a mile wide. “I don’t know what’s going on. Or why I feel so different. What was all the shaking?”

“Oh no. How did you sneak in here?” I ask Finn, keeping my voice low. “Haven’t I told you a million times not to go places you’re not allowed?”

His ears flatten back. “Sorry, sorry, Suri. Everyone was going inside. We thought we’d go too. Tsuki said it was probably fine.”

I sit up and take a deep breath. These dogs will be the death of me.

“I felt a cold nose on the back of my ankle, and I knew we were in trouble,” Erik whispers. “What are we going to do?”

“Good question. And whatever happens now, you need to have a stern talk with Tsuki when we get back on the ground about not leading Finn astray.”

He laughs, throwing his head back. “She blamed it on Finn.”

“Of course she did.” I lean over again and stare at Tsuki. She dips her head down, plainly guilty.

These two dogs together are quite the handful. Tsuki loves to get Finn into trouble, and Finn is too dumb sometimes to know when he’s being taken advantage of. But he’s a good time, and he gives Tsuki a run for her money when we’re out on the beach. They’re an odd couple.

I straighten up, look at Erik’s exasperated face, and burst into a laugh. The giggles rise out of my belly so fast and furious that my eyes tear. The tears collect over my eyes until I blink them away into little orbs that float away across the seats. Erik watches them go with awe, but he’s having trouble containing his own laughter at the situation.

“Everything okay here?”

Oh! I startle as a flight attendant I recognize floats over to us. I hope the dogs stay where they are. “Everything’s fine. Just feeling a little silly right now.”

She nods and smiles. “Zero-g makes people loopy sometimes. But I know you’ve done this a million times already.”

“Yeah. Erik just said something funny, is all.” I jerk my thumb at him, and he raises his hands.

“Sorry,” he says. “It’s my first time in space.”

“Welcome then!” Her smile broadens. “You’re doing much better than these guys in front of you. Got a few pukers already.”

“Ew. Sorry,” I say, craning my head to see the rows in front of us.

“No problem. I’m used to it. Well, feel free to relax. We’re due at the Shōnagon in about forty minutes.”

She drifts off, and when she’s far enough away, I lean over to look at the dogs again.

“Okay, you two, you need to be quiet and stay out of sight, or we’re going to be in major trouble.”

“Okay, Suri. Sorry Sorry.” Finn’s ears are still pressed against his head.

“What are we going to do?” Erik asks, taking a deep breath.

“Hold on.” I pull my mini-tablet out of the seat pocket in front of me and access the shuttle schedule. Damn. “Well, I thought maybe we could just stay onboard and say we need to go back down, but that’s not going to happen. This shuttle is continuing to spacedock for a week. Usually, we don’t fly these big shuttles, so I’m not surprised. We’ll have to proceed to the Shōnagon and wait for a shuttle to come and take the next shift back to the surface.” I scroll through the schedule. “It looks like we can expect that in six hours.”

“Can we hide them until then?” Erik asks. His face falls into a frown. “I don’t want us to get fired. You, especially, need this job.”

“I know. Let me think about it.” I tap my finger on my chin. Where can we hide these little rascals until it’s time to return? And how will we get them back to solid ground without them being noticed?

Oh! I know the answer to the first question.

“I have the perfect place to hide them.” I blow out a relieved breath as I reach over and squeeze his hand. “It’s okay. We’ve got this.”