The Lost Ship of the Tucker Rebellion - Marie Sexton Page 0,23
Poppy both turned to gape at her in shock, Poppy’s astonished expression turning quickly to delight. It was Denver who spoke first, though.
“What?”
Marit’s cheeks were red, but she met his eyes. “I said I’ll do it.”
Denver grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her seat, to the corner of the room. Poppy could probably still hear them, but she smiled and turned away, granting them a semblance of privacy, secure in the knowledge that she’d won.
“You don’t have to do this,” he whispered. “It’s not worth that.”
Marit smiled nervously at him and squeezed his fingers reassuringly. “It’s fine. I’m a big girl. And it’s…” She cleared her throat and moved closer, speaking so softly, he barely heard her. “It’s not like if it was Tonlet, you know?” She glanced at Poppy once before meeting his gaze. Her cheeks were still red, but she didn’t flinch. “She won’t hurt me. She won’t even shame me over it. She’ll be decent about it. I know she will.”
Denver sighed, realizing his mistake. As far as he knew, Marit hadn’t been with anybody since her wife had died more than four years earlier. Not that he’d ever asked her how she spent her free time on the station—maybe she’d had flings here and there—but the idea of spending the night with Poppy obviously wasn’t as abhorrent as he’d thought. He’d assumed she’d feel like a whore, but she looked more like a teenager anticipating her first big date.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” She turned back to Poppy, releasing Denver’s hand as she did. “I feel like I should go back to the Jiminy first—”
“No need, honey,” Poppy said, standing. She fished a key card from her pocket and handed it across to Marit. “Go to my place. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll only be another hour or two.”
Marit’s fingers shook as she took the key, but she nodded. “I will.”
Poppy turned to Denver. “I’ll send her back to the Jiminy tomorrow morning with all the information you’ll need.”
And so even though he hated himself for doing it, Denver walked out of Poppy’s office.
Alone.
Chapter Five
Denver wandered through the crowds of Titan X feeling lonelier than ever. Laramie was off with Ginn. Marit was… well, better not to think about exactly what Marit might be doing right now. And here Denver was, all by himself on the busiest station in the system.
He debated finding a whore for about a minute flat but decided against it. The half hour of distraction was never worth the empty, hollow feeling in his gut when it was all over.
A friend? He had precious few these days. Johnson, an old pal from the orphanage, was the only person who came to mind. Denver spent an hour or so tracking down his living quarters, only to be told by his wife that she’d kicked the bastard out weeks ago and had no idea where he was. As far as she knew, he’d jumped station and was never coming back.
So much for that.
Denver stopped at a sidewalk cafe for dinner, washing it down with a beer, then ordered another. He nursed the second one, leaning back in his seat to scan the street. He eyed the painted prostitutes, and the doe-eyed, way-too-young male hustlers, the pimps and johns and thieves. None of them had what Denver wanted, but he knew it was only a matter of time before one wandered by.
There.
A scraggly haired person of indeterminate gender, occupying a doorway midway down the street. As Denver watched, a man in his twenties approached. They spoke for a few minutes before the goods changed hands and the man went on his way, his step a bit lighter.
Denver hadn’t had a hit of Rave in more than a year. He wouldn’t quite call it an addiction, but he enjoyed the drug way too much to indulge in it often. He knew from experience one hit was never enough, but it was a dark road to start down. The drug was technically illegal, but like so many other things, it wasn’t policed. The government was happy enough to leave the gutters of Titan X crawling with vermin, fighting over each little scrap of pleasure. Letting vice run rampant was a convenient way of keeping all eyes off Mars.
Laramie hated when Denver used Rave.
Denver paid his bill and turned away from the dealer, directing his feet back toward the Jiminy instead. The false light of Titan X afternoon was giving way to a twilight that was just as unnatural.