Dark Hysteria: Cyborg Shifters #8 by Lucas Naomi

Author:Lucas, Naomi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-09T16:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

Alexa fingered the soft material of the dress. It slipped across her hand like flowing water. She didn’t have anything like it in her wardrobe—she’d never owned anything so nice, let alone own a dress at all. She had no need for one growing up, and so never had a reason to own one.

She didn’t need one now either. Maybe later, maybe someday.

Alexa dropped her hand and she moved onto the next store where activewear and standard-issue space uniforms were being sold. She needed new clothes, but not a dress, and especially not the silky green one in the last shop.

Making her way toward the discounted stuff, she checked the time on her wristcon.

Eighteen hundred standard shift hours. She had thirty more minutes to waste before she had to meet up with Pigeon and Raul at Termite, a bar Pigeon insisted they all go to for a drink. She didn’t want to go and had no intention of getting a drink, but anywhere was better than being on the ship.

She grabbed a couple of packs of medium shirts, pants, and a sweater for something to wear when she needed to pretend to be cold. And socks. She couldn’t forget socks. Alexa paid for her clothes and ducked out.

For the past two hours, she’d been in and out of stores. She thought—when everyone disembarked to leave the Questor—that she’d just follow one of the other crewmates and join them on their errands. Raul at least would be free, right? But when her boots hit the terminal, they’d all vanished into the crowd, leaving her without a place to go.

That’s fine. Alexa chewed on the inside of her cheek. I shouldn’t have expected company anyway. She was used to it.

It was her fault for getting attached.

Libra wasn’t anything new. The port didn’t have the tri-suns of Elyria, the history of Earth, or the vastness of Titan. It was just a hunk of metal floating through space. Though she was swept away by the noise and Libra's buzzing crowds. Humans from all over the universe swarmed around her. Watching them was surprisingly interesting.

She gave them backstories and wished she was among them, that she was a captain of one of the many ships docked. It would never be, but she liked to pretend.

Alexa glanced at her wristcon again.

She had fifteen minutes until she needed to be at Termite. The bar was at the end of the dock and up the rafters, where people could drink and watch the bustle below at the same time.

She stopped at the last store on her list. The one Alexa had avoided. A lingerie shop. Stringy, lacy garments hung off androids in the front in colors of red, black, and gold. Some had chains, others were made of leather, and still, there was an entire corner where there wasn’t any color at all—only bridal white.

Like anyone’s coming here to buy wedding night undergarments.

Alexa shifted on her feet. Maybe people here are into roleplay. She glanced around uneasily.

She pretended to look at the store beside this one, selling textiles and bolts of cloth.

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