Space Is Warm: An Interstellar Lesbian Romance by Carie Green

Author:Carie Green [Green, Carie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-15T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

There was a renewed energy in Kallie’s work as she bustled around the hydroponics bay that afternoon. It couldn’t exactly be called a spring in her step, and she still felt a dull ache around her eye sockets that told her she’d be out in a wink when she finally went to bed, but there was a vigor that came with her decision to make another attempt at socializing with Keiko. Their first two dinners together hadn’t been the smoothest; but as the old saying went, third time’s the charm.

To aid her dinner plans, Kallie harvested enough fruit from the hydroponics bay for a whole fruit salad. It didn’t dangerously deplete their stocks, but she definitely couldn’t get away with making fruit salad too often. It would be a nice change of pace from the primarily vegetable based dinners they often had, and Kallie was counting on that to aid her efforts in winning a pleasant evening.

With the hydroponics bay well cared for and a basket full of fruit, Kallie headed for the galley around her usual time. She set the basket on the counter, stopped to inhale the sweet scent of fresh fruit, and activated the intercom with a connection to the engine bay. It was possible Keiko was in the vehicle bay or one of the cargo holds, but Keiko never seemed to be far from the engine. “Crewman Tanaka?” She called into the intercom. “Keiko, are you there?”

Sure enough, the intercom crackled only moments later. “Keiko here,” Keiko’s static garbled voice came through. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, though you sound garbled.”

“I’m working on a system that messes with the intercom,” Keiko explained. “What do you need?”

“Well, there was a lot of fruit that needed to be harvested today,” Kallie said. It was mostly true. “I’m making fruit salad for dinner. Care to join me in about half an hour?”

“I’m sorry Kallie, I can’t,” Keiko’s staticky voice barked back. “There’s a slight issue with the engines. Nothing serious, but I can’t just leave them until I’m done.”

“Oh.” Kallie felt as if she were physically shriveling. She’d had so much determination for her fresh attempt at socialization, she’d never considered what to do if Keiko said no to dinner. “I see.”

“I’m sorry,” Keiko repeated, and she indeed sounded apologetic; as much as she could through the static, anyway. “The engines are messing with my intercom and starting to affect each other. Don’t worry, I’ll have it fixed, but I can’t leave it waiting. Maybe we can eat together another time?”

“Sure, I’d like that,” Kallie replied. “Good luck with the engines. Be safe.”

“I appreciate that,” Keiko said. A moment later, the intercom disconnected. Kallie shut off her own intercom and let out a deep sigh.

“I can’t believe I never thought of this,” she muttered, shaking her head and trudging back to the counter. “What if she says no? Such an obvious consideration…” She washed her hands and began to prepare the fruit salad anyway. With the fruit picked, she had

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