Chaos Theory (Cosmic Lovely)

Chapter Eight

“Pull the trigger, Bella. The trigger.” Jumping out of his seat, Max marched to his ditsy blonde date and helped her position herself.

Even with him guiding her, she missed the holographic target. Again. Giggling, Christabella fluttered her eyelashes and begged him to show her how the rifle worked. Again.

Kali was going to jump over the console and try to strangle her. Again.

Sitting cross-legged in her neon plastic seat, Kali munched on a dumpling too tasty to be served in a place like this, which is why it wasn’t. She inwardly cringed at the touch table’s menu of fresh LiquiNu cocktails, nasty artificial stuff that was somehow gourmet. Cheeks hollowing as she sucked her straw hard, she checked out the scoreboard. Icy pain bloomed across her forehead, and she rubbed it to ease the brain freeze.

Max, being the enhanced sportsman he was, was in the lead. She was second. Six consecutive hits dead centre couldn’t save Christabella.

A shadow fell on the console. Kali looked up as she took another bite of her dinner. The delivery boy stood over her, head cocked, his gloves held in fisted hands.

He really was built nicely; the lines of his shape appealing to her eyes. She’d always noticed him, and took delight in pondering the mystery of what was under all the dark rawhide. Wide shoulders cut an imposing figure. His brawny torso and long arms looked strong in the armoured leathers. Narrow hips had long, sturdy legs beneath.

Did he forget something? “Problem with the credit transfer?”

He took off his helmet.

Startled, Kali fought not to have a reaction. She failed. Mouth popping open, she gaped at him.

“I’m called Blue,” he said.

The rasp sent a frisson of pleasure across her flesh. A voice had never done that before, made her tingle inside.

Kali put down her cup, and rubbed her hand on her knee to get rid of the condensation from the cold drink. With an uncertain smile, she offered it to him. “An introduction between us is overdue. I’m Kali. You already know that, right? I would have pushed you for your name a long time ago, but you seemed unsure of me, and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I hate when people force themselves on me.”

He took her hand, eager in his quickness then unsure of what to do. She tried to gauge if he was going to kiss it, or shake it, but he just held on. She sat patiently waiting for him to shorten up.

Kali used the time to enjoy his touch.

Blue’s fingers were long and dry. His palms were work roughened, calloused under his fingers and on the pad of his thumb. The skin on the back of his hand was smooth, dusted with bleach blonde hair. His nails were nice, filed and the palest pink. His wrist was solid, not spindly as she expected, and sliding towards his muscled forearm was a plait of red and gray string. On his thumb circled a silver band, an OmniLock, the small dots of black code printed on the surface that was tarnished from use.

Hands told Kali much about a person, and she liked the story of Blue’s.

He crouched, eyes roving across her features. He was owed that since she gawped at him when he revealed his face.

Recovered from the helmet removal, Kali turned her attention to his appearance. Avoiding the obvious, she focused on the normal parts. Good jaw, smooth, high forehead, and two normal shaped eyes with dense light-coloured eyelashes hidden behind black-rimmed opticals. His straight nose and full mouth were well balanced, and milky fair skin contrasted peculiarly with a shock of short white hair, the locks thick, and half curled. His eyebrows were white too. The effect was angelic. Kali focused on his mouth, looked past the unusually pale lips, and saw the pointed rows of teeth. Her gaze lifted to his and she watched as his irises morphed from icy blue to deep green.