Chaos Theory (Cosmic Lovely)

Chapter Eight

The enhancements were odd, but nothing she couldn’t handle.

“Can I have my hand back, Blue?”

He released her hand as if she’d electrocuted him. Kali bit her lip to hide a smile as he jerked up onto his feet. “I wanted … my name … I apologize–”

“Would you sit with me?” She slapped a palm on the plastic beside her three times to signal him to take a load off, and got back to her meal.

The best way to deal with jittery people was to ignore the nerves until they went away. He needed a nanosecond to catch his breath, and she could give him that. He was nervous, but that was standard, she’d wait for him.

Kali heard snickering, and turned to glare at Christian who eyed her from across the range, surrounded by his bevy of HiCaste sycophants.

After months of him bothering her, she’d gone on a date with him the year before. Kali explained the insanity of her decision by reminding herself Christian was her age and of a similar social standing. A match with him would have been advantageous for her family and expected. It was a shame he turned out to be a narcissistic genetic purist. She barely acknowledged his existence since that disastrous evening, yet he still acted like he owned her. Even when Max’s fist had declared otherwise after Christian said one too many things about her virtue within earshot.

He cocked his head at her in question and jerked his dimpled chin towards Blue.

She gave him her back, but couldn’t help the ugly glower contorting her face. Tension thinned her lips as she held back from screaming an insult across the range. That was not how a female of her Caste behaved, and it would go down as inappropriate on her part, no matter how steadfastly it was argued that he’d acted ungentlemanly and goaded her into rage. She’d learnt that after the first time when she threw LiquiNu in his face, hot on the heels of a slur about her ‘lack’ of genetic purity.

“You’re not happy,” Blue blurted. When he saw the knee-jerk smile, and the defensive set of her shoulders, he pulled back the intensity, but quietly urged, “Don’t lie.”

Kali didn’t know how to respond. She took another bite of dumpling. “That’s an interesting observation,” she replied finally.

“Answer, please.”

A simplistic charm Blue didn’t know he possessed had Kali relaxing. Since he asked so specifically, she gave the answer a fair bit of thought. “Why wouldn’t I be happy? Am I happy all the time? No, but I am for most of it. I have two wonderful fathers; a best friend while somewhat man-whorish would do anything for me. I’ve lived in a beautiful domicile my whole life, and I’ve had the best education available. Everything I want, I get, and what I get is always the best. Unless my uncle has an heir before he passes on, I’m set to inherit an unmentionable sum of credits through the Loklear name. The Cosmic Virgin blessed me.” She studied him, and was captivated. “I’m happy as can be, Blue. Thank you for caring.”

Introverted yet pleasant to be around, his deep consideration of her response tickled her. People with Blue’s candid personality tended to scare people with their forthrightness, but she found it refreshingly honest and endearing.

The fluttering sensation tightening her chest when he spoke or their eyes met didn’t hurt either.

“You believe in an omnipotent higher being?” he asked after a lengthy pause. “That it’s female?”

“The cosmos is too pretty to be an accident or designed by a male.” Kali was intrigued by the abrupt change in his train of thought and what he had chosen to focus on from all she had said. She went with it. “Males tend to be more about efficiency than looks.”