Sometime later, I said, “I think you’re going to need another shower now.”
She giggled into the side of my neck. “I was just thinking that you’re going to have to have the coat cleaned,” she said breathlessly. “What have you got in the pocket?” she asked sitting up on me.
“My tablet?” I asked.
“No, this pocket.”
“Do you know what a whelkie is?” I asked.
“Yeah, some kind of a St. Cloud spirit guide. The shaman on the south coast carve them. You have a whelkie?”
“It was a gift.”
“Somebody gave you a whelkie?”
“Yup.”
“Can I see it?”
“Help yourself.”
She reached into the pocket and slid out the dolphin. “Oh,” she said.
“Stop squirming,” I said, “or you’re going to have to go around again.”
She ground her hips into me with a fierce look, “Quiet, you! I’m admiring. This is spectacular. I’ve seen a couple, but nothing like this.” She ran a finger tip along the dorsal fin and impulsively kissed it before putting it back in the pocket. “You’re just full of surprises, Ishmael Wang.” She caught sight of the time. “But we have to get moving. I want some breakfast before I have to put my Second Mate cap back on.”
“I hope you’re going to put on a shipsuit, too.”
She laughed and lifted herself off me with a small sigh. Well, at least one of us gave a small sigh. I am not really sure which one of us it was. She clambered off the bed and stripped my coat from her shoulders, laying it across the covers. “You,” she said pointing at me as I watched the light slip over her naked skin. “Stop admiring me and call for breakfast—coffee, eggs, sausage, and potatoes—enough for three people. Order something for yourself, as well.” She turned and strode back to the head and I could not bear not to watch her go.
“Now, spacer!” she yelled from the other room.
I laughed and got on the comm.