Charlotte Stein The Horizon (pdf)

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Oh, the things they said to each other while under duress.
He looks almost as awkward as she feels.
Hey now, he says.
She tries to smile. And not think about whether she really told him that it was his
signal she d homed in on. Him she d run to when times got tough.
Though she knows that it has always been that way. And maybe it has for him too.
Hey, she says.
He glances out over the valley. Maybe just to have something to look at. Something
to do.
You heading out then, huh?
Weird that he should ask. All they ve done for the last few days is work like
machines to make sure she could do just that. As soon as possible.
Guess so.
When he looks at her, she can t help her face heating. All the kissing, the love talk,
the home talk everything. People will say anything when they re dying, she figures.
Guess we ve no need of seeing each other for a while, he says. Then, after an
obviously uncomfortable second, I mean, it s not like we have to jump each other s
bones anymore, right?
Right. It was just the terazine.
He nods. His eyes are hard to look right into, however. Still so naked, God!
Probably always will be, she s sure.
Just the terazine, he says.
And the dying.
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The Horizon
Lord, there was a lot of dying, he laughs. He does it almost easily, and she
follows suit. She thinks about the first time she ever saw him, when that hump had
cracked his head with a chair. And how he had burst out with all this comical
indignation to see her laughing at him.
And he had laughed then too. Because that s who Quade is. He knows he looks
comically indignant, he knows all the stupid things he does and how foolish everything
can be. He knows, and laughs.
It s why she loves him.
Well& he says.
And then he turns to walk away, just like that.
Of course he ll know that she can t call after him. How could she ever call after
him? And then he ll fly off in The Horizon and she ll fly off aboard her boat, and they ll
probably only meet up again right before they re about to be killed horri
When he turns back around so fast she actually jumps she comes within a
hairsbreadth of just barreling at him. Fortunately, he saves her the trouble.
I can t rightly believe you were just going to let me walk off like that! What in hell s
name is the matter with you? He leans in as though right up close to her, voice low
and conspiratorial and giddily funny all at the same time. You know, I think you just
might be a robot through and through.
She tries to very casually put her hands in her pockets. It s a good move, because it
stops her from running to him immediately.
Really? Cause I don t recall you asking me to join you on The Horizon. Maybe
you re the robot.
His eyebrows lift into his hair. It s not a hard task, considering how much of it he s
got hanging over his forehead. But even so.
You d& are you saying you want me to ask you to come aboard my ship? You d
actually come and live on The Horizon? Seriously? Live?
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Charlotte Stein
I don t know cause you haven t asked me.
Okay then, I m asking now! I m asking it right out there come aboard
immediately, yesterday, last week. At least you wouldn t die of oxygen deprivation!
Fine. But if I get sucked out into space&
Now his eyebrows are all the way around his head and back to the beginning again.
You re are you you re seriously going to come aboard my ship? I was thinking
you d just want to cruise together, you know, sometimes you d come to my ship,
sometimes I d come to yours&
Is that what you re looking for?
Hell no! Get onboard my ship you goddamn tease! Were you planning on keeping
me hanging like this all along? Waiting til just the last second? Cause I gotta tell you,
my heart s beating in my mouth. That s some awesome, awesome work there, ice queen.
She hops down from the airlock and strolls up as casual as you please. While her
heart hammers a hard metal tune in her chest.
I aim to please. Now come on, apple butt. If I m going to live on your piece-of-
crap, floating-wart thing, we re going to need a connector that won t pull off your ass
when I hook my girl up.
He grins lopsidedly at her. Eyebrows on standby.
You re going to live onboard The Horizon? With your most prized possession
trailing off the ass end? I am deeply, deeply moved.
I ll deeply move you, you jackass.
But it s he who grabs her. He actually grabs hold of her and kinda spins her round [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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