Launch by Richard Perth Read Free Book Online Page B

Claire to
a picnic on the beach the following Friday evening.
    She said, “Thank you, no, David. We’ve already
done that bit.”
    He called back a half hour later. “Will you
have dinner with me at my place next Friday? . . . Please.”
    She could hear the pleading in his voice, and
her heart melted. Damn!
    “Yes,” she said.
    Her hopes went up after his call. In the
privacy of his apartment, maybe he would tell her what she wanted to hear.
    ▼
    David again demonstrated his mastery of a
grill. The steak he cooked for her was juicy, tender, and delicious. Claire
honestly told him it was the best she had ever eaten.
    They went into the living room after dinner. Patterns
in the carpet revealed he had vacuumed. He kicked his sandals off and she
slipped off her shoes. They sat on the couch, put their feet up on the coffee
table, and relaxed.
    “Where did you learn to cook?” she asked.
    “My folks taught me. My dad and I helped my mom
in the ranch’s kitchen.”
    She smiled when she noticed his toes curling
while he talked. “Did you go barefoot on the ranch, too?” she asked.
    “As much as I could,” he said wiggling his
toes. “Toes are greatly under appreciated. They deserve more freedom and to be
treated with respect.”
    “They do?”
    “Sure. There are many eminent toes in the
world. Tomato, potato, Toledo, Topeka, today, and Toto, Dorothy’s little dog in The Wizard of Oz are just a few. Toes just don’t get the respect they
deserve.”
    With a grin, Claire asked, “What do you do when
toes get cold?”
    “I put on my bunny slippers.”
    “You have bunny slippers?” she asked
skeptically.
    “I’ll show you,” he said and disappeared into
his bedroom. He came back wearing a pair of Air Force blue bunny slippers with
big ears that wiggled with every step. “My squadron gave me these as a going
away present.”
    Claire was consumed with uncontrollable
laughter. Every time she tried to calm down, she would see the wiggly bunny
ears with pink linings, and the side-splitting laughter started again. She had
to turn away from him and lay down facing the back of the couch to regain some
control.
    David knelt beside her. Slowly and gently he
kissed her neck and cheek. She forgot about the bunny slippers as her heart and
body responded to his kisses. She turned to kiss him, and their kisses became
passionate.
    “I love you, Claire.”
    The fragile dam holding Claire’s emotions in
check burst, and she was flooded with love and joy. “Oh Buni, I’ve been aching
to hear you say that. I love you, too.”
    Their kisses washed them away on waves of
overwhelming desire. He picked her up and carried her in his arms into the
bedroom with her head on his shoulder. She imagined the bunny ears wiggling on
his feet beneath her and laughed softly.
    ▼
    The sun was up when David came back from his
turn in the bathroom to find Claire smiling at him from the bed. He joined her
there and kissed her.
    “Good morning, my love,” he said.
    “Good morning, darling.”
    “I’ve worked hard for a chance to fly Origin since it was first announced, years ago,” he said. “But I can’t imagine going
without you. I love you more than my starship dream. I love you more than
flying. I love you more than anything. I want to marry you, to build a home and
family with you, to be with you forever.”
    “You don’t have to give up your dream, Buni.
I’ll marry you and apply to go with you on the starship.”
    “You will? What happened to having a family
now?”
    “As you said, our children will probably have a
better future in the future. It would be selfish of me to sacrifice what’s best
for them, and what we could do for others, just so we can have a family
sooner.”
    He shook his head slowly. “You are amazing.” He
kissed her, “and beautiful.” Another kiss, “and sexy . . . .”
    They sealed their covenant of love with love.

Chapter 10
     
     
    On the way to Joanne and Michael’s for lunch the
next morning,