“Müller, why are you here?” I fold my arms over my chest to put a little distance between myself and Luca. All the while, Luca gives another squeeze of my arse. I refocus my glare on him instead.
It’s beginning to feel an awful lot like some kind of pissing match, and I forgot my umbrella.
Fucking men.
If only I were into women, my life would certainly be a lot easier.
Neither man shouts. But their presence is overpowering, screaming at me. I feel the walls closing in, trapping me between a rock and a hard place. A very hard place, I can’t help but think as I glance at the front of Luca’s still half-tented grey joggers.
“A grand gesture–.” Müller’s words pull back my attention. His own eyes flaring wide as he notices Luca’s tent.
“Yes,” I grit out. “You said that already. Why? What do you want?”
He sighs, defeated. “I want my wife back.”
Luca drops his hand from me as if I scalded him.
Finally, I’m granted the personal space I’ve been seeking. His boyish features contort as he frowns down at me, brows slanting across his sun-kissed forehead in an unasked question.
I pray a tear in the hull rips open, sucks me out, and the void of space swallows me whole, leaving no trace behind.
“I’m not your wife.” I turn back to my work. “You’re wasting your time and mine. Leave. I have work to do.” I reach across the counter and pull my goggles back on, arming myself with the welder.
Without waiting for a response, I crouch down to head back under the panel, replacing burnt-out wires before my emotions betray me and I say something I’ll regret. I spin up my friction welder.
“We’ll see about that,” Müller mutters.
I turn to Luca. “You should go too.”
“Alex–”
I raise my hand, welder in tow, “We will be planet side in less than twelve hours.”
“Fiore–”
“This was fun, but my ex turning up is… inconvenient.”
Inconvenient.As if an ex popping out of the metalwork is a normal everyday occurrence. A slight spanner in the works to the otherwise daily routine.
10:00: Spacewalk for orbital maintenance
13:00: Matthias comes to ruin my peaceful fucking existence.
“No,Fiore.You wound me.” Luca clutches his hands to his chestas if pained.
“Stop. We’re finished. It’s over.”
His jaw drops, hands still clasped together.
With a tight purse of his lips and a single, heated, lingering look, Luca relents. A glance over my shoulder shows the embers of the hidden hurt burning in his eyes – that and a defeated droop of his wide, unjustly muscular shoulders.
I watch him leave, my eyes coming to rest on Matthias as Luca passes him. He smiles at me.
He actually fucking smiles.
“No.”
“Alex?”
