“You should see yourself. You look like you swallowed a swarm of flies.”
“No, I don’t,” I defended myself, aware that my cheeks were flushed just from the images his questions had inspired in my mind.
“So is that a no?” he asked and winked at me.
“I can’t believe you asked me that. Of course, I wouldn’t want to have sex with you.”
“Because I’m a man of the Northlands?”
Confirming that would be insulting, and I was trained to always choose the considerate answer. “No, that’s not why. It’s just the whole idea of having sex with a person. It’s unhygienic.”
“Unhygienic? It should be the most natural thing in the world. People used to have sex all the time.”
“And they got sick from all sorts of horrible sexually transmitted diseases,” I pointed out. “Sex-bots are a much safer and hygienic solution if you have a physical need.”
Boulder shrugged. “I don’t know. I would love to know what it feels like to be with a real woman. I’ve heard there’s a big difference.”
I couldn’t look him in the eye, and felt flustered by the direction this conversation had taken and from the way he sat leisurely on the couch with his thighs slightly spread and his hand resting above his crotch holding the book.
Images from what I’d seen in the forbidden part of the library came to mind, and I wondered if he was anatomically as big down there as he was tall and broad-shouldered.
“I’m not curious at all,” I said firmly.
“What a shame,” was his only reply before he went back to reading.
CHAPTER 8
The Games
Boulder
We hadn’t had a marital ceremony in our area in three years. There had been one big ceremony on the East Coast last year that had attracted thousands of men when Laura and her twin had selected their mates.
The excitement that a woman from the Motherland had come to The Northlands to marry one of us made headlines, and the whole country was buzzing with rumors. Some news sites speculated that women had finally seen the light and soon more brides would follow.
Other more radical theories speculated that women would soon submit to men again and that every Northman would be allowed to have as many as four wives per man.
I worried about what was going to happen when Christina realized that men would be killing each other to prove themselves to her and that she would be forced to marry one of the five winners.
Following my orders from Khan, I stayed with her for two full days and was only replaced by guards when I needed to shower or use the bathroom.
During the night, I pushed the sofa in front of the door and slept on it.
During the day, Christina and I read, walked in circles, and talked a lot. I was as curious about her part of the world as she was about mine.
The things she had heard about us had me shaking my head, and on the last night before the games we had a long talk that started off fine but ended in a big mess.
“Someone seriously thinks we’re fucking cannibals?”
“Yes, and murderers and rapists,” she said.
“Wow, but I guess it makes sense that people as distorted as you would think that. After all, you’re enslaving people and prohibiting free thought.
“Not free thought, only free speech.”
“But free speech is important, don’t you think?” I argued.
“Not if it’s hurtful. Our rules are meant to protect people’s feelings. It’s best if everyone is kind and caring.”
