“Good morning…”
I woke up later than Panam.
She was already in the small kitchen, making a simple breakfast.
I got out of bed and inhaled the aroma of fresh coffee and bacon and eggs.
That was one of the perks of being a solo.
Most people couldn’t afford real food.
They lived off vending machine burritos and nutrient bars.
“Smells good…”
I walked up behind Panam and leaned in.
She set down the spatula, turned around, and placed her hands on my waist.
“You know, when I agreed to stay last night, I had a little test in mind.”
Her smile was soft.
Different from her usual smirk.
“I was deliberately provoking you.
If you’d given in despite my verbal protests, we would have had passionate sex, and then I would have just vanished from your life.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“If you listened to what I said and held back anyway, then I’d give you a chance.
A chance to be something more than just a partner.”
Another gentle kiss.
“Does that mean you’re giving me the green light for…”
The door to the apartment was suddenly pounded on.
I ignored it, keeping my eyes locked on hers.
“…for courting, a little teasing, and some wandering hands?”
“Yes.”
Panam smirked and leaned in for another kiss.
The knocking came again.
“Fine.
Go answer that.
I’ll finish up here.”
I reluctantly let go of her and walked to the door.
Who else would it be?
Bex, of course.
“Hey, Bex.”
“I told you before, just Bex.
And for you, I’m open to something cute…”
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
Her eyes lit up with hope.
“How about Moocher?”
“Hey!”
“Well, you’re here again.
Your brother blew all the money on chrome, right?”
“Yeah.”
She looked down.
“And as always, you want me to give you some food?”
“Yeah.”
I sighed.
“Fine.
Wait here.
I’ll grab you a couple of burritos from the machine.
Extra spicy for you?”
“Yeah, and the vegan ones for my idiot brother.”
I smirked.
Over time, I’d learned that her brother hated anything without meat.
What he hated even more was anything too spicy.
Bex used that to get back at him.
“Hey, wait.
What smells so good?”
“My girlfriend is making breakfast.”
“Making?”
Bex latched onto that word.
Her eyes went wide.
“You said making?
Not reheating?
Actually making?
And you have a girlfriend?”
“Yes, his girlfriend.”
Panam appeared behind me, looking down at Bex with an amused but friendly smile.
She knew Bex visited often and made very obvious hints.
“Oh, come on!”
Bex kicked the doorframe.
“Is it because of my height?”
She looked at me, almost pouting.
“More like because of your persistence.
And also, I don’t want anything to do with your boss.
I didn’t like him when I met him.
Too much chrome.
Guys like that snap eventually.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
“What about you?”
“Standard setup: optics, deck, and the Sandy I installed out of stupidity.
Nothing else.
Though lately, I’ve been thinking about a monowire or mantis blades.
But honestly, I’m managing fine without them.”
“Want to have breakfast with us?”
Bex looked shocked.
“Um…
yeah.
Thanks for the offer.”
I stepped aside, and she walked in.
The door hissed shut behind her.
“This is real food?”
“Yeah.”
I shrugged.
“Panam and I are solos.
We work together.
Not for a bottom-tier fixer either.”
“So?
I’m a solo too.
We’ve got a solid crew.
We work for the best fixers in town.
But real food…”
Bex inhaled the smell of the eggs.
“I can’t afford that.”
“Well, you’re always complaining about your chrome-addict brother.
I bet he eats up most of your profit.
And judging by the fact you can’t even afford burritos…”
“David also gets bonuses from Regina.”
“Bonuses?”
“Regina prefers quiet work.
In, out, nobody notices anything.
David works like that.
Quietly.
You’ve heard of Tikhon, right?”
Bex nodded, then looked at me in shock.
“Wait…
so you’re Tikhon?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded and started cutting the egg and bacon with my knife.
“Regina really values the fact that I don’t make noise.
Once Panam joined, I got even more mobile.
Sometimes we handle three jobs in a single day.”
“Three?”
“Yeah.
What about it?”
“When do you rest?”
“We take weekends.
We don’t push ourselves to the limit.
If we’re tired, we take a day or two off.”
“Exactly.
And even then, sometimes we just take transport jobs from other fixers.
There might be a shootout or two, but not often.”
Panam shrugged.
We were halfway through our portions when Bex finally took her first bite.
She closed her eyes in bliss.
“This is amazing.
Those machine burritos don’t even compare.”
“Thanks.”
Panam smirked.
“But David’s cooking is even better.”
“He cooks too?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey…”
Bex looked from me to Panam.
Her gaze switched from excitement to pleading.
“Do you need a puppy?
Or a kitten?”
“Um…”
Panam looked at Bex with serious doubts about her sanity, then glanced at me.
“Knowing her…”
I sighed.
“She’s completely serious.
She’d even act like a cat or dog.”
“Meow!
Woof!”
To prove my point, Bex mimed cat paws, then a dog.
I rubbed my nose.
“What detail?”
“Good owners don’t feed their pets from the table.
Not always, at least.
It’s bad for their health.
Most get a food bowl near the door and special pet food.”
“Ugh!”
Bex clutched her chest.
“Straight through the heart!”
“Your heart is on the left.”
Seeing me nod, Bex clutched her left side.
“And not in your boob.
Under it.”
Panam nodded too.
Bex puffed out her cheeks.
“Meanie!”
“Don’t reach for food that isn’t yours.”
Panam smirked as Bex finished her breakfast, throwing us mock-offended looks.
“Fine.
I get it.
You’re possessive.”
“Not really.”
Panam shrugged.
“I just don’t know you that well.
And sharing my boyfriend…”
She looked Bex over carefully.
“…would take a very good reason.”
I shook my head.
“What a crazy city.
I just got one woman to agree to be my girlfriend, and she’s already considering sharing me with another.”
“Come on.”
Bex waved it off.
“You guys are all perverts.
The second you hear you could have more than one girl, your brain goes straight to Mr.
Stud.”
I shuddered.
“You know, if I ever decide to replace my dick with chrome, it won’t be a Mr.
Stud.
That piece of junk is…”
I shook my head.
“After that, you’d have to cut everything off.
And that’s if you’re lucky enough to install something decent afterward.”
“If you put chrome down there, I’m leaving.”
“Wait, what?”
Bex looked at Panam, who was completely serious.
“Simple.
I’d have to install sex chrome too.
And I don’t want to be a sex toy.
So the only option is to walk away.”
“Don’t worry.
I’m not even thinking about installing anything like that.”
Panam nodded, satisfied.
“Ugh…
that was so good.”
Bex leaned back on the couch.
“What are your plans for today?”
“Well…”
I shrugged.
“I’d like to take Panam on a date, but I promised Regina I’d contact her at ten.
So we’ll probably knock out one or two jobs, then crash here and watch a movie that parodies Smasher.”
“Yeah.”
Panam stretched in her chair.
“What about you?”
“Me?”
She looked from me to Panam and back.
“I’ve got to feed my idiot brother and call a few fixers.
Maybe someone has work.”
“Why so hesitant?”
“There’s always work for the crew.
But for me personally…”
Bex shook her head.
“It’s my own issues.
I can’t take every job.”
“Issues?”
Panam was curious.
“She’s probably just not good at quiet work.
So fixers only send her on loud jobs.
And those don’t usually attract the really good fixers.
You have to clean up the mess afterward so the corps don’t trace it.”
“Right.”
“Anyway, I’m out.”