Page 12 of Redondo (Mates of the Mylos #7)

CHAPTER 12

THOMAS

I wasn’t on tomorrow’s list when it was sent out at 4:30 p.m. ship’s time. Not for an audition nor for the mate matching test. I headed out to eat at Seoul Food, immediately feeling like I’d wandered into a futuristic neighborhood film set that was supposed to represent Somewhere Urban, USA. The main recreation deck had an absolutely enormous park in the middle, filled with real grass, trees, shrubs, and flowers. There was an honest to goodness sectioned off “paved” area divided into three parts - one for pedestrians, one for bicycles and scooters, and one for people on skates and boards. It ran the entire perimeter of the park as well as down the center, both horizontally and vertically. There was a large pool with a water fountain that had some fish in it that at first glance I thought were koi until I took a closer look and saw they were all Easter egg pastel colors, with either bright blue or purple eyes, and more closely resembled angelfish crossed with a koi. Very pretty and I knew they’d do well if sold on Earth, which they definitely wouldn’t be given the Mylos’ stance on introducing invasive species. Their policies on exporting non native plant and animal life to Earth famously made Australia’s rules look positively lax.

I didn’t see anyone I recognized during my wander around the park, nor among the throng of humans and Mylos that milled around and in and out of the various venues. I was a little disappointed, hoping to run into at least one familiar face, but I was out of luck. That didn’t put me off, however, as I was used to living in New York, and unless you were going into a place you’d made a regular haunt, you were just as likely to not run into anyone you knew as you were to.

Seoul Food was easy enough to locate, thanks to the signage in both English and Hangul. The seating area was “outdoors” in an area surrounded by a short fence, facing the park. The counter and cooking areas were under a sort of lean-to. It had a distinct local street food vibe, and I was really digging it. The scent of the food beckoned deliciously, and I was tickled to see they had Korean beer and other alcoholic drinks on offer in addition to water and various soft drinks. I got into line, ordered my food, and quickly found a seat once I realized that we were expected to simply find an empty spot at any table and take it.

“Hi, I hope you don’t mind if I sit here,” I said nervously, despite the small signs dotted around instructing everyone to do just this.

The woman and her friends smiled. “Not at all. I’m Amy, and these are my friends Marisol, Jun, and Nancy. We’re on our weekly girls’ night out. Our mates are at their evening hula class, same day each week, so we come out to have dinner together.”

“And take them a doggie bag for when they get back,” Nancy giggled.

“Hula class?” Surely I had misheard that.

But no, I hadn’t. The four women all nodded.

“Yes. It’s part of the cultural exchange program and forms part of their physical training, too. Hula takes a lot of strength and stamina,” Nancy said.

“Yup, sure does,” Marisol agreed. “The deal with the Native Hawaiian people is a really big deal. There’s even a Kamehameha school where the children take their lessons in Hawaiian, and they run language classes for adults on the weekends.”

“All the children on board go to this school?” I asked.

Amy shook her head. “No. The Hawaiian children do, and the remaining spaces are then allocated as space permits to non native Hawaiian children.”

“Wait - you’re saying there are enough native Hawaiians aboard that they have enough kids to have their own school?” That sounded incredible, and also rather awesome.

The women smiled. “They sure do, but not just Hawaiian. A lot of other Pacific Islanders and Micronesians send their kids there. They get the next highest priority and their own languages are taught interactively alongside Galactic Standard and Mylos using computer games. Children at the regular Mylos school are taught in Mylos and practice English and Galactic Standard as a subject, and can learn Hawaiian as part of a kids’ weekend club where they also learn hula.”

“But what about children whose human parent comes from a non English speaking country?” I asked.

“Their parents can sign them up for a class for that, privately. For free, of course,” Jun replied.

“Wow.” It was the only thing I could think of to say.

“So, what’s your story?” Amy asked. “You didn’t know about hula class and all, plus you’re alone, so I’m guessing you’re not visiting anyone and aren’t mated to a Mylos. Are you a veteran just arrived for the training and employment scheme?”

“What? Me, military? Gosh no. I’m an actor and I haven’t even so much as played a buck private,” I chuckled. “I’m here to audition for Playtime Fleet.”

“That’s awesome!” Amy said, and the rest of the women agreed with her, making various ohs and ahs at my being an actor.

“I hope you get the part you’re after,” Nancy gushed as they finished their meal and got up to leave.

“Thank you,” I said, turning my attention back to the remainder of my meal. ”Well, that was nice,” I said to myself softly before taking another bite of the Seoul Kitchen self-made kimchi. It was as delicious as the rest of my meal, which was very, very good indeed. Xero had been spot on the nose recommending this place, and I made a mental note to tell him so, too. Great food, an amazing public space, and really nice people. I definitely wouldn’t mind calling this home. Not one little bit.

Two Mylos warriors sat down in the space the women had just vacated. They smiled and nodded at me in greeting before tucking into their food.

Mylos men, yet another plus in the ‘reasons to want to stay’ column. They were all seriously fucking hot. Even if I wasn’t matched to anyone here, there was eye candy for days, no years, if not decades even. Plus, there were always the veterans and other actors and production staff to go fishing for a potential boyfriend among.

The two males’ voices were deep and sonorous, the tones going straight to my balls. I pressed my legs together and stared down at my food, not wanting to draw attention to myself. What a time to get a boner! Gah! Why hadn’t I thought to bring my backpack and do some shopping while I was out? I could have held it in front of me as I walked out. Note to self: do not leave the room without camouflage tomorrow. I slipped my hand down under the table and prayed no one noticed me adjusting myself. When no one tapped me on the shoulder or cried out in outrage, I figured I’d gotten away with it. At least until I looked up and caught both males glancing at me in mild amusement, their nostrils flaring. Shit! These guys had super duper scent capabilities, didn’t they? I blushed and stood up, grabbing my trash to throw away. I probably broke a galactic record getting from there to the farthest end of the park. And my boner? That was the one good thing. Embarrassment totally killed my erection, so at least I didn’t have to run around with my pants tented. Yay, me.