Page 2 of Colvin
Ivy slumped in her chair as the door closed, putting her head in her hands and groaning. She indulged in a few minutes of self pity but then straightened, took another peek at Colvin’s file and sighed. “You have a stern expression,” she said to the static holo. “Probably a good thing when it comes to intimidating the enemy but you don’t look any more ready for a week of fun with a stranger than I feel right now. We can survive five days, pal. It’s only 120 or so hours and for quite a few of those I’ll be asleep. Alone.” Grabbing her purse and her handheld, Ivy left the office with deep regret. She hated leaving the project in the interesting early stages to become one of the participants even if her boss had tried to soften the blow by making her an unofficial gatherer of data.
This general must be important indeed if Delain had pulled the employee match card to find him an alternate date. Just her luck to be the closest match on the planet. As she left the building and took the tram to the childcare facility she made lists in her head of what to tell Darien, instructions for Marisa and items to pack for herself. A mental clock was ticking in her head—she had to be at the club with her matching token in two hours.
With a flare of adrenaline she thought she’d left the token at the office in her state of semi-shock but then she found it at the bottom of her purse. Rubbing her fingertips over the smooth surface she felt a tiny bit of anticipation. It had been forever since she’d been out on a date or even had time for herself aside from work. She loved Darien and being his mother but as an active three-year-old he took up most of her waking hours when she wasn’t at the office.
Although the dating situation was awkward, there’d be time in the five days for her to pamper herself a bit, lie out at the beach, maybe make progress on a few of those novels on her to be read pile….she and Colvin didn’t have to be doing activities together every minute.
* * *
He felt like an idiot, as he’d known he would since the instant the command to report to the Resort Planet for his five day ‘date’ appeared in his in box. He’d fought it all the way up the command structure, arguing he wasn’t a suitable candidate for this program and been told sternly at each level he was to set an example and now he was here he would give it his best shot, outwardly at least. Other Ardannans looked to him to lead the way, particularly in the closeknit military. Finally a note from the king himself arrived, thanking Colvin a bit testily for participating in the first wave of the experiment and his battle was over.
Sure when he was young he’d dreamt of a wife and a family but life didn’t always go the way a person planned. First a decade of service in the Special Forces and then assignments all over the Ardannan sphere of influence kept him from forming any serious attachments. Staring morosely into his feelgood, Colvin realized with a shock his last serious relationship had been with his college sweetheart, who’d eventually gotten tired of waiting for him to leave the military and moved on. Squaring his shoulders, he accepted the truth that love, marriage and children weren’t meant for him. No phony ‘date’ in the lap of luxury was going to change his trajectory to becoming a crochety old bachelor uncle to his various nieces and nephews.
Having dismissed yet again the premise of this mandated dating experience, he sat at an individual table in the bustling club, watching other people find their matches, drink, flirt and dance. He’d seen a few people he knew in the crowd and had even been invited to join Crown Prince Treylon’s party but declined. This was all embarrassing in his opinion and he wanted to meet whoever his date was without an audience.
A gorgeous woman newly arrived caught his eye. She had curly hair and a lush body, with curves a man could lose himself in. Her dress was short, her legs were long and the heels she wore emphasized their shapeliness. Her face was heart shaped and sweet, without too much makeup. Lucky guy, whoever he is, to match with her. She must be fifteen or twenty years younger than he was.
With unease he watched the mystery woman head straight for him, not even glancing at other men, as if she knew him. The matching token in his hand began to warm and glow the closer she got in the crowd. When she stopped at his table Colvin rose, holding the token in disbelief. She extended her hand.
“Colvin Lawben? I’m your date Ivy Wilson,” she said in a clear, beautiful voice.
In a daze he shook hands. There must be a mistake—she’s too young. We’re not going to have anything in common at all. The algorithm really screwed up in my case.
Ivy sat, placing her purse on the table and signaled a passing waiter to bring her a feelgood. Once the pink-and-green confection had been delivered she toyed with the colorful paper parasol and cleared her throat. “I need to tell you something.”
This is where she begs off the date, now she sees how old I am, he thought with a surprising amount of regret. He wouldn’t stay at the resort by himself—he’d go to the Ardannan battleship in orbit and hole up in his quarters. This was a new level of embarrassment even he hadn’t foreseen. “Go ahead.” He took a healthy swallow of his feelgood.
“I’m not your original match,” she said. “For some reason she cancelled her participation. I’m an IDA employee here at the resort and I’ve been selected to fill in for the week. We are a match,” she added hastily.
“It’s your job to be my date?” he asked, anger rising.
She shook her head emphatically. “No. Actually I’m in management here and I run the team handling logistics for this Ardannan contract implementation.” Ivy gave him a rueful smile. “Or rather I did until this situation arose. Every IDA employee in the Sectors who isn’t married or in a relationship completes the preference and information sheets and is entered into the database. It’s a perk of the job, I guess you could say. I was your closest match here on Resort Planet—there obviously isn’t time to bring anyone else in since the week has begun. My boss told me to think of it as an early vacation. I’m hoping we can enjoy the resort’s amenities together, have a relaxing time and call it a success on that basis. After all I know Ardanna doesn’t expect the vast majority of these matches to result in any kind of long term commitment.” She leaned closer. “I can’t divulge company secrets of course but I’ve seen the contract. Our being a platonic companionship for the week won’t affect the overall results. Of course you’re free to decline the match. I wanted you to understand the background.”
Colvin had mixed emotions but topmost was an attraction to Ivy. He liked her no-nonsense approach to the situation and although of course she was too young for him, she was gorgeous. He could do a week of rest and relaxation at the beach with a pretty girl on Ardanna’s credit. His cock, which he was having a hard time reminding Ivy wasn’t interested in anything physical, would just have to stand down.
Or be taken care of by him in the shower later.
“I vote we have fun for five days,” he said. Ivy seemed a bit surprised but nodded as he continued. “It’s a good break for me before I transfer to my next combat command.”
“It’s settled then,” she said, taking a big sip of the colorful drink in front of her.
The music changed to a song he actually recognized. “Would you like to dance?”
She agreed readily enough and they joined the couples thronging the dance floor. Maybe the feelgood had given her liquid courage but she danced extremely well and he was proud to be her partner, holding her close when he had the chance and enjoying being with a woman. She had a delicate floral scent which he found more intoxicating than the drinks and she fit into his arms as if she’d been designed to be there.
After a number of songs, Ivy led him back to their table. “I’m out of practice,” she said, sinking into her chair and puffing a bit. “New shoes too, which were a bad choice for tonight I guess.”
Colvin glanced around the club, which had gotten noisier and more crowded as the evening went on. “Would you like to go for a walk on the beach?” he asked. “We can head for the hotel.”
“Excellent idea. I was up early.” She didn’t offer an explanation about why she had been an early riser so he didn’t ask. He assumed her office was busy with the Ardannan project.
The beach was beautiful in the moonlight and although there were a few other like-minded couples strolling, it was uncrowded.
“Tomorrow will be a different story,” Ivy said when he commented on it. “But the beach is big enough for all the guests to enjoy.”
“Shall we spend our first day at the beach?” he asked. Whatever she wanted to do was fine with him, unless she planned to stay in their hotel suite or go shopping. Either of those two options left him cold.
Ivy leaned closer. “You know what I’ve always wanted to try? The antigrav floats. I’d love to see the beach and the resort from above but I’ve been too scared to try it.”
