Chapter 5

I woke up late the next day feeling groggy and achy and knowing my sleep cycle was fucked. I don't think I had moved at all in the night and I was stiff. Something else was amiss and it took my fuzzy brain a moment to process the situation. Lying half on top of my left side was a nekkid young woman. Not the first time I've woken up with a woman but it is the first time with a nekkid woman.

Yes, you can assume I am not sexually experienced. I've been in training from the age of 13 to 17 and that doesn't lend you a lot of time to start up relations. What about the females that trained with me you ask? Let me tell you, you think I have an attitude? Just meet a female privateer and you'll see what I'm implying. And when you do meet a female privateer, be very careful or you're liable to walk away several kilos less of ass.

And the not nekkid women? Cold environment survival training. Simulated disabled ship training. I'm hoping you're getting the picture. It's hard to get excited when you're in a training environment and you've got instructors just waiting to pounce on you if you screw up.

The head that was resting on my shoulder was topped with dirty blonde hair so I knew it was Anna. How did I know that she was nekkid? Well, I was nekkid also and since all I could feel pressed up against me was skin, I'm smart enough to put one and one together. I also knew that if Mari or Katherine found me like this I was a dead man. I slipped out from under her as gently as I could, grabbed a spare pillow and tucked it under her arm. At that point she seemed to wrap herself around the pillow and snuggle deeper into the sheets reminding me of a cat.

I stood there for a moment looking at her, wondering what the hell was going on, before I shook my head and went into the shower closet. There I did my morning routine of shit and shower, cleaning myself of dead skin cells and hair. I had a conversation once with another privateer trainee on the origins of the combination exfoliate/depilatory/soap. Neither of us knew the real reason but her theory was that it was probably developed before artificial gravity because people were tired of breathing in floating pubes. I dried off and reentered my cabin.

The lump under the sheet indicated that Anna was still burrowed in. I still felt three quarters asleep and wouldn't have minded joining her but I had stuff to do. I put on a pair of shorts and stumbled into the galley searching for breakfast. There I ran into Mari and Katherine who were talking to Sam. I assumed at this point they had stayed aboard in the spare cabins. Both looked at me and stared at my less than fully dressed appearance.

Katherine was the first to speak. "Wow, Anna was right. You are a strapping lad, aren't you?"

"Mmph?"

Sam spoke up. "It's no use talking to him. He needs breakfast and coffee before he approaches being fit for human interaction. He is not a morning person."

"Mmrbl."

"Cereal, juice, and coffee coming right up."

"Mnkfu, mm."

"You're welcome, Sweetheart."

Katherine and Mari had watched our interactions with bemused looks. I grabbed my food tray from the replicator, sat down at the table and ate. I sipped juice and coffee and slowly started to wake up.

Katherine was watching me from one end of the table. I couldn't really tell what she was thinking. Of course I was in no condition to tell what I was thinking, either.

Mari was sitting across the table from me watching me eat and sipping her own coffee. She set her coffee cup down and asked "Was Anna still asleep when you left?"

THAT brought me fully awake like nothing else had this morning. My spoon full of cereal was half way to my mouth as I looked at the bodyguard. The look on her face showed no expression. After a moment I decided if I was going to die, I'd at least do it on a full stomach. Bringing the spoon to mouth I nodded.

"Good. She stayed up late worrying about you. She needed some extra rest."

OK, that was unexpected. I finished off my cereal and juice, put the dishes into the recycler and grabbed another cup of coffee before sitting down again, this time on the couch as I tried to relax since it didn't seem my demise was imminent.

Anna walked in wrapped in the sheet from my bed. She looked cute as hell with a dreamy little smile on her face. She came over to me, plopped into my lap, and snuggled up to me. I saved my coffee, not spilling a drop, which she promptly grabbed it and took a sip.

"Gah! How can you drink that?" she asked as she made a face.

"Like this," I said as I took it back from her and took a swig.

"What is that?"

"Red-Eye. Coffee and two shots of espresso. Only thing that gets my brain in gear in the morning. Other than having the crap scared out of me that is, but this lasts longer."

Anna looked at Katherine. Katherine shook her head and pointed at Mari. When Anna's eye's moved to Mari, the bodyguard shrugged.

"I think he was under the impression that we would not approve of the situation that he found himself in this morning and that we might wish to do something about it."

Anna got up, walked over to the replicator and ordered milk, honey, and a little coffee for color, I mean a sweet latte. She resumed her seat on my lap and took a sip. She then offered me a sip. I shuddered.

"There was nothing to be worried about," she said with a shrug. "You were a perfect gentleman and I can honestly say I haven't slept that well with a man in my entire life."

"I was a corpse, Lady Estebahn. Of course I didn't do anything." I was not stupid enough to ask how many men she'd slept with. That was none of my business.