“Well…” Her three eyestalks bobbed nervously. “We do have two regular sized seats in our Economy section—they are at the front of the cabin, so there should be enough legroom.” She eyed the big Drake uncertainly.
“Great. We’ll take them.” Dra’vik nodded.
“There’s just one more thing,” the attendant said. “I’m afraid there are no privacy shields around our Economy seats. So we’ll have to ask you both to be on your, er, best behavior.”
Oh yeah, she’s the same attendant as last time all right, Iyanna thought.
“We promise,” she said instantly. Of course, it was disappointing not to be able to look forward to snuggling in Dra’vik’s lap to tell him how she felt about him, but at this point, she would do anything to get off this horrible planet.
“Very well…” The attendant used all three of her hands to input the information into the computer-like device sitting on the purchasing counter. “The seats are yours and we’re about to begin boarding in just a moment.” She looked up. “I hope you enjoyed your stay here on Lix’dor Prime?”
“Lady, have you been outside this damn spaceport?” Iyanna asked, putting a hand on her hip. “Or even inside it! Since we got here, I have been manacled to a scanner, groped several times, threatened, demeaned, drugged, pistol whipped, held at blaster point, and nearly raped twice. So no, I did not enjoy my trip to Lix’dor Prime. But thanks for asking,” she added, having pity on the attendant, whose three eyes had all gone wide with shock.
“We…we will begin boarding in just a moment,” the attendant whispered in a stunned voice, apparently not knowing what else to say. “Do you have any, er, luggage you’d like to check?” She nodded at the pleasure plants in the pot in Iyanna’s arms.
“No, these are delicate—they’d better not go in the hold,” Iyanna said, frowning down at them. They still didn’t look very robust—she would need to give them another shot of her Viridi Femma power before the flight, she decided.
“There is a compartment under your seat for valuable and fragile items which can’t be placed in the hold,” the attendant offered. Now that they were talking about the logistics of the flight instead of all the assaults Iyanna had suffered during her trip, she seemed relieved to be getting back to normal.
“That would be perfect, as long as it doesn’t crush the plants. Will it be big enough to fit them, do you think?” Iyanna asked her.
“Oh yes—just the right size, I would think.” The attendant smiled widely, now firmly back in comfortable territory. “So just bring them with you when you board and you can slip them under your seat before you get your safety harness on.”
“Thank you, I will.” Iyanna nodded.
“Excellent. Enjoy your flight!” The attendant nodded as they turned away from the counter.
“Well, I don’t think she’s gonna forget you anytime soon,” Dra’vik murmured, nodding at the attendant over his shoulder.
“Probably not.” Iyanna sighed. “I shouldn’t have unloaded all that drama on her but this trip has been one hell of a crazy ride.” She shook her head.
“I know it has,” he murmured, looking deeply into her eyes. “But I just want to say—”
“What?” Iyanna asked, because he had broken off abruptly.
“Never mind now—I’ll tell you when we sit down. Look—I think they’re boarding our shuttle.”
“Oh, okay.” She nodded, trying to keep her face neutral, though her heart was pounding. What was it the big Drake had been about to tell her? It had seemed serious, the way he was looking at her with those yellow-gold eyes of his so filled with some emotion she couldn’t name…
And then the attendant started calling for people to board the shuttle and they got in line and shuffled aboard with everyone else.
FORTY-EIGHT
Their seats were at the very front of the Economy cabin, which did offer a little more legroom, though Dra’vik was still probably going to feel like his knees were up around his earlobes, Iyanna thought as she surveyed their seating arrangements.
She was taking the window seat in order to give him more room—at least maybe he could put his long legs out in the aisle when nobody was passing by. And maybe they could put up the armrest between the seats and still get a little cuddling in, she thought hopefully. They could—
“Those aren’t looking so good.” The big Drake’s rumbling voice interrupted her train of thought.
Looking down where his eyes were pointed, Iyanna saw with concern that he was looking at the Lix’dorian pleasure plants—and he was absolutely right.
“No, they don’t, do they?” Both the male and female plants were drooping limply and the penis plant didn’t seem to have the energy to thrust even its head into the wilting vagina plant. She bit her lip nervously. “Okay, I’d better give them another shot of Viridi Femma juice before we take off.”