“I can't believe this.” The man watching the footage said. “What the hell are all those hands?”

“I don't know.” The woman beside him said. She didn't offer anything else and he looked at her. “What? I can't explain it and they are a huge deterrent. I don't know if we can get past them.”

“Don't assume he has them all the time.” He said.

“Don't assume that he doesn't.” She countered.

He squinted his eyes at her for a moment, then he sighed. “We can observe him for another twelve hours, then we have to move.”

“Are you sure that's wise?” She asked. “How do you know he's going to stay around until tonight?”

“His hotel is paid for three days and this is only the second day.” The man said, smugly. He didn't even have to threaten the clerk to get the information from her because she gushed it out as soon as he mentioned Hunter's name. He even had Hunter's room number and he had already checked it out and planned the best way to infiltrate the hotel. They needed to get to Hunter before anyone else knew what was going on.

*

“How are you doing this?!?” Grace asked with a joyous expression as I floated her and Kris through the city fairly quickly. “We're flying!”

“Actually, it's just levitation.” I said. “Flight would allow a lot more manoeuvrability and speed.”

“That's not much of a distinction.” Kris said and clung to my arm.

“Why are you doing this?” Grace asked. “Not that I'm not grateful or anything.” She added a bit sheepishly.

“I'm showing off.” I said and she laughed. “Plus, if anyone would appreciate something like this, I figured people who flew ships through space would enjoy it.” I said and slowed down as I came in for a landing on the sidewalk in front of her building. Showing off was one thing, startling people by doing what I was doing was another. I let the Stealth technique fade and then let both women go.

Grace did a twirl to make her skirt flare out. “We definitely enjoyed that dance floor you set up for us.” She said with a huge smile. “Imagine! Dancing in zero gravity on a planet! It's unbelievable!”

I chuckled and I pointed to the front door of her apartment building.

“Oh! I'm home already?” Grace asked and looked at the door. Her face went from happy to sad in an instant. “That means it's over.”

“Don't be sad.” I said and she turned to look at me. “Even if you do make a frown, you look pretty.”

“Hunter, I...”

“Shh.” I said and stepped close.

Grace put her arms around me and hugged me. “Please make love to me.” She whispered.

“I don't want to take advantage of you like this.” I said.

“I'm a little drunk, not stupid.” Grace said and looked into my eyes. “I'm the one that's taking advantage of you.”

I opened my mouth to respond and she stood on her toes and kissed me. It had been a while since I had a woman assert herself with confidence like that, so I kissed her back. She didn't quite moan as my hands went around her and held her firmly. I could hear her thoughts and she desperately wanted to spend some quality time with me. Hot and naked quality time. I seriously considered relenting to her mental pleas.

I broke the kiss and pulled back. “How about we have an actual date tonight?”

Grace looked like she was going to explode with happiness.

“Relax, don't jump to conclusions.” I said and she grinned and kissed me again.

“I'll see you tonight.” Grace said and sauntered away.

“How can you walk like that in high heels?” I asked her and she laughed and went into her building.

“Are you really going to sleep with her tonight?” Kris asked from beside me.

“I honestly don't know.” I said. “I was tempted to go with her into her apartment right now, actually.”

“Are you drunk?” Kris asked.

“Like you, not completely.” I said and that made her giggle.

“Can we walk back to my place?”

“Sure.” I said and put my arm around her waist. “I've got some time to spare.”

Kris looked up at my face and gave me an odd look. I could hear her thoughts and she was trying to decide if she should ask for what she wanted. I gave her a smile and scooped her up into my arms. She let out a little squeal and put her arms around my neck. A few people on the street stood there and watched us as we walked past.

“I can be a great friend.” Kris whispered into my ear as she held on.

“You just want me for my hair.” I said.

“Yes.” Kris said, then she kissed my cheek. “I don't care if you're the Hero of Chofaris, or the owner of your own company, or even if you're a rogue from The Order.” She said and tucked her head into my neck and sighed. “None of that matters.”

Her words resonated inside of me and I knew she was being completely honest. I let a touch of Presence out and let it cover her and her heart glowed in response as my energy touched her. She took in a deep breath and let it out and she really liked whatever she was feeling right then.

“I have a girlfriend.” I said.

“No, you don't.” Kris said. “You've slept with someone that you love, a bunch of times, and you don't really have any kind of personal relationship past that.”

I was very surprised when the Presence didn't waver. “But... but...”

“You told me what happened, and she must think that, too. You haven't even gone on an actual date.” Kris said. “Why else would she be so surprised about you saying that your business relationship was put in jeopardy by your fight? She thought it was separate and you were just having fun on the side. Or she was. Or whatever.” She said. “Luxea really screwed things up by not thinking about your feelings.” She giggled when she realized what she said could be taken both figuratively and literally. “She screwed up! Ha ha!”

“Maybe you're a bit more than a little drunk.” I said and tried not to laugh, because Kris was right.

I had been so focused on being in a relationship with Luxea, that I completely missed the fact that we weren't in the same relationship. I expected certain things to be a certain way and so did she, and I didn't realize that they weren't the same things. I had been in a monogamous relationship with Maylia for almost five hundred years, after Afyne passed away, and we had loved each other and never took anyone else to our bed or took our love for each other for granted.

We were partners and shared everything, and I had just shifted all of those expectations and assumptions over to Luxea. I didn't know if that was what Luxea really wanted, because she had asked me not to read her thoughts, and I never did. I just assumed that what I had with Maylia was the kind of relationship that she wanted as well, and I had left it at that. It didn't excuse Luxea's reaction by taking another man to her bed; but, it definitely would have changed my own reactions to it.

“I can be a real idiot sometimes.” I said out loud.

Kris laughed and lifted her head to look at my face, then she briefly pressed her lips to my cheek. “A lovable idiot... with more hair than ten women combined.”

That made me laugh and she was happy that I was happy, then she tucked her head back into my neck and promptly fell asleep. With her unconscious, I used my Stealth technique again and made us invisible, then I used Presence Run and ran the rest of the way to her apartment. I plucked her apartment number from her head and went to it, used Presence to open the locks, which included the electronic one, then brought her inside and locked it again. It must have had some expert decorating done to it because she had a really nice apartment.

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I took her into her bedroom and deactivated my Stealth technique and tried to put her down on the bed. Her arms held on to my neck tightly and she didn't want to let go, even asleep. I chuckled mentally at her tenacity and thought about how I was going to get out of her grip. It didn't take me long to figure it out.

“You need to let my neck go if you want to cuddle my hair.” I whispered to her.

Kris jerked as if I had slapped her and she pulled her arms away from my neck, then she made grabbing motions with her hands without opening her eyes. I laughed softly, barely above a whisper, and I undid my hair and sat down next to her on the bed and laid my hair in her arms. She hugged the mass of hair and moaned as she buried her face into it, then she rolled over and went back to sleep.

I was glad that I had given her enough slack that she didn't drag me on top of her with that move. I slipped off my coat and stored it, then laid down beside her and relaxed as I used several mental techniques to check my mental capacity. As I suspected, my meditation technique wasn't being used and neither was my limited detection range. I put both back in place before I forgot about them again, then drifted off to sleep.

*

“...let's give the Chofaris military a big round of applause!” Hunter said from the vidscreen and started to clap. “They risk their lives every day to keep Fogaris space safe! Let's hear it!”

Everyone around him erupted into applause.

“Shut it off.” Olugaell said with a sigh.

“He did it again!” Ahaen said, shocked. “Did you see that blue thing? What was that?”

“Whatever it was, it let all those people dance in mid-air.” Uzahne said and looked at the empty chair. “Where's Sheph?”

“She called in sick.” Uzahne's aide said. “She admitted she was only tired from dancing all night and that she didn't want to come to work drunk.”

Ahaen groaned at the embarrassment. “Does she have no shame?”

“I don't think shame has anything to do with it.” Olugaell said. “Did you see the number of people that showed up when they knew that Hunter would be there?”

“He played up to them, too.” Uzahne said. “He left the bar several times and made sure to bring the party out to the people that couldn't get in.” She looked at her aide. “Should I ask what his approval rating is?”

Her aide looked at her datapad and opened her mouth, closed it, then smiled. “The military is up to eighty-eight percent.”

Olugaell stood up and looked at the datapad. “He's at ninety-nine percent.”

“NINETY-NINE?!?” Ahaen yelled and Uzahne put a hand on her arm to calm her down.

“His support of the military protecting the system pushed him higher than the estimate.” Uzahne's aide said. “I'm not sure how he could get that last one percent, though.”

“You want him to, don't you?” Ahaen asked, slightly angry.

“We've never had anyone even close to his numbers.” The aide said. “He has made history at ninety-nine, so...”

“How long is he staying this time?”

“The patrol ship he came in on is leaving in two days.” The aide responded. “He came in with them for their one month overhaul and he's supposed to be on it when it's done and the crew boards again.”

“Then there's a chance that he will make another spectacle of himself and this could happen again.” Ahaen said and sat back in her chair with a huff.

“You're just unhappy that you waited too long and couldn't get into the bar.” Uzahne teased and Ahaen blushed.

“We should send someone to his hotel to keep watch.” Olugaell suggested. “They can let us know what happens and if he is going to do something like this again.”

“That's a good idea.” Uzahne said and looked at her aide. “Please arrange for a squad to put Hunter under surveillance.”

“I assume you want it to be covert.” The aide said and Uzahne nodded. “Will that work, considering what we know about him?”

“What do you mean?” Ahaen asked.

“He can see through walls.” The aide said. “What makes you think he won't know he's being watched?”

The women exchanged glances and then Uzahne looked at her aide again.

“Call him and let him know we are watching him when the squad is in place.” Uzahne said. The aide nodded and left the room to make the arrangements.

*

“Oh, my god.” Simone said as she watched the news broadcast on the vidscreen in the living room.

“What is it?” Luxea asked as she came into the room and saw the footage. “He's doing it again.”

“Is he ever.” Simone said and waved at the screen. “They're showing it again in a minute.”

“Showing what again?” Luxea asked and ignored Simone when she pat the couch. “Just tell me.”

“Nope. You've got to see this for yourself.” Simone said. “They keep repeating it, because no one believes it's possible.” She said with a grin. “I've seen it three times now and I still can't believe it!”

Luxea was too intrigued to ignore that statement, so she went to the couch and sat beside the other woman. Since when did I start thinking that Simone is the other woman? She asked herself. She wasn't surprised by the thought, mainly because of how Hunter had talked about Simone and brought her onboard without even consulting her about it. Unlike the first thought, that thought surprised her. It's Hunters company. He can hire... and fire... whoever he wants.

“Here it is again, folks.” The announcer on the screen said. “We've had experts and consultants scour this footage... again... and none of them have figured it out.” He said and the scene played with Hunter and a bunch of people dancing through the air inside a large slightly blue area. “There's no special technology embedded into the floor or ceiling of the bar, either. Yes, we've checked.”

Luxea and Simone stared at the screen and watched as Hunter danced with several different women during five songs. The people inside the area were laughing as they danced in mid-air and looked like they were having the time of their lives.

“The footage isn't edited, there's no guide wires, and no computer touch ups.” The announcer said. “We even have multiple camera views with the same time stamps that confirm that it's entirely genuine.”

“Okay, now I regret not going myself.” Rhubin said.

Simone and Luxea turned their heads to see him as he stood in the doorway with a food tray full of snacks. He walked into the room and sat down between the two women and held out the tray for them to take some of the snacks.

“Thanks.” Simone said and helped herself. Luxea hesitated for a moment, then helped herself, too.

“That looks like so much fun.” Rhubin said and sat back to relax and started eating a snack, too. “Giving credit to the military after that dance was a stroke of genius.”

“It sure was.” Simone said. “I sincerely doubt they will take any order that tells them to escort us out of the system or that stops us from coming back when we drop off the first cargo of salvage.”

Rhubin laughed. “I doubt the admiral would even entertain that kind of order now, armed ships or not.”

Luxea ate some of the snacks and didn't say anything.

“You're quiet.” Simone said as she leaned around Rhubin to look at Luxea.

Luxea gave her a look that said she wasn't going to rise to the bait, and Simone chuckled.

“The first time he did this, it was for you. This time it was for the military.” Simone said. “I wonder who the next one will be for?”

“There won't be a next one.” Rhubin said and both women looked at him in surprise.

“How do you know that?”

“There's no one else to make a spectacle for.” Rhubin said. “The Wave has gotten more publicity than we ever could have hoped for, everyone has forgotten about Luxea, and the military is happy. There's no one else.”

“What about the government?” Simone asked.

“You mean the people that caused him do all of this in the first place?” Rhubin asked and laughed again. “Yeah, that's not going to happen.”

Simone and Luxea sat in silence and ate their snacks as they watched the rest of the footage. Both women regretted not accepting Hunter's offer, because it really did look like a lot of fun.

*

Kris slowly opened her eyes and her face was covered in a golden blanket. It smelled like heaven and she dug her hands into it and rubbed her face in its softness. In the next instant, she woke up fully and realized what she was doing. She sat bolt upright and looked at the man beside her in her bed. He looked at peace and she wondered what she had done with him. She didn't remember doing anything and she touched herself on the chest and then she checked herself between her legs. Both her bra and her panties were intact and she was pretty sure that she was glad that they were undisturbed.

I'm only pretty sure? Kris asked herself as she stared at Hunter, then another thought struck her. Why didn't he take advantage of me? I wanted him to. I know I did. She thought, then doubt filled her mind. No, I... I do want to be with him; but, not like... I want to be aware when... if... it happens.

*

“That's why we're both still dressed.” I said and Kris tensed up a little. “I thought about leaving, then I realized I had to keep my word to you.” I waved at the hair she sat in. “You used it like a blanket the whole time you were asleep.”

“H-how l-long?”

I took out a datapad and checked the time. “About seven hours.”

“We were here all day?” Kris asked, surprised.

“I didn't have anywhere else to be.” I said with a smile and sat up. “Of course, now I do.”

“Hunter...” Kris started to say.

“I've got a date with Grace that I need to get ready for.” I said and stood up, then easily pulled all of my hair off of the bed. I floated it behind me like it was suspended in water and Kris stared at it. “Would you mind if I used your shower?”

“N-no, go right ahead.” Kris said and she kept staring at my floating hair.

I entered her bathroom and quickly stripped off, took out the second suit bundle to see that it also had the same accessories of socks, underwear, and shirt that matched the red pinstripe suit. With my outfit ready, I stepped into the shower to start washing. I intentionally left the bathroom door open and it didn't take long for Kris to poke her head into the bathroom to take a peek at me. She caught her breath as she saw me through the practically see-through glass of the shower stall.

I washed everywhere and left my hair for last. I gave it a quick shampoo and rinse, then I turned off the shower and squeezed my hair out with Presence. After a quick flick to get the last of the water off of it, I used a towel to dry myself off. Kris stood there in the doorway, her mouth slightly open, and she watched me get dressed. By the time I pulled on my shirt, she had closed her eyes and I heard her thoughts as she tried to burn the image of me into her mind.

“Let me help with that.” I said and Kris opened her eyes to look at me.

“H-how?” Kris asked in a whisper.

I leaned down and gave her a kiss and used Presence to stimulate her mind to let her remember. I felt the memory settle into her long term memory and broke the kiss.

Kris gasped and put a hand over her mouth. “H-Hunter!”

“Thanks for letting me use your shower.” I said and stored my other suit and clothes, then I walked to her room door.

“W-wait!” Kris said and turned to face me. “How did you bring me inside?”

I smiled and used Presence to open all the locks on her door and pulled it open. “Any other questions?”

“Are... are you going to sleep with Grace?”

“Now that I've sobered up, I can say that I won't.”

“Why?”

“I made the mistake of sleeping with a co-worker and made a mess of it. Even if all Grace wants is a one time fling, and I'm pretty sure she wants a lot more than that, I won't take advantage of her... or you.”

Kris took a deep breath and sighed. “I wanted you to.”

I chuckled as the Presence wavered a little. “Only because it would make the next time it happened that much easier.”

Kris waited for a moment and then nodded.

“Then you might be happy to know that I'm not taking another break from work for about a month.” I said. “Do you think I might catch another ride then?”

Kris didn't even have to think about it before she answered. “I'll make sure my ship is on station by then.”

I nodded and left the apartment, then I locked all the locks behind me.