Free Promenade a Deux by ID Locke

Promenade A Deux
    By ID Locke
    With many thanks to my betas, readers and family for their continuing support and to a friend for providing me with the Bengali words I needed.
    I checked the mirror once again and sighed. Brown eyes hidden behind wire-rim glasses, short brown curly hair, average nose and average lips. Skin pale from too much time in the lab and not enough out in the field gathering specimens and an average to skinny build. The only thing I could see that I had going for me was my brains. Even then, I couldn't seem to hold a decent conversation with somebody that somehow didn't involve insects, my chosen field of study and passion, or my hobby of collecting pressed flowers. I couldn't be geekier if I tried.
    I muttered at my reflection in Ojibwe, feeling that in this instance, my native tongue best expressed how hopelessly dirt dull I was.
    I was pretty sure that if I made a move on the absolutely stunning creature that had my libido in a vice grip, I'd be shot down in flames. There was no way in hell that anyone that gorgeous would want to have anything intimate to do with someone as uninteresting as me even if he did swing both ways. There was also the fact that nobody at the base I worked at knew I was gay. I took great pains not to flaunt my sexuality. There wasn't any outright gay bashing in the facility; Commander Eldridge wouldn't stand for that under his watch. But I'd heard some not so nice comments spoken in low tones about the few people in the facility who were out and I wanted no part of that. I was awkward enough as it was and didn't need the further stigma of being that weird faggy bug guy.
    I smoothed a hand over my lab coat and adjusted my glasses once more before leaving my room. I had paperwork to do that I'd been putting off and it needed to be handed in by month's end, which was a scant two days away. Mooning over one of the Gen-Mods wasn't going to do anything for me other than make me hard as a rock and needing to spend a little quality time on my bed with a tube of lube and my pants around my ankles.
    I nodded at personnel in the hall as I hurried to my lab. I didn't need to go through the lab to reach my office, but I liked to stop and say hello to the various insects and arachnids there. Other scientists laughed at me for talking to my bugs, but I thought it helped them to know I didn't mean them any harm. I'd never been stung or bitten by any of the various species under my direct care, while several of my assistants had. It could be years of experience and a healthy respect for the dangerous creatures they were, but I believed they could sense my admiration.
    I headed straight to my favorite and touched the glass of her tank as I said a soft hello to her. I called her Abigail and she was an absolutely beautiful leiurus quinquestriatus , a Deathstalker scorpion.
    "How are you today, Abigail? Feeling lonely now that all your babies have moved on to their own homes? That dapper young man Jeremy you had the fling with last time is still here. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to come on over and maybe share a nice meal of fat crickets before taking you out for a twirl around the dance floor. Or maybe Patrick is more to your liking this time around. He's a little older than Jeremy, but still very good looking for his age. How about we go for a little stroll just to see what's on the market?"
    I lifted the lid on Abigail's tank and grabbed a wooden dowel from a jar on the counter. I wouldn't disturb her if she really didn't want to be bothered. Handling a Deathstalker bare-handed was very dangerous. They were the most venomous of all the scorpions, but I was confident in my skills and knowledge of scorpion behavior. Abigail also liked me. I gave her a gentle prod with the dowel and she moved easily away from it without becoming aggressive. I lowered my hand into the tank and nudged her to my hand with the dowel. She climbed on and refused to move off when I gave her another gentle push. I laughed