Free The Solar Wind by Laura E. Collins

and then he spoke again.
                  “I’m sorry it’s such short notice, but the crew and I are headed out for some dinner tonight and I wondered if you would like to join us?”
    Ava glanced at herself in a mirror hanging nearby. She had changed out of her work attire into some old clothes after she got home to do her chores. She didn’t look anywhere near ready to go out. Perhaps they were starving from their long journey, she didn’t want to hold them up just because she needed to freshen up. “Unfortunately I’m not ready to go out right now. If you guys are hungry now you should probably go without me.”
                  “How much time do you need? I doubt it would take you long to improve on perfection.”
                  “Ha ha ha, very funny” She chuckled. It appeared he was not going to take “no” for an answer tonight.
                  “I’ll come for you around 7:15 p.m. Will that be all right?”
                  “Okay, I’ll be ready. I’ll see you soon then.”
                  “See you soon.”
    As soon as she hung up she rushed off to the bathroom to quickly shower and blow out her hair. She re-applied her makeup and wandered over to her small closet and chose some casual shiny black slacks, black boots, and a silver v-necked sweater. Ava glanced in the mirror once more; she was satisfied with her casual appearance. She didn’t know why, but she was suddenly a little nervous about seeing him again. Two quick knocks on the door signaled his arrival. Ava pushed the release next to the door and it slid silently open. He stood there as she remembered him; calm and serene gazing at her.
                  “It’s so nice to see you again. How are you?” He seemed to look her over as if he were checking to see if she was okay.
                  “I am well, thank you. It’s good to see you. You’ve been gone so long, I was beginning to wonder what happened to you.” She smiled shyly at him. She wasn’t sure if she should hug him or not. She had not hugged him in the past and decided against it now.
                  “I’m sorry about that Ava. We had some lengthy assignments to complete. We’ll tell you all about it at dinner.” He stepped in closer to her and gently touched her right earlobe. He had noticed she was not wearing her earrings but he didn’t say anything about it. “I missed you,” he said softly. Ava was taken by surprise when he gently embraced her. She returned the hug and closed her eyes for a moment.  She hadn’t hugged anyone since she said good-bye to Alexis before she left Earth all those months ago. The nerves that had been plaguing her seemed to melt away. It felt good to be held by someone and she could not think of anyone else she would rather be held by right now. She opened her eyes as he released her.
                  “We’d best be going. I hope you like spicy food,” he said with a smile. And then they were off.
                  The crew waited patiently for them outside of the restaurant on Level 5 talking and laughing as usual when they arrived. Everyone seemed to be as Ava remembered; happy, healthy, and hungry. Always hungry. Naomi came over and gave Ava a quick hug before they were invited in by the seating hostess. After they were seated Wesley and Naomi began telling Ava about their assignments over the past several weeks. They had many pick-ups and deliveries from Earth and a few other stations and back. Aside from Orionis and Earth, they seemed to do a lot of business for Capristine, also referred to as “Capri” for short, one of the newest and sought after stations in orbit. Ava had hoped this would be the station she would be assigned to live on as it was known for its younger population and lively entertainment scene. She hoped to visit there someday.
                  After dinner Wesley