Jake called up life support and the artificial gravity, but he didn’t touch navigation. “Don’t we need to get out of here?” Char asked. “Let’s wait until Mike does some scanning on the subnet before we make any noise.” Mike. The mention of the name resurrected the wall between them. Jake avoided eye contact. “I’d like to know how things lie before going any further.” How things lie. He could be talking about Char and Mike as much as orbital hazards. How obtuse she had been. Jake needed to know how things were before going any further. Char had never been aggressive in love. She’d expected love to find her, choose her. Mike had come to her with love—with desire, anyway. But she didn’t want Mike. She and Brandon fell in with each other in school and found it easier to stay together than not. Had he lived and the world not imploded, they’d be married by now. Happy enough. No idea of anything missing. She had loved Brandon, if not with any great passion. She’d been surprised how much his death hurt.
