Read Being Amber Online

Authors: Sylvia Ryan

Being Amber (6 page)

“He felt like shit that he wasn’t here for your first night. He was so upset today we couldn’t get him to leave. We tried to get him to go, but he was being stubborn.” Emily said. “I actually had to call his mother.” Her smirk was devilish. “She imposed her motherly authority and forced him to go. She’s one of the very few people that will take him head-on and not accept no for an answer. They’re close, the two of them.”

“I think he feels like he’s let you down, without you even meeting each other yet,” Jordan said. “If you’re up to it, you guys can meet later. I’m sure he’s going to try to get in here anyways.”

“He’s been sleeping around because he has trouble falling asleep by himself. His last roommate, Diana, recently got married and moved to the townhomes with her new hubby,” Caroline said. “That’s why he wasn’t here your first night.”

“Sleeping around?”

“Yeah, staying here and there instead of coming back to his own apartment.”

“How did Diana’s husband like the fact that she slept in the same bed as Xander?” Jaci asked.

Hannah shrugged. “It was fine. Half the time, he was here too.” She paused. “Listen, you have to change the mindset that sleeping with somebody or touching somebody is sexual. Sometimes it is, but most of the time it’s not.”

“And there’s going to be a lot of times that there are three, sometimes even four people in your bed, like right now. We’re all here and will be here for another night if you need us. All of our roommates, including Xander, are on their own. They’re sleeping with other people.”

Jaci nodded then yawned.

“Okay, I think that’s enough for one morning. Jaci needs some rest,” Jordan said.

“You don’t have to stay and watch me sleep.”

“You guys go,” Caroline said. “I didn’t get much sleep last night anyways, a nap sounds good.”

The women left and Jaci rolled to her side trying to get comfortable. She fell asleep easily to the soft caresses of Caroline’s fingers sifting gently through her hair.

* * * *

The apartment was totally silent when Xander opened the door.

A few moments before, Jordan had checked in to report that she’d left to get some sleep. He was supposed to take over surveillance. He could have done that from outside the apartment, sitting with Brady and monitoring the bug from the ninth floor. But, bottom line, he needed to see Jaci, to make sure she was okay. He wanted to…Xander shook the thought away. Wanting to shake her and yell at her for what she’d done wouldn’t be the ideal way to start off their new relationship. He slipped in and peered over toward the bed.

Caroline slept next to Jaci. Her hand was on Jaci’s waist.

They were both turned away from the door, facing his side of the room. He crept in, walking past the bed so he could look at his new roommate. He wanted to officially meet her since she hadn’t woken up at all before the Sit-In Team arrived and pestered him until he got out.

It was hard to step back and relinquish control of this situation. But, he understood why the women took over on these occasions. Caroline, the head of the Sit-In Team was a nurse and also a fallow herself. The other women who volunteered for the sit-in would become an instant circle of friends for Jaci. They would help her cope with the extreme culture shock coming from living her whole life in a different zone. And, even more importantly, help her through the heart-piercing struggle of coming to terms with her sterilization and the new life assigned to her.

His gaze fastened to the woman in the bed. A puddle of wavy, brown hair covered his pillow. Even while sleeping, a mask of misery veiled Jaci’s face. It would have been preferable to meet her before her reassignment to Amber, before the operation. He would have been able to know who she truly was, not just the person she’d been forced to become.

Xander knew other women and men that came from different zones after being designated Amber. They’d all adjusted well, many preferring the Amber lifestyle to their previous designation. He was confident Jaci would too.

He stood over her, working himself up yet again about finding her near death the day before, when Jaci opened her eyes. She looked dazed while she tried to figure out where she was, and Xander discerned the exact moment when she put the pieces together in her head because a profound sadness emanated from her. Her eyes deadened.

Kneeling next to the bed, he whispered, “Hi.”

He reached out slowly and ran his thumb across her cheek.

She looked into his eyes. “Hi.”

“I’m Xander.”

She smiled a sad smile. “Jaci.”

“You’re on my side of the bed,” he said teasing her. He gingerly climbed onto the sliver of mattress available next to her. Their faces were inches away from each other, their bodies pressed close with only the covers as a barrier between them.

 

Chapter 4

 

It took Jaci an instant to suppress her surprise when Xander climbed into the bed next to her. His intense expression and his dark exploration of the features of her face raised goose bumps on her arms and sent tingles down the back of her neck.

“How are you feeling?” he whispered, reaching up to brush a lock of her hair aside. He placed his palm on the skin he’d exposed on her neck, his fingers curling around to her nape. His hand was hot against her cool skin. Her breathing quickened. It felt nice, his hand on her.

“I’m ready to come home. These women wouldn’t let me yesterday,” he grumbled. He gently petted the back of her neck with the velvet pads of his fingers.

“I’m not sure it’s up to me,” Jaci said, giving him a faint smile.

“Maybe I’ll stay here and hide behind you.”

“You could try, but I think I’d notice.” The voice sounded from behind Jaci. Caroline was awake.

“Crap,” he murmured.

“You just couldn’t stay away, you goon,” Caroline chastised.

Jaci rolled over onto her back. “It’s okay, Caroline. He’s not bothering me.”

Caroline glowered at Xander while he gave her a self-satisfied expression.

She turned her attention to Jaci. “You need anything?”

“Bathroom.”

Xander got up from the bed and walked around to where Caroline stood. They both helped her up and walked her over to the bathroom. Xander’s arm circled her back. His hand slipped underneath the opening of her paper clinic gown. It was large and warm on her skin, gently cupping her hip, guiding her. Caroline went into the bathroom with her this time, as Xander stepped away.

* * * *

“Do you want me to kick him out?”

“No, it’s his apartment too.”

“He’s going to want to sleep here tonight. Are you ready for that?”

Jaci was silent for a while. “He’s not weird or dangerous or anything is he?”

“Ha! Xander? No way. He’s just a whiny baby who can’t stand not being in control.”

Jaci smiled. She couldn’t imagine that man having a whiny bone in his body. “I think it will be okay.”

“It’s nice to see you smile.” Caroline caught her eye, obviously trying to read her, and then nodded. “Okay.”

“I’ll be out in a minute.” Jaci raised her eyebrows expectantly, waiting for the woman to leave her alone.

Caroline nodded and smiled at her. “Okay.” She grabbed the box of surge patches on the way out the bathroom door. “I’ll have to take a look when you’re done in there,” she said, holding up the box.

When she exited the bathroom, Caroline was waiting. “Let’s take a look. I’ll spray the areas with the antibiotic spray and put new patches on.”

Xander leaned against the wall by the window. His arms were crossed over his chest. It looked as if it didn’t even occur to him that she may want some privacy. He wasn’t going anywhere.

“Oh you don’t have to do that. I can do it this time.” She looked down. “It’s kind of–yuck.”

“I’m a nurse. I’ve seen a lot worse than this.”

Jaci‘s head snapped down to where Caroline knelt in front of her. “A nurse? I thought Ambers couldn’t have professional jobs.”

“Sometimes I think the Gov spreads that disinformation on purpose because you aren’t the first fallow to say that to me. So, it’s understandable why you’re confused. Plus, only the Ambers that don’t have higher education work outside the Amber Zone, so there was no reason to think any differently. You can go to college online here as long as you do your twenty hours of work assignment every week. All of our professionals are Ambers. Everything here is done by us, for us. There are no other class designations that work in the Amber Zone.

“There, you’re all set.” She threw the wrapper from the new patches away, and led Jaci back to bed.

“My work assignment is painter. It’s only twenty hours a week? And I can go to college for anything I want?” She looked back and forth between Caroline and Xander.

“Yeah, everybody works twenty hours a week. No exceptions,” Caroline said.

“I don’t get it, how do you earn enough money to live?”

“We don’t earn money, we earn credits. It’s illegal to have currency in Amber,” Xander stated.

“Pretty much everything, you know, the basics, are provided by the Gov at the commissary. The credits are for extras like clothes and luxury items like scented soap, stuff like that,” Caroline added. “That’s one of the things the code on your palm is for.”

Jaci must have looked lost because Xander added, “Your credits are deposited to your code. Whenever you need to pay for something you scan your hand and the credits will be deducted from your total.”

Jaci looked at Xander with disbelief, then at Caroline waiting for her to contradict him, or start laughing or something. “You’re kidding right?”

“No.” Xander shook his head. “From teachers to trash collectors, nobody is paid with money, and everybody earns the same amount of credits every week. If somebody chooses to go to school to be a nurse, it's because that's how they want to spend their twenty hours of work per week, not because nurses earn more credits.”

“Our quality of life here is probably as good, or better even, than those who are Sapphires. Of course, the sacrifices that are made are the price we pay. Some more than others,” Caroline said absently scratching Jaci’s thigh.

“What’s your job?” Jaci asked Xander.

“I’m a police officer.”

Jaci saw it in him immediately. He carried himself with authority. She scanned his face and body, taking everything in. He was handsome with his short cut, brown hair and intense, almost black eyes. His features were rugged, especially with the growth of whiskers darkening his jaw. His face could easily be intimidating. He also possessed an essence of danger.

Their gazes locked. He’d seen her taking him in, assessing him, and it looked like he’d been doing the same.

He wore an intoxicating look on his face that contained a promise of…Jaci sighed and the muscles of her neck and shoulders relaxed. His eyes promised refuge and security.

Caroline cleared her throat and then rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind him, he knows he’s good looking and it’s gone to his head. He thinks he’s God’s gift to the female of the species.” She misinterpreted the moment they’d just shared. It’s about time for another dose,” Caroline said over her shoulder as she shook out another painkiller for Jaci.

Xander’s jaw clenched as he eyed the pill bottle in Caroline’s hand. But in the split second it took for Caroline to turn back toward the room, his expression changed to normal. In that moment, Jaci realized he was the one who’d found her after she took the pills. No words were necessary from him. His expression told her everything she needed to know. He was seriously pissed off about it and nothing like that would be happening again.

“So you only work twenty hours a week too?” Jaci asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah. I do two ten-hour days–Tuesdays and Wednesdays unless I’m working on an ongoing case. Then my hours adjust if they have to. It all eventually washes out to twenty hours per week in the end. It’s a nice gig.

“We don’t have much crime here, since there’s no paper money and few valuables. Thieves try to sneak out of the Amber Zone to steal. Violent crimes are practically nonexistent. I think it’s because people are rarely alone enough to get away with much of anything. Once in a while we’ll get a call about a fistfight, usually it’s over a woman.” Xander reclined at the foot of the bed, propping his head up on his hand and absently touching the hills made by Jaci’s toes under the blanket.

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