.just like with Levon and Mary. Everything," John sputtered."Our deal?" Just as you said. Over and done...after..." Shall I undress?" Please."Joy's ha...d went to the buttons on her blouse."You know, John, you aren't a bad looking guy. Who knows...something like this might have happened, maybe, without blackmail...maybe. Maybe not."One by one, the buttons gave way on Joy's shirt. John's heart began to pound and breathing became more difficult. In a brief moment, the shirt fell from Joy's. The problem was that because I hadn't been to a doctor in years, I didn't know who to go to so iasked my wife who she saw. She told me about the doctor who she went and how good she was. That's right, she said "she". I decided that I needed a good doctor more than I needed a man doctor so I made the appointment. I got there early and filled out all of the paperwork. This doctor must be good, I thought to myself because the waiting room was packed. When i was finally called, I was led by. " Has the information you've assimilated from the Sirius space fleet given you a better understanding of the nature of the Anomaly?" Not at all, Beatrice. Not at all. The Anomaly is as much a mystery to Sirius as it is to you or, indeed, to us. They had the same unsatisfactory results as you when they launched their probes into the Anomaly. There is no spacetime distortion due to gravity. There is no electromagnetic signature. There is no evidence that there's been any interaction with the. My hand lifted and ran through my hair and cleared my throat again. ‘Of course not, Miss…? I had let the sentence falter and my own green eyes met brown. Then she smiled. I wasn’t so sure about that smile, it was seductive – even more so than the rest of that petite frame. I had managed a small smile back. She stood from that chair and took a seat on the desk, leaning back toward me, bottle still in hand. God, she smelled of roses. Roses and rain. I watched in stunned silence as her tongue.