She imagined Hayat had decided to break off the relationship to start fresh in the new year.Outside the window on the opposite side of the car was a n...rrow span of Hullsteel overhanging the world below. The beautiful green ball below was a dangerous tropical world in the midst of its terraforming cycle. The spider-shaped space station hung above the world, a port for supply ships that seemed to come less and less often. This arm of the station, where Antje was stuck, was filled with empty. I was just relaxing, and I found Ryan had maintained my favourite spot to curl up with a good book and a pot of tea. I had set up my end of the veranda off our bedrooms with a work area for my tinkering with electronics, my computer and a reading chair.Ryan had discouraged the boys from using that veranda, as I considered it my area. Plenty of other spaces could be utilised by them, so they had respected Ryan’s wishes. The better views were from the other veranda off the lounge, which was why I. We left a little before midnight. Before we left Gina and Ed invited Maggie, Kate and me to dinner on Sunday. Jess and Rick would also be there with their two boys. When we got back to the house, Maggie walked Nancy home, just across the street. Maggie didn’t have anything to drink the whole night and she asked me to make her a bourbon Manhattan. So I made two. I had them ready by the time she got back. We sat on the sofa, cuddling and sipping our drinks, the air conditioning was wonderful. It. We lay for a short while, just holding hands, but then Sandra turned over and laid her head on my shoulder, cuddling up close to me. I put one arm around her shoulder. It felt absolutely wonderful.We lay there in a companionable silence for a little while. “Are you a virgin?” she whispered suddenly.“Yes,” I breathed.“So’m I.”I didn’t move, wondering if this was a hint. I had just about convinced myself it was a hint, and was preparing to make a move, when she spoke again. “I’m not ready for.