Genesis - Keith R. A. DeCandido [29]
Every attempt at a third date had met with failure, as Mariano had managed to not show up for some lame reason or other. She was getting tired of it.
Last night had been the most recent attempt at that third date. She was left waiting at the train station half the night before she finally gave up and went back to her apartment.
As she entered the elevator, she said, "Whatever." She faced the front of the car, her back to him.
"I'm really sorry, Anna, I just fell asleep. You know how long we've been working on the T-virus, and I haven't been getting enough sleep, and—"
"I said, 'Whatever,' Mo." She didn't bother to turn around to address him.
He winced. "Do you have to call me that?"
Johnny-Wayne tried and failed to suppress a giggle.
"Show up for a date some time, and I'll think about it," she said matter-of-factly.
"Look, you know how hard I've been working, and—"
Now she did turn around, and fixed him with as withering a gaze as she could manage first thing in the morning. "Yeah, I know how hard you've been working, Mo. You know how I know that? I've been working just as hard. The same bosses that are crawling up your ass have taken up residence in mine. And yet, somehow, some way, I was able to haul myself to the train station for our date."
"Yeah, but you're a girl. You don't need as much sleep."
Anna blinked. "What?"
"They did a study. Women don't need as much sleep as men do. It has to do with the different biological needs and differences in REM sleep. Plus there's the estrogen factor." Mariano spoke with the same tone of authority that he used when he was presenting a paper in his field. Of course, his field had nothing to do with the study of circadian rhythms, sleep patterns, or the effects of gender on the same.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Anna stared at Mariano in open-mouthed stupefaction.
Johnny-Wayne was having a much harder time keeping his laughter to himself now.
Mariano broke into that stupid smile of his again. "Yeah, I am kidding. But you almost bought it, didn't you?"
She turned back around so she didn't have to look at him. "No."
"Oh, come on, you bought it a little."
"No, I really didn't."
"You're no fun at all when you're angry, you know that?"
She rolled her eyes. "That's kind of the idea."
The elevator stopped at their floor, and she went out ahead of him.
"Look," he said, "I'll make it up to you."
"Really?" she asked dubiously.
"Yeah, really. Why don't we meet in the cafeteria tonight for dinner?"
She sighed, brushing one of her long locks of blond hair behind her ear. "I suppose it's a possibility."
"Good. Ten o'clock?"
She opened the door to their lab. The late hour was necessary, given the amount of overtime they were going to need to put in. "All right, ten. But maybe I won't show this time."
"Why not?" Mariano asked petulantly.
"Because I'm busy."
At that, Mariano hit her with that mischievious smile. Anna sighed, realizing that he was not going to take this seriously in the least.
But then, was there any reason to? As colleagues, they had a great deal in common. They were both bright young biologists leapfrogging their way toward the top of the field of viral research. Thanks to Umbrella's resources, they were doing work light-years ahead of anyone else's. In particular, they'd been taking Dr. Ashford's work, and bringing it to a whole new level.
Unfortunately, while they were more than able to work together, and had made some fantastic breakthroughs, once you got past the shop talk, they had nothing in common. She loved chamber music; he thought Britney Spears was deep. She loved to read American Civil War histories, Toni Morrison novels, and Agatha Christie mysteries; he found the sports pages of the Raccoon City Times to be taxing. Her definition of art was Monet; his was a Velvet Elvis.
But damn, was he good in bed.
Maybe she should just leave it at that.
Johnny-Wayne closed and sealed the door behind him, then went to feed Daffy, one of the rabbits. (Johnny-Wayne had