Rats in the Pipes

18: Nefarious Activities

Fate having decided to smile on me kept smiling. The next morning Maa Hons told me I could have two more cycles work since her back was taking longer than she'd hoped to get better. I enjoyed cleaning the café. It was a surprisingly satisfying form of work. Better than street cleaning which is simply backbreaking slog. Still I'm not complaining I'm getting two nights most cycles though I never know which ones. They buzz me at 20.00 if someone doesn't turn up. As soon as I'd finished at the café I went straight to the ARM office on 22 and applied to rent studio 10. They checked my records, saw I'd been a tenant paying 25 creds a cycle and tried to persuade me that I wanted something better. By which they meant more expensive and on which they could make more commission. When I told them I was now a street cleaner and that property was exactly what I needed they stopped bothering and produced the documents. I signed up and paid a deposit of 50 creds. My tenancy would be official from the start of the next cycle and I could collect the key authorisation on Oneday.

Restday we went to World of the Seas and then to the garbage shop on 38. We came away with pillows, a coverlet and a few other bits and pieces. I don't have any intention of living full time in the studio. I need an address and we need a bit of private space for what Ben calls nefarious activities. I was looking forward to taking possession of the studio. Since we agreed to change our relationship status from friends to friends and lovers it's been a bit frustrating. Not that either of us wanted to rush straight into having sex. We both agree that our friendship is the most important thing and that our physical relationship should complement not dominate it. Also Ben's naïve about sex. He has no experience, partly because until recently he's never been sure of his sexuality, and partly because he's hopelessly idealistic about relationships. Still we want to explore our physical attraction for each other. We want to kiss, to cuddle, to be intimate. It's hard not to touch each other in front of Mik. It's even harder to try and do it at night in complete silence. The one time we tried to be naughty we failed. We didn't make much noise but inevitably Mik, who normally sleeps like the proverbial dead, woke up and wanted to come up to the platform. We ended up playing extinct animal alphabet until 23.00 which wasn't quite the kind of fun we'd had in mind.

I collected the key authority on my way home from the cafe. Mik and I opened it up and decided that it was smelly. It had a slight mustiness that spoke of being empty and shut up for a long time. I turned on the aircon and put a few creds in the meter for electricity and water. Then we went and spent an hour doing Mik's lessons. Ben appeared briefly at 13.00 and stayed long enough to drink a kaftee and have a quick look at the studio. He winked and blew me a kiss behind Mik's back. He left me feeling that tonight couldn't come soon enough. After Ben had gone Mik helped me clean and put the bedding and a few other bits and pieces in the studio. By the time we'd done that it was gone 16.00.

"Come on Mik you and me are going to go up levels to the Omnimart on 25 to buy a treat for supper. They have nice cakes there. Do you want one?" Of course he did. I knew he would that's why I suggested it. I want to go there because they sell tubes of cheerio dry and I wanted body oil and room scenters. We've been very careful with money but tonight we were going to have a little treat. I felt a nervous anticipation about the fact that we planned to sneak next door and have sex once Mik was asleep. Ben has never had sex so this would be his first time and I wanted it to be special.

We bumped into Sol as we left home. She asked me how the street cleaning was going. It turned out she was on her way to get something for her evening meal so we walked along together. I think Ben was right about her keeping her word and not turning us in. She's more impulsive and thoughtless than bad hearted; not that I've quite got to the point of forgiving her for what she put me through. When we got to the concourse she continued on and I turned to go to the upscaler. That's when I was stopped by three WCM officials. They scanned my ID and then Mik's.