Taking the dress, she put it on, making sure that the low-cut portion was in the back. “What do you think?” she asked, doing a small twirl.
He smiled with a warm glow in his eyes. “It looks perfect on you.”
His shorts now had a bulge in them, and Mia smiled to herself in satisfaction. Despite everything, it was nice to know that she had that kind of effect on him, that his need was as strong as hers. At least in this, they were equals.
Curious to see how the dress looked, she walked over to the mirror on the other side of the bedroom.
Korum was right; the outfit was very pretty. Similar in style to the ones she’d seen the female Keiths wear, it was a beautiful shade of ivory with peach undertones, and draped over her body in exactly the right way. Her back and shoulders were mostly exposed, while her front was modestly covered, with strategic pleats around her chest area concealing her nipples. The length was exactly right for her too, with the floaty skirt stopping a couple of inches above her knees.
When she turned around, he handed her a pair of flat ivory sandals, made of some unusually soft material. Mia tried them on. They fit her feet perfectly and were surprisingly comfortable.
“Nice, thanks,” she said. Then, remembering one last crucial item, she asked, “What about underwear?”
“We don’t really wear it,” Korum said. “I can make it for you if you insist, but you might want to try wearing just our clothes.”
No underwear? “What if the dress rides up or something?”
“It won’t. The material is intelligent as well. It’s designed to adhere to your body in exactly the right way. If you move or bend in a certain direction, it will move with you so that you will always be covered.”
That was handy. Mia thought of the countless wardrobe malfunctions in Hollywood that could’ve been prevented with K clothing. “Okay, then I’m ready, I guess,” she said. “I have to use the restroom, and then I’m good to go.”
“Excellent,” Korum said, smiling. “I’ll see you in the living room.”
And with a quick kiss on her forehead, he exited the room.
* * *
“I like what you’ve done with the place. Very twenty-first-century American.”
Korum’s friend had just walked in and was looking around with a smile. An inch or two shorter than Korum, he was just as powerfully built, and had the darker coloring typical of the Ks. His face was rounder, however, and his cheekbones sharper, reminding her a bit of someone with Asian ancestry.
“What can I say? You know I have good taste,” said Korum, getting up from the couch where he had been sitting with Mia to greet the newcomer. Approaching him, Korum lightly touched his shoulder with his palm, and the other K reciprocated his gesture.
Mia wondered if that was the K version of a handshake.
Turning toward her, Korum said, “Mia, this is my friend Saret. Saret, this is Mia, my charl.”
Saret smiled, his brown eyes twinkling. He seemed genuinely pleased to see her. “Hello, Mia. Welcome to our Center. I hope you’ve been finding it to your liking so far?”
Mia got up and smiled in return. It was strange to be meeting another K. With the exception of a couple of brief encounters with Korum’s colleagues, her lover was the only Krinar she’d interacted with thus far.
“It’s been very nice, thank you.”
Should she offer to shake his hand? Or do that shoulder thing Korum had just done? As soon as the thought occurred to her, she decided against it. She had no idea what the K rules on physical contact were, and she didn’t want to accidentally cause offense.
“Have you had a chance to go anywhere in Lenkarda so far? Korum told me you arrived only this morning.”
Mia shook her head regretfully. “No, I haven’t. I’m afraid I spent most of the day sleeping.” What time was it, anyway? Through the transparent walls of the house, she could see that it was dark outside. It had to be late in the evening, or maybe even the middle of the night.
“Mia was jet-lagged and exhausted from what happened earlier,” Korum explained, walking back toward her and placing a proprietary hand around her back. He pulled her down on the couch next to him, and Saret sat down on one of the plush armchairs across from them.
“Of course,” Saret said, “I completely understand. It had to be very traumatic for you, learning the truth that way.”
Mia stared at him in surprise. How much did he know? Had Korum told him everything, including her role in the Resistance attack on their Centers? She had no idea how her actions would be viewed by the Krinar. Would she be punished somehow for aiding the Resistance earlier?
“Well, the good thing is that it’s over,” Korum said, taking one of Mia’s hands into his and softly rubbing her palm with his thumb. Turning toward her, he promised, “You don’t have to worry about any of this again.”
“Actually,” Saret said with a regretful look on his handsome face, “I’m afraid there might be one more thing that Mia has to do.”