Song of the Navigator Read Free

his head. Jason was one of a select few of the hotel staff who knew about Tover’s tastes. And Michael Bayer was an exceptionally talented entertainer who worked a few days a month at the Lizard Lounge, an exclusive private club for men of Tover’s persuasion.
    â€œNot tonight,” Tover said. “Saving my voice.”
    â€œTalking isn’t always necessary,” Jason replied, then with a laugh he left Tover finally, blissfully, alone with his aviary.
    The majesty of birds took his breath away, made him feel small, yet part of something bigger, something incredible and purposeful. He could spend all night listening to speeches about his own grandeur, but when it came down to it, this—a moment alone with his birds, in their own artificial habitat, lush and alive—was all he needed to humble him.
    Five to twenty, Tover left the noisy comfort of his aviary and changed into black leather pants and a crisp white dress shirt which he left unbuttoned low at the neck. The leather pants were extravagantly expensive, almost too much, even for his exorbitant salary. But it was his thirtieth birthday. He allowed himself a few indulgences.
    As he dressed, he fantasized about the afterparty that would be held on the rooftop of the older Grand Palacio Hotel. Harmony held almost all of its corporate events there, and Tover always attended them on the off-chance that Cruz Arcadio would show.
    Tover brushed his teeth, cautioning himself not to get his hopes up. The engineer passed through the station rarely, only once every one or two months. But on the occasions he did travel from Harmony’s headquarters for business, he had no choice but to stop at DK Station, and he usually amused himself between pulses by attending company events.
    And because of this, Tover never missed one. He knew it was a long shot, one-in-a-hundred chance that he would glimpse the engineer’s dark black hair, caramel skin, his large brown eyes. For a man who spent most of his time in an office, Cruz had the body of a soldier, and the way he made love was so forceful and passionate, Tover would fantasize about him for weeks after their too-brief, and too-rare, couplings.
    After all, most of Tover’s lovers were so intimidated by the fact they were fucking a navigator they couldn’t fully engage. But Cruz didn’t treat him any differently. The first time they’d hooked up had been in the bathroom off the Palacio dance floor, and Cruz had immediately taken charge, stunning Tover into blissful submission with powerful kisses, strong roaming hands, and an insistent, invasive rhythm which left Tover sated and sore for days.
    Just imagining him again got Tover worked up, and so he forced himself to think about something else. More often than not, he left disappointed. But the rare nights they had gotten together were the most exciting, erotic experiences of Tover’s life, and now that his mind had wandered in that direction, nothing could stop it. He had to hope his birthday present would be there.
    Tover’s security team met Tover in the Oasis lobby, and they were quickly joined by Alexey Jade and Peter Owens, Port Director for Dadelus-Kaku’s Harmony dock and the highest-ranking Harmony official on the station.
    Tover let Peter do the talking, worried about the prospect of having to make a speech after a long day at work. He smiled at the right times and raised his eyebrows in greeting as more corpexecs joined the entourage. He sucked on lozenges and shook hands. They entered the main boulevard of the atrium, and Tover froze as everyone else looked on.
    There was a parade in his honor.
    He had known there would be festivities, but the size of the crowd, so many balloons and evaporating ticker tape and floats representing the history of navigation and space travel took him by complete surprise. Harmony had really outdone themselves this year.
    â€œHappy birthday, Tover,” Peter Owens said, patting him on