“Hey,” said Gracious over the tannoy, “you think Aurora has a boyfriend?” “Probably,” said Donegan. “I don’t think she does,” said Gracious. “I think she’d have mentioned it. You think she’d go out with me?”
“Probably not.”
“Why not?”
“You’re short.”
“I’m the same height as she is.”
“Yeah, but you look like a hobbit.”
“She might like that.”
“She might like hairy feet?”
“My feet aren’t hairy. They’re masculine. So you think she’d go out with me?”
“Still no.” The jet lifted off the ground, but over the roar of the engines Gracious kept talking. “Do you think she’d go out with Saracen?”
“Probably.”
“Yeah.” The plane climbed higher. “I would.”
“You’d go out with Saracen?”
“If I was going to date a guy, yeah. Wouldn’t you?”
“Don’t know. I don’t think he’d be my type. You know who I would date? Frightening.”
“Why Frightening?”
“I just think he’d be gentle, you know?”
“Yeah. You wouldn’t date Dexter?”
“I’d be afraid I might cut myself on his abs,” Donegan said, and they laughed until Gracious said, “Oh, wait, this is the mic button,” and then the speakers cut off.
