Special Forces 01 by Honor Raconteur

permissible for an unescorted male to enter a female’s bedroom. He hesitated a moment at the threshold. But these are my sisters now, surely that rule doesn’t apply here? The rule had been designed for males with nefarious purposes on their minds. He didn’t have a nefarious bone in his body when it came to women.
    He still felt uncomfortably guilty though, when he actually entered their room and sat in the chair they pointed him to.
    “So what advice do you need?” Cecilia encouraged, grateful for the break and ready for any challenge.
    Rys rubbed the back of his head, taking a moment to consider the best way to approach this delicate matter. “I’ve met a young woman — Anne is her name — who has been very helpful to me the past three days or so. She’s been answering a lot of questions that don’t appear in any manuals on cultural etiquette. And she never acts like I’m bothering her.”
    “That’s because she likes you,” Cecilia declared confidently, with a knowing nod to her twin.
    Rys looked at her uncertainly. “How do you know that?”
    “If she didn’t, she would have politely gotten rid of you by now.” Cynthia exchanged a glance with her sister, and they both nodded in agreement.
    That morsel of insight cheered Rys considerably. Maybe he was already doing something right, without knowing it. Beginners luck. “Oh. Good. So, how do I go about becoming better friends with her?”
    For some reason, this question made both girls regard each other in a secret code he doubted Gremlin could crack. “Is that what you need to know?” Cecilia was obviously fighting for control.
    “Affirmative.”
    “Offer to spend some time with her outside of school,” Cynthia advised. “Let’s say that there’s a movie you want to see, or you want to go hang out at the mall, something like that. Tell her you’d enjoy it if she went with you. If she says yes, then she wants to be friends. If she says no…well, you’re out of luck, but at least you don’t have to wonder where you stand.”
    That sounded pretty simple to Rys, if perhaps a little nerve wracking. “Roger. Are there any suitable movies playing right now?”
    “I’m not sure what you might enjoy,” Cecilia looked at her twin.
    “We haven’t looked on the ‘net recently,” Cynthia noted with a frown.
    Oh, there were sites on the ‘net that had that sort of information available? Well, that was helpful. “It’s alright, I’ll look it up. Thanks for the advice.”
    “Anytime, Arystair,” they assured him in stereo.
    I am just never, never going to get used to that.
    ***
    “A movie?” Anne repeated, missing the significance. It was Monday morning and barely eight o’clock, which meant that she was not technically “online” yet. If she had been more alert, she would have caught the subtle nuance of that question.
    Arystair rubbed the back of his neck, a shy smile on his face. “Yeah, I wondered if you wanted to go with me. The reviews on the ‘net indicated it was pretty good.”
    To Anne’s eyes, he looked as if he was uncertain of her answer, and half expected for her to turn him down. He’s attempting, in his own straightforward way, to become better friends with me. Only an idiot would turn him down, and I don’t think my Momma raised an idiot. “I would enjoy seeing a movie with you,” she answered honestly, hoping to put him at ease.
    He visibly perked up; his smile was bright enough to run a solar powered calculator during a math final. “Excellent. When would you like to go?”
    Anne couldn’t help but be warmed by that infectious smile. It was difficult to resist someone who was so obviously pleased to be in your company. “I don’t suppose you could go today?” she asked uncertainly, hoping he didn’t already have commitments. “I’m so sick of being stuck in my bedroom studying, or at school, that I could just scream.”
    His head slanted slightly to one side as he reviewed his schedule in his mind. “I