<div align="center"><strong>-= Lex Rake, on board the Gamble =-</strong></div><br/>Lex didn't mind when Dani grabbed his arm, alarmed at the arrival of the grocery delivery men. Although he didn't have all the details, he could certainly tell that Dani had a problem with men in general. He was gratified to see that such attitudes didn't extend to himself, though. He didn't want Dani to feel threatened by him, and the fact that she was clinging to him in the presence of all these strange men meant that she was comfortable enough with him to feel safe with him. He gave her his most reassuring smile.<br/><br/>His brief story finished, he was happy to just stand in silence with her, not needing to fill the air with useless conversation unless she wanted to. He was actually pleasantly surprised when he heard her call out to the delivery men to put the groceries in the refrigerated compartments. She seemed to be getting braver by the hour - first her excursion off the ship to have a word with Mae and now this. This looked like progress, and he smiled again.<br/><br/>Vincent's sudden appearance and sprint up the steps caught his attention, and he looked down and out of the ship to see Mae waiting for the other pilot. He wondered what the two were going to get up to tonight, and hoped they'd be having some good old-fashioned fun of the kind he normally got paid for. He winked at Vince as he handed off the medical supplies to Dani, obviously in a rush to get back to the girl and whatever plans they had for the night. He couldn't blame them, after all. Months in the Black could make one long for the solid ground and the pleasures more easily obtained there.<br/><br/><strong>"Lex, I'm just going to take these meds and put them away."</strong><br/><br/>The medic's soft voice and warm breath in his ear made him turn his attention back to her.<br/><br/>"I think I can handle the supervision for a while. Take your time."<br/><br/>Even as Dani was heading down the steps, it was apparent that the cleaners were very nearly finished. Rick looked up at Lex once more while stowing some of the pipes and hoses and looked like he was wrestling with himself over whether or not to say anything more. It was a look Lex had seen many times, and one he never got tired of seeing. Let them squirm...<br/><br/>He kept an eye on Dani, though, as long as he could before she ducked out of sight into the infirmary. During that brief distraction, Rick managed to make his way onto the stairs.<br/><br/>"I realize you're on your way offworld. You want to get together when you're back?" He was so apparently nervous that it made Lex smile a little.<br/><br/>"Only if you can afford it, honey," he replied.<br/><br/>He watched the man's face as the full impact of what Lex had said sunk in. There weren't that many male companions, after all, and finding one hauling ass all over the 'verse in a ship like this was pretty unusual. Rick's expression moved through incomprehension to understanding to disappointment. Lex moved down the few steps separating them and placed one finger over the other man's lips before he had a chance to say anything else.<br/><br/>"And no freebies, cutie. You can look up my rates on the Guild registry easily enough. You know the companion chooses their clients." His other hand grasped the man's ass and gave it a brief squeeze on his way past and down the stairs. "I'd have you if you asked." He winked at the now once more smiling Rick before making his way to the back of the hold where the delivery men were just unloading the last of their handtrucks.<br/><br/>He watched Dani pay the cleaners and the departure of everyone that didn't belong aboard the Gamble. He breathed a small sigh of relief, believing that in spite of the huge cargo bay doors standing wide open that they were once more somehow safe and secure. When Dani came back to where he was leaning against one of the refrigerator doors, he flashed her a brief smile.<br/><br/>"Poor guy. Thought he was gonna get a different kind of tip from me for a job well done. Ah well, we've all got to make a living, you know. Need a hand with getting all this stuff stowed?"