Alien Bride, page 23
part #2 of The Alien Series
“Thank you, guys, I’ll be happy to pay you back for these things—” I start to say, though I don’t have a clear idea on how I would earn money… or even what the alien monetary system is like…
“Alessandra, don’t be silly! You don’t owe us anything. These things are yours. We all have similar stuff, and the guys can help you build anything else you feel like you need. The whole point is making a home here and it isn’t really a home if you’re sleeping on the floor, right?” Kate tells me.
“No, I guess not,” I agree.
“And we’ll do the same with the next girl,” she says, looking around the room with an aura of accomplishment about her.
“Sounds like you have a plan,” I tell her.
“I don’t know about a plan.” She shrugs. “Just a whole lot of hope.”
“Whatever it is, I’m glad to be a part of it.”
“Where would you like these?” a Bossan asks, peeking in through the doorway.
“Oh, my instruments! Over here should be fine.” I indicate a vacant space next to the door.
Bossan and Kellen easily tote the heavy cases in.
“There are a few more things for you outside that I’m told you might be interested in,” Bossan tells me with a smile.
“More? I think that should be everything.” I scan the instruments. I didn’t bring anything other than this.
“Special delivery!” comes a familiar voice, and I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear it. I swing around to see Unalay, followed by Keone and the rest of the band.
“Oh my goodness! Guys!” I run to embrace them. “What are you doing here? I know I told you to visit, but you must have really missed me to come so soon!”
“We actually came to deliver a hitchhiking Ambassador,” Unalay tells me, “but seeing you again is a definite bonus.”
“So, you’re the ones responsible for that…” I tease.
“Yes, but you mustn’t hold it against us,” Unalay laughs.
“Besides, we get to play together one last time,” Prev, the bassist, puts in.
“Okay, well, I guess it’s not all bad then,” I laugh.
“We brought you your things, too,” Unalay says. Keone and Prev hold up two large bags.
“Thank goodness! Here, let me take those.” I grab the bags and place them near the cabinet. “You don’t know how much I appreciate you bringing my clothes. I left so quick I didn’t bother to grab anything and I’ve been regretting it ever since.”
“It was the Ambassador who brought them actually,” Unalay tells me.
“Oh, he did? Well, thanks for delivering them, just the same.” I smile, though I’m feeling a little annoyed Kye tried to do something thoughtful. I’m busy hating him right now, and being thoughtful really doesn’t help me categorize him as a jerk in my mind to the extent that I want to.
“Oh! Am I terrible at introductions or what? Here, guys, let me introduce you to my fellow humans—”
Once introductions are done, Kate lets me know it’s time to start dinner. “There are so few of us, you know, it just makes more sense to have a big, family-style meal every night. We do a bonfire, too, and it seems like tonight we’ll actually have a little entertainment,” she says, indicating the instruments.
“Absolutely! It’ll be a party!” I tell her.
“I’ll get the Oolai!” Unalay announces, clapping her hands together.
Chapter 41
Alessandra
At dinner there seems to be a job for everyone. The Vendari guys roll out what looks like a big barbeque and they get to work seasoning a dozen chicken-looking things. April and Clark help by cutting up a massive fruit salad, and Kate starts peeling a stack of big fruit that she tells me they call ‘pompaya.’ She puts me to work scooping out the seeds and setting it aside in a big bowl.
“This is my favorite part,” she says, popping the juicy seeds in her mouth. “The fruit part is better when barbequed, in my opinion.”
“You’ve had some time to figure things out,” I remark, taking a tentative taste of the orangey fruit. “Bah!” I wince, disappointed. “I was hoping it’d be like a mango.”
“Ahh! That’s exactly what I said!” she laughs. “It’s definitely been trial and error. You’re lucky you’ve missed a lot of our errors,” she tells me.
“Yeah, no kidding. Speaking of which, watch out for tree scorpions and spiders. Spiders especially if you’re on your period,” Reagan warns.
“Oh my god, what?” I blanch.
“It’s nothing, no big deal,” Kate assures me, waving away Reagan’s words.
“We don’t want to scare her too bad on her first day in the jungle, Reagan,” April chastises.
“Just don’t go on any long walks by yourself and you’ll be fine. Remember, there’s lots of wildlife here… and most of it’s pretty wild,” Kate tells me. “Nothing to be scared of, just be smart.”
“Got it. But just to be clear, I’m not going to wake up to a bunch of spiders crawling around my crotch if I’m on my rag, right?” I ask.
“No, you should be good.” They all laugh.
“Well, thank god for that,” I say and get back to work on the pompayas.
When it comes time to eat, Madreed and the men that work for her don’t join us and instead opt to eat on Madreed’s shuttle. But between the humans, the Vendari, Da’vi, Tennir, Gorrard’s men, and my friends… it really is a party.
When the food is served I half expect someone to bust out paper plates and red plastic cups, or maybe even primitive clay bowls or something, but we end up eating on futuristic-looking metal plates with utensils that are like chopsticks. Only, I notice that the humans are the only ones who use two sticks—everyone else eats by spearing their food with one, kabob-style. I go with the chopstick method.
There is a hodgepodge of cups floating around, and Keone makes sure they all stay full, but not everyone drinks. Kate tells me that Rennek and his friends aren’t big on drinking. “They were raised to think alcohol corrupts the morals,” she explains with a smile and a wink.
“I guess it depends on how loose your morals are to begin with,” I laugh.
“Speaking of loose morals… If you guys will excuse me…” Reagan says, getting up to leave.
“Hey! Where are you going?” Kate calls after her.
“On a long walk in the jungle. Don’t worry, I’m not on my period.” She winks at us but offers no further explanation.
The sun is starting to set on Elysia and I’m truly having a wonderful time. The air is cool and the humidity is dropping away. Everyone is loading up on seconds and laughter reverberates from the stone walls. The company I’m in feels like a blessing. Somehow though, I can’t stop myself from keeping an eye out for Kye. I must be a closet masochist. I haven’t seen him all day, though, and I wonder if he’s going to show up to eat.
“Rennek invited him,” Kate tells me, noticing my distractedness. “So, he’s not going to go hungry. Not unless he wants to. If that’s what you’re worried about…”
“Ugh, am I that obvious?”
“Only to the very observant,” she assures me with a smile. “What happened between you two anyway?”
“Yeah, too bad Reagan isn’t here. She’d point out that sexual tension could be cut with a knife,” April jokes.
“I guess you’ll just have to fill in for her,” Clark teases.
“Don’t mind if I do! When he showed up today, I wasn’t sure if fists were going to start swinging or if you two were going to run slow motion into each other’s arms!”
“Oh man, are we really that bad?” I look over to see the band starting to warm up. “I don’t know,” I sigh. “Everything with Kye was just this toxic mess right from the beginning. I’d be drawn to him, then he’d be a complete ass and I’d hate him for it, then the cycle would begin again. It was one of those chemical attractions, you know? Like no matter how much you despise the ass, you just keep getting sucked back in.”
“Hmm. A hate fuck. I’ve had one or two of those. They never turn out well, do they? Doesn’t help that he’s so pretty,” April tells me with a frown.
“Oh my god, right? It’s like it’s not even fair,” I agree. “I’m done though. He crossed a line and there’s no going back, no matter how pretty his stupid face is.”
“Speaking of stupid face…” Kate whispers, and I look up in time to see Kye coming through the gates. He looks right at me, but only for a moment before heading over to the guys at the barbeque. I try not to give him too much of my attention, but I see he grabs a plate and after some small talk he finds a seat on the half wall along the corridor, away from everyone else.
“How about some music then?” I ask the humans. “Any requests?”
“Mariah Carey!” Kate shouts.
“Whitney Houston!” Kate shouts, more spastically this time. “No! No! Janet Jackson!”
“Tom Petty,” April chimes in.
“‘Free Fallin’’?” I ask. “Oh, ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’?”
“‘Even the Losers’!” Clark yells.
“‘Yer so Bad,’” adds Allison, who had been seated quietly and alone on the nearby steps this whole time. I notice she keeps her distance from the group and I’ve only ever seen her talk with Da’vi. She doesn’t seem shy, though, at least she doesn’t based off the way she talks to Da’vi. She was absent during my “housewarming” today, but I suppose that was because she and Da’vi were with Madreed discussing a possible rescue mission for more humans. Maybe she just has other interests.
“Keep ’em coming, we have all night.” I smile at her and grab the Ebunati instrument that’s the closest thing to a guitar.
“Ohhh, guys! Tracy Chapman! Do you know ‘Fast Car’?” April asks.
“No! That’s going to make me cry!” Clark wails, “How about ‘Give Me One Reason’?
I think about it for a minute, running the chorus through my head a few times. “Yeah… I think we can do that one. But after, we’re doing ‘Heartbreaker’ for Kate!” I declare, and Kate practically falls over in ecstasy.
Chapter 42
Kye
After I eat my meal I lean my head against the cool stone pillar and listen to the sounds of the party going on around the bonfire. It is so hot here during the day, my body is still cooling itself.
When I hear Alessandra begin to sing it is a relief. I try to listen closely to the words to see if she will sing a song for me. The music starts and the words begin pouring from her. The human women nearly swoon in response and all the others grow still. I laugh a little to myself. Everyone loves my Alessandra.
Focusing on the words again I notice that, sure enough, her song seems to be meant for me. It is a song that gives me hope and my heart soars. I have done the right thing by following her here. I can still win her, she can still be mine if only I—
The sound of singing coming from the other humans halts my train of thought. It is no longer just my Alessandra putting words to the music… No, I hear all the other women chime in, repeating the words Alessandra so artfully created. They all know the words. How do they all know the words? When the song ends the group applauds and cheers, but I still have not worked out the answer to this question.
“‘Heartbreaker’! ‘Heartbreaker’!” Kate squeals, and my Alessandra’s laugh is music enough.
“Yes, yes. ‘Heartbreaker’ for the Mariah Carey fans out there,” she agrees. She gives a few short instructions to the band, and when they begin all the humans sing again. That’s when I realize what is happening. These are songs passed down through their people, historical perhaps. They all know the stories that go along with them. My heart sinks. They are just words and were never meant for me.
I stay and listen long into the night, but each time the humans all join in the song my bitterness grows, especially when they sing of love. The more I hear, the more I am sure that these songs have no relevance to Alessandra and me. The human’s call out different titles and they all seem to know them when Alessandra plays.
I really should have listened more from the start… or asked questions, I chastise myself. When Alessandra finally plays one that seems to be called “You’re So Vain,” I get up to leave.
I slide off my perch on the wall, keeping to the shadows. I move along the corridor towards the temple, following the low babble of water that contends with the sounds of happiness coming from the courtyard.
I find a stairwell and feel a cool waft of air welcoming me inside. The stairwell itself is dark, but the room it leads to is lit by lanterns that were meant to mimic fire. The light they cast trembles across the walls and ceiling. I can see this room has been completely refurbished, admirably so.
The sound of water is greater here. Small fountains line the walls and the noise of water that trickles from them is amplified by the massive room. There is a pool in the center that occupies the majority of the space—it too is lit. I move instinctively to the edge. Looking in, I admire the stone mosaics spanning the length of the base. I squat to dip my hand in. It’s somewhat warm, but the breeze that blows in from a row of open windows at the far end of the room makes it enjoyable.
I shed my clothing. They are the only ones I brought with me because of the limited cargo space on the Ebunati’s ship. I brought Alessandra her things, one handheld, a pair of Tobac Taas, and that was all.
I twist my hair up into a tight coil on the top of my head and dive in, silently cutting into the water. It is warm against my flesh, but when I break the surface and feel the cool air’s breath upon me, it is a distinctly soothing sensation.
I swim from one side to the other and back again, over and over. My thoughts float to all of the seemingly arbitrary and obvious advice Khalil left me with… and I’m thankful for it. I replay some of the more potent mantras in my mind as I dive again and again beneath the surface. I lose time and my arms and legs begin to burn from pushing myself for one last lap. Always one last lap…
“Kye! Kye!” I hear my name being called as I skim the surface for air. I stop suddenly to see Alessandra standing at the edge of the pool. There is a frown on her face, telling me she has been calling me for some time. I swim to the edge and hoist myself out.
“Oh my—” Alessandra averts her gaze and hurries over to a shelf stacked with towels. She grabs one and shoves it blindly in my direction. I almost want to laugh at her modesty, but it also wounds me that she doesn’t feel comfortable enough to look upon my body without shame. I silently take the towel she offers and wrap it around my waist.
“I came to talk to you, Kye. If you’re going to be staying here we need to get some things out in the open.”
“I agree,” I tell her.
“Good. Well, I’ll start.”
“Okay.”
“Okay. Okay, well, just so we’re clear, whatever was going on between us is done.”
“I can agree to that,” I tell her truthfully. What we had before was wrong. It was not enough. I want more now.
“I don’t think you ever really realized it, but I have a lot to process right now. I don’t need to be distracted by this toxic… this toxic…” She waves her hand at me.
“What?” I ask.
“Look, I don’t need a hate fuck right now to screw me up even worse than I already am. I need to process my shit and move on with my life, and I can’t do that with you messing with my head. I get that you lost a lot and I can see how my coming into your life had an impact on that, so I don’t mind that you’re here. I’m even willing to be civil with you, but I just have to let you know that what we had before won’t ever happen again. None of it, not the drama and not the sex.”
“What is a ‘hate fuck’?”
Pressing her eyes closed and pinching the bridge of her nose, Alessandra groans. “A hate fuck… it’s when two people are toxic together and they bring out the worst in each other. They fuck, but it’s an expression of their tension, nothing else.”
“A hate fuck?” I ask in disbelief. “A hate fuck?” I ask again, my tone rising. I advance on Alessandra so quickly I see a sliver of fear in her eyes. I grab her before that fear turns to anger and pull her against me. She sucks in a breath of surprise. “Look into my eyes and tell me that’s what it was between us!” I growl.
“Kye, stop it,” she tells me. Her voice is like steel. She doesn’t ask that I let her go, she doesn’t struggle to be released from my grip. She looks into my eyes, refusing to speak the words I want her to say. I want to rub my pheromones against her and force her to submit to me. Force her to scream out my name and beg me to love her.
