He still looked puzzled.

  “Ending the relationship,” she said. “We call it breaking up. Or dumping someone.”

  He nodded very slowly, and his expression shifted to an amused smile.

  Almost, anyway. The lines on his face were strong like he didn’t smile much. “Dumping is bad.”

  “Well, it depends on who’s doing the dumping. If you’re the one doing the dumping, then no. But if you’re being dumped, that can really suck.”

  “Then it is good that you dumped him.”

  “I suppose it’s probably good since I wound up here.”

  “Why end the relationship?”

  “He was unfaithful,” she said.

  He stared at her like he didn’t understand.

  “Monogamy? Like staying only with one partner?”

  “He broke your commitment?” he asked, his words more direct than before.

  “He did.”

  “Is that easy to do on your world?”

  “It is a choice,” she replied. “Is it not on yours?”

  “Once one has met their partner, casual intimacy has no appeal. We, uh, connect only with each other.”

  “So do you have ceremonies to signify this?”

  He shrugged. “Some do. The higher can, if they choose. For the average Kantenan, it is not necessary. One is mated. Preambles are not required.”

  “Maybe that’s what we need on my world. Less preamble. More commitment.”

  “Possibly.” He turned to the little kitchenette. “Hungry?”

  "I could eat." The thought of food made her stomach grumble, and she really needed it now.

  She watched how his shoulders moved as he prepared the food. Eventually, she’d figure out how to use the technology, but for now, if he was going to make her a meal, she was good with it. The shirt he wore pulled taunt over his broad shoulders, cutting a very appealing silhouette.

  The whole red skin thing was kinda weird, but his body shape was very sexy.

  She stared at his spine and realized that the ruffled fabric of his shirt was concealing something on his back.

  Gah, what could that be?

  "Why are your clothes so loose on your spine? Is that like a fashion thing?"

  He glanced at her over his shoulder. "It is for my ridge," he said as he approached her with two bowls.

  He gestured to a small table she’d not noticed in the corner, and she followed him over to it.

  “You have a ridge on your spine?”

  He sat the bowls down, along with chopsticks that had little hooks on the ends.

  Tori picked them up and clicked them in her fingers for a moment, before she dove into the bowl of pasta and protein that tasted suspiciously like chicken.

  She chuckled to herself.

  “You find food funny?” he asked, chopsticks halfway to his mouth.

  “No, it’s not that. Uh, on my world, there’s this meat called chicken. It’s sort of universal meat, and the joke is, when someone has something new, you say ‘tastes like chicken’ because chicken tastes like everything. Or everything could be chicken.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  She waved her hand. “It’s one of those stupid things. Just a joke, I guess.”

  “I see,” he said, taking a bite. “You will find many new things here.”

  “Of that, I have no doubt,” she said. Okay, so the meat didn’t quite taste like chicken. There was a kicky flavor to it. Good, but not as neutral as chicken.

  She glanced at her dinner partner. “So why are you here?”

  “To find a mate.”

  “You don’t sound particularly interested in the prospect.”

  “Neither do you,” he said.

  She shrugged. “I figure I’ll give it a whirl. I don’t have a lot to go back to, to be honest.”

  “No family or clan?”

  “Not really. My family died when I was a kid. Grew up in foster care, and when I was old enough to get out, I did. The only thing my foster family ever told me was that I was pretty, and to find a guy who’d take care of me, because I didn’t have any skills.”

  Tori looked down, and the stabbing pain of those words sank back into her, as if they’d been freshly uttered.

  She inhaled a breath, trying to swallow the emotions that the one little moment had imprinted on her. She’d been young, and her foster mother had been drinking. It was supposed to be a joke at the time.

  It hadn’t felt like it.

  She forced a smile on her face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so…” She picked up some food and shoved it in her mouth to stop herself from saying more.

  He tapped his sticks on the side of the bowl, before taking another bite, and they sat there in silence for a couple of beats, until he finally spoke.

  “What is foster family?”

  “Good question,” she muttered.

  He raised his eyebrow again. “Explain.”

  “Sorry. I mean, they’re people who take in kids who don’t have a family or clan. Raise them. Some do it because they want to help kids. Others do it because they want the money.”

  “There is money in raising little ones?”

  “Yep.”

  He sat up a little taller and his shoulders went back. “Think I would fit in?”

  She blinked. “You like kids?”

  “Would be better than working in the mines. Little ones are amusing. They are full of truth.”

  “They are that,” she said. “You might scare the kids, though, on my world. However, some of the kids I knew growing up, that may not be a bad thing.”

  For a second, he smiled.

  Like a real smile.

  Progress, she guessed.

  7

  Appealing.

  Tori was appealing.

  At least the Intergalactic Dating Agency had gotten that much right for his mate. Smaller than he’d normally liked. Thin. She needed more curves. Maybe she was underfed.

  Talkative and generally blunt, which had its own kind of appeal. He knew what she thought. He might not understand her idioms, but they were finding a rhythm of each other.

  He, on the other hand, wasn’t all that interested in speaking if he didn’t have to.

  "This is so weird," she muttered as she created a list of things she needed.

  A lot of it didn't make sense to him.

  Make-up? He thought that was what they called face paint, but he wasn't sure he fully understood the usage.

  She basically told him it was a girl thing.

  Whatever that meant.

  Though what he was going to do with her, he didn’t know. He still had to find out what he could about the Kantenans who were stealing from the homeworld.

  He couldn't call it his homeworld, could he? Seeing as it was not for him anymore.

  "Stop it," she said as she.

  "Stop what?"

  "That growly-harumph noise. Stop it."

  "I wasn't making a noise."

  "Yes, you were. You do it whenever you're thinking."

  "You've known me for five hours."

  She waved her hand. "Boys are the same everywhere."

  "You seem very certain of this."

  She sat up straighter. "Tell me you weren't thinking about something that's bothering you."

  "I was not."

  "Whatever," she muttered. "Anyway. I think I have all the necessities. Was there anything you wanted? Do you need more clothes?"

  "Is there something wrong with my dress?"

  She shook her head. "If we're allowed to stock up, we should take advantage of the opportunity. Don't you need things?"

  He was about to say more when the suite door opened.

  "What's up?" she asked as her Terran friend, Jana, came inside, followed by the other female. Pole. Polly.

  Something.

  "We're leaving," Jana declared.

  Tori blinked. "Excuse me? What we?"

  Olmed crossed his arms. What was this about?

  Her expression shifted to concern as she crossed her arms as well.

  "Me and Phares. We're going back to their home. That mining place they live at. Evidently, it was in a big accident." She gestured behind her, where Phares had entered the residence, and behind him was Erzo.

  "Is it safe?" Polly asked, coming to her side. "You can't be going if it's not safe. I mean, we just met--"

  Tori darted closer to Jana, and the girls started talking between themselves.

  Olmed glanced at Phares and Erzo. "What is this?" Though in Phares’s determined expression said that he would to return and make sure that everyone was well on their home ship.

  Phares felt a responsibility to the Mining Guild. To the residents there. To his family, including his parental, even if they did not have a strong bond.

  "You are going back," Olmed said. It wasn’t a question, but a statement. No amount of discussion could convince Phares to appreciate his vacation time.

  "I tried to talk him out of it," Erzo said. "He is determined to go back."

  "It's my life," Phares said. "The ship is all I know. I need to help."

  Olmed nodded, though he wasn't sure he agreed with Phares. Being so dedicated to a place shouldn't dictate one's own happiness.

  But the thought caught him.

  How was that any different than helping Dhomhes with the theft? Wasn't he just fighting to be allowed back on Kantenan?

  To be able to walk on his home soil again?

  See his own mother?

  No, that was different. He’d committed criminal acts against the Kantenan way of life. If he wanted to walk on that world again, he would have to earn it.

  What Phares fought for, that was his heart, something far different.

  “So, what do you think of this?” Tori asked, holding up another outfit.

  “Fine,” Olmed said.

  The last thing he wanted to do was shop. After the females said goodbye to Jana, everyone retired for the evening. Tori slept in the private sleeping quarters, and Olmed slept in the main room. The fancy couch conformed around his spinal ridges, and he slept surprisingly well for lying flat on his back.

  In the morning, after dining on a simple breakfast of pastries, she was ready to go out and make some purchases with the credit line the IDA had given them.

  And she seemed to be enjoying herself. She picked out many things that she claimed females needed, including a storage bag for all of the things.

  The pack she already had was insufficient to carry her items, so she needed more.

  “I’ll take it, too,” she said, throwing the outfit on the stack.

  “Is that enough?”

  She glanced at the pile of clothing from the shop that was almost as tall as he was, then back to him.

  If this was Fwan's idea of a joke, Olmed was not amused. He wanted to question both Fwan and Dhomhes regarding the timing. It was too much to be a coincidence. He wondered who was working for who.

  Olmed was ready to get back to the Guild. Return to his station and the place he was managing to carve out for himself. Even with the issues he had with other miners, he still felt like he was finding a belonging.

  More than he had in a while.

  Tori chatted with the shop seller about the items and care for them, as though he wasn't here.

  What was he going to do with her? If anything, she was a distraction to keep him from finishing the task for Dhomhes.

  That took precedence. To be able to walk on Kantenan again. See his mother. That mattered more than many other things. He'd promised his mother that he would be well and that nothing would happen to him. He hated the idea that he was causing her grief.

  “I’m sorry this is boring to you,” Tori said. “Go find something to do. I’ll be fine.”

  “We are supposed to be together.”

  She put her hand on her hip. “Well, what is it you want to do?”

  Olmed glanced out of the clothing vendor’s establishment.

  “I know that look,” she said.

  “You do not know my looks.”

  “All males are the same,” she said.

  The sales attendant chuckled. “You do have that look.”

  “What look?”

  “The bored mate look,” the sales attendant said. “But at least you have been quiet about it. You would be shocked at how some can behave with their boredom.”

  Tori waved her hand. “Boys are the same, everywhere.”

  Olmed snorted. He was certain he was not the same as the other males she had known in her life.

  He was not fool enough to break his bond with her, if their connection went that deep.

  He was still somewhat skeptical that a machine could find the perfect mate for him.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Tori said. The store merchant wrapped up Tori’s purchases and sealed them in a bag before they left the store.

  Olmed continued looking for the Kantenans, but they were probably on their way back to the homeworld by now. He didn’t remember many supply missions outside of Kantenan that required more than a day’s worth of space travel.

  His people, as strong as they were, also had one flaw—they kept to themselves and did not engage with other species. Lingering on a space station did not happen. They came, they conducted their business, and they left.

  Simple as that.

  They headed through the shopping area, he carried the large case she’d acquired for her items, which the clerk had stored inside. Tori carried her small bag and walked along with him, her hand occasionally touching his arm or his elbow.

  The touches were quick and more for security than anything, as they happened when the crowds grew heavier and she didn’t want to lose track of him.

  Yet the touch gave him pause every time she did it.

  Appealing, she was.

  A distraction he didn’t need right now.

  He needed to focus on his task.

  He led Tori toward the shop he’d initially seen the other Kantenans in. His hope was that the shop owner would share more information about what they had been selling.

  “Hey, look,” Tori said, gesturing to one of the eating establishments along their route. “Is that some of your people? Wow, you’re all huge.”

  To his surprise, she was pointing at some Kantenans sitting at a table.

  The ones he’d seen before.

  He pushed her hand down, and put his hand on Tori’s back, guiding her to the opposite side of the walkway.

  She gasped for a moment before following his lead.

  “Not your friends?” she asked as he swept her into the store.

  “No, but I need to speak with them.”

  She raised her eyebrow. “That sounds ominous." She watched out the front window. "I could go over there. Keep an eye on them for you, if you wanted."

  He glanced at her. "You stand out too much."

  She rolled her eyes. "I look like any other human around here." She gestured to some humanoids walking by. Terran Empire residents by their clothing, he guessed.

  "Not quite that fancy," she muttered, her voice deepening like she was bitter about it. "But I'm similarly built."

  "Why do you compare yourself to others?" he asked.

  "What do you mean? I just meant I was the same as them. So I could help you."

  "Why?"

  "Why wouldn't I help you? We're mates, right? Doesn't that mean we're stuck together?"

  She had a point.

  Not the one he was looking for, but she was correct in her assertion.

  "What's this all about, anyway?" she asked, though she didn't look at him. Instead, she remained focused on the eatery across the way where the others were sitting.

  “I have a task to complete.”

  “Excuse me, you cannot just stand there like that,” said a humanoid, the owner of the shop, Olmed guessed.

  He inspected the shop and realized that several employees were staring, huddled together in a corner, watching them.

  Tori turned. “We’re looking for friends. Just don’t want to be out in the traffic,” she said, gesturing outside.

  “You’re scaring our patrons,” the owner said.

  Tori glanced around. “What patrons?”

  “The ones we would have if he wasn’t in here,” he said. “We don’t serve your kind in here.” His gaze ran over Olmed.

  Olmed’s temper roared.

  Tori put her hand on Olmed’s arm, then faced the shop owner. “What kind is that? Because right now, it doesn’t look like you’re serving anyone. The place is empty!”

  “You need to leave.”

  Tori stepped toward the shopkeeper. “With that attitude, I doubt anyone would want to come to your shop. I sure wouldn’t want to give you any of my money.”

  “What?”

  “Funds,” she said.

  “Credits,” Olmed whispered.

  “Credits!” She dramatically turned to Olmed. “Let’s go. Nothing in here is worth buying.” She made a big dramatic turn toward the door and stomped out.

  Olmed snarled at the store owner for a moment.

  The owner backed up.

  Olmed felt satisfied as he followed Tori out of the store.

  “The nerve,” Tori snapped. “What was that all about?”

  “Some humanoids don’t like big red aliens in their stores,” he said. He didn’t want to roam too far from the establishment where the other Kantenans were.

  “How about in here?” she said. “They look like they’re nice.”

  This location was another eatery, though it had an open front that allowed patrons to watch the corridor’s passersby.

  Upon entering, he realized the tables that viewed the walkway were already filled.

  He paused and touched her shoulder. “If we cannot get a view—”

  She waved her hand. “I got this.” She went straight to the hostess, spoke quickly with a big smile on her face, and in a moment, they were seated at the only outward-facing table left.

  One built for cozy couples.

  The seat was only wide enough for them both to sit on if Olmed put his arm around her. He held out his arm, and she scooted into him, and while he felt awkward, he managed to maintain a relaxed posture.

  “What did you say?” he asked.

  She grinned. “Only that we were really wanting a table. It was a special occasion for us, just mating and all.”

 

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