29
LUCY
"I'm so excited," I tell Kim, practically dancing in place with my enthusiasm. "I loved your last story. I can't believe the new one is about to start already!"
She pats her slightly rounded stomach, smiling. "It's because of this. When I'm home, Nassakth wants me to lie in bed all day so I can rest. He's afraid I'm going to hurt myself working on the farm. And this is the first baby for both of us, so I'm taking it easy. It gets boring, though, so I work on writing." Kim smiles at me, an expression of blissful pleasure on her face as she rubs her pregnant belly.
I'm so jealous I could scream. No, “jealous” isn't the right word. Envious. I love Kim and I'm thrilled she's found a good alien man that makes her happy and gives her great sex. I'm so excited she's going to have a little half-cat baby, and I can't wait to babysit for her. But I'm downright envious. She has everything I want, and it just highlights how lonely I am.
"Well, the book club is more than ready to have something new to read," I gush at her. "We've taken to re-reading your last one just because we've run out of new books."
"Ugh, that's so frustrating. I didn't realize." Kim gets a thoughtful look on her face. "I could ask Nassakth if he can pull strings, see if we can put a bounty on any human books that show up for trade. Bethiah's always checking in with us and asking if we need anything. Maybe I'll put that bug in her ear." She snaps her fingers. "Oooh, or I'll ask Sophie. She's a friend of mine and lives out on an abandoned station with her mate. She's got a few books and I'll ask if she can find a way to scan one of them in for me."
I try not to squeal with excitement. We've got plenty of food and drink on Risda III, but entertainment-wise, it's a bit of a desert. Most of the alien vids are completely baffling for humans to watch, and since most of us can't read any languages but our own, we've had to create our own entertainment. There are a few paper books that have been smuggled onto the planet, but the borrowing list for those is a mile long and it takes months and months to get your hands on a book. We have an email chain of sorts set up between the ladies here, and Kim has taken to writing chapters to keep us entertained. She finished her second book recently and has started her next, and our book club (which is more of an excuse just to get together since books are so rare) is beyond excited to have more reading materials. A few books scanned in so someone can share the files would be magic. "Tell her you want the books, no matter how bad the scans are. I will happily re-type them into a data pad if needed."
Kim nods. "I'll contact her. Give me a few weeks, though. Sophie and her mate don't stay connected and only check for messages infrequently. I think they like their quiet."
I shudder at the thought. "I get enough quiet every day as it is. I'm desperate for company."
"Mmm, speaking of company, don't look now," Kim murmurs. "Your big hunk of an officer is heading this way."
I glance out the windows of the general store, and sure enough, Rektar is headed in this direction. God, he looks good. I bite back a whimper at the sight of his big shoulders. A lot of taller guys are built like an inverted triangle, but Rektar is just a big square. He's just wide and thick, and all of it's muscle, and I love the sight of it. I love his plain, unadorned horns and his no-nonsense haircut. I love his boring “custodian” uniform because it means he's a good, law-abiding sort of guy. He's not the type to enslave women and drag them away from their planet, or the type to sneak into a woman's barn and try to scare her.
He's the Dudley Do-Right of outer space and I have such a crush on the man.
Everyone in town knows it, too. I've made it clear to everyone that I find Rektar attractive…clear to everyone except Rektar, it seems. I think about how astonished he looked last night when I touched him. I must not be good at getting my feelings across. Even now, I wonder if he's coming here to tell me that I'm free to go back to my place…without him. That he's ashamed of what happened between us and never wants to see me again.
That would hurt.
Kim pats my shoulder and murmurs something about checking with the shopkeeper about spices. I'm not paying much attention. My entire focus is on Rektar, because he's looking through the window, scanning for someone. Looking for me, I hope. His gaze locks with mine, and I see something…different in his eyes. My heart thuds with hope. Maybe…maybe…