AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, I know you. You won’t enjoy yourself if you’re worried. Admirable but you need to give that man of yours some time. You’ve been working nonstop since I arrived on your doorstep, begging for a job.”
Cara was right. The hours had gotten longer since I was trying to make a name for myself without the influence of my powerful mother and father, considered pillars within the community as well as throughout several galaxies. Tonight could mean Skyler and I were forming a bond that would take us into a beautiful future.
Or so I hoped. As long as he finally popped the question like he’d been hinting at for weeks.
“Maybe you’re right,” I told her as I stood, yanking off my uniform jacket and tossing it into the laundry system. I’d told him I was going to be late. “Maybe surprising him will fire off the evening, if you know what I mean.”
“Ooh-la-la. Absolutely and I’m always right. If anything happens or one of the dogs crash, I’ll issue a communications text, but only in an emergency.”
“You’re a good friend.”
“Remember that at review time.”
Laughing, I took one last look then headed toward my office to grab my things.
Cara had become a good friend, someone I could talk to, including with my suspicion that my boyfriend was going to propose. It was something I’d even mentioned to my mother, which had prompted her to smile in her uncanny way, making me feel like an idiot. Then she’d reminded me that I was young and had plenty of time to make long-lasting choices that would be difficult to change. She didn’t think Skyler was good enough for me, but in my mind, we fit together like a glove. Some people even thought we were already married given the way we acted around each other.
However, there had been tension between us the past few weeks, our intimacy all but shut down. I equated that to working long hours. Cara was right. He needed some tender loving care.
I rolled my hand down Thor’s back. The pup had been with me for three years, my furry baby more important than any creature in my world.
Including Skyler?
The nagging remained inside the back of my mind as I strode out the door of my clinic, staring up at the still odd-colored green sky. My mother often called this a sunny day on the Earth Station, although I’d never seen a golden orb in any sky in my life. However, the day was warm, vecta flowers in every color of the rainbow blooming and a light breeze that kept the odd scents of the moon-like planet from becoming troublesome.
Thor trotted in front of me, and I studied the huge furball, shaking my head. The inner voice was right in that Skyler came second to Thor, maybe third if I was forced to count the clinic. I wasn’t certain why. I did love the man, but… I still wasn’t certain what I planned on saying when he asked me to marry him. That was terrible.
After ushering Thor inside then climbing into the transport unit, I remained seated in silence without pressing the engine button.
Thor nuzzled next to me, giving a lick of encouragement. “I love you, buddy. I just don’t know what to do.”
Woof!
“Okay. Let’s go home.”
Home.
I enjoyed my life, but I wasn’t certain I considered the apartment home. I started the engine, powering up to full speed within seconds. At least flight time to the complex was only ten minutes old Earth time.
My mother had insisted I learn to tell time by the old standards, which was one of several disciplines from ancient times I’d been required to learn. My mother and father were quirky that way, but I’d learned a great deal of survival skills, which my father had insisted would come in handy one day.
I had no idea why I was going down a rabbit hole of thoughts other than I’d grown up with odd parents, at least according to my friends. They were both brilliant, more so than ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the human population and I felt secure in saying of any alien species out there. Yet as smart as they were, as organized and sought after, what made the two of them endearing was their passionate romance story. Their relationship had withstood not only the test of time but also six moves, a war on one Earth Station that had cost them everything, a society they often said they couldn’t stand, and two polar opposite children.
They were gushy and cute together, still romantic after all the years and everything they’d been through. That’s what I wanted. To finish each other’s sentences. To sneak kisses when I thought no one was looking. To have sex in wild places. Okay, I couldn’t think of my parents that way. Ick.
In truth, that’s what was missing in my relationship. Oh, sure, Skyler was sexy with a loopy smile and dark hair that always seemed to cover one brow, leaving him with a perpetual boyish look. Even his scruffy two- or three-day beard and baggy clothes most women thought sexy. I realized his disheveled look was the way he handled his life.
As usual when I got into these moods, I wasn’t paying close enough attention to traffic, almost powering into two other fly-in-style transport units before hovering over my apartment complex. Maybe having a long talk with Skyler about how we were starting to grow apart was what needed to happen.
Thor jumped out, trotting toward the front of the apartment building with spring in his step. Meanwhile, I dragged behind him, now wishing I’d been kept at the clinic a little longer. That was telling. Right? The nagging voice was right. I just needed to break things off with Skyler before I made a foolish mistake. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions.
Maybe you’re comparing him to your fantasy creature.
Okay, maybe that was part of it. I wasn’t entirely certain.
Suddenly, Thor stopped short, turning in a full circle as if something was wrong. I lifted my eyebrows, glancing at the porches of my neighbors. There was nothing out of place or some crazy alien being crawling through the bushes. I’d seen that happen twice before.
Grrr…
