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Koa
Over the last few days, we have talked through the Druscilla situation a number of times. Orion and I made sure everything was ready for our new guest. We had a guest room that was rarely used and by rarely, I meant never. We reined ourselves in, making sure the room was comfortable for her, constantly reminding ourselves that this was business. We agreed on a percentage of any book that might come out of this and signed all the NDAs that our lawyers decided would be right.
All of it felt hollow and unnecessary, but I went along with it to protect what Orion and I had worked so hard for.
I wanted it to be her. Not the interview or the research. I wanted this female to be my mate.
“You’re making me nervous,” Orion complained, reaching out to slap my hand. I had been balling my fists and releasing them while we stood in the packed airport, waiting for her flight to arrive.
“Sorry. I can’t help it. Oh, look, the board is refreshing again.”
Her flight had been late taking off and then there was a delay in a connection flight that took her halfway across the country. We had intended for her to get to us for lunch and then we could take her home, but now, we were closer to dinner and might miss that.
Not the way I wanted to greet her, but it was all out of my hands.
“Let’s go get something to eat while we wait. We’ve still got another hour.”
We walked over to a small restaurant where the meal was overpriced and the chicken was dry as fuck. Orion pegged me with questions about the menu and the food, trying to occupy both of our minds, but it was no use. My mind was on her. And her arrival and what would happen once she was here.
“Do you think she will run for the hills once she finds out what we are?” I asked, giving up on the dessert menu. If the main course was shit, then I wasn’t betting the dessert selection was any better.
Orion shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it all night. We have the contracts to protect us, but I don’t want to see her face if she’s frightened of us. Then again, she’s into cryptozoology, so maybe she’s curious and, even if she is scared, she won’t let it stop her.”
“That’s true. Maybe she’s got an idea already about what we are and has prepared herself.”
“I can’t imagine it,” Orion said. “Most people think we are Bigfoots all the time. I don’t think anyone would suspect that we can change forms.”
I shrugged and tried to get the waitress’ attention. She brought our check and, once we had paid, it was time to go wait for her. I knew there would be a delay since everyone had to debark the plane, but I wanted to be there when she arrived.
She was taking a chance on us as strangers just as much as we were taking a chance on her. Trusting each other based on generalized information on an app and a few video chats.
Orion and I both got a text at the same time, since we had a group text thing going.
Druscilla was here. I would try like hell to keep everything professional, but I would be lying if I said she hadn’t plagued my dreams since seeing her picture.
Minutes later, a group of people emerged from the secure gate area, but it wasn’t until they parted that I saw the sprite-like female carrying a bag almost as big as her. She was shorter than I pictured, almost half our height. Her dark hair was up, and her frown told me that she was probably as frustrated as we were about how the delays had gone.
Still, even with the bunched eyebrows, she was a beauty. Someone pushed past her, and she called them on it. They cowered though they had about a foot on her.
Little but fierce. Didn’t know how much I loved that combination until that moment.
“Druscilla,” Orion called out to her. Her face immediately lit up with a smile.
She waved, but it wasn’t until she got closer that she spoke. Orion was right. Her voice was straight from the heavens. “Hey, you two. Sorry about this. I made you wait all day.”
“That’s okay,” I answered. “It happens. Are you hungry? Anything you need before we get on the road?”
She shook her head. “How long of a drive?”
Orion responded, “About a half hour or so. Depending on traffic. Have you eaten all day?”
Druscilla laughed. “Does peanuts on the plane count?”
“No.” I couldn’t wait to make her a proper meal. I’d seen that pitiful stove in her apartment. “It doesn’t count. We can get you something here or, if you’d like, we have food cooked at home. Our home.”
She smiled at me like I’d made her day. “I don’t cook a lick, so a homemade meal sounds amazing. We have to get the bags.”
“Oh, we can get that for you.”
