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“I’ll explain more once I see you. I’m in a town called—” I motion for Garet to give me the name.
“Arbek,” he replies.
“Arbek.” I tell Alice.
“Oh, so you’re really close! I’ll head over to you right now. Where are you exactly?”
“Um.” I motion for Garet again. He tells me we’re at the mail center on the south side of town.
“Did you get that?”
“Yes, stay right there. I’ll be there soon.”
CHAPTER 8
GARET
“Oh my god, Tania!” Alice rushes up and hugs Tania with all her might. It looks like the two may merge into a single person, they’re hugging so tightly.
Alice pulls back and holds Tania’s head in her hands. “What the fuck happened to you?”
“I don’t know, I guess I just let the jungle get the better of me. I was so fascinated by the plants, I didn’t even realize I had wandered off,” Tania replies, grabbing Alice’s hands.
“Yeah, a likely story. I always knew you had your head in the clouds, but I never imagined you’d wander off on a strange planet! How did you get back?”
Tania looks at me sheepishly. “Um, well, actually.” Her voice trails off.
Alice snaps her attention to me and does something of a double-take. She looks me up and down as if I’m a prized Kaxen and she wants to breed me. I never usually feel self-conscious, but the way she’s looking, I can’t help but feel exposed.
Alice whispers something to Tania, who giggles afterward. “Um, this is Garet. He helped me out of the jungle. I’d still bethere if he hadn’t showed up.” Tania waves her hand toward me as if showing me off. I step forward and introduce myself.
“Nice to meet you.” I extend my hand for a typical human greeting. Alice takes it gently, and I shake it a couple of times. They seem confused and amused by this, but I’m not sure why.
“So, you’re the one who saved Tania? Tell me, was she as hopeless as she looks?” Alice asks. Tania protests and hits Alice on the shoulder, but not in a mean way. I think they’re teasing each other.
“Well, she handled herself just fine. A sprained ankle, but nothing serious.” Tania gives me a look of concern. I think she’s afraid I’ll tell Alice about our night together. But I wouldn’t do that.
In fact, I’m not even sure how to talk to Tania about it. I can’t get the thought out of my head. We’re fated to be together, but she’s a human? How would that even work? What if she doesn’t feel the same way?
My mind races with questions, but I try to push them out. I have enough to deal with already.
“Well, thank you very much for saving her life, Garet.” Alice says my name playfully, emphasizing the T at the end. Before turning her attention back to Tania, she rubs her hand on my arm, feeling my muscles and scales. I can tell that excites her.
“As much as I would love to stay and dish about everything, I’m afraid we have to go, Tania. We have a lot of work to do.” Alice starts pulling Tania away from me, but she pulls back and turns to face me.
“Will I see you again?” She stumbles over the words.
“Yes, if you want to. I’d like that,” I reply. I’m excited at the prospect of seeing her again, of spending as much time with her as possible. But how? And when?
Then, an idea flashes into my mind. “Are you free tomorrow night?”
Tania thinks for a second. “Yeah, I can probably make that work.” She shoots a look at Alice, who smiles and rolls her eyes.
“I won’t say anything,” Alice remarks and turns away from us.
“Where do you want to meet?”
“There’s an old library on the west side of town. It’s a big red building. We can meet there and see where the night takes us?”
