Bamgin tips his head to the side, his brows furrowing as he smiles. “Aren’t those very different items? You weren’t sure?”
I shrug. “I’ve never tried any of them before. Tonight was my night. My life is shit. I wanted to drown myself in my sorrows, but you intercepted me, and now I’m having a strange surreal experience in your apartment, and you’ve handed me water.”
I tip it back and take a sip. Damn. It’s good. Really good. I moan as I drink more of it. The bottle is half empty by the time I lower it, and both men are leaning forward, mouths open, hearts racing, as if I’ve mesmerized them with my drinking skills.
And how do I know their hearts are racing? That’s not possible. They’re both touching me again, though. Bamgin has his hand resting gently on the sliver of exposed skin at my ankle between my tennis shoe and my brace. Nanish has his palm on my opposite thigh.
I lower the water, almost dropping it.
“It will help flush out her system,” Bamgin mutters, I think for Nanish’s ears.
“What happened to your leg, Little one?” Nanish asks.
I sigh heavily. “Woman versus tank on the basketball court last week. Ruined my career.”Don’t cry. These men do not know you. They don’t want to watch you cry.
Nanish’s face tightens. “I don’t know what you mean. Tank?”
I roll my eyes. “Figure of speech. I was in a game. The opponent was larger than me. My knee bent the wrong direction when she basically tackled me. Everything inside is now fucked up. I’ll have surgery in a few weeks, but I’ll never be the same. I won’t be able to play ever again.”
I’m surprised by my ability to tell this story so calmly. Maybe because these are strangers. The words come out of me like a grocery list.We need milk, eggs, and bread. I tore my ACL, my PCL, and my meniscus.
“Playing basketball?” Bamgin reiterates.
“Yes.” I tip my head back and stare at the ceiling. “I was supposed to go pro. I’ve worked most of my life to get there. Poof. It’s gone. I have nothing. I’m no one.”
And the tears slide down my cheeks. Dammit.
Both men move closer, each taking a hand again.
“Mags, you have us now,” Nanish says softly.
I lower my gaze and smile through the tears. “Mags… I think I like that. It’s certainly better than Peggy.” I shudder.
“The doctor on the mothership will fix your knee, Little one. Dankin can fix anything,” Bamgin says with confidence.
I tug my hands free yet again and swipe at my eyes. “It’s not that simple. It’s a complicated surgery. Plus two of the ligaments are torn completely. They can’t be fully repaired.”
Bamgin pulls out his phone. “Dankin can fix this. I’m going to call him.” He glances at Nanish. “You want to call Jefared?”
Nanish lifts his cell and nods. “Divide and conquer.”
Both men stand and start pacing around the room while they talk. It’s impossible for me to focus on either conversation with them speaking at the same time. Plus, they both spend some time listening, and obviously I can’t hear whoever Dankin and Jefared are.
They’re on the mothership? These two don’t think I’m going to go to space with them, do they?
I suck in a breath and sit taller, my spine going rigid. They do. That’s exactly what they think. They intend to take me off this planet.
They intend to take me home with them.
My heart beats so fast I can’t catch my breath. How stupid could I be? This was always a risk. Everyone knows if you go to Club Zoom, you might get selected by an Eleadian man and whisked off Earth. But I didn’t seriously consider it as a possibility.
The club is filled with women who are far more interesting than me. Women who know how to put on makeup and have sexy clothes. Their hair is styled. They know how to flirt.
I have on the slightest bit of mascara because that was all I managed before I gave up. My hair is down and combed—an improvement over my usual ponytail. This skirt is the most risqué thing I’ve ever worn. It’s nothing like the barely existent black skirts I saw downstairs.
I’m startled when both men hang up at once. They look toward each other.
Nanish speaks first. “Jefared says this hasn’t happened before, but there’s no particular reason why it couldn’t.”
