Page 78 of Space Daddy and a Boy Called Twink

He kissed the end of my tentacle gently, which sent a spark right through me. I relaxed into it, trying to let my body fully appreciate that he was here. Alive. With me.

“Give me a kiss,” he said, and as I moved closer, Pluto rolled onto his belly and continued barking at me.

“Well, he doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

“Okay,” Twink said, taking hold of him. “I like you, but not enough to let you interrupt my kisses.” He set Pluto beside him, opposite of me, as though he knew it was better to keep some distance between us.

I moved in, taking a kiss, my lips appreciating the sensation, much deeper since we’d bonded earlier in the night. As I pulled away, I embraced the sensations in me fully. “All these stars I have traveled, all these worlds I’ve traversed, bodies I’ve inhabited, every experience feels like it has led me to this moment with you.”

He gulped. “Maybe it did.” His muscles tensed. “It’s gonna be hard while you’re gone.” He teared up, and it made my gut twist up.

“It’ll be hard for me too, especially now that we’ve bonded. I’m sure you’ll bear it more than me.”

“I haven’t asked because I’ve been too afraid, but after everything I’ve been through tonight, I don’t know that it’ll kill me, so I guess I need to know. How long do you think it’ll be? I need to know if I’m gonna be like old and gray by the time you return.”

I choked up as I started to reply, not wanting to deliver the news, though since he’d asked, he deserved to know. “It’ll be a very long time, Twink. I’m expecting at least two…maybe three…” His tension ratcheted up. “Weeks.”

Even saying it out loud broke this human heart, but Twink’s emotions shifted so quickly, it was difficult to read what he was feeling.

He scowled. “You got me all worked up because you’re gonna be gone for maybe a few weeks?”

“That seems a long time, especially for a human lifespan, yes?”

“I guess, but the hell? You should have just said that, not this stuff about how it was going to be averylong time. For a second there, I thought you were gonna be gone for two decades, at least.”

“How do you think I could even survive being away from you for that long?” I inquired, and his expression softened.

“I am so mad at you right now, but that was a very smart response.”

“Is this our first big fight?” I asked.

“Definitely.” He scoffed, shaking his head before glaring at me. “I’ll be really mad about this for a few days, so you need to do a lot to make up for it.”

“I think I can manage that,” I said, stroking his neck with the tip of my tentacle, which produced the desired effect—his tension settling.

He shook his head, biting his tongue as though wanting to keep himself from saying anything he might regret. Then he turned to Pluto. “Get him,” he ordered, and the little guy bounced onto his feet and jumped over Twink’s legs, barking in a frenzy, which made Twink laugh.

That got me laughing too.

Considering the day and night we had, it didn’t seem the time for laughing, but I had a feeling this would become a familiar part of our life together.

And I was truly looking forward to enjoying every moment of it.

EPILOGUE

TWINK

Two weeks…

and one day later…

Keep it to-fucking-gether,Twink.

I handed the customer his brewed black coffee. “Here you go,” I said, choking on the words. “Have a nice…” I had to turn away from him as my chest tightened and a tear pushed free from my eye. I wiped it away, then turned back to my customer, finally managing, “Have a nice day.”

“Um…I…” The wide-eyed man in a tartan blazer looked to me like he didn’t know how to respond.

That was when I realized—