Page 28 of How My Fake Alien Boyfriend Learned to Cook and Saved the Family Business

“Shhh, keep your voice down! He’ll hear you.” That was Lola. “And yes, I’m letting him stay in the office. It’s not a big deal. And he’s not weird.” There was a pause, then: “Just…don’t tell Mom or Dad, okay?”

“Fine, but you owe me.”

“Whatever.”

The doorknob turned, and Lola ushered me inside. She was all smiles, but her brother was scowling, arms pulled tight across his chest.

“So,” Lola said, clapping her hands together once. “This is where you’ll sleep tonight. The couch is kind of old, and it dips in the middle, so I don’t know how comfortable it will be, but…” She grimaced. “It should beat sleeping on the ground.”

It’s amazing, I thought but didn’t say. I don’t deserve this. Lola couldn’t know that she was being kinder to me, a stranger, than some Xaereans who had known me my whole life. I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell her so many things, this beautiful human with pink hair and a kind heart, and blue eyes like twin moons. But I couldn’t.

So instead I said, “It’s perfect.”

Lola tucked a lock of pink hair behind her ear and smiled at me, which made me grin in return.

“It’s perfect,” Jacob repeated in a mocking tone. He puckered his lips in the air and clasped his hands at his chest. “Ow! Why’d you pinch me?”

“You know why,” Lola said through clenched teeth. Jacob’s eyes narrowed, jaw tensing, but he stayed silent and rubbed at his forearm.

“Anyway.” Lola turned her attention back to me. “The employee bathroom is there, you know where the kitchen is. I made a plate of leftovers for when you’re hungry. And, um…”

I watched her lips twist as she searched for the next words. But I could guess what was coming, and I knew it was going to hurt.

“If you could, you know, avoid touching anything, that would be great. Not that I don’t trust you…” she said, flinching as her sentence trailed off.

There it was, exactly what I had expected. Lola’s request was a fair one. And even though she didn’t know it yet, she would be right not to trust me—the perpetual screwup. But she also couldn’t know that she had inadvertently uncovered one of my greatest insecurities, hitting me where it hurt most.

“Of course,” I said, trying my best to hide my disappointment.

But it disappeared when Lola’s face broke out with a smile. In the short time I had known her, I was already becoming acquainted with her library of smiles—how some seemed sad, or annoyed, or impassive. This smile, though, was pure light. A young star burning bright, casting me with its warmth.

I was staring. I only realized it when Jacob snorted and said, “Geez, get a room already.”

Get a room? We were already in a room. I cocked my head, confused. Before I could ask what he meant by that, Lola glared at him and held up a fist.

“Wait in the car, you little twerp.”

Jacob stuck his tongue out at Lola, but bolted from the room when she approached him.

“Sorry about him. Teenagers.”

I was alone with Lola again, just like this morning. I thought of how close we’d stood, and how it had made my skin feel feverish and sweaty at the same time. There was a swooping feeling in my stomach, the same feeling I’d gotten when the pod entered warp speed. And suddenly, my hu-suit felt tight and itchy, and far too small.

My discomfort must have shown on my face, because Lola’s expression melted into a look of concern. Immediately, I wanted to reverse the effect. But it was already too late. Lola slipped past me to stand in the doorway, her cinnamon sugar smell clouding my senses.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess,” Lola said without meeting my eyes. She waved limply and walked out.

A crazy idea: I would chase Lola down and apologize for whatever I did that made her shut down like that. I would stand close to her again and let my stomach swoop and my skin feel hot and cold. I would do that if it meant she would stay.

But my useless feet stayed glued to the spot.

She already can’t wait to get away from you. She doesn’t trust you. You don’t deserve her kindness anyway.

The bad thoughts came at me rapid-fire, too fast to avoid. They hit their mark, and I hung my head in frustration, listening to the sound of Lola’s retreating footsteps.

Without the sounds of the kitchen or the steady drone of activity from Darlene and the customers, the empty restaurant was unsettling. But if I closed my eyes, I could almost hear Lola humming along to music—something twangy and upbeat that made her nod along enthusiastically.

Xaereans, for the most part, enjoy silence. Silence was good because it meant everything was working as it should, while noise implied chaos. I had never enjoyed silence, though. It only meant the negative voices in my head grew louder. Without a distraction, I had nothing to do but pay attention.