Page 82 of I Fell for an Alien Popstar

“She’s still at the hotel,” I said. “She comes here for work stuff, and then she’s gone. We say ‘hi.’ We talk about schedules or set lists. Then she leaves again.”

I pushed my utensil around the food some more, it skidded uselessly across the ceramic.

“I keep thinking she’ll message me,” I added. “Or knock on our door. Or… something.”

I shrugged, feeling stupid and small.

“But she doesn’t.”

Lyn glanced at Yuki. Some silent communication passed between them.

“And you,” Lyn said, “have you gone to her?”

“I tried once,” I said. “I went to talk to her when she went to rehearsal, but I just stood at the door. My hand wouldn’t move. I couldn’t knock.”

“Why?” Yuki asked gently.

Because she’d said, Don’t follow me, and I’d heard it like a command, not a boundary.

Because I’d spent my whole life being told I was too much or not enough, and I didn’t know how to push past someone else’s no when it was about their heart.

Instead of saying any of that, I picked at my food.

“She was so upset,” I said. “She was… hurt. And she was right. It looked bad. Saying yes to Tev in one conversation and telling her I wasn’t ready when the universe literally set us on fire.”

Yuki rested his forearms on the table.

“Do you want this?” he asked.

“The job?” I said. “Yes.”

“No. The bond,” he said. “Her.”

“Yes,” I blurted out. “Stars, yes. I was coming to tell her that when she left. That I want it. All of it. Her. The forever thing. The stupid socks and morning breath and everything.”

I dragged a hand down my face.

“I just needed time. I needed to get used to the idea of having a forever someone after just meeting them. My species doesn’t do this. Biologically, we don’t, so it was just a lot to hear when I was literally minding my business and enjoying a concert.”

Yuki smirked.

“Then what are you doing sitting here mashing your lunch?” he asked.

“I don’t know what I’m allowed to do,” I said, frustration bubbling up through the fear. “She said not to follow her. She needed space. I don’t want to be the person who barges through someone else’s boundary because I’m scared they’ll leave.”

Lyn shook her head.

“There’s a difference between ignoring someone’s boundaries and fighting for them,” she said. “You’re not talking about camping outside her hotel and playing power ballads at three in the morning.”

She paused.

“Please don’t do that, actually. I’ll be the one who gets yelled at.”

I snorted despite myself.

“You’re talking about going to her once,” she continued. “With your chest open. Saying what you should have said the first time. If she still says no, then you back off. But right now, you’re letting fear make the decision for you.”

Yuki nodded.