AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Later that evening, I pace around my apartment, feeling restless. I know myself enough to realize what has triggered this mood. I miss Wyatt. Listening to Treylor and Pravol today, and seeing their happy domestication, was an unwelcome reminder of what I no longer have. For four weeks on Earth, Wyatt and I were together as if the divorce had never happened, and it was great—not just the sex, but the companionship too. Now, I’m having to go through withdrawal symptoms all over again. Only, for some reason, it feels worse this time.
I’m not regretting my decision. Exploring new worlds and developing human contact with alien races is what I want to do. Nothing comes without compromise though, and it does get a little lonely at times. I pick up my communicator and tap to open a novel I’ve been reading, settling myself down on my bed. I manage to get through a chapter, before I give up and put the thing down. Leaning my head back against the bed board, I close my eyes and take deep breaths, willing myself to relax. It’s futile.
So, I call my ex-husband.
He picks up on the second ring, a delighted grin on his face. “Hey Mel, I was just thinking of calling you too. How are you honey?”
At the sight of him, something eases in my chest. “I’m good. All packed and ready to go at the end of the month. How about you? Tell me your news.”
“Nothing much to report. Oh, except I have a guest staying at the house.”
“Oh?”
“Bear with me a minute. Let me go get her.”
Her? What the fuck?I’m seized by an unreasonable jealousy. However, I barely have time to register my feelings before he’s back, holding a large ginger cat in his arms. Stroking the top of its head, he smiles happily. “Meet Georgie. She belongs to the Meyers two doors down. They asked me to cat sit for them over the weekend. Isn’t she a cutie?”
“The cutest.”
Wyatt holds the cat towards the screen and says, “That’s my girl Mel. See. I told you she was beautiful.”
“You talk to the cat?”
“I do. You got a problem with that?”
“Not at all,” I tease. “I’m sure Georgie makes for scintillating company.”
“You know what they say about sarcasm being the lowest form of wit.”
“They also say it’s the highest form of intelligence.”
“Touché.”
He puts Georgie down and I see him settle himself back on the living room couch. “You watching anything?” I ask.
“There’s a hockey game on, but I’m only half-watching while I read.”
“What are you reading?”
“It’s the final part of the Noviara trilogy.”
Wyatt is a huge science-fiction fan, which makes it all the more ironic that he’s staying put on Earth while I’m in Mars, about to go explore a new planet.
“Is it any good?”
“Yeah, I’m just finding it hard to focus tonight.”
“Me too.”
“You know the reason why.”
I exhale. “Yes.”
He stares at me with eyes as blue as a sunny sky. I gaze into them, feeling their pull across the millions of miles that separate us. His voice husky, he says, “Baby, want me to make it better?”
“Please.”
“Take your clothes off Melinda. Make it slow. I want to enjoy the sight of you.”
