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"No. I really do like you. And I like that I feel safe around you," I confess in a near-whisper. "Even if it's just being in the same room together. Being near you makes me think everything is all right in the universe. That probably seems silly."
"Not silly." She leans in and brushes her lips lightly over mine. "Did I do that right?"
I want to melt into my seat out of sheer happiness. "It was perfect."
I feel like I'm living a dream when Haina walks me back to my sled. The praxiian and his sled are gone, and mine is made of rather sturdy materials, as it doesn't seem to be damaged in the slightest. That's good. Better than that is Haina's hand, warm in mine. This time, when she smiles, it's aimed right at me. Those smiles are the best smiles.
"I can't stay for much longer," Haina admits as we stand next to my sled. "I've got another location on my route that I have to be at. But maybe I could see you again next Thursday? I'll buy lunch again."
"I'd like that," I say softly. "So much."
"Until next week, then." She pauses. "Can I kiss you again?"
"Please." Even though I feel awkward, I move toward her, tilting my face up. She's so tall that I can't just walk up to her and claim a kiss—I have to ask, with my face turned toward her like a flower toward the sun.
Haina caresses my cheek with her warm hand, gazing down at me with those bright, lovely eyes. She smiles, and before I can smile back, she's kissing me again. It's soft and sweet, hesitant and gentle, but it's the best kiss I've ever had.
"See you next week, Ali," she whispers.
I can hardly wait.
3
ALI
Two Months Later
I live for Thursdays.
Haina comes in today, and everything in the universe seems a little brighter with that knowledge. I wake up and fling the curtains back from my windows, beaming at the ships moving in and out of Port. It'll be a few hours before Haina's petite freighter lands. She has a shipment at a nearby satellite and won't be here until this afternoon. That gives me plenty of time to get ready for our date.
Our date. I wriggle with excitement at the thought.
It's been two months since we officially “met,” and the happiest two months of my life so far. Every Thursday, Haina comes into Port, re-stocks the store, and then we go to lunch together and talk for hours. A few weeks ago, she changed her schedule so she could stay a bit longer, and now after we have dinner, she comes over to my farm and we spend time together. Sometimes we cook together, or I read a story from a human book aloud to her (the library in Port has a few prized volumes that I've read a dozen times over). Sometimes we lie on the couch together and kiss for hours on end.
Last time Haina was here, she told me that her route was changing again, and this time she'd be able to spend the night.
It took every ounce of my (almost nonexistent) courage to ask her to stay with me. Which means that tonight, we're having sex. Tonight, we're going to sleep together. I'll get to go to sleep with the woman I love in my arms, and wake up to find her there.
It's weird, but that's the part I'm looking forward to most. Not that I don't think sex will be great with Haina—I do. Kissing Haina is life-changing. Haina's hands on my breasts makes me yearn for more. My hands on Haina's tail drives her crazy. When she buries her hands in my hair, I feel like the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, even though I know I'm rather plain. She likes the way I look, and that's all that matters. But we've never done anything except touch over clothing. She's aware of my past as a slave and doesn't want to rush me. So, I'm definitely looking forward to sex, and I know with her it'll be special and perfect.
But it's sleeping with Haina that I'm most eager for, because it means that we're making room for each other in our lives. We're one step closer to being married—or mated, as they call it in the mesakkah culture. It's not something I'd considered before, but now, I'm thinking about what the future might hold for both of us…and I'm hopeful.
For the first time in what feels like forever, I no longer feel completely alone. I feel like I have someone special. I feel like there's a reason to be excited for the future.
That's everything, as far as I'm concerned.
So, I clean the house even more deeply than I normally do, dusting every corner and making sure that every single dish is put away instead of carelessly on the counter like I normally do. I put a pretty blanket on my weathered couch and change the sheets on the bed, all the while blushing as I think about being in it tonight with Haina at my side, my hands on her velvet skin and touching her sensitive neck. I make a fresh veg casserole out of the local roots that Haina likes, because she doesn't eat meat and gets a little unnerved when I do. I make sure her favorite tea is on hand and ready to be brewed.
