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As soon as she hung up, Nisha went to her closet and eyed her wardrobe. She grabbed a few pairs of jeans, some pretty tops to go with them and snagged an arm load of pretty panties and matching bras. Next, she headed for her bathroom and had to make the tough decision on which toiletries to take. Moisturizers, facial cleansers, lip glosses, lip stick and other necessities lined her counter. Her last stop had been to one of those shoe outlet stores.
Her mind was frazzled and her thoughts raced the entire time. If this were a spontaneous lovers’ trip, there would’ve been excitement and giddiness. But this was a trip between two people who didn’t get along and who couldn’t stand each other.
That’s what everyone around them thought.
But in truth, one of them had a raging crush on the other.
She was “them”. And she hated herself for it.
When Nisha arrived back at Tasha’s apartment, there were a brief chorus of “Hello’s” as she entered, but besides that, they were engrossed in their activities. Nisha’s gaze scanned the small area. The guys were still in planning mode. All three sat at her dining table while Tasha cooked more food with her cellphone pressed to her ear, ordering more snacks—like restaurants and gas stations on the road didn’t exist.
Nisha allowed her eyes to rest on Kien and as it did everytime she allowed herself to focus on him, likereallylook at him, her heart sped up. Not only was he gorgeous, but he exuded male energy. It was something about the way his biceps flexed under a shirt that was much too small for him. Or the look of concentration on his face. Or the way the humidity on Earth made his hair curl into big, soft loops. Or his hands... God, just imagining how his hands would feel on her body made a sheen of sweat form on her brow.
How the hell was she going to make it seven days pretending that she couldn’t stand himandthat her feelings hadn’t been destroyed when he hadn’t reciprocated them?
And just like that, her uneasiness of being able to effectively pull this off went skyrocketing again. Nisha swallowed the know forming in her throat.
Tasha’s gaze slid to Nisha at hearing her gulp. “About the four days to get there, part. How many of those days include walking because...”
“Maybe eight hours,” Solgre said, laying his communication device thing-y on the table where he and Phate leaned over it.
Nisha had tried to understand what they were working on, but it went over her head and that was saying something for a person who made her career working with legal briefs and complicated court documents.
Their device looked like one of those old school handheld Nintendo games. The screen was dark with a series of green unrecognizable characters on it. And to make matters worse, the characters weren’t in a straight line or anything. To her it was just a screen of chaotic randomness.
“So, the four days?” Nisha finally had the courage to shut the apartment door and walk past the kitchen table and to the living room where she dropped her duffle bag. “That’s all driving?”
“By vehicle,” Solgre said. “It would only take four hours to reach where we leftHalo One, but since we might be monitored, it’s best to take the scenic route.”
“Solgre—” Tasha said.
Solgre lifted a hand, cutting her off. “I know what you said, that I’d probably intercepted communication from a division of your government who tracks illegal human immigrants. But I can’t dismiss it so easily.”
“They’ll use extra precaution while traveling, Solgre,” Tasha said, pointedly looking at Nisha for confirmation.
“Extra,” Nisha said, hoping that was enough for Solgre to cut the trip short. Eight to ten hours sounded so much better than being stuck in her Range Rover for a week.
Solgre shook his head. “We’ve already discussed this and came to a conclusion. Seven days for the drive and the hike to the ship.”
Even though Solgre wasn’t their Captain, both Nisha and Tasha snapped their mouths shut at the authority behind his words and voice.
So, not only was she going to be stuck in a hotel with Kien, she would also be exercising. Nisha groaned. It kept getting worse.
Tasha caught Nisha’s eyes and mouthed, “Sorry.”
Nisha blew out a breath. Her friend had nothing to be sorry for. “I knew...well, sorta knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to this so,que sera sera.”
“But all the walking?” Tasha asked, her face twisted in remorse. “You get winded walking to the parking lot.”
“Um, true,” Nisha chuckled and pointed to her feet which now sported her new orthopedic walking shoes. The sales lady said nurses wore these particular shoes because they supported the feet for twelve-hour shifts “But I think I can handle a few miles. I bought walking shoes.”
Tasha was no longer paying attention to her ugly but comfortable new shoes. Her gaze had slid to Phate, and they were exchanging a look Nisha easily recognized.
Love birds.
Kien stood and stretched. He was a much larger version of Phate and Solgre, towering over his friends in height and bulk.
“Are you complaining about already?” Kien’s eyes were laser focused on Nisha.
