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His eyes seem to sparkle in a stray sunbeam. Beautiful. Everything about this man is beautiful. Damn right I’m going to keep him.
He nips my earlobe again, making me squeal. A few people passing by glance our way but don’t really pay attention as they meander into the love hotel behind us. I open my terminal app to check the time. It’s four. Margot has been video calling me every day at 5 p.m. like clockwork. A lump forms in my throat.
“Fuck. I don’t think we’ll have time to hit the music store after all,” I say.
Xavian looms over me, looking down at the time, and lets out a soft grunt. “Nah. We can make it if we’re fast. Do you know what you need?”
I nod.
“Good. So then it can be an in and out job, and then we can bolt back to the apartment before Margot knows what’s up.”
I nod again, and we race off in the direction of the music shop. Even my feet feel lighter as they carry me away, hand in hand with Xavian.
40XAVIAN
Another week passes without incident. The tabloids have finally settled on giving Kallista a break by sliding her stories underneath the major headliners. It’s not where I hoped we’d be, but it’s a start. As I sit on the couch, too bored to watch anything on the terminal, I idly swipe through articles and poorly written blog posts about Kallista’s dating past.
Kallista Once Dated This Ex-Con!one headline reads. I snort and open it because what the fuck? Why not? I’m sure they’re wrong.
A picture of a Navario male pops up on the screen next to hers, and I grimace. I’d recognize that slimy blue skin and those giant black bug eyes anywhere. I once kicked his ass at a bar because he spit on Aiken. Normally, I wouldn’t get that pissed over something so petty, but Navario saliva is so highly toxic and corrosive that even a Gorcian’s hide can’t withstand it. Had to take poor Aiken to urgent care afterwards.
“Hey, Em?” I call out, hoping she’s finally awake and I’m not about to get lambasted by an irate and very sleepy girlfriend.
“What?” she yells back.
This is also one of our domestic habits we’ve picked up. Yelling from room to room instead of sending each other a message on our terminals—or, god forbid, walking into the other room.
“Did you date Lecter Hind at any point?” I yell.
From the bedroom, I can hear irritated grunts and grumbles. She’s so damn cute. All I’ve wanted to do this past week is put my hands and tongue all over her delicious curves. I’m proud to say I now know all the ins and outs of my new girlfriend’s mouth-watering body. I can’t get enough of going down on her every chance I get. In the shower, before our coffee, after our coffee, on the bed, on the floor. The only place we don’t defile is the living room, because that wouldn’t be respectful to Aiken.
Em pads into the living room and glares down at me over the couch. “No. Absolutely not. Why? Who’s saying that I am?”
I wave a hand through the terminal screen, dismissing it. “No one. Just some shitty tabloid. Nothing to be worried about. No one believes it, I’m sure.”
Her eyes narrow into slits. “That’s the problem, Xavian.” Oh, shit. Not the full name again. Lately, she’s taken to only using my full name when she’s pissed about something. “There are an awful lot of stupid people in the universe whodobelieve that nonsense.”
“I never had to deal with any of this shit when I was still playing ball,” I grumble as I sit upright on the sofa, making space for her. But she doesn’t join me. Instead, she walks into the kitchen and pulls out a carton of her skinny-no-fat-no-sugar vegan latte.
I wasn’t thrilled when she picked it up at the store, but she claimed she actually enjoyed it a lot, so I didn’t give her shit about it. It’s taken a lot of hard work, but I’ve managed getting her eating food that isn’t made of foam or air, and I’d like to keep that momentum going regardless of what the suits say. Ever since that turning point with the burger, her skin and nails have looked healthier. But the most important thing is that she looks stronger. I’m so proud of all the progress she’s made.
She’s about to answer me when the terminal beeps, and I pick up immediately.
“Yeah,” I say by way of greeting. Margot’s surly face appears on the screen. I’m not surprised to see her. She always calls at this time. “Margot. Hey. What’s up?”
Margot flips her perfectly coifed hair behind her shoulders and says, “Good morning, Xavian. Is Kallista with you?”
I smirk. “She’s always with me. That’s the point.”
“Very cute. Put her on,” she says curtly, brushing off my joke entirely.
Someone’s in a bad mood this morning. Great. Just what Emily needs the second she wakes up. But it’s Margot. I can’t exactly tell her to fuck off, even though I really, really want to. Emily is already making her way to the couch and smiles when she sees Margot.
Margot doesn’t smile back.
“Hey, hon. I’ve missed you,” Margot says, her voice rising an octave. At least shesoundsgenuine.
“I’ve missed you, too,” Emily murmurs before taking a sip of her so-called coffee.
