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“S’matter, Drex?” Freck reaches for the cleaning oil. “Human got your tongue?”
“Ha, ha.” My gaze challenges him from across the table. With the last of our weapons cleaned and crated, we can finally look forward to quitting time. I’m hot out of my seat before the others have even registered it. I need to see her, to finish piecing together the picture I have of her in my mind.
“Drex, where you –?” bounces off my back as I leave the room.
Drago’s is brimming with post-shift soldiers, and there’s still no sight of Sophia. My eyes dart towards every man’s face, teeming with jealousy. The idea that sometime in the last few hours, she could’ve met someone else has me tense. Each time the door opens, or a woman’s voice comes wafting through the crowd, the thrill that it might be her has me up yet again.
I start to fret that while I know she’s my mate, what does she know? I’d never even heard of a Kaleidian-human pairing. Until I see her, I have no way of knowing if our connection has registered for her. I may have more work on my hands than I’d thought. And then, through the haze of slammer and gin, she comes into view.
I don’t know how I missed her but there she is, holding a clipboard with a pencil in her hair. Tonight she’s got it in a low bun twisted at her nape. It eases me just to see her face from across the room. The picture I've had in my head all day pales in comparison to the real deal.
The decision hits me like a ton of bricks. No matter what it takes, I will convince this woman to be mine. War or no war. People have done better with far less. A life without Sophia would be a life less than copacetic. No, that wouldn't do. The only thing worth having is standing behind the bar, shouting directives at delivery people and marking things off her clipboard.
I stand as close to the back rooms at the bar as I can until she sees me. Frustration marks her face until she realizes it's me, and then I'm hit with a smile that could warm me in winter. As she walks closer, I try to maintain my cool composure, but it's hard. I fight the urge to flex and growl like the other soldiers do to try to attract human girls.
“Hey, stranger,” she says with a wide grin. “What brings you in tonight?”
“Oh, just some cute girl down at the bar. She caught my eye. I’m wondering if she’s busy.”
She leans over the counter. “She is busy. We just got a shipment of Vrakutani rye that we’ve been waiting on for months. Drago couldn't get through the blockade until yesterday.”
“That’s a shame. I thought you might like to grab some dinner later.”
“Wish I could.” She clicks her teeth. I’m sure this is a line she’s had to use on many a soldier since the occupation began, but I'm no ordinary soldier. This woman has a future with me. She can play coy all she likes because I'm only just getting started. “Afraid it's going to be a late night for me.”
“You mind if I hang out here for a while? Keep you company?”
“Not at all,” she says through half a smile. I can see what she’s about, and I respect it. Girls like her have no choice but to beat off the soldier boys around here night after night. But sipping my drink, sitting at the bar, I’m hoping the other guys take the hint I’m giving out. This human is my human.
“Hey, sexy,” a bar patron shouts from my end of the bar. “Pour me another drink, unless you wanna get out of here,” Her face turns cold as she goes to pour him a beer. The low growl that has been building within me ever since Kyltic told me to stay away from her forces its way out.
“Watch it, bud.” The words roll out like thunder, and I'm on my feet in his face.
“Whoa, buddy. Sorry. Didn’t realize she was taken,” he says, backing away from the bar.
“It's called respect, dude.” I stand plain and firm. “That’s not how you talk to someone.” I look back to see Sophia’s face shining with pride.
“Thank you,” she says, giving me a warm smile that sends hope to my heart.
“These boys are little more than children. They don’t know how a woman wants to be treated.”
“And how does a woman want to be treated, Drex?” The half smile crawls across her face again.
“It's pretty simple.”
Her eyebrows shoot to the top of her face in disbelief. “Then please, enlighten me.”
“She just wants people to treat her with respect. To anticipate her needs. To give her as good as she gives to everyone else around her.” I follow it with a confident smile, and her own grin spreading from cheek to cheek tells me I’m halfway there. She’ll be mine alright, it's only a matter of time.
She’s quiet for a second, then places her hand on mine from across the bar. “Okay, then, soldier, tell me more.”
5
SOPHIA
The flames pour out of the window of the burning building, and the people inside can be heard screaming for help. The military are arranged around the building. But they’re the wrong forces, and help will not come for those trapped inside.
“Mama, you’ve got to stop watching that, it’s depressing,” I say. She always has the Holo-Vision on and turned up all the way.
