AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her face went pink, and she looked down at her feet.
Wow. She really is a prude.
He hadn’t even meant much by his double entendre. It occurred to him to start worrying that she wouldn’t be able to follow-through on what they were supposed to be doing here.
Did she even properly understand what they were supposed to do?
It hit him that on the Terran planets, surrogacy was basically a lab procedure. What if she thought he was just going to act as a donor?
But she already looked so overwhelmed that he didn’t have the heart to bring it up.
“Let’s head out,” he told her instead.
5
CHLOE
Chloe nodded bravely, casting her eyes on the road ahead of them and trying to forget for a moment that she was definitely going to get hurt on her skates.
What I’m here for is so much more important than that.
And there’s only one part of me I need to keep safe at this point.
“Bend your knees,” Jubal called to her in his deep, raspy voice.
Keep your mind on what he’s saying, not what he sounds like.
But that was easier said than done. It was embarrassing to be attracted to the man like this. They were supposed to be collaborating to create a child. It wasn’t a singles’ bar.
She took a deep breath, and then bent her knees.
“That’s it,” he told her. “Lean forward a bit and try to skate a little.”
She obeyed, leaning forward just a hair and moving her feet.
“The best way to learn is to practice,” Jubal said, a smile in his voice.
Great, he definitely thinks I’m a laughingstock. Wonder how long it will take him to put two and two together that I might pass on my innate clumsiness to a child…
Jubal slid closer to her effortlessly, moving sideways to keep his eyes fixed on her.
“Faster,” he told her. “Come on, babe.”
It was the second time he’d called her babe. Both times, it made her cheeks burn.
She moved her feet quickly, not wanting to dwell on why she was blushing.
Do Maltaffians blush? This man already has a red skin-tone. Maybe he won’t notice.
“Good,” he told her.
She realized that she was skating in earnest now. Maybe feverishly focusing on something else was allowing her body to work from memory or instinct.
She often saw that in her students when it came to skills like tying shoes or packing and zipping up a backpack. If she played music in the classroom or read a poem aloud while they were getting ready for recess or for going-home time, they seemed to complete otherwise tricky tasks effortlessly.
I’ve got to get out of my own way, she told herself. Hopefully, it will be the same tonight.
She tried not to think about tonight. There were still a few hours until dark. And between now and then, who knew what might happen?
