Page 6 of Her Alien Spy
“It is. The cheese and the meat ones are both good.”
He nodded and pushed his comm back into his pocket, then turned to her and caught her looking at him. “What?” he asked quietly.
“You’re acting weird.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet, Julia.”
“See, usually when you say that I assume you mean something fun or ridiculous,” she said as they stepped up to the counter to order. They both did, then stepped aside to wait.
“Usually, I try to make sure it’s fun or ridiculous,” he agreed.
She studied him more, and he met her gaze. “I’ll try to make up for this bullshit later with more fun and ridiculous than you can possibly handle.”
“You are not exactly inspiring confidence here, Andethor.”
He smirked, then shook his head. Ugh. How could any male possibly look this good all the time? Jerk. She had a feeling she’d say yes to whatever it was he was about to ask, if only because it threw her off seeing him tense and irritated like this.
The human woman behind the counter, Elise, handed their takeaway containers over with a smile. Andethor took both of them.
“Do you want to eat in my quarters?” she asked.
“I was thinking on my ship, if it’s okay. It’ll make some of this easier to explain,” he said with a grimace.
“That’s fine. I’m assuming you’re not luring me away to kidnap me,” she teased, and he rolled his eyes.
“Not today, Julia. If I ever abduct you, it’ll be to have actual fun. See the waterfalls on Al’teth, or the pink sand beaches of Vesda,” he murmured, naming a few of the more beautiful planets in this sector. They got on the lift again to take them to level one, which was where the docking bay entrance was. She bumped her shoulder against his arm as they rode in silence, and he looked down at her.
“Whatever it is you’re going to ask, I won’t get mad at you. Okay?” she said quietly.
“You say that now. But I wouldn’t blame you if, when I asked, you punched me in the gut.”
“I like that you assume I can punch.”
“Julia, I have no doubt you have a mean left hook,” he said, and she could tell he actually meant it.
And, he wasn’t wrong.
They got off the lift and wound their ways through the corridors to the docking bay, finally stopping at a sleek black ship. No markings other than the required identification numbers on the side panel in simple white text.
“Welcome to the Hendrix,” he said, digging his comm out of his pocket with his free hand and hitting something that opened the door, a short ramp leading up into the ship.
“Of course. The Hendrix,” she said with a smile. They’d had that talk, shortly after they’d met one night when she was working at the Lounge and Dreadnought was playing. How, as an adolescent, he’d heard a recording of Jimi Hendrix and he’d become obsessed with the instrument he was playing. That had pretty much started it all.
Andethor smiled at her comment, nodding.
Julia made her way onto the ship and looked around. The interior was spotless, well-organized, well-lit. A table and seating area tucked into one side, a bed toward the rear of theship. Storage cubbies and a workbench. At the front, two seats and the controls to fly the ship.
Andethor followed her onto the ship and closed the door behind them, then set the takeaway containers on the small table. He grabbed two cups and poured a fizzy, fruity, slightly spicy drink they both enjoyed, setting them down on the table with their food as he motioned for her to sit.
She did, and for a few minutes, they focused on opening their containers, drinking, and digging into the pasta they’d ordered. Andethor nodded in approval when he tasted the ravioli he’d ordered. She tilted her bowl toward him, offering some of the fettuccine, and he did the same, letting her spear one of his ravioli.
They made small talk about his band, and her jobs, and he made her laugh telling her about how badly Xarek handles spicy food. She was curious as hell about what was really going on, but it was clear he needed this, just something normal, and she was more than happy to give it to him.
When they were finished eating, Andethor leaned back in his seat, sipped his drink, and watched her. She was tempted to smooth that deep furrow from his brow, but that would be silly.
And there was no guarantee she wouldn’t end up on his lap. Though at the moment, feeling relaxed and with a full belly, she was having a hard time thinking of why that was such a bad thing.
“All right. So.” Andethor said, making a face. “First off, I have never lied to you. I just didn’t tell the entire truth.”
