“I think I can make it,” she said with a chuckle and led him into the flow of foot traffic. “Do you like Ugarian food? I know a great place.”
So much for thinking she wasn’t familiar with this station.
“Ugarian food is palatable,” he answered. He’d rarely consumed foreign food in his life until now. So far he wasn’t impressed, but if Han wanted it, he’d choke it down.
“This way,” she said and tugged him after her. She proved her knowledge of the station by unerringly leading him to the food shops. Strong smells assaulted his nose. He missed Talin stations and outposts. They were always so clean, and you only smelled the food when it was being served to you.
She passed several establishments before deciding on one. They were greeted by an Ugarian the moment they walked in.
“Han! It’s good to see you!”
“Hi, Nelsha,” Han said, leading him to a table in the back. “I’ll take my usual, and could you get a youngling sample platter for my friend?”
Nelsha said she’d put the order in right away then greeted the Ugarians who came in behind them. These additions filled the small place to capacity. Except for one Leemron, he didn’t see any other species in the place.
“This place makes the bestilimandtup,” she said. She was still holding his hand, and they were sitting close. It was nice. Almost as good as when she sat in his lap for that first meal on his ship.
He could only hope Ugarian food wasn’t horrible.
“How do you know the staff?” he asked.
“Nelsha isn’t staff. She and her family own this place.” She waved at some Ugarians at another table. “That’s Himsa, Jorlo, and Simsa. If we were spending the night here, they’d let us stay at their place.”
“Do you spend a lot of time here?” he asked. Part of him was relieved because, if that was true, he didn’t need to buy her a ticket anywhere. But it also meant they’d be parting soon.
He’d gotten used to her presence. He’d spent a lot of time alone but never felt bad about it before. When she left, he’d be lonely for the first time.
“No, my home base is Thisher Station, but I think I mentioned I travel a lot,” she said.
His curiosity over what she did for work was overshadowed by his dread to ask the next question. “Should I arrange passage for you to Thisher?”
She’d been looking around at the other patrons, but his question snapped her attention back to him. “Why are you so eager to get rid of me?”
“I’d rather you stayed with me always,” he answered honestly. “But I need to think of what’s best for you, and we’ve already talked about the fact I don’t have the means to keep you comfortable.”
He expected her to agree with him, but she gave one of those adorable snorts and a little shake of her head. Today she wore her long red mane loose, allowing it to cascade down her shoulders. Her movement made the soft mass float around a little.
It was hard, but he resisted the urge to reach up and run his fingers through it.
She frowned at him. “You’re struggling and only concerned about me. You’re really too sweet for this universe.”
“I assure you, I’m not,” he answered, thinking of all the times he’d barely resisted touching her. An honorable male wouldn’t have those impulses! Feeling uncomfortable, he changed the subject. “How do you know so many Ugarians if you don’t live here? Do you work here sometimes?”
She snorted. “I don’t have the patience to work here. I simply try to make friends wherever I go.”
This made no sense to him. He knew it was important to be cordial to those you worked with, but how was it helpful to befriend random individuals on different stations?
Her comment about Nelsha and her spouses letting Han stay with them reminded him that humans had few resources. Perhaps befriending as many individuals as possible was a sound survival technique for Han.
The food arrived, and Han let out an excited little “yay” sound. She grabbed a set of spoons the Ugarians used and dug into the meal.
He was used to eating his food with flatbread instead of a utensil. At least he’d had some practice on the way here so he wasn’t completely inept.
Unlike Han’s plate that had only two sections, his had six smaller sections with one large one at the center. Each section had a different type of food in it, with a plain grain-like food in the center spot.
He scooped up some of the grain and nibbled a little from the end of the spoon. It was tasteless, but at least it wasn’t disgusting.
“Oh no, that’s not how you do that!” she said and grabbed his spoon from him. She filled it with grain and then used her second spoon to scoop up some dark-orange-colored food from one of the sections circling the outside of the plate. She poured the contents of the second spoon onto the grains in the first one and then held it to his mouth.
