Page 46 of My Tiny Giant

“You’re welcome. Thank you for saving me, too.” She exhaled a soft giggle. “I can’t believe you shot him in the ass.”

He smiled back, relaxing a little.

“That’s as high as I could reach.” He climbed up her thigh and into the cloud of the skirts in her lap. Were he his normal size, he would have hugged her right now. As it was, the best he could do to get a little closer was to sit on her leg.

“We make a good team, Agan.” She placed her hand on her thigh behind his back, so he could lean against it. “This turned out to be quiet a Valentine’s date,” she chuckled quietly, as if to herself.

His heart thumped loudly. Did she just say something about a date? Or did his translator mess up by giving the word the romantic connotation? The word before it came through incomprehensible.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, wishing that whatever it was she’d said indeed had a romantic meaning.

“Oh, I just thought about something that Rick, my captain, said before my leave here. It’s February the Fourteenth today,” she explained. “That’s when some countries celebrate Valentine’s Day back on Earth. A silly holiday, really.” She rolled her eyes, rubbing her arm with her free hand.

“Cold?” Of course she would be—she had no fur, whatsoever. He cursed himself for forgetting that. “We have to go back in.”

He jumped off her lap.

“Right. The professor is dead. We’ll have some explaining to do, won’t we?” She reached for the purse on the floor.

“So, do you go on dates on this day?” he asked quickly, before he’d have to climb back into the damn purse.

“Dates? On Valentine’s Day ? Yes. That’s what this day is all about. Couples go out for dinner, or to see a show, or dancing. They give each other flowers and chocolate , it’s...um, a sweet dessert thing—treats. Then, they...” She shot a quick glance his way, an unexpected blush spreading on her cheeks. “They make love.”

“Can’t that be done any day?” he asked, a bit perplexed. “Not just once a year?”

“Of course it can,” she replied with a brief giggle that sounded rather nervous. “See? I told you it’s a silly holiday, with no real purpose. Ready?” She opened the purse, setting it down on the floor for him to climb in. “I’ll see you later, Agan,” she said softly before closing the clutch like a coffin around him.

Chapter 10

I DREAMED ABOUT HIM two nights later. In my dream, Agan was his old, massive sized, cocky self. And he was extremely mean to me, mocking me relentlessly.

I woke up angry, feeling like I could punch him if he were nearby.

Sadly, he was nowhere around. I lay alone in my bed, in the small apartment in the City of Voran. My anger quickly turned to wistfulness as I started going through everything that had happened between us.

Despite the rough beginning, Agan and I had managed to build some pretty good understanding. I loved the synergy we had when we worked together. I’d sensed it way back when we were escaping the lab on Tragul, then during the night in the professor’s house.

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