“He’s not my lover.”

“Boyfriend then.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

Adhi tilted her head to the side. “Are you okay?”

“Don’t change the subject. I don’t need to be coddled.”

“You do need to figure out what you want though.” Adhi pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “Tiegan strikes me as the type of alien who’d want to define the relationship sooner rather than later.”

Symphony stared at her feet.

Suddenly, Adhi burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“I can’t believe I just said that. I tried to psycho-analyze an alien.” She threw her hand up. “Analien!” Glancing over her shoulder, she huffed. “There’s a giant mechanical dinosaur keeping watch over you and that’s the least crazy thing that’s happened.”

“The zapten followed me?” Symphony checked and saw that the mechanical beast was staying a few paces away.

“What are you smiling about?” Adhi asked.

“It’s nothing. Just…” She thought of what Leel had said about Plutonian mates and zaptens. The fact that Tiegan’s zapten was following her and protecting her meant that it saw her as Tiegan’s too, didn’t it?

“You look so happy.” Adhi chuckled.

“I’m just thinking.”

“About Tiegan?”

She didn’t deny it.

Adhi threw her hands high. “I can’t believe so many women fell in love with aliens. They’re… blue!”

“They’re also really sweet, kind, and brave.”

“Look at you defending your man,” Adhi teased. Then she blinked. “Or… alien. How do I do this?”

Symphony wrapped an arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Honestly, I have no idea.”

Adhi patted her back. She put her head on Adhi’s shoulder, feeling like the world had finally been set right.

“Alright,” Adhi said, leaning back, “I should head inside and get this over with.”

“What?”

“The interrogation. Sara said her… um…mate,” Adhi made a face, “wanted to ask me how I got here and how I met Ginger.”

“Ginger? Is that her name?”

Adhi rose and brushed off the back of her stunning dress. “No. It’s what I called her.” She pointed to her head. “Because of her hair.” She let out a deep breath. “Honestly, the thought of being in a room with all those aliens scares me. That’s why I’ve been stalling. They’ve been nice enough to accommodate me, but I have a feeling they get intense when it comes to things they can’t explain.”

Symphony rose. “I’ll come with you.”

“Would you?” Adhi gave her a grateful look.

“Why not? This concerns me too. I should be there.”