Page 37 of Tis the Season for Tentacles
His eyes widen but he nods. We move slowly at first but pick up a little speed as Najar’s movements become less jerky and stiff.
But just when I think it’s smooth sailing—or skating—ahead for us, Najar loses his rhythm and does a comical mock dance of waving tentacles and skittering legs as he tries to stop himself from sliding on the ice.
I try to help but an instant later, his feet go out from under him and he falls backward, pulling me with him.
We land with a thump, and I’m surprised that it doesn’t hurt.
When I open my eyes, I realize I’ve landed on top of a very big, golden alien who has somehow managed to not only support himself with a couple of his tentacles but also has wrapped two of them around me to keep me safe when we fell.
Do I swoon a little?
Hell yes, I do. But I keep it from showing on my face.
I swallow and bite my bottom lip. “Um, thanks for bracing my fall.”
“Think nothing of it. It was my fault, after all.” Then he scowls. “The damn thermal suit sleeves for my tentacles restrict my movements too much. I’m sure I would have been able to maintain better equilibrium if they were free to move more naturally.”
I pat him on the shoulder placatingly. “I’m sure you’re right.”
We stare into one another’s eyes and I realize I’m still lying on top of the poor man. Blood rushes to my cheeks as I awkwardly clamber off him—stupid bulky thermal suit—and manage to get to my feet.
I offer him a hand but he shakes his head, instead getting to his knees and knee-crawling over to the exit.
Luna is standing on the non-ice side of the rink door, laughing her fool head off and pointing a finger and three tentacles at Najar. “Hahahaha! Never thought I’d see the day you’d be brought to your knees, Naj! That was hysterical to watch, by the way.”
He glowers at her and makes his way to a bench to remove his gliders. “I doubt you would have done much better.”
She smirks. “Probably not, but then again, I wasn’t fool enough to go out there to begin with.”
It’s my turn to glare at her. “Najar was very brave for trying something new. And he did quite well for his first time skating. Everyone falls when they first start out. Heck, even professionals fall sometimes.”
She winks at me and I join Najar to remove my own gliders.
His expression is clouded so I give him a friendly elbow in the side. “Hey, don’t pout. Seriously, you did great for your first time. We managed a nice couple of laps around the rink. Falling is just part of learning how to skate. Don’t feel bad about it.”
He grunts. “I believe one time was more than enough for me when it comes to ice skating.”
Wanting to get back to the lighter mood we had going before he fell, I suggest, “Why don’t we go and do something you’d enjoy?”
Luna flashes us a knowing look and starts waving us off. “Great idea, Felix! You two go and have fun. I’ll stay here and watch over Sasha and Kheph.” She gestures to the rink. “Seems like they’re still having some super lovey-dovey time together. We can meet back up when it’s time to return to the ship.”
“Sounds good. What do you think?” I ask Najar.
He considers me for a moment, and I kind of wish I could read his mind because the guy can be rather inscrutable at times. Although I suppose that adds to his sexy warrior mystique.
“Why don’t we wander around and see what catches our fancy?” he finally offers.
My lips curve into a relieved smile. “I like that plan.”
I reach out and link my arm with his naturally just like earlier—because I can be a smooth motherfucker when I want to be.
“Let’s stick close so I don’t get lost. There are lots of folks around.”
He blinks at me for a second but then nods his assent.
We wend our way through the dense crowds in the center of town, where the majority of the festivities are happening. Eventually, we discover an interesting ice sculpture garden we heard others talking about, but there’s a huge line so we decide to try again later.
After wandering for an hour, we get hungry and decide to explore some of the food stalls. I’m not entirely sure about most of the meat dishes on another planet like this, so I opt to try what resembles a mini-baguette that is filled with a local variety of melted cheese, which the vendor assures me is safe for humans. Najar selects some kebabs with grilled Glacius boar meat that smells quite good.
