Page 49 of Eat My Moon Dust
“What’s that mean?”
“You’re malnourished.” His lower hand traced my spine, a thumb testing the edge of my shirt moments before he took a step back and swallowed hard. With his tendrils and wide shoulders gone, the bright light of early afternoon stung my eyes. “I checked your cache when I came by with the mediplasma. Did you spend it all because you thought I wouldn’t help? I need to know.”
Without realizing, my butt hit the lip of the table. Hunar had me spinning and my spontaneous, fluttering heart wanted more.
But Hunar didn’t. So I took a deep breath, thinking back as I adjusted the hem of my tank top and pushed the bag of my pocket back into my pants.
“No,” I lied.
He collapsed onto his work stool with relief. “Thank fuck.”
When he opened his holotab, I finger-combed my short hair,working out the lingering tingle he’d left behind. On the outside, I was cool as a cucumber, but on the inside?
I wasfreakingout.
Hunar said Christmas was growing on him? Well, Hunar was growing onme.
I’d been getting mushy around the edges for a while. Dad had always said my heart was like a butterfly–attracted to beautiful flowers on a whim. But it was different this time. I looked at Hunar and saw things I wanted. He was rough on the outside, but soft enough on the inside that if I glitter-bombed him with my overwhelming enthusiasm, he didn’t immediately snap. He knew how to make things with his bare hands and was dedicated to his work. He didn’t change who he was to make humans more comfortable. In fact, he was probably theleastadapted of all the delegates.
He was a family man…
I needed to get a grip.
My holotab buzzed for the millionth time that day. I ignored it, staring at the ceiling where a row of floating twinkle lights illuminated the shelving.
“Don’t return it,” Hunar warned.
I blinked at him, lost in my own stupid heart. I was doomed.Sodoomed. “Huh?”
“The cache.” He picked up his band and lifted his tendrils back into its grip. “Not taking care of you will make me paranoid and anxious, especially something like low prealbumin.”
“How can you even tell? Ifeelfine.”
He crossed his arms, hiding his fists from hissenti,which was trying to slither its way up against his palms. “Parenting classes when the spats were born,” he said. “A responsible baan learns to tell if their brood is healthy or not. So does a good coil, so… just keep the cache and eat well. Got it? No arguing.”
If this is what he needed to even out the coil, then I’d take it and pay him back next month. We were a team, even if we weren’t in a real relationship, and this was how we could take care of each other. “No arguing,” I promised.
“Good girl.”
Blood parted like the Red Sea between my blush and my groin so fast I saw black dots in my vision. I swallowed a lump in my throat and got to my feet, in shock and entirely too affected to mumble anything but a wobbly, high-pitched,“Mphm—”
I turned away from him, pretending to get my bag in order, but really my eyes were bulging from their sockets, and I was mouthing,“Oh my god!”to myself instead of melting into a messy, babbling puddle on the floor.
I needed to get out of there.Fast.
I squeaked rather than cleared my throat, swung my bag over my shoulder, and beamed like a thousand-watt bulb. “Cool, anyway!”Squeak.“I, uh,need to go,so let’s catch up tomorrow, okay?”
Hunar nodded, absolutely and utterly clueless. “I’ll escort everything into the home tower lobby tonight. Should be safe enough for now.”
“Mhm, yup! Bye!”
But before I could disappear around the lockers, I stopped, damning myself. My thumbs fidgeted over my fingers as I closed my eyes and swore.
“Do I… taste okay?” I asked in the smallest, most insecure voice.
Hunar’s pause was heavy, and I counted the seconds. At three, I couldn’t stand the tension and shook my head. “Nevermind, it was a stupi–”
“Yeah,” he croaked, almost too quiet to hear.
