Page 52 of Zalis
His eyes never left her as he dragged a finger through the frosting and licked it clean.
Heat swept over her in a full body blush because the way he was looking at her was indecent.
“I, umm, we should—” The ability to form sentences left her body.
“You should not be on your feet and you require sustenance. Sit. We will eat while the food is hot, and then I will clean.”
The perfect partner.
“I’m not going to argue with that,” Gemma said, hopping into the slightly too tall chair. “Smells good, by the way. What did you get?”
“Tazheel.” He uncovered the earthenware pot, sending up a cloud of steam and fragrant aroma. A second dish revealed a fluffy yellow rice, or something that looked like rice. “It is a protein slow cooked with root vegetables and fruit. There is also a grain to serve alongside it.”
“I like all those things.”
Zalis dished up a plate, and Gemma happily grabbed a fork. They reached a truce when it came to food. She would try to eat anything that smelled and looked good. He wouldn’t harass her about how much she ate.
“It’s fruitier than I expected,” she said. An unexpected perk of living in space with aliens was all the exposure to new foods and flavor profiles. She liked food, all food from junk to haute cuisine, with the exception of fish—too many little bones. They weirded her out.
This was divine. The spices were fragrant, a balance of sweet and savory. The meat fell apart. The root vegetable looked like a carrot but was starchy like a potato. No, it was a bit more fibrous, closer to a cassava. Still excellent and soaked up the sauce like a champ. The bits of fruit were so chewy and sweet. She took a forkful of the tazheel along with the fluffy rice and it was perfect.
“This is my new favorite,” she said around a mouthful.
“It is my favorite as well.”
“Listen, it’s unrelated but I think you should sleep in the bed tonight. Just to sleep. I don’t like you sleeping on the floor.” Was it too much, too soon? Probably. Listening to his steady, even breaths helped her sleep, but it felt wrong to relegate him to the floor.
“I do not mind.”
“Well, I do. We’re adults. We can share a bed.”
“But not blankets,” he said, repeating her words from nights ago.
She huffed in amusement. “Absolutely no sharing the blanket. I want to be wrapped up like a burrito.”
Dinner finished and the kitchen clean, Zalis suggested a movie.
Gemma checked the time. Her body still insisted on bakery hours—early to bed and rise at an unspeakable hour. Watching a movie would keep her up late but she didn’t have any reason to get up early. She could stay up as late as she pleased.
“Sounds good. I like the way you think, bud—” She stopped herself. “Zalis, I like the way you think.”
He grinned, flashing his fangs. It should have been menacing because that was a whole lot of teeth, but his eyes were excited. It was endearing. “I like the way you say my name.”
Desperate to keep her cool and not giggle like a tween, she rolled her eyes. There. Totally ice cold. “No fair flirting when I’m full and sleepy.”
“I already declared my intentions of playing dirty.”
Oh dear. There was no being cool about that.
“We need popcorn,” she declared, rising to her feet.
“Is popcorn traditional?”
“When watching a movie, yes. What do you want to watch?” She found popcorn on the machine’s menu quickly and set it to work.“Emry is hooked on this bonkers soap opera and I have to admit it’s growing on me.”
“I have suggestions.” He pulled out a sheet of folded paper and held it out.
“Is that real paper? Who uses real paper? I thought it was all screens and gadgets in space.” Gemma took the sheet and read. “These are all Earth movies. A lot from the eighties.”
