“Oh my god!” Laura drops her wooden spoon, which clatters to the floor. She flaps her arms around, her gaze darting around the kitchen, no doubt searching for a way to clean up her mess.
Zoe punches the air. “Yes! Finally!”
Charlotte snaps her book shut. “Details. Now.”
I press my hands to my burning cheeks. “I didn’t mean to just blurt it out like that.”
“Too late, you already did.” Elana drags me toward the staff table, practically shoving me into a chair. “Start talking. And I mean everything.”
“There’s not that much to tell?—“
“Lies,” Zoe interrupts, leaning forward with predatory interest. “Give us the goods.”
I take a shaky breath, then another. The words start tumbling out. “We were at the apple bobbing station. He was so bad at it. Like, hilariously bad. He got completely soaked… and I now understand the whole obsession with wet shirt competitions. ’Cause he was hot.
“And?” Elana prompts, eyes gleaming.
“And he caught an apple finally. And I told him to taste it, so he did, and there was juice on his lip, and I just—” I gesture helplessly. “And then I kissed him.”
Zoe whoops. Laura gasps. Charlotte’s eyes are huge behind her glasses.
“You kissed him?” Elana asks.
“I invited him to the haunted house tour tonight too,” I admit. “Like, as a date. A real date.”
“Holy shit,” Zoe breathes. “Selene, that’s amazing.”
“It’s about damn time you lightened up,” Elana says, squeezing my shoulder. There’s warmth in her voice, but also something that looks like concern in her pale eyes. “I mean that in the best way. You’ve been wound so tight since—well. Since everything.”
The words hit me harder than expected. Since the rescue. Since waking up on that ship. Since learning I’d been abducted and had no memory of how.
“I know.” My voice comes out smaller than intended. “I just... I haven’t been able to—“ Trust anyone again, because who knows when another alien’s just going to grab you and run. You don’t have any control over it; it’s not like an abductor is going to listen to you when you say ‘no’.
“It’s okay.” Laura’s voice is soft. “We get it. Trust me.”
I look at her, at the understanding in her expression, and something in my chest loosens slightly.
“So.” Charlotte leans forward, all business. “This Khatak. You like him?”
“I—yeah. I really do.” The admission feels both terrifying and freeing. “He’s... It’s...”
“Refreshing?” Elana offers.
“Terrifying,” I correct, then laugh shakily. “Both. It’s both.”
“That’s good though, right?” Zoe tilts her head. “I mean, you always know where you stand.”
I replay every moment of the afternoon, and a familiar cold weight settles in my stomach. That voice, the one that’s emerged since our abduction. The one that never quite shuts up.
What if you’re wrong? What if you’re missing something?
My smile falters.
All these aliens like to act so tough all the time. It’s like being in some galactic space opera where no one’s just themselves. Everyone’s always presenting their best sides, all the time. You can never know what’s true and what’s just a facade.
“But?” Charlotte asks, catching it immediately.
Damn it. Why does she have to be so observant all the time? If I stole her glasses, maybe she wouldn’t see my reactions. I mean, it also means she won’t see at all… but it’s for a worthy cause.
