“Hey, Darla! Over here!” Shalia called out, waving her over to join her at the morning breakfast feast.
Darla gave a little nod and piled up her plate high, then made her way over to the table. She started tucking into her food with gusto immediately.
“Hey, Shalia. You sleep well?”
“Oh, yeah. Pretty sure everyone did. Or, at least, theyweresleeping well,” she added with a chuckle.
“Wait, what happened?”
Shalia could barely contain her mirth, the cheer in her eyes clear as a grin crept onto her face. “So. Wow. You and the alien guy.”
Darla’s cheeks abruptly burned, her gaze darting to the other diners. “Shit. You heard that?” she asked in a hushed voice.
“Girl, weallheard that.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Uh-huh. All I know is it must’ve beendamngood with the racket you two were making.”
Darla’s blush was replaced with a starry-eyed grin as she replayed the night’s festivities in her head. “You have no idea.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
“Wait. No way. Did you—with who?”
“Kuxx. The big blue guy,” she replied with a satisfied grin. “It was just a fling. Letting off some steam, you know? But man, that guy’s got some talent.”
“And the no STI thing is pretty nice, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Amazing what not having to have the test results conversation can do to keep you in the mood. I mean, I always play safe, but this almost makes the whole alien abduction thing worth it. Almost.”
“Maybe you and Kuxx could be an item. You never know.”
“I don’t know about forming any bonds here. We may be stuck on this planet, but I’m still hoping to somehow get back home.”
Darla nodded her understanding, but her look also contained a little glimpse of conflict.
“What is it?” Shalia asked.
“Nothing. I was just so focused on wanting that very same thing, but now that I’ve got this thing with Heydar, I’m not so sure anymore. I mean, he’ll do whatever he can to help me find a way, but I can’t help but wonder what that would mean for us. It’s not like we have aliens walking around back on Earth. If I did find a way back, I’m not sure what that would mean for us.”
“I guess you’ll just deal with that problem when you get to it.”
“Yep. But at least we’ve done something good here. All of these people can go back to their homes. Most were snatched up from this very planet, just not locally. But we’ve got a shuttle now, and Heydar said it’ll be easy work ferrying them to their people. Speak of the devil,” she said, waving her man over to join them.
The plate of food he carried was impressive, but given the exertion of the prior night—which they had all heard—he needed it.
“Ladies,” he said, sitting close beside his lover. “Are you having a pleasant morning?”
“We were just talking about stuff,” Darla said, an amused little crinkle at the corners of her eyes.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. What you were saying about getting these prisoners back to their villages and cities.”
“We will make it so as soon as possible. I am sure they are all very anxious to return to their loved ones.”
Shalia’s countenance darkened slightly. Darla couldn’t miss it.
