He shrugged again, another stream of unintelligible nonsense flowing from his lips.
“Okay, I get it. You don’t know how you do it, you just do, is that it?”
He nodded, a bright smile spreading on his face, making her heart go pitter patter with its intense warmth. He may have been a wild mountain man, but his bearing did not match his appearance. At least, not entirely. Visually, he looked wild and unkempt, but she had come to know in just this short time that he was actually simultaneously rough yet refined.
As for his home, now that she could see it in daylight, it was rather spartan, as one would expect of someone living so far off the grid, but it was immaculately clean. On top of that, this confusing man had built a series of storage units into the very walls of the structure, each of them closing up tight to keep the place clutter-free.
She’d already seen where he stored food, and he had extra blankets and ponchos woven out of some sort of native grasses and fibers in another. But there were still a couple of others, including one he’d left open that contained what she assumed were his prized possessions judging by the beauty of what she caught a glimpse of. Jewelry, mostly, and a few other items of whose purpose she had no idea. But that was life on an alien planet, she realized.
There were no chimpanzees, but this really was feeling very much like an old movie in several ways. She scooted closer to him and tapped her chest.
“Speaking of Tarzan and Jane, my name is Margot. Mar-got.”
“Mahr-gohh.”
“Yes. And you?” she asked, placing her hand on his chest.
He jumped back a little at her touch.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. Do people not touch on your world?”
His cheeks flushed, and he shook his head, replying with what sounded like a bashful excuse. She’d simply taken him off-guard, was all. At least, that’s what it sounded like he was saying. For such a manly specimen, he had some distinctly younger behaviors. But then, living in the wild, she figured he likely didn’t interact with many other people.
He gently took her hand and pressed it to his chest. She could feel his heart beating hard, his heat radiant against her palm.
“Braxxos,” he said. “Tarzan Jane Braxxos.”
Margot laughed brightly. “Your name is Braxxos?”
“Braxxos,” he said, nodding, a big grin on his face.
“Well, it really is a pleasure making your acquaintance, Braxxos. I like your place, you know. Did you build this all yourself?”
He nodded, gesturing to the joinery work.
“I can see it’s really well constructed. But have you always lived out here alone?”
A darker flash spread across his face but only for a moment. Clearly, this was a more sensitive topic.
Shit. Stupid, Margot. Why’d you go and ask that? Way to make him feel self-conscious.
“What I meant was, I’m really impressed at all you’ve done here,” she said, rising and quickly walking to the nearest storage unit, opening it and lifting up a woven poncho. “I mean, the wayyou designed and built this? And how you wove this all yourself? It’s marvelous. And the way you make such good use of your space? It’s very Marie Kondo of you.”
“Konn-dohh?”
“Kondo. It won’t translate, most likely, but what I mean is you keep a very tidy and flowing living space. And the things you do have here are all tasteful, and some are quite lovely.”
She walked to his little stash of shiny things and picked up a particularly beautiful necklace with a futuristic pendant that looked almost like a signet of sorts, but in a very alien and high-tech sort of way. The pendant, however, reacted and flashed an angry red at her touch, waking from its slumber from the contact, it seemed.
Braxxos lunged across the space, snatching it from her hand, the odd device flickering in his grip, a brief flash of gold overriding the red for a split-second before the whole thing resumed its angry glow. He tossed it into the storage space and shut the door hard.
Margot realized her error immediately. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean any offense! I’m just new here, and I don’t know the rules.”
His glare faded almost at once. It seemed that this man couldn’t stay upset even if he wanted to. Frankly, it was quite refreshing after a lifetime of human men. They could stand to learn a thing or two from this imposing alien mountain man. He had more civility despite his circumstances than most well-off bachelors back home. And, so far, he’d been a complete gentleman to boot.
“So, I guess a bit about me is in order, seeing as I’m staying in your place.”
He chuckled at that, any last traces of annoyance washing away with that sparkling grin.
