“Yes.”
“In that case, there must be some feelings on his part. It is not entirely one-sided.”
“Perhaps. But lust is not the same as love.”
“No. But love can grow from lust. What is the first thing that attracted you to him?”
Kalli’s smile was rueful. “Touche. Yes, the attraction was physical at first. But it isn’t only that. He is brilliant, and so self-assured. Be it dancing, fighting or engineering and operating complex technology, he does everything well. He appears to be tough and unfeeling, but he is capable of great kindness. Once, he rescued a puppy from a freezing river. And he took care of me when I got sick. He is so complex. I don’t understand him sometimes, and he infuriates me, but I lo—”
She cut herself off, unwilling or unable to articulate out loud what she had not even admitted to herself.
Of course, she didn’t need to say it for her mum to perceive it. Kalli had already said too much, but the need to talk about him was overpowering. She missed him so much already. She missed his presence, his voice, even his scolding. But most of all, she missed his lovemaking. Oh, how she missed that! It wasn’t even his prowess, although that was impressive. It was the intensity with which he looked at her, touched her, gave himself completely to the moment. As if what they were sharing was everything. She closed her eyes, remembering.
“Tell me, is he the chap who accompanied you on this mission?” Her mum’s voice snagged at her fantasy.
Kalli’s eyes snapped open at that. “How did you know?”
Her mum smiled. “Oh, darling. Just three days ago, before you left on this mission, you were content with your life. Now you are moping and can’t even go home to your parbot. The reason is not hard to surmise.”
“It was six weeks for me,” she muttered.
“You are right. It is difficult to wrap my head around the concept of time traveling. So you spent six weeks in this man’s company. Doing everything together. Relying on each other. Being each other’s only partners in a strange world. It is no wonder feelings have sprouted.”
“Not in him.”
“Again, how do you know? Maybe he just needs a bit more time to come to terms with his feelings. Men are usually slower when it comes to emotions.”
“Today, when I walked into the ChronoSynthetics president’s office, he was already there, talking to the man. And I overheard him saying how he didn’t agree with my research and denying our relationship in the coldest of tones.”
“I’m sorry, honeybee. That must have been tough to hear. But you mustn’t despair. Maybe he didn’t mean it like that. Or he was saying it for the president’s benefit.”
“No, he has said the same thing on multiple occasions.”
“Give him time,” her mum repeated, reaching out to hold her hand. “Maybe he just needs to come to terms with his feelings. And give yourself time as well. You might get some clarity and perspective by stepping away from it all. You know you are welcome to stay here with me for as long as you want.”
“Yes, I know, Mum. I might do just that. I think I will take a leave from work and do a retreat.”
Her mother’s smile was brilliant. “Sounds like a capital idea to me!”
She didn’t know if her feelings would change, or if she would gain any clarity. But one thing was certain.
She needed to stay away from Dariux.
