We walk over to where a few of the women are playing with the young Trixikka boys. Someone has commandeered some vine rope to skip with and it looks like trying to persuade the little ones to just jump and not start flapping their wings is the primary task before they could ever hope to move on to double-Dutch. Alana holds one end of the jump rope and she’s… well, she’s covered in Trixikka sparkles, so I guess we all know what she’s been up to recently. Mavyx has little Nova strapped to his huge chest as he stands back, gazing at his woman like she is the start and end of everything, while those little chunky baby legs of Nova’s are kicking up and down like she wants to join in and show these boys how it’s done.
Together, Aloryk and I make a bee-line for Delphi who’s holding the other end of the jump rope. Jaxyn, Tryk’s brother is standing beside her, his arms crossed over his broad chest as he watches the women’s efforts. “Delphi?” I say as we approach, and for some reason, I can feel my cheeks heat, like saying her name out loud is just not something I should be doing. It’s at that moment that I feel Aloryk’s hand give mine a squeeze. I look up at him and he’s smiling down at me, a rainbow of little skin-stars bridging his nose like cosmic freckles. I take all the strength I need from his smile and forge ahead. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
* * *
“That was you?” Delphi asks as we sit together on some of the rocks around the gathering space in the center of the village. Aloryk stayed with me, and I can see Jaxyn has remained close, but not too close, standing back along the huts at the edge of the central clearing like he’s Delphi’s bodyguard or something.
I gnaw my lip and feel the brush of Aloryk’s tail as it coilsaround my calf where he sits right beside me.
I’d just explained to Delphi about our first meeting when we were teens. The one where I’d kind of ambushed her after her cheerleading practice with the bomb that dad wasn’t the perfect guy she probably thought he was.
I nod my head at her question. “Yeah, that was me.”
Her mouth hangs open a moment before she seems to realize and snaps it shut.
And then she does something I really didn’t expect. She reaches over, and takes my hand in hers. “I am so sorry that I cussed you out that day. It was just-”
“A lot,” I finish for her. “Yeah, I get it. I’m sorry I did it like that. I don’t blame you for not believing me. I probably wouldn’t have believed me either.” My heart is hammering in my chest with the memory of the confrontation, but this time, the beat forces me on. “I don’t know what lies he told you to cover it up, but it’s true. I swear.”
Her pretty hazel green eyes search mine for a while before her mouth pulls into a smile. “You’ve got his eyelashes,” she tells me. “I was always bummed I didn’t inherit those long, thick eyelashes.”
My brow furrows as I take in Delphi’s stunning eyes framed by her perfectly long, thick lashes.
She chuckles. “Oh, I got these from Isabelle, my lash lady, and they cost a pretty penny, too.” She rubs at one eye and then offers her finger out to see one of her extensions sitting there on her fingertip. “Give it a few more weeks and I’ll be all-natural.”
We chuckle and blink at each other a while, awkward smiles mirrored on one another as neither of us seems to know where to go with this new territory we’re tip-toeing into.
“For what it’s worth, it didn’t take long for me to start doubting his lies,” Delphi offers, shrugging and fidgeting with her hands in her lap. “About two years after you tried to tellme the truth, Mom found text messages between him and his secretary on his phone. Neither of them knew I’d overheard her confront him about it, and even if it was just text messages like he claimed up and down to my mama, I could never look at him the same after that. No smoke without fire, you know?”
I nod my head. “Yeah… he… he’s really good at hiding who he really is. What he’s capable of.”
Delphi looks at me with a certain shade of agony in her eyes, and I’m not sure if it’s for me or her own pain. “Yeah, he could be a real piece of shit come to think of it,” she says. There’s a wry smile on her lips as she talks, but I don’t think she’s amused. “He’s the one who convinced me to marry my ex even though he knew he-…” her eyes dart to Aloryk and then shift past us both to where Jaxyn is lingering nearby before she looks down and swallows. “Let’s just say Dad knew exactly what kind of temper Chad had. Said I must’ve done something to anger the man and that I should just be grateful for a guy who can provide the lifestyle I have.” It’s my turn to reach over and take her hand in mine now, and I’m thankful for the way she doesn’t hesitate to grip right back. “But I suppose that doesn’t really compare to completely abandoning you and your mama,” she sniffs.
“We don’t need to compare shit-dad-war-stories right now,” I tell her, my eyes starting to sting. “Besides, I’ve got a doozy I’m saving for later!” I don’t think she needs to hear about the time he left me knocked over in the middle of the road just because he was with his second family right about now. My nerves feel like they’re riding a rollercoaster and I’m not sure I could retell the tale without getting all emotional.
We both laugh, the sound not as light as it should be as we continue to hold each other’s hand. It’s in the lull of the laughter that Delphi says, “no, let’s not talk about him. Let’s get to know each other instead. I think that’s a much better use of our time on this crazy alien planet, don’t you?”
I smile wide at her. “I’d love that.”
I feel the warmth of Aloryk lean into my side before he issues my head with a soft kiss. He rises and wanders over to where Jaxyn is still on guard, leaving Delphi and I with some privacy. I watch him over there, leaning his huge, sexy-ass body against the wall of a nearby hut, and I think to myself just how lucky I am that he knows exactly what I need without me even having to ask.
“You found a good one there,” Delphi grins at me, knowingly.
I nod my head, not even hiding my blush as I look over at him again and murmur to myself, “finders-keepers.”
BONUS Epilogue - Aloryk
(1 whole year and some change later)
“Is it not time you went home to your own mates?” I glare at the infuriating females. I like Delphi and Chaz-Titi well enough, especially as they make my Polly happy, but do they need to be in mine and my mate’s hutall the time? My Polly and her sister have formed quite the bond, and I do not wish to break it, but I swear that the female ‘stops by’ our hut so much more than is necessary.
“Aloryk!” Polly stares up at me from her place sitting cross-legged on the ground. She swats my calf, but I catch her wrist with my tail.
Chaz-Titi laughs as she stands, brushing at her behind. “Come on D, someone wants to give his mate his special sparkles.” She vacates my home the quickest, leaving Delphi to give my mate a farewell hug.
I do not understand the female’s need to hug in greetings and leavings when they both live in the same village and see each other at every sun’s rise and sun’s set.
“Ricky,” Delphi nods her head to me as she departs.
