This was news to me, and I was pretty sure most humans didn't know either. If people knew the first otherworldlycreatures uncovered were yearning for human blood, there'd be a heavier prejudice against them.
“Indeed,” Kroven told me. “There was a big uproar among all the species on what to do. We came to a consensus that we needed to stop living in obscurity, and hoped the humans wouldn't resist our urge to assimilate into this shared world of ours.” He paused, eyeing me knowingly. “As I'm sure you know, things did not go well at first.”
The weight of his words hit me like someone had shot an anvil out of a cannon. I knew the way humans had first reacted to the news that we had never been alone on Earth, because my parents had fought against the Orbs during the initial outbreak of violence. Humans hadn't wanted to share something they felt was theirs, and even when Orbs reminded humanity that if they wanted humans gone, they could have done so over the course of centuries, but hadn't. A brief war had occurred, lasting only a year. It became quite clear that nothing manmade would rival some of the abilities that creatures possessed.
I thought about sharing this with Kroven, but something made me falter. I wanted to keep connecting with him, but I didn't want to tarnish what might have been a hard time for him by telling him that my parents had rebelled against the notion of sharing the world with them.
Instead, I decided to keep things more about him. “How was it for you when everything first happened?”
Kroven looked comforted by my inquisitiveness, his lips upturning briefly. “Honestly, it's all very hazy for me. It was quite a long time ago.” Something that looked a lot like sadness swelled within his eyes, like a painful memory was screaming at him. If that was the case, he lifted it from shining through his features and kept talking instead. “But after the first year of turmoil, an agreement was struck between the humans and the creatures. OrOrbsas you all have so decided to call us.”
I cringed inwardly. “Do you hate being called an Orb?”
“It doesn't bother me,” Kroven smirked. “I just find it odd. I understand that it stands for Other Realm Beings and yet, we are from Earth, not a different planet or realm.” Kroven waved his hand. “But as long as I'm treated with respect, I could give a shit what humans refer to us as.”
Smiling, I took another bite of my pizza. I quite liked a Kroven that cussed, because he was so often portraying himself as such a Victorian era God.
I so looked forward to chiseling away the fortified exterior of this man of pale perfection.
We spent the evening swapping stories of our lives, getting to know each other on a deeper level without the confines of my job getting between us. As the night went on, I couldn’t help but wonder if Kroven was changing his temporary tent in my mind to a permanent place.
Chapter 10
My face wasred the entire way home. Kroven had asked me if I wanted to stay the night, but I’d told him I had some things to do back at my apartment. I hoped he didn’t think all I wanted from him was sex, because the truth was, I truly liked Kroven. For more than just his body, which was sofuckinghot. He was kind and interesting, and I wanted to know everything about him that he would offer up to me.
The truth was, I needed a minute to regain myself from what had just transpired between us, despite the brief break to chow down on pizza, and there was no way that that was going to happen if I had agreed and stayed the night with him. Plus, I felt like I really needed to come clean and break the news to Thayer about what was going on. I’d kept it from him long enough, and the time to get it off my chest had arrived.
So the next morning, when Thayer and I inevitably went to lunch together during my shift, I’d told myself that I was just going to tell him straight up. We ended up going to the diner down the street, and I was steeling myself the entire time we ordered our food. What if Thayer made a scene? What if he thought I was disgusting for engaging in sexual activity with anOrb? I didn’t think Thayer thought that way, even given his earlier transgressions about Orbs. He was actively making an effort now when the subject of the patients over at the Orb wing came up. I just didn’t want to lose my best friend over this.
The petite waitress brought our food over on two separate plates. She sat them down in front of us with a smile as we both adjusted in our seats opposite one another in a booth that was overlooking the parking lot of the diner.
“Enjoy,” the waitress told us, leaving us with our respective plates with another smile.
Thayer rubbed his hands together in a display of how excited he was to eat. He had ordered a footlong hot dog with extra chili and extra mustard with a side of fries. He took a modest bite as I grabbed the provided ketchup bottle on the table and made an empty spot to pour the condiment onto my plate. I was a dipper, not someone who put my sauces directly onto my food, so my plain cheeseburger and fries would have to take their dives into the ketchup eventually.
Taking a bite of my ketchup lathered cheeseburger, I eyed Thayer nervously. I knew I had to just dive into telling him. Because if I didn't, there was a chance that I would chicken out. I owed it to Kroven to tell Thayer about him. Whatever was going to come of our blossoming connection, Thayer deserved to be privy to it.
“I wanted to talk to you about something.” I began, hiding from his stare as I took another bite of my burger.
“Sounds serious,” Thayer chastised, giving me a grin as he tore off another helping of hot dog with his teeth. “Should I be scared?”
“No,” I told him, then, more apprehensive, I added, “I hope not. It's about the guy from the other night. The one I was, uh, with when we were at the club.”
The mention of the night we had visited Gossamer stole hisattention, Thayer's eyes bulging with interest as he set his food down. “Now we're talking. Spill!”
I chuckled at his enthusiasm. “I wasn't making out with a random stranger that night. I was with someone I met from the center.”
Confusion spread over Thayer's rugged features. “You met someone at work? What the hell! You've been holding out on me with this gossip!” Thayer took a sip of the soda he had ordered with his food before going on. “Which one of the attendants on the Orb wing has caught your eye?”
I sighed. “That's the thing. It's not one of the attendants.” I made sure to look out for any sort of shift of emotion on his face. I so desperately didn't want to see anger flash against his handsome face, but I knew I had no control over the matter. “It's one of the patients.”
Silence had a hold on Thayer, which I guessed was better than outright anguish. He seemed stunned by my admission, his dark eyes doing shifty somersaults. While I waited for him to say something, anything, I picked up my burger and took a huge chunk out of it. I was washing down my food with lemonade when he finally spoke.
“You made out with an Orb?”
Swallowing both my food and my feelings, I nodded. “I know it might be kind of shocking, but—”
“Shocking? Maybe, but...I mean, it's just odd, Bas.” Thayer affirmed. “Humans and Orbs don't usually mix like that.”
