I smirk. “You and all those episodes ofRuPaul’s Drag Racemust be rubbing off on me.”
He leers. “I like it. Maybe later I can do some specialtyrubbingon you in private.”
“That can be arranged.”
River damn near blinds me with his brightest smile. “As usual, you’re totally right. Iamsuper fucking awesome, and I need to strut myself like I’m ready to lip-sync for my life!”
I cough to cover a laugh. River wouldn’t be River if he dimmed his light for others. “Just be yourself. That’s how you won my hearts.”
He sniffles. “Aww, boo. You’re giving me all the feels right now.”
“Just fulfilling some of my husbandly responsibilities.” I clear my throat. “Ahem. Remember, none of them are expecting you to be here, so it’s going to be a surprise of—as you would say—epic proportions.”
I let go of his hands and he starts bouncing on the balls of his feet, something he does when he’s excited. “When you put it that way, I’m the star of the hour. Like a K-Pop boy band of one!”
I fight back another laugh. “A most interesting analogy.”
River rubs his hands together. “You know, I’ve been looking forward to a moment like this for a long time, probably ever since I learned that my story was a smashing success onan intergalactic level. That really boosted my self-confidence, especially when I only had a very small niche group of followers on Earth.”
“You’re definitely not niche here, darling.”
He raises his chin with pride. “I’m totally going to own it, babe.” Then he spreads his arms wide. “How do I look?”
River’s wearing a bright green button-down shirt dotted with shimmery gold flecks that brings out his gorgeous eyes, paired with skinny jeans and dark brown ankle boots. His blond curls are fresh and springy from after we cleaned up in the shower.
In other words, he’s utterly gorgeous.
“You’re devastatingly handsome. I’m worried I may have to fight off overzealous fans awestruck by you.”
“You smooth talker, you.” He waggles his eyebrows. “Although that’d be rather entertaining to witness.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Let’s not ask for any unnecessary trouble tonight.”
He gives me a jaunty little salute. “Aye, aye, Captain.” Then he looks me up and down with appreciation in his eyes. “Don’t worry, babe. You’re suitably intimidating enough to make any fools think twice. You’re rocking your wholeMen in BlackAgent K outfit tonight.”
“It’s just a standard black suit and tie. My usual attire at work.”
“You in a suit has always been megahot to me. It gives you an imposing air, and when you’re by my side it screams,don’t mess with me or my man.” He shrugs. “Like I said, megahot.”
Inside my abdomen, my tentacles coil and uncoil happily at his words.
River then grabs a cloak he’s borrowed from Nirblob for the occasion. “We need stealth while I make my entrance, so I’m giving Obi-Wan Kenobi realness with my temporary disguise,” he says, pulling the hood over his head with a flourish.
I fight back a laugh. Almost everything for River has a corollary, explanation, or connection to some sci-fi franchise he adores. At first, I was mystified by most of them, but over the last few months, I’ve begun to better identify his examples. Mostly because he’s taken it upon himself to educate me about his favorite things.
While I don’t share his level of zeal when it comes to films and television, I cherish watching them with him because he gets so happy and excited to share them with me. I often spend most of the time enjoying his reactions, which is time well spent in my book.
There’s a knock at our door, and we open it to find Nirblob standing there in his ever-present roller skates and Lord Vardox mini cape.
“Oh, good, you’re both ready. We must hurry. The VIP guests are already lining up and eager to learn what surprise event we have in store for them!”
“They still don’t know it’s me coming?” River asks.
Nirblob shakes his head. “My fellow organizers and I thought it would have more impact to wow them in the moment.”
River nods. “I hear that. Who doesn’t love a bit of theatricality? Besides, I can tell you now, if I was at aStar Trekconvention and went to a supersecret special event only to discover Patrick Stewart was there, ready to greet all of us and give autographs, I’d lose my ever-loving mind. I’d be in nerdtastic fan heaven and floating on air the whole time.” He sighs dreamily. “If I say it enough times, do you suppose I could actually manifest that fantasy into reality?”
I instantly make a mental note to myself to see if there’s any way I can make this happen for River.
