"Both of what?" Craig asks, coming into the kitchen. I slam the laptop shut at the same time Betty jerks upright. We're bothred in the face, and when Betty starts giggling, I'm helpless not to join in.
"Our Rosie is about to get very, very lucky." Betty says, crossing the kitchen to greet her husband with a kiss. She whispers something in his ear, and Craig's eyebrows rise as he looks at me.
"I wanna see."
"Nope." I shove to my feet and grab my laptop off the table. "Bye."
And I run for it. I want to investigate that photo some more. Without an audience.
Chapter 5
Rosie
"Is there some way to get my IUD replaced while I'm there?" I ask as the doctor finishes her pelvic exam. "It's only a year old but I'd hate to have no way to get it replaced."
"Their medical team will have everything you could need." She assures me, then shoves back away from the table and gestures for me to sit up. "Everything looks great. Assuming there's nothing in your other tests, this time next week you'll be heading to the moon."
I am practically vibrating in anticipation as I get dressed and make my way out of the H.E.L.P. medical offices. I can hardly believe how fast the last three months have gone. Between the long-term substitution teacher placement at the local communitycollege and sexting with Rexus, it has been the best three months in recent history.
The school had offered me a long-term placement for next year, but I turned it down, much to Betty's dismay and Craig's confusion. Sure, it would have paid well enough to get a small one-bedroom and keep me on Earth, but honestly, I'm excited to meet Rexus.
He's funny, in a gruff way. He's sexy as fuck once you get used to the green scales. And the male can dirty talk like no one’s business.
Plus, there was the reason I've never told anyone. If I can pay off debt and don't have to worry about that anymore, I can finally focus on the book I've wanted to write my entire life. It's a tempting lure. Almost as tempting as Rexus' dicks.
I know Betty is confused and concerned, but I don't want to tell her about the book. She's listened to my excuses for over a decade, and I don't want to disappoint her if I fail. She believed in me when everyone else said I was being silly and frivolous. I don't want to get her hopes up only to let her down again.
"Well?" She asks as I meet her outside the clinic.
"They said I should have the results tomorrow. If I'm deemed healthy enough, they'll make the first payment."
Which meant shopping. The climate on WLN269 is apparently livable but cold, and as a native Alabama girl, I'm not outfitted for cold. It's honestly the biggest turnoff of this whole thing.
"We'll start ordering your clothes tonight!" Betty loves shopping. I hate her a little for it. But she's right. We have to start ordering clothes ASAP because there's no way we're finding the right winter gear in Alabama. Especially not in my size.
"Yay?" I say as we reach the car and I slide into the passenger seat.
"Hush, it'll be fun. We'll get you something slutty to make it fun."
"You realize I don't have to seduce him, right? We know the score. It's just sex."
Betty joins me in the car and starts it up. I fight the urge to check my phone to see if there's a new message from Rexus.
"The something slutty is for you. I give zero fucks if he ever sees it." Betty shakes her head as she puts the car in drive and pulls into traffic. "I have failed you if you don't understand the point of sluttyunderwear."
"Bitch, I'm the one who explained it to you."
"Oh, right." She gives me a side-eye and a frown. "But you seem to have forgotten."
I ignore that. It's not like I've had a lot of reasons to wear slutty undies. Or the money to invest in them. But she might have a point. The stipend they're giving me is to outfit me for my new life off planet. Some slutty little undies are just the right thing for the life I'm heading into.
Chapter 6
Rexus
Ihave regrets.
They strangle me as I make my way to Headquarters, where the Planet WLN269 H.E.L.P. offices reside. I should not have listened to my comrades and signed up for a human companion. I do not want or need the distraction.
