“The closer one,” both of them say at once, in perfect unison.
I should have seen that coming.
“Okay, well, unless you want to share a single bed, which I don’t think you do, then you guys have to pick one.” I open the front door and usher them inside.
Shathar allows Khesan to go first, his eyes sliding over to me and then away again. Inside, he sets his bag down on the floor.
“I will take the basement, as you call it,” Shathar says. “It doesn’t matter how near or far you are, I will always be able to feel your heart beating.”
Jeez. These guys are so intense. But it’s also kinda hot.
“Well, let’s get Khesan settled upstairs, and then we’ll put you downstairs.”
Both of them follow me up the stairs, and I roll my eyes but don’t object. I show Khesan to the guest room down the hall from my room, and he drops his two rather large bags.
“I brought enough clothing that you should not need to purchase anything new,” he says. “I did not want to be a burden.”
“Great!” I chirp. “You’re sleeping here, then, and we’ll share the bathroom. Shathar?”
The other Arshurian nods as I emerge from the room and lead him back down the stairs, to the door I haven’t opened in ages. There’s just no reason to go down to Mom’s old apartment unless there’s a leak or the water heater needs maintenance.
I push open the door and cough as the dust hits my face.
“Sorry,” I say. “This was where my mother lived, and I haven’t been down here in a while.”
Shathar gives me that smile that shows off all his sharp teeth. “Quite all right.” As we head down the stairs, he asks, “Your mother is no longer here?”
“She passed away about two years ago.”
When we reach the bottom, I flick on a light. The main room is half finished and half not, with storage space off to one side, and then the television and couch we set up for Mom. There’s a kitchenette, and then a short hallway leading to the bedroom and bathroom.
“It’s a whole suite,” I say as I lead him to the bedroom. “Mom had everything she could need. She was always really aware of ‘being a bother,’ even though it really wasn’t a bother.”
I sigh, wondering what she would think of what I’m doing now.
Two alien husbands, Fiona? I can hear it in her voice. How are you going to handle that?
“Thank you very much for sharing this space with me,” Shathar says as we enter the small room. He places his one bag on the bed. “I hope that it doesn’t bring you pain to open this door again.”
I shrug. “I’m glad it’s going to good use, honestly. Maybe we can redecorate it or something.”
Yeah. I like that idea.
Shathar perks up, his tail lifting off the floor. “You would allow me to do that?”
“Sure.” I open my arms wide and spin in a circle. “This is your place now. You can do what you want with it, as long as it doesn’t become a bachelor pad.”
“I do not know this ‘pad,’ but I am no longer a bachelor. I am a happily married Arshurian.”
His yellow eyes settle on me, and there is a deep kindness, a true affection in them, that takes me by surprise. He is the one who placed his hand on my cheek as he said his commitments, and my skin heats immediately remembering his earnestness.
“You often turn pink this way,” he says, lifting a hand once again to the side of my face. He brushes over my cheekbone with his finger. “What does it mean?”
“It could mean a lot of things.” My mouth feels dry. “In this case, um, it’s because I, uh…” I wave my hands in front of my face. “I’m just tired, is all. I should go help Khesan get settled, too, and?—”
Shathar’s tail falls back to the floor. “Of course. The other guest.” But he says it less with venom and more with resigned exhaustion. “See to him. I will be here.”
“Feel free to use the drawers and the closet,” I say brightly. “Whatever you want.”
