Weird.
Crazy.
And generally impossible to believe.
“It blows my mind that walking through a metal archway in a park beamed me here so I could mate with this alien,” Tori said. “From my perspective, it feels like an abduction.”
She didn’t really want to be halfway around the galaxy. She was just thinking about moving across the country to get a little space and re-center. She probably would have chalked this up to being a crazy dream, but she saw what she saw.
So she didn’t doubt the authenticity of it.
The sanity?
That was a whole other thing.
Olmed seemed so annoyed and unhappy to be there.
Well, that makes two of us, there buddy.
“In essence, that is what happened.” Re-lee kept smiling that smile she had. Tori didn’t know if she hated her or if she really was starting to like her embodiment of romantic optimism. Certainly wasn’t something that Tori had anymore. “The system doesn’t fail, and if you are the companions for these males, then I believe it.”
Tori glanced at Olmed.
Boys were stupid, no matter where they were from. It wouldn’t take this one long to prove it to her.
“Has it ever been wrong?” Polly asked. Her gaze darted across the room. “I mean, well. I mean that—”
“Nothing is perfect,” Re-lee said. “However, our success rate is top in the galaxy. I assure you, if you have been chosen for Erzo, then the two of you will be compatible. As are you, Tori, and Olmed.”
Olmed rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
“You know, you can—”
Polly grabbed her arm. “Stop,” she whispered. “You said yourself you wanted to get away from home for a while. This may very well be the best thing.”
“I said I wanted to go to Seattle. Not a galaxy far, far, away.”
“But is that such a bad idea?” Polly asked.
Jana glanced at Polly and Tori. “Still sounds like slavery.”
Polly nodded, and Tori crossed her arms, tapping her nails. The clattering of the acrylic together soothed her. Or it was a fidget.
Didn’t matter.
From across the room, Olmed stared at her. Glared. Angrily.
Did he not like that? She wondered. Well, if not, then I’m going to have to do it all the damn time.
She clattered the nails together again.
Re-lee looked offended. “This is not slavery by any means. While the Intergalactic Dating Agency prides itself on its perfect accuracy, there is one essential clause. You have thirty days to determine if this match will work. If not, you can return to your homeworld without any obligation.”
A thirty-day return policy seemed promising. To get out of this, she’d just have to annoy him for the next thirty day.
Maybe easier than she thought, considering the way he was glaring at her.
At least she had a clause that would get her out of this, and she could go back home.
