"He's not allowed to join us?" I say nervously as he leads me deeper into the room.
"No, he's not. This is between us alone." His voice is clearer than I've heard before, and he sounds like a man on a mission.
My heart races as we get the foot of his bed, my large gown tangling in the foliage along the floor. I hear the rip of fabric, but neither of us seem too concerned—more pressing matters are at hand.
He lifts me up, carrying me like a bride. Kneeling on the bed, he lays me on my back. He lies down next to me and turns to his side.
I stare up at the tendrils of orange blooms that dangle overhead.
"Do you know what a Drefling mating ceremony entails?" he asks.
"Intimacy, or so I've heard." I'm sure he can hear my heart thumping so loud that it threatens to burst out of my chest.
He does, because he places a hand over my breast, as if trying to calm the rogue organ.
"It is incredibly intimate, but I don't want it to frighten you. I'm going to explain everything."
"Okay," I gulp, willing my anxiety to calm—but it doesn't work.
"It may seem strange, but I ask that you keep an open mind."
"That statement doesn't help. Come on, just tell me what’s going to happen."
He takes a breath. "We pledge ourselves to each other, and then there is…"
He pauses, like he doesn't want to tell me.
"Oh my god, if you don't spit it out?—"
"A meeting of our mouths."
"A kiss? That's it?" I guffaw.
Mekkra slides up to his elbows, brows knit.
"What do you mean, kiss? In Drefling culture, the meeting of the mouths is the most intimate of embraces. It is the opening to the soul."
"I've touched your cock," I say slowly. "Is that not more intimate?"
He scoffs. "My soul doesn't reside in my cock."
"So we kiss—sorry,meet mouths—and we're mated? We don't, like, fuck?" It can't be that simple, can it?
"I mean, if you want to, we can…but that isn't a requirement." His interest is obviously piqued.
"Why don't we just start with the meeting of the mouths and see how it goes?"
"You say that as if you weren’t saving me frommadness…I can only hope I've done everything I can to save you."
No one ever comes for me. Not once.
So when it hits—when I realize he might?—
A literal knight in shining armor.
Something in my chest cracks.
And the tears follow.
