I cackled. “Yup. But someone has to keep them on their toes! No easy passes from me.”
“Nor from me,” he agreed. “I’ll see you at five then. Meet me at my office?”
“Yup,” I promised, knowing full well that in reality, he would be coming much sooner to meet me instead. Ah, this was going to be epic, and I couldn’t wait to see the amazement on his face! Would his plumage already be manifested enough to show some of his scales? I was dying to see what color they’d be and to see his eyes shift.
“Okay, see you then,” he said, taking his tablet with him.
“See you!” I called after him, then ran to take a very thorough shower, seeing as I‘d be bottoming for the claiming process.
Shower done, and a romantic lunch date at the beach suitable choice of attire quickly put on, I made my way to the elevator, thanking my lucky stars that once I‘d discovered the beaches the Fleet boasted, I’d gone shopping and bought both beach bum and smart casual beach attire from the shops on board.
“Xero, please show me the way to the shuttle bay. I need to get to my mate matching appointment aboard the mothership.”
“Happy to help, and may the odds be ever in your favor!” he sang.
I smiled. “Thanks, but not sure if Hunger Games quite strikes the tone I’m after.”
“Then positive vibes for your desired outcome,” he sang, and the guiding light band turned into a set of rainbow stripes.
“Better,” I laughed.
I made the 11:45 shuttle, so I ended up being a bit earlier than necessary for my appointment. That was fine. It gave me time to send an email to my TA letting him know that movers would be arriving soon, and I would call him when I had exact time confirmation. I checked my email and played a game on the tablet as a few more men came and sat down, presumably also here for their test, seeing as we’d all been directed to an area with a sign that said, “Mate Matching Service”.
It was just before 1 pm when the door opened again, this time admitting a man I didn’t know and one I did.
“Alec!” I called out in greeting, and his head swiveled around, his gaze locking onto mine instantly.
“Um, hi,” he said, walking over.
“You had to wait for your test, too?” I asked, for some reason, thrilled to discover he was unmated. Which was stupid because I was here for Kit. Though admittedly, Kit and I both had enjoyed watching him work while we worked on Kit’s abysmal bowling skills.
“Um, yeah.” He looked at me, confusion written large across his features. “I thought you were mated to that Kit guy.”
“Here to get it confirmed. I’ve never taken the test, and you know how it is. Until they are told, their minds hold them back.”
“Um, yeah. Sure.”
I glared at the man who’d come in at the same time as Alec, as he’d just rolled his eyes at my comment. He’d see soon enough. He wasn’t worth wasting my time on. I patted the empty seat next to me. “Here, have a seat. I was here before anyone else, and the nurse said the matching officer would come out at one on the dot and take us all to the area they’ve got set up.”
“Cool,” he said, plopping into the seat.
“So, you’re sure you’re mates, huh?” he asked me, not quite looking me in the eye, his cheeks pinkening.
“Yes. Some things you just know, even if certain Mylos miss the obvious and rely solely on these tests. Are you hoping to get matched?”
“Yeah,” he replied, wiping his palms on his pants. “I’m tired of being alone, and hook ups don’t really appeal, you know? I might only be twenty-three, almost twenty-four, but I’m ready for my happy ever after guy to show up so we can plan a life together.”
He looked down at his lap as he spoke.
“I get you. I didn’t know I was ready for that until I met Kit three years ago. We were introduced, and it was like bazinga! I realized fate had just played me good and I’d won the mate lottery. Only the joke was on me as Kit was completely clueless, and his display never kicked off. So I thought I was mistaken, right up until that kidnapping case last year, where it turned out one of the investigators had met his match and downplayed his symptoms and suppressed them until a doctor suggested he was mates with the guy. And then the guy took the test and badda bing, badda boom! Achievement unlocked.”
“Oh yeah. The teacher who was kidnapped during that Friendship Picnic event. He and a kid were taken by people pretending to be bus drivers, right?”
I shot him with a finger gun.
“Well, I’m hoping I’m not,” the guy on the other side of him said. “I’m tired of being told what to do as my old man won’t let me help run the ranch. He’s still treating me like a regular ranch hand, not even the foreman. So when I asked him last Sunday at dinner to at least let me help me select the new livestock, and he told me that he’d been meaning to have a sit down with me to let me know he was promoting my brother-in-law to foreman and would be handing him and my sister the ranch in a couple of years’ time, I’d had enough. The announcement about the Dragonii colony offer came on the news, and I signed up. I’m here to take the test and then get assigned my piece of land so I can go ahead and skedaddle off to my new life.”
“That’s terrible!” Alec said. “Why would your dad do that and not at least make you and your brother-in-law and sister equal partners?”
