Chapter 5
Banjo
Tavryn is going to take me back to Earth .
The thought repeats all through our slightly weird dinner. Tavryn doesn’t seem interested in getting to know me. I can’t tell if it was a mistake to let him in on my secret mac ’n’ cheese ingredient. It’s definitely improved his mood a lot, but he’s still not really talking to me.
There’s a bunch of things I’d totally be asking if I wasn’t slightly scared of him.
What can I say? This alien is as terrifying as he is hot.
Being around him is like being around Big Bertie—the hen my mama used to keep out behind the trailer when I was a kid.
When Bertie liked you, everything was sunshine.
But do one thing wrong and she’d fly off the handle.
I can’t count the number of times I ran away from her to avoid getting my eyes pecked out.
Yeah, Tavryn is just like Big Bertie. The last thing I want is for his threats about this Qauvela place to come true. Getting back to Earth means I can keep taking care of Mamaw and Viola. If I have to tone things down to get there, I will. It’s a sacrifice I’m very much willing to make.
I chow down on the mac ’n’ cheese to keep myself from filling the silence with questions.
What’s Qauvela? What’s in the delivery? Also, where is Stells?
I assume she’s flying the ship, but Tavryn didn’t even save her any dinner.
Even though they bicker a lot, they seem to at least be good enough friends that he’d save her some food.
Maybe she’s some weird kind of alien who doesn’t eat or doesn’t eat like the two of us do.
I glance around the room, and my gaze lingers on the bed for a moment before I turn to Tavryn. This time, the question bubbles out before I’m able to stop it. “Hey, where am I sleepin’?”
Tavryn pauses with his spoon halfway to his mouth, his gaze darting over towards the round bed on one wall.
He slowly drops the spoon back into his bowl and wipes his hands on his thighs.
“I hadn’t considered it,” he admitted. A little bit of that purple blush creeps up his neck.
He’d nearly been grinning while eating his food, and now his expression is back to his usual frown.
“Typically, the human sleeps in the cargo hold…but it’s full. I wasn’t expecting to pick up a stray.”
It takes me a moment to realize what he’s saying. “So wait, there’s only that? That one bed?” I look at it again. The round shape makes it seem bigger than it is. If it were a normal bed, it’d probably only be a double. “That’s gon’ be a tight fit for two.”
Tavryn desperately looks around, like he’s trying to make another bed magically appear or something. “I have a bed roll. We could put it…” He stops, trying to think of a solution.
It’s not exactly roomy in here. Even if we push the couch against the wall, I doubt there’s enough room for a pallet big enough for me. I could scrunch up on the couch, sure, but it’s just a two-seater. For more than a night or two, that’s going to get uncomfortable real fast.
And that’s not even considering where Stells is going to sleep. Tavryn doesn’t seem as worried about that, for some reason. I guess he and Stells already figured out the sleeping arrangements that work best for them. There’s probably another room for her somewhere that he knows not to offer me.
“At least I’m clean?” I offer as Tavryn groans. He nearly falls over as he slumps against the table, burying his face in his hands. After spending some time together, I think he’s less scary and more dramatic. It’s actually kind of entertaining.
“I don’t think I snore or nothin’, so you don’t have to worry about none of that.
” I bite my lower lip for a moment. If Tavryn did snore, that probably wasn’t the nicest thing to say.
“But if you do that’s okay! Mamaw snores like a freight train.
I can pretty much sleep through anything by this point. ”
“I don’t snore.” The words come out mumbled against his crossed arms. His tail droops to the floor behind him.
I wait for him to say something else, but he remains exactly where he is. Just like I thought. He’s a drama king. I smile, getting up and taking both our bowls over to the sink. I’ve finished washing and drying them when he finally straightens up.
“There will be absolutely no touching,” Tavryn says, glaring over at me. “You’ll stay on your side of the bed, and I’ll stay on mine. Otherwise, you’ll have to figure out how to fit on the couch.”
“Aye aye, Captain.” I grin at him. “But if you wanna touch me, that’s totally alright.”
Turns out Tavryn must not have meant the thing about touching. I got into bed before him, the exhaustion from the long day hitting me hard once I had a belly full of food. When I woke up the next morning, or at least, what felt like morning, it was with a warm body draped across my front.
I hadn’t really moved much at all, but Tavryn was clinging to me like a baby possum to its mama.
I’m not going to complain. It’s been a long time since I had somebody to snuggle with, so I enjoy every moment while I can.
In the low light from the ship, he looks kind of peaceful.
When he wakes up and finds us in this position, he’ll be anything but.
It’ll probably be my fault, even though he’s definitely the one that’s all up on me.
My gaze focuses on his horns, finally getting a good look at them. They look soft, actually, like velvet. I wonder what they feel like, but I’m too comfortable to really consider moving, even if I could.
After a few moments, I realize the pins and needles in my arm must be the thing that woke me. I try to wiggle my arm out from under Tavryn without disturbing him. There’s no way to free myself completely without waking him up, so instead I manage to slide my arm around him.
He’s in more comfortable clothes now, almost like a robe.
Whatever it is, it’s so soft that I can’t help running my hand up and down his back.
I don’t think we have this kind of material on Earth.
Maybe if I continue to prove myself to Tavryn, he’ll buy something in it for me.
The sweatshirt is nice, but it’s a little warm, especially with Tavryn using me as his own personal body pillow.
Tavryn lets out a little snort, and my hand immediately stops. I try to sneakily glance down at him. Instead of waking up, he somehow snuggles even closer. His leg slides between mine, his soft, bare skin meeting my just as bare legs.
The sudden awareness that we’re both pantsless shoots arousal through my system.
Great. Now my morning wood has turned into something more serious, and Tavryn is about half an inch away from pressing his thigh into it.
Part of me hopes Tavryn wouldn’t mind. The other half knows I’ll be spending the rest of this trip on the tiny couch if he learns what’s going on right now.
So my only choice is to untangle myself without waking him.
I spend a few minutes trying to figure out how in the world I can pull that off. Maybe instead of me moving, I can carefully roll him to the side and then get up. I think I saw them do something like that on one of those 90s sitcoms Mamaw always has on in the background. Hug and roll.
Before I can implement my master plan, Tavryn stirs. He nuzzles against my chest, clearly not awake yet, and his leg slides up until it’s pressed against my crotch. I freeze, my fingers curled against his back while I wait for him to realize what’s going on. What moves do I have here?
Pretending to be asleep seems to be my only real option, so I quickly close my eyes and attempt to slow my breathing.
Tavryn takes his time waking up, probably because he’s all comfortable and cozy cuddled up against me.
It’s getting harder and harder to keep my breathing even when I’ve got a ticking time bomb laying on top of me.
Or at least, I’m going to pretend that’s what’s affecting me.
It’s definitely not the pressure of his leg against my now-throbbing hard on.
Nope, nope, definitely ignoring that for as long as I possibly can.
Finally, Tavryn’s body goes rigid as he realizes what’s going on.
I feel him shuffle slightly, his upper body pulling away from me while our lower bodies stay connected.
I let my arm slide down from around him so he can move more easily.
Even with my eyes closed in “sleep,” I can tell he’s watching me.
Alright, he can get up at any time now so we can both act like this never happened.
Tavryn doesn’t get up though. Instead, he presses his thigh into me more firmly. The much-needed friction pulls a groan from my lips, and I open my eyes without thinking. The first thing I see is Tavryn’s sexy face, surrounded by sleep-messy hair, smirking down at me.
“I knew you weren’t asleep,” he says, his tone as smug as his expression.
“You got me,” I admit. The color on my cheeks is probably a dead giveaway.
I could close my eyes and attempt to slow my breathing, but I couldn’t stop the flush of arousal.
I stare up at Tavryn. He continues to look back at me without moving an inch.
It’s like we’re playing a game of horny gay chicken, and I have a sinking feeling I’m going to lose. “Tavryn?”
“Mhm?” Tavryn hums, dragging his leg ever so slightly down.
I realize I’ve been making a lot of assumptions here.
Tavryn knows what he’s doing to me, right?
I attempt to shift just the smallest amount so his hips are flush with me again, but he’s doing a really good job of keeping them up and out of the way.
It’s like he’s trying to hide something from me.
Hopefully that something is his arousal.
“C-can you let me up?” I ask, just managing to stammer my way through the question without whimpering.