One More Arrow #2
“And you’ve never had that?”
“Nope.” Kaylie hoped her voice didn’t sound too pitiful.
She tried to inject a note of cheer into it as they strolled from the dining area to the elevator, heading up to the lounge.
“I want something like you and Alana had, I guess. You didn’t care that you were from two different worlds, two different races, planets, even galaxies.
Wow. And yet you always talk about her like she was the love of your life and your best friend. Your everything.”
“She was. She was my everything. And sometimes I think that you only get one love of your life. That this mythical Cupid can shoot you only once...” Jaxson let out a deep sigh, a sigh that was almost a whine.
“But sometimes I think maybe he keeps one more arrow, hidden somewhere. Like Doc and Abigail. Here you have a widower, thrown into his work, busy rebuilding the world in honor of his wife and the four cubs she was carrying when the fever hit, and then... pa-twing!”
“Pa-twing?”
“That’s the noise of the arrow leaving the bow,” Jaxson hissed. “Marcus is hit, right in the heart. Abigail crash-lands into his life, jump-starts his ticker, and now they’re expecting two cubs and applying to adopt more. That’s pretty damn amazing. Shows what you can do with one arrow.”
The elevator doors opened, and Kaylie left his side, snatching the paper from his hand. “Hey, I wanna go first.”
“Huh? You—”
“I don’t think I can handle that chili tonight. I’m so full from the feast. And the borde and the chili? We’ll be playing a whole different game of Blast Off if we’re not careful.”
Jaxson had to laugh at that. “Okay, well, I still expect a challenge. Let’s say we each get ten minutes to hunt for it, and we can ask for three hints?”
“Ten minutes, two hints, and I won’t make it too easy.
You have to wait in the hall. No peeking!
” Kaylie sprinted into the lounge and carefully smoothed out the paper heart as soon as she got to the snack bar—poorly stocked, but improving, thanks to Ardol and Kamau.
She knew there had to be—yes! A knife, scissors, and some crafting shears that Jade had requested, since she had discovered a love of sewing and altering Felid clothes to fit humans.
She cut the heart into a new shape, cursing herself when she got to the back of the arrow and realized she had no idea what the ancient things really looked like, just a vague notion of a triangle on a long stick.
She opened her personal computer again, searched for an image, and cut fast with sweating palms.
When she was done, she simply hid the arrow under the snack bar sink, putting it on a stack of napkins, the gaudy red of the wonky cut-out mocking her on a sea of white.
He’s going to think it’s something else. He’s gonna look right past it. He’s looking for a heart.
Well. He has mine.
And I hope Cupid has one last arrow for him, or I’m going to have to leave the Comet Stalker so I don’t die of embarrassment.
JAXSON HAD AN UNFAIR advantage. His nose. Canid senses would win over human senses any day, and he could follow Kaylie’s trail around the sun and back. Her scent had imprinted on his mind like only one other had ever done.
Alana. Heat and sun and plumcotta. Decadent and floral, and warm.
Kaylie—light and bright and sharp, with so many more notes of fear, so many foreign scents to his Canid nose—chocolate and almonds, and the citrine shampoo she used on her radiantly shiny black hair.
It spilled like the night sky over her shoulders, and her skin had the soft glow of the moon from miles away.
Day and Night, literally, his two loves.
The realization made him halt in the middle of the lounge.
He was in love again. And it was wrong, maybe, or right, maybe, and he didn’t know.
And he hated not knowing, because he should always know.
He was the leader of a crew. He was in charge of lives and safety, a strong, cheerful presence that bore his grief with a smile in public and tears in private.
The feeling of panic was fast, like the sudden strike of a bullet, but this time, he didn’t end up flat on his back in the sand.
He stood next to a stack of games in a dimly lit lounge, heart racing, knowing Kaylie was standing behind him in the doorway.
“You need a hint?”
“No. I’m good.”
He was so far from good.
Follow her scent. Just cheat. It’s not cheating, it's who you are. What you can do.
I don’t know what to do, but I can play the game, and work the rest out later.
His nose worked and followed the path around the edge of the lounge. She must have walked the perimeter to throw him off. Clever.
Why was she so nervous? He could smell adrenaline coming off of her in waves.
Don’t be scared, he wanted to tell her.
Why was she scared?
And why did she smell like she was in heat? The shallower, fainter smell of humans in heat was something so subtle it was easy to ignore, but not with her. For a moment, he deviated from his route and passed close to her.
Both scents spiked—arousal and fear.
What the fuck do I do with that? She’s turned on and afraid? Afraid of me?
Aroused by me?
With a sudden growl, he lunged towards the snack bar, ignoring her little squeak of surprise when he abruptly changed course.
He yanked open drawers and doors, then stood frozen when he saw scraps of red paper in the waste chute. Moving slowly, he saw the red arrow, clumsy but recognizable, in the drawer.
One more arrow.
“Found it.”
“Good.” Her voice was a croak. A creak.
“An arrow. Cupid’s last arrow, huh?”
“M-maybe not the last. But one more?” she whispered, backing up. “Or not. Oh, God. Jaxson, I’m sorry,” she whispered, voice barely a gasp. “I was so selfish. I’m so sorry.”
“Wait, wait!” Jaxson caught the fleeing girl by the arm, pulling his friend back to him as her eyes overflowed. “What’s happening here, Kay?”
“I wanted the arrow to hit you like it hit Marcus. I know it was just a stupid example, a dumb story, and I... I’m so selfish, I didn’t think. I just... I wished, I didn’t think.”
His tail rose slowly. Gave a single cautious wag.
“You wished?”
“For you to be okay to love someone again.”
“Someone here? Right here?” he shook her arm, not hard, but hard enough.
Kaylie nodded miserably. “Yeah. Can you just... Would it even be possible for you to forget I did this stupid thing?” she whispered.
“No. Because it is possible. It’s possible for this heart to be open again, to let love in again. It’s possible, and probable. Highly likely, in fact, but it depends on you, too. If you’re gonna shoot me full of arrows, missy, then you gotta be prepared to take a hit back.”
He was surprised when her formerly limp fingers snatched the paper arrow from his palm—cunning lightning with a watery smile.
“Pa-twing,” she whispered and showed him the red paper arrow landing against her chest. “Direct hit.”
KAYLIE APPRECIATED how Jaxson crushed her to his chest, cradling her like she was precious, but the conversation wasn’t over. He cupped her face, searching it with his intense gaze.
“You love me, Kay?”
“Mmhm. Tried not to. Told myself it was rude to hope some big, burly Canid hero could love a little piece of Sapien-Three refuse like me, foolish to even dream that I could fill a spot that someone like Alana filled... No, I’m not a fool, I’m just... well. I am a fool. For you.”
“What? You’re kidding yourself! I’m older, widowed, got baggage, and scars—”
“You’re talking to a walking media ad, the kind of cautionary tale that makes other galaxies avoid coming to Sapien-Three unless absolutely necessary,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“You are young and beautiful, and a tough survivor with an education and a good career ahead. You know you could have any Felid you wanted, any man, too? Elio probably—”
“Not going to happen,” Kaylie put a finger to his muzzle to silence him.
“I fell in love with you while I was still asleep, when you would talk to me, dragging me back to the waking world, helping me fight off the overdose of drugs they pumped me with, the botched hypersleep I was lucky to wake up from. Your voice was the kindest, warmest, steadiest thing I had ever known, and I knew with you, I would be okay. With you, I would belong. Be safe. On Sapien-Three, they have this story about a princess who was in an enchanted sleep, woken by true love’s kiss.
I don’t buy that. I know there are no spells in the world, no magic, but I have felt like I had my own personal hero, my very own knight to save me ever since I met you. ”
Kaylie moaned softly when Jaxson’s lips moved to catch hers, and then moved down her neck, nuzzling while his paws were kneading and his tail was wagging.
“You never went on a date? And no one has ever made you feel that way but me?” he mumbled, voice muffled as he bowed himself lower to kiss her neck, sharp teeth and soft lips sending her senses haywire.
“No.”
“So... so we need to go nice and slow. And everything should be at your pace.”
“Oh.” Kaylie knew her voice sounded sad, and her body visibly drooped.
“Oh?” Jaxson pulled back, eyebrows arched.
“No, no! You’re right. It would be smart to take things slow. And not... I don’t know. Rush back to my quarters and ask you to teach me all the stuff I’ve been missing out on, all the stuff I used to think was going to be horrible, but now all I can think about is trying it with you.”
“Well, we could do that—and go out on lots of nice dates while we’re on Lynx-19. I hear they have a shopping center. We could have movie nights. Game nights. All the kinds of nights.”
“I like the sound of all the nights being with you, Jax.”
“WHAT SOUNDED GROSS? I won’t do those things,” Jaxson whispered when they were alone in her quarters, Felid-sized furnishings making her small size even more obvious.
“See, everything felt gross. Guys would rub up against me in the hall, and I’d just have to push past and shove them away. They’d slap my ass, or try to grab my collar—”