CHAPTER 2
Ishake my head, flicking my newly trimmed bangs back into place and swiping away one last errant clipped hair away from my face.
“They’re perfect. Thanks.”
“My pleasure.” The Opodean woman holds the scissors in one of her tentacles and looks me over one more time. “You do look good with the dark hair.”
I run my fingers through the strands that were starting to show the silver streaks before she redarkened it. “Eventually, I’ll give in,” tell her, “but I don’t feel old enough to be going gray already.”
“At the risk of losing business…” she leans forward and whispers, “Talk to Phantom and see if you can get some anti-aging injectables. They don’t work for everyone, but they could get rid of those grays, even better than I can.”
“Thanks, I’ll think about it.” I don’t know if I’m that concerned about them.
Things like that always sound so permanent, and I am a big ol’ scaredy cat when it comes to physical alterations.
Paying with the same chain that gives me access to my apartment, I leave the salon, ignoring the aliens who stare at me.
There aren’t enough humans on the station. We’re oddities and I have to get used to that.
I’m early, so I take the long way to the cafe where Feather and Peach are meeting me—they’ve told me their real names, but it’s hard to break the habit and think of them by those.
MiNo has been set up to cater to so many different kinds of aliens, that there’s more to see than I could hope to get to without actively trying.
There’s a Darosian aquarium on the level below the cafe and I go to it. Standing at the glass, I hope it has magnifying capabilities. The creatures in the water are enormous.
“It’s a screen.”
I flinch back from the Trulavian man who has stopped beside me.
“What?”
“They’re not cruel enough to keep them captive on the station, so this is a live feed to Daros.”
“Oh, cool.” I turn back to the screen, hoping that’s it, but it isn’t.
“Darosians get homicidal when they’re homesick. This is a safety feature more than an aesthetic one.”
“Thanks for the info.” I check my watch and offer him a polite “Have a nice day” before I head for the stairs, up to the next level.
But when I glance back, he’s watching me.
I hope it’s just another instance of “curiosity about the human,” and not something I actually need to worry about.
As soon as he’s out of sight, I breathe a little easier.
When I get to the cafe, they’re already waiting for me.
“Hey! Am I late?”
“You’re not. We’re early.” Peach glances at the red circles and lines on the wall further down the corridor. “I’m still trying to figure out how to read the clocks.”
“I can’t help with that.” I hold up my hand and show her my wrist. “I had Phantom adjust the mechanism in this, so it keeps me mostly on track.”
“I’ll have to ask them to get me a watch too.”
I sit down, glancing at Feather’s bodyguard and then turning back to them, ignoring him the way I’ve been asked to.
Feather hands me a menu and says, “We ordered smoothies and I got you one, too. My treat.”
As if she saw them hand me the menu, the waitress arrives with the smoothies and asks if we’re ready. I tell them to go first and I’ll be ready by the time they do.
When it’s my turn, I get the Korvion jelly that Cherry turned me on to a few weeks ago.
“I should probably start eating at home more often,” I say, thinking about what Ferrok and Mooralan said about their habits. “Otherwise, why am I renting a place with a full kitchen?”
“Ooo. Dinner party?” Peach asks, taking a long sip of her smoothie. “I am trying to organize at least one girl’s night each time Lochdon’s away. And I am willing to be the one who cooks if you host.”
“Deal.” I poke her in the ribs. “Is that why you invited us to brunch? Your alien lover’s away, so we get to play?”
“He did leave yesterday, but that’s not why. I happen to like you. And booth slots can only fill so much time.”
Feather chuckles. “Must be nice to have a partner who encourages you to keep working while he’s gone.”
“It is.”
“Look at that smile. She’s in love.” I tease her and Feather says, “Oooooo.”
But Peach points at me with a puckered smile like she’s trying not to laugh. “You have no room to tease me. You’ve got two alien boyfriends.”
“You do?” Feather asks, turning to me with wide-eyed expectation.
“She does.” Peach chuckles and sips.
“Correction,” I hold up one finger. “They are friends that I fuck who… I’d be open to more with, if they want it.”
“Close enough.” Peach looks at me with a smile and narrowed eyes. “When are you seeing them next?”
I bite my tongue. This is not going to prove her wrong. “We’re having dinner tonight.”
“That,” she tips her smoothie at me, “is a date.”
The waitress arrives, saving me from having to admit that… yeah, it is a date. Maybe I do have two alien boyfriends.
While we eat, Peach grills Feather on her home in Northern California and if she feels safe living alone and in the middle of nowhere.
“What about bears?” I ask and she kind of laughs.
“They’re fine. I have spray and a horn and other precautions. They don’t really bother me.”
I manage to keep myself from looking at Kicker. She doesn’t need a bodyguard for bears.
My phone goes off and I look at the name before I silence it.
“Honestly, I don’t think I could give up the forest for full-time on station.” Feather sighs.
“Oh, I am going back to Earth to visit family all the time. I don’t feel like I’ve given up anything.” Peach’s head tilts to the side. “I bet Phantom could give us each a planet with the exact type of environment we want.”
“I bet they could.” I have no idea what I would pick.
My phone rings again and I silence it again. This time, they both look at me, but they don’t ask who it is.
And then, the phone buzzes. Not a call.
The text that comes through says “EMERGENCY” with twelve exclamation marks.
It probably isn’t, but what if it is?
“I am so sorry, I have to call them back.”
“No worries.” Feather says and Peach winks at me. “Have fun tonight.”
“I will.”
I pay for my food and slip out of the booth, dreading what my mother is about to say.