Chapter 24
Chee
They were having a viewing party in the main storage bay.
The painting was so large and so full of details, they could probably spend a few hours just looking at it and finding more.
Haven wanted to look up the techniques that made the painting.
Goldie wanted to know the story and history behind the painting.
Garnet, who was reaching the end of her pregnancy, was going in and out of moods, and she just wanted to be around ‘her girls’ as she said.
Tanin said that must be a human instinct, because it was not a s’skree one.
Their females, he explained, tended to be very hostile towards strangers, and sometimes even towards their own mate.
Their protective instincts over their young was super strong and it wasn’t uncommon for a female to attack her male soon after the birth.
Chee wasn’t sure what to think about that, but Garnet assured her that she didn’t feel at all violent towards any of them.
Other people? Yes, she was having to fight the urge to ask them why they were breathing in her direction, but that could honestly still just be human pregnancy hormones at work, it was hard to tell the difference.
But she was happy around her people, happy around her family, and so she was comfortable in the pile of blankets and pillows they had set up in a half circle around the painting, sitting next to her sister, talking about the huge image full of tiny details.
It really was a masterpiece, an absolute work of art that must have taken a very long time to produce.
Every tiny building in the ancient stone city was unique – as was the damage done to it.
There were so many people that were all different and they were all doing something – running, hiding, fighting, screaming, attacking.
It was incredible. Like if a renaissance master had made a Where’s Waldo picture.
The guys were there as well, of course. This wasn’t a girl’s night.
They didn’t seem as interested in the painting, but they were all hanging around.
Including Alred, who was there in light form, standing behind Goldie and Garnet.
He was the one providing the answers to the many questions Haven and Goldie had about the image.
The rest of the guys were lingering around. Trove had busted out his new liquor collection – apologizing that it wasn’t yet as large as his previous one. It did, however, have the advantage of having drinks completely safe for gravid females, however.
Grace had introduced Rok and Vytln to the concept of arm wrestling, so they were doing that, and seemed to be having a great time.
Sway had gone and come back with food. Tanin was lingering around at his leisure, watching as the others moved and laughed and talked.
Surprisingly, it was the twins who seemed most interested in the painting.
Honestly, Chee wouldn’t have expected that from them.
Though, really, she didn’t know much about them.
Even the data file Hyde had given her had been very scarce.
They were former assassins, she knew, and now they worked for Tanin.
Why, she didn’t know. What it meant by assassins, she also didn’t know.
Like they’d killed someone important and were on the run?
Or were they literally hitmen? Government hitmen or hitmen for hire?
She didn’t know, and she probably didn’t want to know.
She joined Trove by the stack of boxes he was using as a makeshift bar and accepted the drink he offered with a smile.
It was bright gold and bubbly. Not like champagne, but like bubbles trapped in something viscous like honey, just floating throughout the liquid.
It wasn’t actually viscous though; it still moved like water.
“What’s this?”
“Golden cider,” he said, mixing a few things together.
“A Holotulle specialty, and a personal favorite of mine. Made by the mixing the juices of three golden fruits from three different planets, aging them through a specific process of a completely different planet, then distilling only the lowest layer of the resulting concoction to purify it, then mixing that with enhanced water and allowing the whole mixture to be fed to and pass through a… You know what, you probably don’t want to know that part. Drink it, you’ll like it”
Chee, who had been swirling the drink and sniffing it – it smelled delicious – paused in the act of bringing it to her mouth.
“What part?” She asked suspiciously.
“Don’t worry about it. Just try it,” he encouraged.
Her eyes narrowed. “Pass through, you said. Something doesn’t pee this out, does it?”
“Pee? No.”
“Poop?!”
“No. Now, stop asking questions,” he gestured. “It’s delicious and it’s good for you. Guaranteed. Try it.”
What other options were there?!
Chee did not like the idea of eating something that passed through a living creature, regardless of how it came out. But she also could admit that sometimes how things were made on Earth could be gross too. As long as the result was safe to consume, right…
It was not a comforting thought, and she was more cautious this time as she brought the drink to her lips and sipped.
A bright, fresh, fruity taste spread across her tongue.
Light and fragrant, she could actually taste the three distinct flavors.
She couldn’t name any of them, but they blended so well together, she could also still taste the fourth flavor of them joined together.
The bubbles didn’t pop or anything she noticed on her tongue, and the drink was smooth like silk going down her throat.
And when it hit her belly, she could swear she actually felt lighter.
Like she had infused herself with helium.
She had to look down to make she wasn’t actually floating.
“Wow,” she remarked, staring at the glass again. And she suddenly didn’t really care how this drink was made. Bees puked up honey, right? And cheese was just moldy milk. What did it really matter when the result was this good?
“You like it, huh?” Trove laughed, pouring the drink he had been mixing into another cup.
The resulting liquid was a swirling color combination of purple and orange that never mixed together but also didn’t separate into two distinct layers.
They just continued swirling together. “Sway, your drink is ready!”
Chee took another sip of hers as the farasie male came to get his order. It somehow tasted even better the second time, now that she was no longer braced for something awful.
“A Holotulle special, huh?” She asked, giving him a look.
“Every individual ingredient and technique used to make that drink all comes from a different species and planet,” he said, grabbing a bottle and pouring a cup for himself. “It could only be made because of a place like Holotulle.”
“It’s incredible,” she said, referring not just to the drink itself, but everything that must have gone into making it.
“I certainly think so,” he said, raising his drink to his lips.
“Wait!” She reached out, touching his arm and stopping him. He looked at her, watching as she raised her glass to his and clinked it together.
“What’s that for?”
“It’s an Earth thing. We toast when we drink together,” she smiled.
“Toast?”
“Yes. It’s like a well-wish. A salute. Sometimes, we dedicate them. Like, here’s to your good health,” she raised her glass and took a sip.
“Ah,” understanding dawned. “Here is to you,” he raised his glass to her and took a sip. “And here’s to your joy.” He did it again as she giggled. “And here’s to your safety.” Again.
“Trove,” she felt her cheeks heating.
“And here’s to your pleasure.”
“Okay, I get it,” she laughed, grabbing his hand before he could drink again. “You don’t have to toast that many times.
“Ah,” he pouted playfully. “That was the most important one.”
She shook her head, still smiling, “There are many more important things.”
“Such as?”
She thought for a moment, but there were already a dozen answers floating through her head. “Love. Trust. Faithfulness. Loyalty. Dedication. Safety.”
“All of that, but not pleasure?” He cocked his head back. “I don’t think you’re giving enough weight to how important pleasure is. Is there any greater purpose in life than seeking pleasure?”
“I think probably a lot,” Chee shook her head, still smiling. “Finding purpose in pleasure is just…”
“Honest?”
“I was going to say hedonistic.”
“Truthful,” he said, grabbing the green bottle of golden cider and refilling her glass. “Pleasure is the only purpose people live for.”
Chee made a face.
He chuckled. “You don’t agree?”
“It shouldn’t, but that kind of thinking seems… yucky.”
“Yucky?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Yucky. There’s more to life than pleasure, you know.”
“But there’s nothing that people seek more.”
“You know, there are people that don’t even feel sexual desire. So, they’re definitely not seeking pleasure.”
“Not sexual pleasure,” he corrected. “But they are still seeking their pleasures. That is all anyone ever does. Life is nothing but an attempt to find the next thing that brings you pleasure.”
Chee frowned. She couldn’t say that he was wrong, but it didn’t seem right either.
Every drug addict, sex fiend, criminal out there got where they were by seeking their own pleasures above everything.
It wasn’t just them either. Every billionaire and millionaire earned their fortunes for their own pleasure, not because they wanted to do good with their money.
But that’s also why it felt so wrong.
Endlessly seeking pleasure led to making terrible decisions. Both for yourself, and other people.
“I’m not saying you’re wrong,” she finally managed to say as he sipped at his drink. “But I think you should be wrong. There should be more.”
“But there’s not.”
“I’m really sad for you.”
“Huh?” He paused in the act of bringing his drink to his lips, looking at her in surprise. “What do you mean?”
Chee could only shake her head. She wasn’t sure she could put this feeling into words either. But what he described sounded a lot like… surrender.
His attitude was so upbeat, and the topic at hand was one that, ostensibly, was about something good – pleasure. But the way he spoke of it, describing it like some sort of drug that people inevitably fell victim to, was so inherently sad, even the smile he used couldn’t disguise it.
But it was so hard to find a way to phrase that, so she could only hold her tongue, staring into her golden drink with a sad frown.
Trove set his glass down, then covered her hands with his own.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She couldn’t lift her eyes as she asked, “What for? Like you said, everyone does it. Pleasure is the only thing people seek to live for. Satisfying themselves, even at the expense of other people, is the only reason for living. Why is that your fault?”
“I didn’t mean…” He hesitated then, because he would have been lying to say he didn’t mean it like that. And they both knew it. So, he paused and tried again. “It’s not a bad thing, you know. To seek pleasure in life.”
“Then why do you phrase it like one?”
Trove shook his head. “If you’re a fool, and you let pleasure control you, you let it consume you instead of being the one to consume it, then yes, it can be bad. But there’s nothing wrong in enjoying life’s pleasures either.”
Chee didn’t know why she was having such trouble arguing with him. He made points that were valid and, as far as she could figure them, completely true.
It just seemed so wrong. But that feeling wasn’t one she could put into words and didn’t feel at all valid or substantial.
“Chee?” Trove took her by the chin and lifted her eyes to meet his.
And he was smiling, but there was something so lost and broken in his gaze that it hit against her chest like a bullet.
“I know I am not a good enough male to be a mate to you. I know that I cannot offer you everything you have ever dreamed. But I can give you pleasure. I can always give you that.”
And if it wasn’t enough?
The question she wanted to ask couldn’t make it past the pain in her chest. Because there was part of her that was absolutely certain if she asked that, if she let that be the line in the sand, it absolutely would break them.
Trove could offer her nothing more.
She couldn’t settle for so little.
But she couldn’t walk away from him without knowing this. Without feeling this. Without understanding his perspective.
He couldn’t explain himself to her, so she had to be able to understand him. And this was a big part of what he considered himself.
If she was going to do this, if she was going to say she gave this her best try, then she had to go all the way in.
Setting her drink aside, she took hold of the wrist he used to stroke her face. And though her belly was alight with a combination of golden cider and nervous butterflies, though her heart was pounding through the pain in her chest, she resolved herself to this.
To him. To learning everything about him. To seeing everything as he did. To truly knowing his perspective.
“Show me,” she whispered.
Trove cocked his head. The action almost innocent and, strangely, endearing.
“Show you?”
She nodded, her pulse jumping. “Show me this great pleasure you speak of. Show me this ecstasy that makes them beg for you. Show me this part of you, Trove. I want to know.”
He continued to look surprised. Like he genuinely hadn’t expected her to give in.
But then his face softened and he rested his forehead down against hers.
“I will give you my very best,” he promised, and it was said with such achingly sweet tenderness, it almost sounded like a vow.