Chapter 14
The next evening at the GCFA arboretum
Esan was nervous for some reason as he walked through the entrance of the arboretum. He was surprised by the change that had taken place since the last time he had been there. Electric torches lined the pathways and a few light globes floated overhead. As the only light sources, they created an ambiance that helped bring out the view of the stars through the glass dome roof above. The environment went from resembling an outdoor wedding in a field to a hidden spot deep in the forest. The glass faded away and it was like he wasn’t on a spaceship at all.
“What do you think?” Nina asked as she came up behind him.
“It’sss beautiful. You outdid yourssself.”
He turned look at her. She was wearing a lovely pale blue dress with a deep V-neck showcasing her abundant breasts. He had felt those breasts against him the night before and the thought of her luscious ass in his hands had kept him up most of the night. Esan had to resort to relieving himself ... more than once. She was all he could think about. How was he going to get through an evening of basically dating thirty other females when the one he actually wanted was watching it take place?
“Great, let me show you what we did.” She motioned for him to follow her down to the center of the arboretum where a large circular stone-laid pavilion was located.
A few tables were set up with glasses of champagne and light food fare. Soft music that blended with the natural sound of water fountains and chirping birds played in the background.
“This is where you’ll stand to greet the females. I will send them in five at a time, giving enough space between each set for you to say hello. I would recommend not starting any real conversation while this is going on. My assistant Mindy will be beside you to help shuffle each group that comes down toward the tables of champagne and food. Once we have everyone in and they have had a chance to eat a few of our finger foods, you can start picking females that you would like to talk to privately. If you will follow me, I want you to see how we arranged the pathways.”
There were five pathways leading out from the pavilion. He walked next to Nina down one of the pathways. This pathway led to a man-made waterfall.
“We have set up benches all along the pathways, every twenty feet, so that you can walk with one of the females and sit and talk. When you are done with that female just escort her back and pick another female. You can choose another pathway if you like.”
“How long should I take with each female? There’sss a lot of them.”
“I have reserved the arboretum for eight hours. Let’s get the initial greeting done in thirty minutes, and for each individual walk give yourself ten minutes, unless you are really enjoying that person’s company — then you can take a little longer. If each female is given ten minutes, that will be about five hours for your one-on-ones. Take two breaks, one every two hours, then we’ll close it out and say the goodbyes. That last hour or two my team will clean up.”
“What happensss after that?”
“Tell Mindy when you come back from each one-on-one if you would like to have that female remain on board for another day. We’ll take that information and record it as you narrow your choices down.”
“I haven’t been to many gatheringsss but thisss ssseemsss different. Usually by the end of the gathering, a sssingle choice isss made.”
“It is different and I apologize. I really tried to have it as close to a traditional gathering as possible but you’re not a traditional guy. You have a certain lifestyle that will take a special female to handle. Most of the gatherings on your home world involve families that the male or female is familiar with. You are meeting thirty strangers and have a limited time to get to know them. You know, you don’t have to mate anyone right away. You could take time to date them, and make sure you’re happy with your choice.”
“When I make up my mind, it’sss ssset.”
“Okay. The females should be arriving in about ten minutes. Let’s get you back to the pavilion.”
Esan followed Nina, trying not to stare at her like a love-sick puppy. He was regretting the decision to follow through on this event. Well, it was too late to stop now. Mindy was waiting for them when they reached the pavilion.
“Nina, everyone on the team came in on time and they are in their positions ready to go. Sue and Vivien will keep the champagne glasses full and the food coming in. Vic is monitoring the lighting and sound and Jose is working security at the entrance. Females have already begun to show up. We were just waiting for you to get here before we let them in.”
“Thanks, Mindy.” She turned to Esan. “I’m going to start sending in five at a time. Remember to just introduce yourself and get their names — then let Mindy usher them to the tables.”
“Got it.”
He watched Nina as she walked away from him. The sway of her ass was mesmerizing. As he forced his eyes away from her, he took in the overall effect of the decor that Nina assembled. It truly was spectacular. No matter the outcome of his event, he would make sure that the GCFA knew how valuable she was. She worked hard and deserved all the praise she could get.
The first five females came up to him full of excitement. He made an effort to smile at each of them, but it was strained. “Welcome, I’m Esan.” He cringed when they all spoke at one time. There was no way he would have remembered their individual names. Thankfully, Nina had them wear name tags. “We will get to know each other a little better later.”
“Come these way ladies, and get something to eat and drink.” Mindy ushered them away.
He had but a moment to take a deep breath before the females advanced on him, all speaking at the same time. Esan nodded, not really hearing the questions, and then his eye caught a female wearing a white flowing robe. Her long blonde hair was braided and fell down the center of her back, leaving the sides of her head exposed and her purple scales shining brightly. She wasn’t one of the females he had handpicked, which meant she was someone that his foster father had brought. He had planned to just ignore the ones his foster father had brought, but the female was quiet and reserved and it seemed rude to ignore her completely. The tension in his family wasn’t her fault. He motioned her forward.
“Would you walk with me for the firssst one-on-one thisss evening?”
“I would be honored.”
He heard other females begin to whine when the two of them took the path that led to the waterfall. “What isss your name?”
“Valkri. My grandfather isss on the council with your father.”
He didn’t correct her, although he wanted to tell her that Shrake was his foster father, not his father. “Wasss it your grandfather’sss idea for you to come here?”
“Oh no, my grandfather isss totally againssst it. I wanted to apply ssso I approached your father. He helped convince my grandfather to let me come.”
They arrived at a bench and took a seat. “Why? Why would you want to go againssst your grandfather like that jusssst to come here?”
“I guesss you could sssay I’m not the average Reptan female. I have a mind of my own and wish to sssee the world.”
“Do you have a job?”
“My family isss wealthy enough that the femalesss are not expected to work, but I volunteer at a local hossspital. I like working with the healersss.”
“Isss that something you would like to continue to do?”
“Yesss. My family hasss not been sssupportive but I took classsesss and volunteer asss much asss I can.”
He had to admit that he was impressed with Valkri. She was a beautiful female who was well spoken. He liked that she didn’t go along with the male-dominated rules of their home world. It took guts to go against her patriarchal figure. He admired that and wouldn’t mind getting to know her a little better.
“I think our time isss almost up. Would you be interesssted in remaining on board ssso that we can have more time to get to know one another?
“I would be my honor.”
They stood and walked back to the pavilion. He had not expected to find anyone appealing, not after finally facing his attraction to Nina. This was what he had wanted — at least as far as he could tell. He needed to make sure of it, though.
As soon as they reached the pavilion, Esan was swarmed with females. This was not what he was used to at all. Most females didn’t even approach him out of fear. On his home world, he was mostly shunned because of his human DNA. What motivated these females to come across the galaxy just on the possibility that he might mate them? A female with short, spiked red hair pushed her way to him. She didn’t say a word; she just grabbed his arm and dragged him down another pathway.
Esan hadn’t been on this pathway before. It was lined with butterfly bushes, each one containing butterflies of all different colors. He watched in fascination as the creatures flew around them effortlessly. It would have been peaceful, if it had not been for the rambling of the female next to him. As soon as she began talking, she kept on and on, asking questions and then continuing to talk before he could answer.
“I’m Zizi and I’m twenty and I’m ssso happy to be here. I have not ssseen you fight on TV — my parentsss wouldn’t allow it — but I hear you’re really good. Are you good? You mussst be good. You are certainly fit. How many hoursss in the day do you work out?”
She finally took a break to take a gulp of air. He quickly tried to answer her questions before she started up again. “I am not the champion but I am a good fighter. I work out a minimum of five hours a day. What do you do?”
“Oh, I help my mother run our home.”
“Any outssside interessstsss? Hobbiesss?”
“Not really.”
“Why did you decide to apply?”
She shrugged. “My friendsss and I all applied but I’m the only one that made it through. They are going to be ssso jealousss. Can I get a picture with you?” She didn’t wait for him to respond before she raised her phone to take a picture of them. “I’m sssending it to them right now.”
“If I choossse you, you’ll be moving here on board the GCFA ship with me. Won’t you misss ssseeing your family and friendsss?”
“I honessstly hadn’t thought of that. I thought I would only be coming here periodically — you know for photo shootsss and thingsss like that. There’sss a house on the sssame street that my parentsss live on that would be perfect for usss. How many kidsss do you want? I want at leassst sssix.”
He listened as she rambled on and on without letting him speak. This female was definitely not like the other one. “I think our time isss up.” He motioned for her to head back down the path to the pavilion. He hoped there weren’t any more females like this one, or it would be a really long night.