Chapter 21
Verit and I head back to his home for lunch, and if he notices I’m a little bit off, a little bit quiet, he doesn’t bring it up. After probably the best salad I’ve ever had, which floated down to us by the same technology I keep having to remind myself isn’t actual magic, Verit shows off more of his fun toys. He speaks a foreign language at a thin tablet, and the device projects a huge, 3D version of a Star Wars film—the man is seriously hooked. After the movie, he creates a simulation of the Millennium Falcon, that looks even more realistic than the original set. And then, something I never would’ve dreamed of in a million years: my alien lover fucks me against the walls of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.
“And this, this is a fabricator,” he says, stopping me from pulling my tank and shorts back on after. With the device, he creates a yellow sundress seemingly out of thin air. I pull it on over my naked body, and the material is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Comfortable, lightweight, and flattering. “I noticed you wear a lot of yellow, especially when you’re in a good mood.”
“I guess I do,” I say, running my hands down my body, still fascinated by the texture. “Thank you, Verit, this is incredible. This whole day has been incredible.”
“It’s not over yet,” he says with a smile, and it takes me a second to conjure up one of my own. “Ready for dinner?”
We return to the beach, with Verit carrying a picnic basket straight out of an old timey movie. The beach wasn’t exactly crowded this afternoon, but now it seems completely deserted. He stretches out a blanket over the sand, and we watch the sunset while sipping expensive champagne and eating the freshest strawberries I’ve ever had.
The sunset is exquisite, but I can hardly see it, the landscape blurred by tear-filled eyes.
“You’re unhappy,” Verit says, not exactly a question.
“No. Yes. I mean…” I trail off, blinking fast in a desperate attempt to clear my overemotional tear ducts. “This has been one of the best days ever. We have so much fun together, and I love discovering more and more about your people and your technology. But, I think maybe this thing between us has gotten away from me a little bit. I know we agreed to keep it casual, but lately… I can’t stop thinking about you. Not ever. I miss you when you’re not around, even if it’s just for a day, an hour, a minute. It terrifies me, but I want… I don’t know exactly what I want, but I want more. More time with you, more days like this, more everything. I don’t even know if you feel the same way, maybe you don’t at all, but…”
I can’t speak, my tongue tied with too many things to say and no more words to express them. He catches my hand, slowly tracing the lines across my palm with warm fingers as he talks.
“You captivate me, Ariana. No other woman, human or K, has caught my attention this way before. You’re a challenge. You’re a puzzle. You keep me on my toes. I’ve never been with anyone quite like you. I could never go back to the women I used to prefer. And even if we aren’t meant to be forever, you’ve changed me for life, left an indelible mark on me. But if we are, I think we could be something great together, something real, something lasting.”
I’m crying for real now, silently, motionless, completely overcome with emotion, and he waits patiently until I compose myself enough to speak.
“Do you want to make me your charl?” I ask, barely above a whisper, not sure if I’m more afraid of a yes or a no.
There’s a beat before he answers, with a question of his own.
“Is that what you want, Ari?”
“I’m not sure,” I say honestly. “I’m not as afraid as I used to be. But we’ve only known each other for a couple months, I’m not sure I’m ready to commit a literal eternity to this, not yet.”
“I agree,” Verit says, brows knit together in fierce seriousness. “But if we want this relationship to progress, to evolve into something more, I think that it has to be a possible outcome. Is it?”
I’m quiet for a long minute, thinking it over. I’m still terrified of the idea of losing my humanity, of giving my entire self to a K, of taking an action many would consider a deep betrayal to my species. But, with Verit’s large hands wrapped tightly around my small ones, his ever-incandescent eyes tenderly holding mine, my fears melt away. He cares for me, genuinely, no matter what others may think. He would never take anything from me that wasn’t willingly offered. Everything changed the second the Krinar landed on our planet, all those years ago, and it’s time we all caught up to the new status quo.
“It is,” I say, taking a deep breath. “It definitely is.”
He kisses me, with all the fire and intensity and potential that hangs heavy in the air between us.
“So we’re doing this,” he says, as if to confirm it to himself, and there it is, that honey-silk voice that first attracted me to this beautiful creature, that still sweeps me off my feet after all this time, and I know I made the right decision.
“Wait, does this mean the game is over?” I ask, suddenly remembering how this crazy rollercoaster first began.
Verit thinks it over for a moment.
“Perhaps, in a way. We can play for fun, but I don’t think we need rules anymore. We’re on the same team now. We just do what we want, when it feels right.”
“I like that,” I say, smiling. “And I think I know what we want right now.”
That night, on the beach, has nothing to prove. It’s not rough, it’s not possessive, it’s not a power struggle. It’s slow, and tender, two bodies moving completely in sync, a symphony of quiet moans and murmurs.
It might be the end of the game.
But it’s just the beginning of us.