How to Land an Alien Boyfriend by Dakota Cockaday & Cassi O. Peia

Author:Dakota Cockaday & Cassi O. Peia [Cockaday, Dakota & Peia, Cassi O.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

In Which They Get Really Close

Kai

Chorizo is waiting at the door for us when we enter Araceli’s home. He grunts excitedly at my feet, circling around me until I give in to his demands, sit next to him on the floor, and scratch behind his ears.

Araceli looks at us sitting on the floor and shakes her head. “How easy we forget the one who has fed us since we were no bigger than a football,” she mutters. She leans over and kisses her dad on the cheek, before flopping in the chair next to his. “How was your day, Dad?”

“There was a grocery delivery today.”

“Oh, shoot. Sorry, Dad, I thought I set it for pickup. Were they willing to help you with the refrigerated stuff?”

“Nah. Anya saw them drop off the food and came to help me put everything up.”

Araceli smiles. “Anya, huh?”

“Yep. She even stayed after and made me coffee to go with some cake she brought.”

Araceli’s smile widens. “You guys get to have a good chat?”

Abel sits up straighter in his chair. “Stop smiling. Anya and I are just good friends.”

Araceli laughs. “How do you know I’m smiling?”

Abel scoffs, “I’ve known you your whole life. I’ve learned a thing or two about you in that time. Enough about me. How was work?”

“It was fine. Nothing too exciting. Mariana brought the baby to see Juan. She is getting big. She’s got these adorable chunky cheeks and legs.”

Abel smiles and pats her hand. “Your time will come soon. I know it.”

Araceli’s face falls. She stands up quickly. “I’ve got to get dinner on the table.”

I give Chorizo one last scratch and hurry to follow her. She’s already in the refrigerator, opening and closing drawers, the noise far louder than necessary.

“Araceli, are you okay?”

She turns to look at me. “Yeah, fine.”

She is definitely not fine, but I doubt probing is going to help the situation. “What can I do to help you with dinner?”

She stops what she is doing and stares at me for a moment. “Your speech is different.”

“Different?”

“You just used ‘okay’ and ‘dinner’ instead of, I don’t know…evening meal.”

“Is that bad?”

She shakes her head. “Just unexpected.”

I’m not sure if I should believe her. “The AI that controls my translator learns quickly. Do I sound more human?”

She smiles, “You sound less nerdy, for sure.”

“Thanks,” I mutter.

“See!” she practically yells. “You did it again. Yesterday it was like talking to a second grader. Everything I said you took literally.”

“Ah. Yes. Language nuances are hard. I’ve definitely fought wars that were probably started over them.”

Her face changes, and she looks concerned.

I shake my head. “I apologize. I’m not…that was a bad joke. When you’re surrounded so often by destruction, your humor tends to get dark.”

She looks at me for a long moment, then lets out a long breath. “I could use some help chopping vegetables for the salad. I know you said military life was spartan, but before that, did you ever help…”

“I helped my mother often. Even in space, we have to chop and cook vegetables if we eat them fresh.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.