Page 17 of Mated on Live

“I know it looks different,” Serval told her as she looked around. “I like the allowee traditional style, but all the controls are still in Standard. You shouldn’t have a problem using anything.”

Sophie smiled at him. “I like it.”

“You do?” Something like relief crossed his face, but it was covered quickly. “I know it’s not familiar to you.”

“No, but I don’t want familiar. I love this! It’s gorgeous!” She threw open her arms, turning with a laugh.

The donut room had the same light producing walls, giving the entire room a comfortable, yellow kind of glow that seemed absolutely heavenly. She wanted to curl up in the center bed/nest and read a book or record a quick video for her fans.

Serval smiled, following her as she wandered around, looking at everything. “Allowee ships tend to be designed for both space and undersea travel. So, it’s a bit different from what you’re used to.”

“This thing goes underwater?!” Sophie turned to him, beaming. “No way!”

He grinned, leaning in to whisper. “I paid extra for advanced weather protection. The Ha Valol can endure lava temperatures for up to half a mark, fly straight in a massive typhoon, and withstand the pressures of the deep sea up to fifteen kilolengths.”

“That’s so cool!” Sophie laughed. “Is it fast?”

“Turbo charged engine with dual thrusters and its own subspace generator.” He said it so proudly, looking around at the walls with no small amount of affection. “The defenses on it are military grade. And it comes with three separate landing pods capable of dropping and returning to the ship from ground level all the way to orbit.”

“You really like your ship, huh?”

“Well, it is my home,” he admitted, focusing back on her. “I mean, I have my ancestral home back on my homeworld, but the Ha Valol is my real home.”

“Van life, space style,” she grinned.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just thinking. I guess you have this mobile fortress for your job, right? Does that mean we get to travel everywhere?”

He grunted in confirmation. “Everywhere. Is that alright?”

“Are you kidding? Traveling all over space in our own, luxury spaceship? What girl wouldn’t love that kind of thing? I’m excited. Where are we going first?”

“Well, I haven’t picked my next story to chase. I am doing a piece on Earth and the matchmating program though. I was hoping I could interview you for that.”

“Yeah, totally.”

“It won’t be as casual as your videos,” he warned quickly, a frown forming.

Sophie laughed. “Yeah, I got that. Don’t worry, I can do traditional style media too. Should I dress up for the occasion?”

“You’re beautiful as you are.”

He said it so immediately, so casually, looking her up and down with such approval and warmth, it made her heart skip a beat before lodging directly in her throat. She bit her lip, turning her eyes away as she blushed.

“Thanks. Er, shall we do it now?”

“You can rest first. I’ll show you around the ship. Let you get comfortable here. I’ll interview you tomorrow. If that’s alright?”

Sophie nodded quickly, smiling. “Perfect. Er, I know it’s probably a bit awkward to ask like this, but can we… talk? Outline our expectations and maybe our boundaries?”

“Hm? Have I pushed you too hard on something?”

“No!” She hastened to assure him. “You’re great. Really. I just… I didn’t know about olules and so there’s probably other stuff I don’t know. I thought maybe if we had a chance to sit down and talk things over, it would be better in the long run.”

Approval and warmth rushed over his face, and he smiled at her. “That’s a wonderful idea. We’ll talk over third meal, will that suffice?”

She nodded. “Great. Thanks.”

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