Page 20 of When She's Handy

“You’re stalling,” he says, almost gleeful. Brux gets to his feet and follows after me, watching as I angrily eat dried, puffed mushrooms that are dusted with some sort of salty powder. “Why will you not just say?”

“Oh my god, quit pushing,” I exclaim, shoving another crunchy mushroom puff into my mouth before pushing the bag aside again. “I swear it’s nothing.”

He grabs me by the waist when I try to move away. “I’m not letting you go until you tell me what it is.” Brux pulls me against him. Not hard, just enough to drag me close enough to press me to his chest.

That small move steals my breath away. I stare at him, lips parted, as he gazes down at me. It’s like we’re both now just realizing that we’ve ended up in each other’s arms.

“I’m not letting go,” he says again, softer this time.

“Promise?” I whisper.

His gaze flicks over my face, and then he cups my cheek. His enormous hand is callused and rough, but I’ve never felt anything better. “I didn’t kiss you five years ago. Feels like I should have.” His expression grows anguished. “Should have done lots of things differently. Instead, I just used you.”

“No, no, hey,” I comfort, putting my hands over the one he has on my cheek. I take it in my grasp and hold it tightly. “You didn’t use me. I don’t regret anything that happened between us. I was overjoyed at my freedom and I wanted to celebrate it. The only thing I had was my body, and so I shared it with you. Shared.”

He shakes his head, that self-loathing written all over his face. “It should have been better.”

“If we’re counting all the things that should have happened along the way, I never should have been taken from Earth.” I shrug. “No sense in dwelling on things that aren’t perfect in our lives. I think of that day and I think of it with great joy. I don’t want you to think of it any differently than I do. It’s my favorite memory, and it has nothing to do with how much or how little we kissed.”

And I kiss his hand gently. I brush my lips over the inside of his palm, watching him as I do.

An expression of intense yearning crosses his face. He reaches out and traces his fingertips over my cheek. “I know I pushed you away before, but?—”

“Yes,” I blurt. “Anything you want.”

“Impulsive human,” he chuckles. “You don’t even know what I was going to ask.”

“Okay, fine, what were you going to ask?”

Brux glances at the game board behind us. “I was going to ask if you enjoyed losing to me, because your last move put your piece directly in the path of my king.”

Is he fucking serious? Incredulous, I open my mouth to protest when he cups my face and then he’s kissing me. His lips move over mine clumsily, but then with increasing enthusiasm. I kiss him back, loving the way his tongue hesitantly strokes into my mouth and then grows bolder with each teasing flick. I cling to him, loving this, loving this kiss, loving the way he holds me. I want to live in this moment forever?—

He pulls away, a strange expression on his face. “What—what were you eating?”

Uh oh. “Um, mushroom puffs?” I gesture at the bag on the counter. “I don’t know what’s in them. I can’t read the label. You don’t think…”

Brux nods, touching his mouth. Sure enough, his lips are swelling. Is it normal for lips to swell that quickly? His deep blue-gray skin is even darker around his mouth.

“I think we should find a medic,” he says through puffy lips. “Thorry.”

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

BRUX

I feel like such an idiot.

I sit in the clinic in Port, waiting for my face swelling to go down. The medic on duty gave me a shot of medication but he’s never treated moden-related allergies before and wants me to stay for at least another hour until he’s certain my allergic reaction is improving.

And here I thought our evening was leading to something good. That maybe we’d kiss for a bit and see how we felt about the situation. I’ve been the one insisting we move slowly, but weeks of being around Melody constantly haven’t changed how I feel about her. If anything, I’m more obsessed now than I ever was before. It no longer feels as if I’m taking advantage of her when I hold her hand or sit a little closer at the cantina. It doesn’t feel like I’m pressuring her when I slide my arm over her shoulders. We know each other so much better now.

It’s our friendship that keeps me from ripping off all of the medical monitors stuck to my chest and racing away in humiliation. To think I finally decided to make a move on my human, and I end up making a fool of myself instead. I squint at her from my swollen eyes, watching as she paces in my room. She hasn’t said anything since we got to the medic. She’s been utterly quiet this entire time, but when the medic leaves, she starts pacing.

I decide to break the silence because she’s looking more agitated by the moment. “Is it bad? My face?”

Melody turns and looks at me. “I mean, yeah. Your eyes are almost swollen shut and your lips look like they’re on the verge of exploding. Jesus, Brux. You made it sound like you had a mild allergy. This isn’t mild!”

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