Page 17 of Catching the Kot'oll Driver

He watches me for a moment, the air is so cold that I may freeze. I don’t expect he’d come back with kindness when I’ve been mean, but... it feels right to at least try.

“Grihul.”

I put up a smile. “Nice name.”

He doesn’t even look at me, probably thinking that it is a waste of his time...

Or just not someone who talks a lot. I have coworkers who are that way too.

I ask, “I think you drive cargo ships for a living, right?”

He nods. “Flying planets, yes.”

Maybe this explains why he doesn’t talk much.

Now we aren’t doing anything and we’re just standing there and staring at nothing outside the window. Do I sneak away? But how?

He says, “When’ll this end?”

The outage?

I sigh. “I wish I knew. I don’t think you want to be here with me for long.”

He glances at me. “Do you bite?”

I snort a laugh and shake my head. That comes out of nowhere, but at the same time, I can use some humor. “No, I don’t bite, so you’ll be pretty safe.”

“I doubt you’ll want to bite me anyway. It won’t give you enjoyment compared to… other things.”

I stare at him. It feels like the conversation is heading in a weird direction... “No way.”

He smirks. “In terms of what? The presence of enjoyment?”

I fold my arms. I’m not going to fuck him anytime soon. He can stop thinking about that. “Stupid males...”

He blinks. “What do you mean? I don’t think kot’oll meat is tasty.”

Ah... is that all he was thinking about? Was I the one who thinks about... something else?

“I don’t care. I just want a break from all this.”

“So do I.”

“Where can I stay for the night? Or day, something like that.”

“You can be on my bed.”

I tilt my head to the side. “Are you that keen on putting me there?”

He lifts his brows at me. “If I was that kind of being, I’d have already done something.” He flexes his four arms, which are packed with muscles and clearly not something I’d want to mess with. Especially when I don’t have a gun to protect myself and the spaceship is confined.

I still take half a step back. Maybe I should keep some distance from him to make sure I’m safe, though I’m not sure whether that can work.

Now that I’m staring at his arms... He carried me to the spaceship with those arms and... Maybe it will feel good to let him hold me in those arms. Things one can do with four hands...

I swallow when a spark lingers in my stomach. I don’t need that. We are probably going to leave this place in a few hours, then we’re never seeing each other again.

But... Maybe that means I should take my chance and...

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