Page 34 of Catching the Kot'oll Driver

It takes her a moment. Her gaze drifts from the dashboard to me, then to the floor. “I... Maybe you’re the one wanting to get away from me.”

I lift her chin and make her look me in the eye. “I wonder. Are you fine? Like, for real?”

She sniffs and her eyes are filled with tears almost at once. “I’m not fine. I don’t even know how to put it into words.”

I pat her shoulders. “It’s okay to take your time.” Maybe I’m not one she’ll feel comfortable talking to, which is reasonable. Why would she want to talk about something this important to someone she barely knew?

Maybe it was our interaction that tempted me, that raised my interest in her. Or maybe it was the time we spent together on the spaceship when we were locked up.

I pull the drawer to the side, under the driving dashboard. “Here you go. It’s...” I tilt my head to the side when she is gone and behind the other side of the dashboard. “Well... Do you think I’m going to shoot you or something? Don’t be silly.”

She lets out a breath, so much so I can hear it from a distance. “You should’ve warned me.”

“You’re a bit too tense. Maybe we aren’t best friends. We aren’t enemies either.”

“You’re right.” She takes the gun from me and puts it back on her belt. “So... We’re saying goodbye to each other soon.”

“I suppose.” Thinking about that makes my gut twitch, but there should be no reason it bothers me.

“I mean, you’re heading back to your planet after delivering the things.”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

“And you’ve already overstayed.”

“Well, I don’t have the next shipment lined up already. So I suppose I can stay in the city for a few more days.”

“I see...” She stares at the floor again. There are question marks written on her forehead, except I’m not sure whether I want to be the one asking. I don’t want to scare her.

My cock twitches. I want to hold her in my arms and...

But maybe she doesn’t want that. Maybe she was too bored back then, that she decided that she’d entertain herself with my cock and that’s all about it.

“Kendra, can I have your number? I drive from planet to planet all the time, and I may be back in this city at some time.”

“Sure!” She seems a bit too happy. She takes my phone and types in her number, almost as if that’s something she has been wanting to do. “And I’ll have your number too.”

I take her phone and put in mine. I’m not trying to peek, but when I give it back to her, one of our fingers swipes the screen. Her phone’s background photo is herself, geared up, probably at a ceremony of some kind. She seems to be happy, which is a stark contrast to how she is. She seems to be stressed. Maybe being police is a ton.

She seems to be oblivious and puts her phone back in her pocket just like that. “Maybe if you’re staying in the city for another while, I can show you around when the weather gets better.”

“Sounds like a plan.” My arms twitch to hug her, but maybe I shouldn’t.

Before I can say a thing, she wraps her arms around me and buries her face in my chest. “Thank you for helping me.”

I hug her back, with all my arms. “Thank you for being here. It would be boring otherwise.”

She flinches in my arms. “I suppose.”

Oh... I wasn’t expecting that, but maybe my words can be seen as a reference to our sex, which kind of ended awkwardly.

I pat her back. “It’s going to be fine.” I clear my throat. “I think I’ve talked all my quota for the year.”

She snorts a laugh, which makes me happy. It’s better to see her smiling even when she’s laughing at me than to have her upset for reasons I can’t help.

She says, “But I get it. Maybe you’re used to flying. Not too bad when you’re on your own. I suppose they won’t send you to dangerous places.”

“They won’t. The company operates within this galaxy. Usually, the travels aren’t too long, but it depends on luck with the portals.”

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