Page 17 of Holiday with the Aliens

She’d take all the repulsive inefficiencies she could get with Dash.

By the time she was clean, though her hair was still a little damp, Dash was awake and had thrown his clothes on. He hadthat same sated look she was sure she’d woken up with and she wanted to throw her clothes back on the floor and ride him.

No.Later.

Something had shifted in her the night before. At first she’d been certain they’d have to part ways once this trip was over, but now she couldn’t imagine it. They had to at leasttry. Things had never been this good between her and another person, and giving up Dash just because it was a little complicated seemed like the coward’s way out. And Ro was no coward.

“Shower’s free,” she said, practically pressed against the wall to keep from throwing herself at Dash.

He grinned as if he knew exactly what she was feeling, and when he stood he loomed. He couldn’t help it, there wasn’t enough space in the room to breathe. And she wondered if they could stay there forever. He cupped her cheek, his fingers playing with the edges of her hair. “Thanks.” He bent down and kissed her, and it was no gentle peck.

But before Ro could get caught up in it, well, anymorecaught up in it, he pulled back. “I’ll see you in the galley for breakfast.” He slipped away before they could kiss anymore.

She was smitten. Completely freaking smitten. She couldn’t stop grinning, and she wanted to follow Dash to the shower and see how much trouble they could get up to. Instead she pulled her clothes on and headed for the galley to hunt down some food.

As promised, Jeero did something to make protein paste taste like actual food, and while Ettie gave her a knowing grin, she didn’t give Ro any shit. Good. Ro wasn’t embarrassed about having sex. She was an adult, it was something adultsdid, and no one had to pretend it was anything special.

Except with Dash, it was.

And she was going to find a way to keep it.

A few minutes later, Dash joined them and he paused next to her, wrapped an arm around her, and kissed her in front of everyone like they’d been doing it for years.

Thatmade Ro blush. Her past boyfriends had been wary about showing affection in front of others, and it wasn’t like she had insisted on it. Now here was Dash, claiming her as casually as he claimed a piece of whatever Jeero had made. Maybe she should have bristled, but Ro kind of loved the easy affection.

She kind of loved everything about Dash.

“We’ll be docking in Orlando in three hours,” Ettie informed them. “Right near one of the oldest human launch sites, if you’re interested in a bit of tourism.”

Right, Florida. She’d heard something about that, but she’d been so happy they were going to Earth that her mind had stopped reeling for a moment and she hadn’t planned out the next step. “We need to get a shuttle up to Minnesota. Or some sort of vehicle. There might still be enough time to drive.” She often forgot howbigthe Earth was. How populated. Everything on Mars was concentrated in an area the size of a small city. Terraforming was difficult and life support even more so. But Earth settlements were everywhere, all spread out with hours or days of travel between them.

Ettie and Dash shared a strange look before Ettie and her crew got up to go see to their approach.

“What was that about?” Ro asked.

“I… have a way to get us there,” Dash said, uncharacteristically hesitant.

“Great!” She wasn’t going to get caught up in his caution. “Tell me about it.”

“When we get planetside,” he promised. “It’s better to show you.”

Well, that was cryptic. But he hadn’t failed her yet, so Ro would give him this.

The final three hours rushed by and before she knew it, Ro was strapped into a seat beside Dash as they blasted through the atmosphere. It took another two hours to get through customs and do all the paperwork that happened when entering a planet like Earth, and Ro just wanted to be done. She was onEarth. She was so close to her family she could taste it in the still warm Florida air. It would be cold in Minnesota, she knew that, but she didn’t care. That was what coats were for.

She tried to call her sister, but May didn’t answer. It didn’t matter. She was going to make it, even if she had to walk.

It took Dash a bit longer to get through customs, and when he did, he didn’t have their bags which he’d promised to take care of.

“Don’t we need our luggage?”

He turned so she could see the small pack on his back. “I’ve got a few changes of clothes for us, but the rest I sent on to your sister. We’re traveling light for this part of the journey.”

“Okay, can you explain the cryptic words yet?” She’d been patient, hadn’t questioned him since he declared he had a way to get her home, but now they were on Earth and Ro was ready for some answers.

“It’s too crowded here,” he said, “come on.”

And so she followed him again. They were outside and it was just about dusk, the sun getting ready to sink below the horizon. The space port was a bit out of the way from anything else, and the air smelled of salt and water. Dash walked them down a sidewalk and then found a dirt path and followed it. If she trusted him just a little less she might have thought he was going to murder her. But she trusted him.

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