Page 29 of Alien on the Moon

Her face broke out into a wide smile. “This is wonderful. Your planet’s technology never ceases to amaze me.”

He turned to the prince and his wife. “I know this is nothing like the palace, but I hope you enjoy our humble gathering.”

The prince smiled. “I’ll be honest; I prefer humble parties like this to the grand snobbery of palace balls.”

Carmen smiled and wrapped her arm around her husband’s waist. “Agreed.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Rylan kept his posture straight, but internally, he sagged with relief. He’d never met the previous prince, but he heard that the royal could be a piece of work, so Rylan was glad that Prince Arccoo seemed much more polite.

“Did you hire the band?” Sofia asked. “I didn’t expect you to have live music.”

Rylan beamed with pride. “In addition to being brilliant scientists, many in my team are accomplished musicians. They insisted on playing for the prince and his family.”

“Well, let’s not waste the music then.” Sofia grabbed Zaraq’s hand. “Let’s dance.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” Carmen said, grabbing the prince and pulling him onto the dance floor.

“We’ve been taught to revere our princes and kings almost as gods,” Rylan said as he watched Prince Arccoo’s human bride dance playfully in a circle around her husband. “I’ll admit that it’s strange to watch you treat our crown prince like an equal.”

“Arccoo has never been one for pomp and circumstance,” Elena said. “I think a part of the reason he fell for Carmen—aside from how awesome she is in general, of course—is that she treats him like everyone else. Where we come from, the people choose who is in charge, and they only rule for a short period of time.” She grimaced. “For better and worse.”

Judging by her expression, she wasn’t interested in pursuing that topic any further, so he didn’t ask her to elaborate. Instead, he focused on the dancers as they laughed and moved in rhythm to the music.

He held out a hand. “May I have this dance?”

Elena’s blue eyes widened, and her cheeks colored. “Oh, uh, I-I don’t dance.” She gestured to her sisters. Carmen moved withan easy grace while Sofia’s energy was unmatched. “I’m not like them. I have no sense of rhythm and have no idea where to start.”

He chuckled. “To be honest, I’m not much of a dancer myself. I’m terrible at it. But with the right partner, I thought we could have fun being terrible together.”

“I…” Her gaze slid to the dance floor, where she stared with longing for a moment before turning back to him. “Fuck it. Let’s dance.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the floor to dance among her family and the rest of the scientists. Carmen and Sofia cheered when they saw her and Rylan join them.

At first, it was awkward. Neither of them seemed to know where to put their hands and feet or what moves to make. Should they just shimmy and sway or should they make up moves based on the lyrics to the songs?

“Waltz,” Carmen said as she shimmied past.

He blinked. “What was that?”

Rolling her eyes affectionately, Elena smiled. “She said waltz. It’s a very simple Earth dance. Traditionally, the guy leads, but I can do it first to demonstrate.”

“Anything’s better than flailing around awkwardly,” he replied.

“Agreed.” Elena smiled. “So, since you’re following this time, put your hand on my shoulder. I’ll put mine on your waist. And then, we hold each other’s hands with the empty ones.”

He did as she said. One hand went on her shoulder and the other took her free hand. “Like this?”

She nodded. “Now, we move in a box to a rhythm of three beats. I lead and you follow. Ready?” She began to move. “One, two, three. One, two, three. You’re getting it.”

He smiled. “I have an excellent teacher.”

“Now, let’s try a twirl. Hold up your hand and I’ll spin out, and then spin back in.”

He did as she said, lifting her hand and letting her twirl away from him and then back to his arms. She looked up at him through her lashes. “Are you ready to try leading?”

“I think so. Forgive me if I step on your toes.” He readjusted his grip, holding her waist while she held his shoulder.

“Are you kidding? That’s half the fun.” They danced in their little box, and the world faded away. It was just him and Elena stepping in rhythm to the music.

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