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Not only did they get there late, but then the ankite jerk said a total of two complete sentences. They didn’t even interact when I asked some of my best first date questions.

On top of everything, my appearance obviouslydidn’t impress them. I don’t give a shit what some stuck up ankite thinks about me, but at least attempt to be polite!

Goddess. When they left after barely ten minutes with the excuse of an “emergency”, I didn’t bother to fight it. What a waste of time. Plus, they didn’t even offer to pay for my tea.

Honestly, it shouldn’t surprise me. At least they looked like their profile pics. The last few dates I’ve gone on ended up being totally different people than shown online. I’ve even had a few scam bots. But no matter how pretty my date today was, it doesn’t make up for a lack of chemistry and basic manners. I’d much rather meet someone who looks like shreddedmlespbut who can banter with me than one who looks pretty but is like talking to a VI—and not a particularly well-programmed one, either.

Ugh, that’s what I get for going on a tea date instead of out for drinks. If we meet at a club and the person is a dud, I can find someone else to have fun with. And having fun is the whole reason I’ve made Spire my home. There’s no end to places to explore and clubs to dance your cares away in, and I know all the best spots.

My comm makes a twinkling chirp, letting me know I’ve received a message. I roll my eyes when I see who it’s from. Ugh, Paul, come on. This is the fourth message he’s sent today reminding me of the time, location, and dress code for tonight’s event, urging me to not be late. A spiteful part of me feels tempted to show up late just to mess with him. I know he’s super stressed, but damn, I got it after the second message.

Paul’s lucky I’m willing to give up a prime weekend night to be his date to the human embassy opening. I doubt there will be any fun singles there, just a bunch of nervous humans and people there to gawk at them. I’d take it as a challenge to seduce one of the humans, but Paul made me swear not to. Something about not traumatizing his coworkers. None of the non-humans will spare asecond glance for me, no matter how hot I look. They’ll be there for the crop of exotic new arrivals.

All this cuteness is totally wasted. Unless…

Maybe tonight’s the night that I finally make a move on Paul. When we’re not at each other’s throats, we’re flirting. I know he’s attracted to me, even if he pretends otherwise. He’s certainly appealing, with his smooth, light brown skin and his dark eyes. I bet he’d look even better tied up in my bed while I torture him until he begs for me. The cocky ones are always the ones that beg the most.

Plus, I can’t resist the appeal of trying something new. Humans are definitely unexplored territory. He’s only the second I’ve met in person. The other is my long-time human best friend, Fina. I’ve held off on propositioning Paul because of his shitty history with Fina—breaking her heart when he dumped her a few years back. But now that he’s finally admitted how much he mishandled their relationship, my horniness outweighs my vengeful nature. I know he’s curious about alien sex, but has had no luck on the Syzygy dating app. What better night to experience all the Xi Consortium has to offer than the celebration of the human embassy opening? And now that Fina’s firmly entrenched in her romance with Maerlon, I don’t feel bad about getting with her ex.

We could make something casual work as long as it’s clear that it’s just physical. That’s what I tell all my dates—I’m up for fun and pleasure, but have zero interest in something serious. People get too attached if you don’t set boundaries, and my “no relationships” one has been firmly in place since I left Nexxa Itat to start a new life here.

The more I think about this idea, the more I like it. Perhaps I can salvage today after all.

I tread my well-worn path on the walkways of Orion districtback to my apartment, mind filled with potential seduction tactics. The lame ankite from earlier is already ancient history.

Once home, I don’t waste any time. I put on my favorite dress—the one I save for special occasions that hugs my body perfectly, with semi-translucent, shimmering fabric. It’s just daring enough to be sexy without being indecent. I pin my hair up to show off my long neck, and paint all twenty of my nails to match the dress, sharpening them to blunted points. When I look at myself in the mirror, I give myself a little shimmy and a wink. Damn, Paul’s one lucky human. He won’t know what hit him.

A dull thump from the sitting area of my apartment snaps my attention away from my dazzling reflection. Dammit, did the neighbor’s flesstra sneak in when I came in earlier? That little shit is always trying to get in my loft and chew my shoes. If it wasn’t so cute, I’d call station pest control on it.

“Shaila! Come here, you rascal. I know you’re in there. Quit messing with my stuff!” I call out into the sitting area, poking my head out the door to scan the space for the pesky flesstra.

A heavy hand clasps over my mouth. I squeal against it in surprise, but the hand muffles the sound. Another hand grabs two of my wrists and pins them behind my back. I scratch out wildly with my lower hands and the intruder grunts in pain, but holds tight.

Fuck! My mind frantically tries to recall the self-defense training course I took years ago, but nothing but blinding panic and adrenaline comes forth. My attempts to twist out of this assailant’s grasp are futile, and when I try to stomp on one of their feet, they easily avoid it.

The intruder makes a frustrated huff and holds me tighter. “Calm down! I’m not here to harm you. I just need to talk.” Their voice is even, like they’re trying to soothe a wild beast.

“Fuck you, you broke into my home! Let me go!” I shout pointlessly against the large hand over my mouth. I scrape my sharp teeth against their palm and in their moment of surprised pain, I twist around to look back over my shoulder at the person holding me.

Goddess, preserve me. My eyes widen in surprise and my panicked pulse races even more. It’s the ankite from my tea date. Did they follow me home?!

Fuck, Fina keeps telling me I should be more careful. Now it’s too late and I’m going to get murdered by some creepy asshole. Please, Goddess, or anyone who’s listening—I promise I’ll stop being so reckless. Just let me get out of this alive.

Angry, bewildered tears stream down my face as I continue to struggle, feeling what little strength I have utterly fail me.

“Please. I just need to talk. If you calm yourself, I can explain. Well, we can explain,” the ankite says smoothly. They look over toward my living area and, with dread, I notice two other people sitting on my couch. Another ankite and a…human? What the fuck is going on?

I might be able to fight off one person, if I could still my mind enough to be smart about it. But three? I stop struggling, sagging in their grip in defeat.

“You’re scaring her! I thought we were here for her—” The human calls out in shock, only to be cut off by a stern glare from the ankite sitting next to them.

The jerk restraining me keeps their bruising hold. “Are you going to listen?”

I can’t even remember their name, they said so little during our date. What kind of fucked up game are they playing? I nod as much as I can in their grip. If I can distract them and get them to talk long enough, maybe I can get a message out to Paul or Fina.

As if reading my mind, my stalker yanks the comm device off my wrist and shoves it into their pocket. The muffled, angry noise that escapes my mouth earns a tighter grip on my wrists, and they shake their head in warning.

I force myself to be still again and am surprised when they release their grip. I shove away from their grasp with a gasping curse, tempted to scream out for help.

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