Page 74 of Space for More

Oh god, please kill me.

“I’m not going to meet a lot of aliens! They’re the only ones. They’re… really special.”

“Ah.” Dad says blandly. “You’re not coming home,” he adds and Mom nods in agreement.

My eyebrows shoot to my hairline. Why wouldn’t they let me come home? “W-what? I thought you didn’t care if I slept with?—”

“No, no angel. Relax. I meant you’re not coming home because you’ve found your people.”

My mind reels at how certain and final she sounds. I was so wrapped up in the drama with the fake agents and figuring out what I meant to Mezli and Phelix that I hadn’t thought about what that meant for me beyond the next few days.

“What? No, I’m coming home!” I say quickly, though as soon as I do, I feel sick.

Dad, the king of understated reactions and emotions, actually rolls his eyes at me. “It’s time, Edi-chan. With or without these special aliens you’ve met, it’s time. We’ve kept you cooped up for far too long. It’s time for you to fly.”

“But you need me! I can’t just leave you.”

“Your father and I will be fine. We’re healthy and comfortable. The colony has the funds to hire another medic to replace you.”

I shake my head, tears welling in my eyes as I speak aloud my fears to my parents for the first time. “What if you get sick? I need to be there to take care of you. What if you need help? What if?—

“Eden.” Mom cuts me off, stern even as shewipes a tear away. “You can’t let ‘what-ifs’ control your life. And you can’t stop the inevitable. Staying stuck on Europa 3 to take care of us and throwing away your life in the hopes of extending ours a few more years isn’t worth it.”

I’m crying now, sucking in shallow breaths as I watch her tears fall. “Mom…”

She shakes her head, and I realize that me being stuck and unfulfilled is painful for them, too. “I won’t allow it. You’re not coming back.”

I swallow down my argument. This is what I’ve yearned for, but I never expected it to be so terrifying. “O-okay. Thank you.”

“We love you, Edi-chan,” Dad says, wiping away a rare tear of his own.

“I love you, too. I’ll be okay.” I say, more to reassure myself than them.

“We know you will. Now, go have some fun with your ‘special’ aliens.”

“They’re uh, actually, they’re my mates.”

This is the news that finally shocks my parents, both of their mouths falling open in shock. “What?!”

37

Raised, unfamiliar voices pull me out of sleep. Phelix is solid and toasty against my back, his cocks extruded and hard against my ass and his hands gripping my hip and arm like he’s afraid I’d try to get away from him while he’s asleep. My front is much colder and I reach out with a groan to pull Eden back against me, but am met with empty space.

I roll out of Phelix’s grip, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I blearily get to my feet. Eden’s voice is clearer now that I’m waking up a bit, and the voices sound human. She must be on a vid comm. I’m still in my dress from the night before last, too lazy to get up and get undressed once the three of us merged into a sleepy cuddle pile. Which is good because when I step out into my living room,I’m greeted by a large holoscreen projection of two humans who must be Eden’s parents.

“Oh! Mezli!” Eden startles as I come up beside her, wrapping one arm around her waist and draping another over her shoulder before leaning in to kiss her cheek. Her face is warm from the flush my casual affection in front of her parents causes, but I don’t care. I want her back in bed with us as soon as possible and this is as chaste as I can make myself be.

“Morning, sweet Eden,” I purr, letting my hand around her waist slip down to grab her ass cheek. I smile brightly at the elderly humans on the holo projection. “You must be my mate’s parents. It’s so lovely to meet you. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you.”

Her father smiles back, his eyes crinkling softly the same way Eden’s do when she laughs. Her mother beams back at me, Eden’s same sunshine radiating from her. I breathe a small sigh of relief that they’re not freaking out at the sight of an alien draping herself on their daughter.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Mezli! Wow, Eden, she’sgorgeous,” Eden’s mother stage whispers.

“Mom!” Eden says in a high-pitched whine.

“What? She is! A great match for my perfect daughter.”

“Edi-chan says you’re one of her mates,” her father says. “That you were destined to be together or there’s some kind of biological link between you two and another nexxit. I have to admit, it sounds…strange.”

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