Page 9 of Bad Beehavior

Of course, the floor underneath me made a noise, and the female woke up.

She screamed, but I put my hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

I crawl on her bed, my hand still on her mouth, straddling over her, trying to ignore my stiffening stinger. Her skin feels so soft, and all I want to do is run my hands all over her, but I need to calm her down. I can’t leave when she’s this frantic. Maybe I can explain my mission to her, and she’ll let me leave peacefully. She said we were friends, after all.

“Do not fear. I mean you no harm.” The words sound strange on my tongue as I’m not used to using this new language. “I’m your friend from your container. Remember? You said we were friends.” I use one hand to motion to both of us; the other remains over her mouth.

Her body relaxes a bit, and I can tell she’s trying to say something under my hand.

“I will remove my hand, but you must promise not to scream. I will explain everything to you.”

I slowly lower my hand, but just as it’s about to leave her chin, she bites me—hard.

Anger should flow through me, but my stinger throbs even more at her fight. She’s a strong female—protecting herself even when it’s futile. Just as I suspected, she’s much smaller than me, and her body mass must be at least half of mine. You’d think she’d be a timid thing, not a warrior with fangs.

I wince and bring my hand back to her mouth.

She slaps at my thighs, and I use my other hand to grab her wrists and raise them both above her head.

“Female, I mean you no harm. You saved my life, and I’m grateful for you. I will explain to you why I’m here and then be on my way. I am much stronger than you. If you fight me, we will get nowhere.”

Her eyes water, and suddenly, I don’t feel so strong anymore. I might just let her stab me right through the heart, only to stop her tears.

Her body softens underneath me, and she shakes her head in admission.

I slowly remove my hands, still straddling her just in case she decides to run away.

She gulps but doesn’t speak.

I don’t know what I expected her to say, but the air seems thicker between us. I said I’d explain why I’m here, and I guess now is the time to do so. I clear my throat. “My name is Baryx.” Introductions are a nice place to start.

“I’m Jennessa.” Her voice wobbles.

It’s the most beautiful name I’ve ever heard. “Jennessa,” I repeat. I want to continue to say it over and over. “I come from The Colony, a planet many Lightyears away.”

“So you’re not a bee?”

I’ve recognized that this must be the name for the smaller species I resemble in my compact form.

“No, I’m not a bee. However, I can shift into my smaller size that resembles what you call a bee. That’s the form I was in when you rescued me and put me in your container.”

She laughs—her chest vibrating from underneath me.

The sound fills my ears like a sweet melody, and I want to record it so I can play it on repeat.

“Okay, I get it now. I’m dreaming. This is all a dream. I guess there’s no need to freak out.” She contemplates for a moment. “Wow, maybe that honey I tasted was laced with something. I’ve never had a dream this vivid before.”

The mention of my honey makes my stinger hard.

Her eyes widen when I pulse against her chest.

“I apologize. I cannot control my stinger around you for some reason.”

She laughs again.

On my planet, we laugh when something is amusing, but there must be a different custom here, as I didn’t relay any joke.

“Maybe you should get off me then. I definitely don’t want to be impaled by a giant bee, whether this is a dream or not. That sounds like it would hurt.”

---