Page 15 of Tis the Season for Tentacles
Glancing at my watch, I realize it’s nearly 9:00 p.m. my time back on Earth. At thirty-five, and with very little social life to speak of, I find I go to bed embarrassingly early these days. Even that coffee from earlier isn’t helping. Maybe I’m crashing after all that adrenaline from a while ago?
“Sorry,” I say around another yawn.
“It’s quite all right.”
I glance down at my lap. “I apologize for earlier. That was probably really rude of me. Asking to touch your tentacle, I mean.” I dart a quick glance up at him. “You see, I’m a veterinarian on Earth, and I specialize in exotic animals. Not that I’m suggesting you’re an animal. Fuck.” My cheeks feel red hot. “I’m not explaining this well. As another species, you’re quite fascinating to me. I’ve had the opportunity to work with several aquatic species on Earth that possess tentacles, like giant squid and octopuses, during one of my training rotations at an aquarium. We don’t have many species on our planet thatpossess tentacles, but I find them truly fascinating.” I gulp. “In a purely scientific way.”
Okay, yes, I’m fibbing a whole lot on that one. But there’s no way in hell I’m going to tell him I readThe Tentacular Tales of Captain Starbladeand write my own tentacle porn fanfic. That would just be too mortifying for me to ever possibly survive.
Najar studies me for a long moment before extending a golden tentacle toward me. “I don’t mind.”
His voice is soft and husky in a way that makes me want to throw myself at him like a shameless, needy fool.
No, I’m not going to waste this opportunity.Get it together, Felix.
I reach a hand out and hesitantly take hold of the tentacle. A delighted gasp escapes me.
It’s warm and velvety soft, yet also strangely smooth. The fascinating appendage reminds me a little bit of larger species of snakes that I’ve worked with, but it’s far more supple and graceful.
I stroke part of the length of it, trying to figure out what kind of dermis covers it. Are they scales or something else entirely?
I really wish I had a magnifying glass handy so I could take a much closer look, but I realize that would be super awkward and potentially offensive to my abductor slash host.
Just when I’m about to let go, I’m surprised to find the tip of the tentacle coil lightly around my wrist.
Najar clears his throat and shifts on his feet. “Sorry about that.” He uses one of his hands to forcibly make his tentacle let me go.
“Do you not possess full control of them?” I have so many questions, and I’m itching to take notes on this amazing discovery. I want to know all about his alien species and how their biology works.
Najar steps back and crosses his arms, and it’s like a weird invisible wall goes up between us. “You appear to be tired. Let me show you to your sleeping quarters for tonight. There will be plenty of time to answer your questions after a good night’s rest.”
I don’t protest as he leads me out of the med lab and down another hallway. Eventually, he stops in front of a door and uses a tentacle to tap something into a panel on the wall next to it. The door hisses open and he leads me inside.
I’m grateful to discover that the room I’ve been brought to is free of any Christmas decor and more minimalist in its functional aesthetic. There’s a large bed, a plain desk with a chair, and a door leading into an en suite bathroom.
Najar gives me a quick tour and shows me how things work in terms of their version of a toilet and the shower.
“There are some spare nightclothes of mine under the sink that should fit you,” he says, eyeing me up and down. “I’ll be sure to drop off some additional garments for you in the morning.”
“Thanks.”
He looks away. “Sorry,” he says gruffly, “this is one of our more basic guest rooms.”
I shake my head. “It’s perfect. I don’t need anything fancy.” I look around. “I’m just relieved this room isn’t covered in Christmas decorations.”
Najar lets out a startled laugh. “Yeah, there aren’t many places on the ship that remain unscathed from the Christmas brigade’s onslaught at the moment.”
I tilt my head at him in consideration. “Are you not part of the festivities?”
“Not in the way that the others are. They tend to go a little overboard with such things. I’m mostly here to try to keep them from doing anything truly foolish.” He winces and looks away. “I’m afraid I failed in that task when it comes to you.”
I give him a tentative smile. “They do seem like quite a handful.”
“That’s putting it mildly. But they’re good friends and they do mean well.” He gives me a soft smile. “Get some rest. You’ve been through a lot tonight. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
After he leaves, I hop into the shower to wash the dirt and grime of the desert off and let the hot water ease some of my aches and pains from my fall earlier. I have several bruises forming already, but there’s not much I can do about that.
Once I’m clean and feeling more like myself, I get out of the shower and dry off before putting on Najar’s spare pajamas. They’re soft and a little too big, but I find I like knowing that I’m wearing his clothing. It doesn’t make any logical sense, but I feel strangely protected in them.
