Page 71 of Tis the Season for Tentacles
I find I want to indulge him just to see a smile on his beautiful face.
Is this what being in love is like?
Not having been in love before, I’m not really sure, but I do seem to be a bit of a fool for Felix Taylor—and I don’t care.
I just want to be with him and make him happy, and I suppose that tells me everything I really need to know. Somehow, that sets my mind at ease, as if the final constraint holding me back has loosened.
I can hardly wait to get him back on the ship so I can tell him all of this.
Just as we’re finishing up with the final vendor, a furry streak of bright blue whizzes past us, followed by an angry Grethorian shaking his four fists in the air.
“Get back here, you thief!”
Not wanting to get caught up in any trouble, I glance to my side, only to find Felix has disappeared.
Momentary panic sets in until I look around and find he’s chased down whatever flew past us and is now holding the creature in his arms.
The irate Grethorian storms toward Felix, his naturally red skin flushed even darker. “That thieving little furball stole meat from my cart!”
Moving fast, I put myself between him and Felix.
Thankfully, the Grethorian isn’t as stupid as he appears. He takes one look at me—and the mark on my cheek—and backs off.
“What seems to be the problem here?” I ask, my voice stern and unyielding.
He gulps before pointing an accusing finger toward the creature in Felix’s arms. “That little menace stole food from my cart.”
I frown at the animal. I’m not even sure what it is. But then again, it’s hard to memorize all the animal species in the universe.
“Does the creature belong to someone here?”
The Grethorian crosses all of his arms, a scowl on his oblong face. “I doubt it. Probably a stray. Lots of folks come through here, and you’d be surprised how many of them abandon their pets before taking off for parts unknown.” He shakes his head. “It’s a damn shame, but I can’t afford to give away my merchandise for free to every stray that comes by. I’m trying to make a living here.”
Holding up my tablet, I say, “I’ll pay for whatever this creature stole, but don’t even think about trying to claim more than you’re owed.”
He gulps and nods. I end up paying him a few measly space credits for the stolen meat and he slinks off back to his stall, grumbling the whole way.
When he’s finally gone, I look over to see Felix studying me with a warm, gentle smile that makes my hearts flutter.
“You were amazing. Thank you.”
“Ahem. Well. I didn’t like how that jerk was acting. I just wanted to make sure he didn’t turn violent.”
Felix looks down at the shivering blue furball in his arms and gently strokes its head. The creature has a pointed snout, two big, cute eyes, and two large triangular ears that stand at attention, swiveling here and there in response to the sounds around us.
“Isn’t he adorable?” Felix coos sweetly as he pets the blue fluffball. “And he’s so soft.” Felix’s gaze hardens as our eyes meet over the animal’s head. “People who abandon their pets are the worst kind of scum.”
Uh-oh. Angry Felix is really… sexy.
But we don’t have time for that. I clear my throat again, opting for sense and reason. “Let’s go to one of the information kiosks and see if we can track down its owner or any other information about it.”
Felix agrees that this is a sensible course of action, and we push our hover cart full of goods through the station until we find an information kiosk.
The representative at the desk smiles at first, then falters when she notices the animal in Felix’s arms.
“Greetings, we found this creature in the market. One of the vendors told us it’s an abandoned stray, but we wanted to checkthat you didn’t have anyone looking for it. Perhaps it has a microchip for scanning?”
She pulls out a small handheld device and runs a quick scan over the stray, who regards her warily and presses its face closer to Felix’s chest.
