Page 81 of Tis the Season for Tentacles
Gemma continues, “I’ve told most of my colleagues that I’m taking some time off to deal with personal family issues but that I might be back in a couple of years or so. Who knows? They were actually all pretty cool about it. Some of them were even envious.”
The smug look on her face reminds me of her brother and I’m certain she learned it from him.
“B-but what about your medical license?”
She cuts him off. “That’s for me to worry about, not you. I love you, big bro, but I am a full-fledged adult now, and I have been for a long time. You’re not responsible for my life choices.”
“I know,” he whispers. “I just don’t want you to be making a rash decision that could leave you unhappy and full of regret. Your happiness is just as important to me as my own.”
She pulls him back into a hug. “Sure, it’s a comparatively quick one, but not rash. For instance, I’ve asked all of your new friends about a million questions in the process of making my decision.”
“She really has,” Sasha agrees. “It was seriously intense. I was way impressed.”
Felix doesn’t even know the half of it. His sister was able to intimidate me a little, which I respect as a warrior.
“I thought it was totally hot,” Luna adds in a dreamy whisper.
Gemma grins. “I’m not the kind of person who’s going to make an uninformed choice that affects my life in a massive way. I’ve done my research.” She gestures to the Sleigh Belle. “And talk about kismet. This ship of yours didn’t have a medical professional on it, and now it will. I’ll be responsible for keeping the crew healthy and medically safe during our travels.” She rubsher hands together. “And I’m super pumped to check out the high-tech equipment Luna told me your medical bay contains.”
Luna twirls one of her pigtails with a flirty tentacle. “I’d be happy to give you a tour, Gemma.”
I smirk.
Yep, I have a feeling it won’t be long until Luna gets bitten by the Love Bug too.
Felix takes hold of Gemma’s hands. “You’re completely sure about this?”
She smiles at him, affection written all over her face. “I love you, Felix, and I want you to be happy. You found someone special you want to spend the rest of your life with. There’s no way I’d stand for you turning him down because of me. I refuse to be an impediment to true love, dammit.”
Felix sputters. “B-but I didn’t even tell you he’d proposed.”
“Honey, you didn’t need to tell me. I knew you were falling in love with him almost from the start. Then, of course, Naj shared all the details when he called.” She glances at me. “You’re totally his type, by the way.”
“Oh, really?” I drawl. I can’t wait to interrogate Felix about that later.
“When Najar told me what was going on, I honestly wasn’t surprised.” Gemma’s expression turns mischievous. “Besides, you’ve always had a weird fascination with tentacles, ever since you started reading?—”
He hastily lifts a hand to cover her mouth, and I’m immediately curious. That sure sounded promising. I add it to the list of things I plan to pry out of my delectable human fiancé.
“Enough of that now. Ahem,” Felix says, looking all kinds of awkward. Then he frowns at Gemma. “What about all of your stuff here on Earth?”
She waves a hand dismissively. “I’ve already moved all my important stuff into storage. I had your apartment packed upand put your stuff in my unit too. By the way, you totally owe me for that. I closed out your lease and did the same for mine. The storage unit’s set on an auto draft, so my bank account will stay active and pay it on a monthly basis. I’ve got plenty in there to pay for that unit for at least several years. Otherwise, I don’t have a whole lot tying me down here.” She tilts her head in thought. “I’ll have to figure out how I’m going to earn money while we’re gallivanting across the universe, but your friends assure me it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Again, Gemma has really thought of everything. She’s going to be a valuable addition to our crew for multiple reasons.
Felix shakes his head in amazement. “Damn. I haven’t even considered what I’m going to be doing in that regard.”
Gemma grins. “Your head’s just been too full of lovey-dovey thoughts for you to think about anything else, don’t worry. But there are options for us. Believe me, I’ve grilled Khephren and Najar on this extensively over the last few days.”
I shudder a little, remembering. She could have made a skillful Dravethian warrior specializing in interrogation.
Felix studies all of us. “You guys would really be okay with my sister becoming part of the crew?”
My best friend steps forward. “We might be an odd band of misfits, but we’re one happy family here on the Sleigh Belle—and we already consider you part of that family, Felix, so your sister was an honorary member before we ever talked to her. After getting to know her better over the last few days, we’re confident she’ll fit right in, and we’re happy to have her.”
Gemma claps her hands loudly. “Okay, now that we’ve got that all cleared up, let’s get a move on. No point in spending too long out here. We don’t want any randos spotting us, do we?”
That kicks us all into gear and we spend the next fifteen minutes loading all of Gemma’s stuff—of which she has quite a bit—on the ship. She definitely came prepared to be gone fromEarth for a very long time. Oddly, it makes me feel even more confident about things working out well.
