Page 52 of All You Need is Alien Love
Dr. TEA
River
Thankfully,Day Two of the ceremony ends on a high note—pun intended—and Kai and I are both half-carried away while still loopy on the Iyaran elixir.
I pass out early, sleeping deeply until morning.
Ellie assured me in advance that this would happen and was perfectly normal, and in fact, something of a blessing. By the end of the second day, most couples are so horny and irritable that they’re not sleeping well, and the elixir is a much-needed intervention. I was already more than willing to take it to begin with, but that just ended up being an added bonus.
I wake up raring to go for the third and final day.
Hallelujah, I finally get to knock boots with my boo tonight.
The doorbell rings, and I hurry over to find Evan at the door and holding a huge box. I help him carry it out to the garage and put it in the back of the SUV.
“What the hell is this, hermano? Nirblob told me I couldn’t peek.”
I rub my hands together gleefully as any proper supervillain does.
“It’s my top secret weapon for the ceremony finale. You’ll just have to wait and see like everyone else.”
“¡Qué gacho! I’m your bestie, you can tell me.”
“Sorry, man, a surprise planned for the hubby-boo trumps even BFF status.”
Evan pretends to toss his artfully coiffed hair that doesn’t move an inch. “Fine, be a diva. After all, that’s one of my favorite things about you since I’m one too.”
He gives me a saucy finger-snap and then we air-kiss over one another’s cheeks. When Evan has his makeup just so for a special occasion like today, I know better than to mess with it!
We get into the SUV and start our drive out to the Valley of Fire base. Day Three, here we come.
From the passenger seat, Evan turns to face me. “Are you glad this whole thing is almost over?”
“You have no fucking idea.” I dart a glance at him and smile. “The ceremony itself hasn’t been too bad, apart from the enforced abstinence bullshit. I worked my ass off to prepare for everything, you know that, and it’s been nice to see my efforts pay off. All in all, I’d say the Sanctioning Ceremony has been incredibly… memorable. There’s so much I won’t soon forget about these past few days.”
Like Kai’s sexy underwater performance.
And the poem that got me right in the feels.
“Yesterday was so romantic. That part of the ceremony was beautiful, sharing your deepest feelings with each other.” He sighs dreamily. “You two are the real deal. I hope I find a love like yours one day.”
I frown. “What about Zion? I thought things were moving along nicely with him?”
A forlorn look washes over Evan’s beautiful face. “He put the brakes on things recently. He’s too worried about his father coming to Earth and the threat against his brother. I totally understand and want to help him, but he doesn’t want me to get involved.” Evan crosses his arms, a thunderous look on his face. “He thinks it’s too dangerous.”
I can’t really disagree with Zion. What lies ahead is probably going to be very dangerous. I want to protect the people I care about too.
Evan throws his hands up in the air. “Dios mío! Why do I always have to fall for stubborn, sexy men?”
I laugh. “Trust me, Zion’s one of the good guys, but the situation we’re staring down right now is no joke.” My mouth sets in a grim line. “Evil Alien Bad Guy Invasion is imminent. We’ve prepared for this as much as we can, and we hopewe’ll have the upper hand, but if sci-fi movies have taught me anything, it’s to be prepared for the unexpected.”
Evan frowns. “Are we talking anIndependence Daykind of invasion?”
“Fuck, I hope not. We don’t think Layne Madison has that kind of backing or power. If he did, then he would have used it a long time ago. We’re reasonably confident this is smaller in scale, a very targeted operation aiming for control of the Alliance outposts here on Earth. We have to be ready for them.”
“¡Chingados!” Evan curses. “I want to help, hermano.”
How did I know this was coming?
