Page 26 of Soros
“That’s called snow.”
I used my hands to catch some of the flakes and study them. “It’s cold to the skin. How fascinating.”
“Sadly, it won’t stick to the ground yet. In a month we could be walking in snow to our knees here.”
“How long is a month again?” I was looking it up as I said it, but Tania quickly answered.
“Longer than we’re staying in this city. We’ll only be on the East Coast for a week this time and then we’re flying back to Los Angeles. You have meetings with people in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, and Australia over the next months. I’ll help you set it all up, but I’m not sure yet if they want me to take you there myself or you’ll meet other agents in each place.”
I met her eyes. “Please come with me. I enjoy your company, Tania.”
“You do?” The way her pretty eyes lit up made me warm inside and for a moment we just smiled at each other without saying anything.
Snowflakes landed on top of her hair and on her nose. I reached out and touched the snow, watching it melt on my finger.
In that moment, I felt gratitude that I was one of the few outsiders who got to experience Earth. It was truly magnificent and different. I had traveled to more than twenty planets and experienced varied climates, but never had I experienced harmless white flakes falling from the sky and melting on my skin. “At first, I thought it was ashes from a fire somewhere. On Kambolok ashes fall from the sky day and night. The entire place is gray and it’s hard to breathe there.”
“Nope. Just snow. When you get enough of it you can make balls and have a snow fight. Hopefully, you’ll get to experience that while you’re here.” She laughed. “It would be a personal pleasure to rub snow in your face. My friends and I would do that to each other as children. And you know what else we would do?” Tania stuck out her tongue and caught snowflakes.
We were laughing together, and I couldn’t explain how, because it made no sense, but I felt so at home with her.
For a moment we stood grinning at each other catching snowflakes with our tongues, and then I acted on an impulse. Pulling her closer, I looked into her eyes and then I kissed her.
I was overstepping regulations and instructions, but none of that stopped me. Kissing Tania felt as magical as the tiny flakes falling on our heads. When she kissed me back with the sweetest sound of pleasure, I closed my arms tightly around her. My time on Earth was limited, but in that moment, one thing stood out perfectly clear to me. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with this incredible woman.
New York
The memories of our first kiss had me smiling. How amazing everything had been back then. The whirlwind romance that had followed between Tania and me had been like nothing I had ever experienced before.
Tania and I had always known our time together was running out and somehow it had made each day feel special.
Back when I had taught the humans about the Federation, much of my effort had felt pointless to me. Earth was protected and the chances of an invasion were minimal.
Today, I was happy I had all those contacts and that they took seriously the threat of a Malbreean among them.
I had just about fallen asleep, when Captain Lios asked to communicate with me. It was odd for him to reach out when he knew I would normally be sleeping. I quickly accepted, thinking that it had to be urgent, and I was right.
“We have a lead on Ko’roz,” he told me.
After telling him that I would meet him right away, I dressed quietly so as to not disturb Tania. Before walking out, I hesitated for a second admiring how stunning she looked as she lay sleeping. Her hair was soft and her lips pouted a little making it hard not to bend down and kiss her. What I wouldn’t give to be able to crawl back into bed and snuggle up with her. I considered waking her up to tell her I had to leave, but I didn’t want to disturb her peace, and hopefully I would back be before she even discovered I had been gone.
CHAPTER 11
Catching Up
Tania
Traffic noise from the street below woke me. Honking was returned with yelling, and finally there was the sound of a car speeding up to get away fast. I was in no rush and after rubbing my eyes, I squinted to see the morning sun streaming through the gaps in the curtains, casting a warm glow over the spacious hotel room.
Still feeling high on the afterglow from the lovemaking with Soros last night, I yawned and stretched out my arms. While trying to shake off my grogginess, I registered a silence in the room that felt wrong and instantly created an ache in my heart. Turning my head, the sight of empty sheets confirmed what felt like a personal betrayal to me. Soros had left me again.
Calm down, he’s probably just gone to the bathroom,I told myself and turned to see that the bathroom door was slightly open, and the lights were turned off. He wasn’t in there.
Then he must have gone down for breakfast,I concluded,but why wouldn’t he have asked me to join him?
The creepiest feeling that I might have imagined or dreamed that we made love last night made me sit up in bed and look for evidence. It freaked me out that I didn’t see any signs of Soros. Only my things were spread out, from my bag to the robe that lay across a chair. I hadn’t placed it there so was that a sign?
Getting out of bed, I put the robe back on and walked to the windows. Opening one of them, I let the cool breeze caress my face. The city bustled below as I wondered where Soros had gone, what he was doing, and if he had regretted what happened between us last night.
