Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34527 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
He gazes down at me with his heart in his eyes. I can see the nervousness there, the smiling hope, and the anxiety that’s plaguing him. Something tells me it was incredibly hard for him to show up here and approach me. He’s the type to bury his feelings in jokes and not state them out loud.
That just makes it all the more special when he does give me heartfelt words.
“I didn’t want to push you,” I say. “If you didn’t want more than a few flirty kisses, I thought we could leave things where they were.”
“And what if I want more than a few flirty kisses?”
My stomach flutters. “I guess it depends on what you want.”
He hesitates, juggling the tree in his arms. “I don’t want to scare you off.”
“Are you wanting to skin me and wear me as a suit?”
“What? No!” Sinath gives me a horrified look. “Where did that come from?”
“Too much TV, probably. But really that’s the thing that would scare me off. Confessing how you feel won’t frighten me, though.”
“What if I feel a lot?”
“I’m fine with that.” I smile up at him. “I’ve been feeling a lot lately, too.”
“No, you don’t get it. When I look at you, I see…”
“What?”
“Forever,” he blurts out. His expression is earnest, which is a little strange considering his horns have silly tassels on them. Yet I see nothing but sincerity on his handsome alien face. “When I look at you, I see someone I want to wake up next to for the rest of my days. I see someone I want to laugh with over tea. I see someone I want to be under the blankets with on snowy days. Warm ones, too. I just want to be with you. Always. But like I said, I know it might be too soon. Mesakkah can be rather…clingy.”
“I don’t mind clingy.” After the last few years of loneliness and misery, I’d welcome a clingy lover. “But you’re right that this is quick. Maybe we take things one day at a time?”
“I am happy to take them in whatever way you will give them to me, as long as I get to spend those days with you.”
He’s making me blush. More than blush—I feel like I’m glowing from the inside out. I can’t stop smiling, and I lean in, hoping for a kiss.
Sinath clears his throat. “The tree—”
“Oh! Right!” I gesture at the window near my kitchen. Most of the small houses are built the same, so mine is very similar in layout to Liesje’s. I open the shutters on my window and slide a chair away so he can set the plant down. “Place it here.”
He does, and I turn the pot, trying to get as many leaves close to the sunlight as possible. It’s winter, and I worry it won’t get enough. Now that I have a tree to care for, it suddenly feels important that I keep it alive. I should turn it in the middle of the day so both sides can get light, I decide. Maybe a covering for the dirt so the roots will stay warm…
I turn around to thank Sinath, and he’s standing directly behind me, a bundle of herbs in his hand. He holds it over my head, his tail swishing behind him. “Is this how you ask for a kiss?”
“All you have to do is ask me.”
“Here I thought you liked holiday traditions.” He grins, sliding an arm around my waist. His tail curls around my lower leg, as if he’s pulling me in toward him, and I remember what he said about being clingy. Being caressed and petted and loved on every day by this big, handsome, funny man? I’d absolutely love that.
“I love the holidays,” I agree. “But kissing should happen every day, not just during the Christmas season.”
“I like your idea,” he says, and tosses the bundle of herbs over his shoulder. Leaning in toward me, he brushes his knuckles gently over the side of my face. “May I kiss you then, my merry Devin?”
“Absolutely.” I wind my arms around his neck, and he bends down a bit more to brush his lips against mine. It’s wonderfully sweet, this brief kiss, and I find myself smiling up at him. “I really didn’t know if you liked me or not. If you were just kissing me because you wanted to experiment.”
Sinath makes a face, shaking his head. “I actually thought there was something wrong with me because everyone else seems to enjoy kissing humans so much and I thought it was terrible. At least, I thought it was terrible until I met you. Now I’m convinced they were on to something.” He rubs his nose lightly against mine. “Because after I kissed you? I was just as obsessed as anyone else. I couldn’t think of anything but kissing you again. Touching you again. Hoping that I hadn’t scared you away by coming on too strong.”