Suddenly a Bride (2 page)
“Oh wait.” Travis motioned for her to return. “I was just kidding. You know that. I’ll be good.”
“Fine.” She pressed the pencil to the pad and waited for him to speak.
“I’ll have the Reuben sandwich with fries and
a
nice, tall glass of pop.”
“What kind?”
He smiled and shrugged. “Surprise me.”
She looked at Richie. “And you?”
“I think I’ll try the chili and grilled cheese combo today, but I’ll have tea—hot.” He gave her a suggestive look. “I like things that are hot.”
Deciding not to comment, she went to
the next booth
and took the couple’s order before she hurried to the counter and posted the orders for the cook to see. Then she proceeded to fill up everyone’s drinks. She
glanced at her friend, an
other wai
tress who worked at Jack’s
Diner. Her friend shot her a sympathetic smile as she ran to get the plates the cook just put up on the ledge
that separated him from the crowd that filled the place.
“One hour and things will slow down,” her friend said as she collected the meals.
“Sandy, we need a vacation,” Caitlyn replied and took three plates.
“A trip to the beach will take care of that.”
“I’m tired of the beach.”
Sandy’s eyes grew wide. “How could you get tired of the beach?”
“
It’s not fun unless you’re enjoying a romantic walk with a guy.
”
“Not if that guy is Richie or Travis.”
Caitlyn grimaced. “True.”
As Sandy went to her booth, Caitlyn turned to set one plate at the counter where a man read a newspaper. Then she carried the other two plates to the nice couple.
“Hey,” Travis called out, “didn’t we order before them?”
Ignoring him for a moment, she went to another booth and asked the three women if they needed anything before she decided to get the plates waiting for Travis and Richie.
She placed them on the table
and hurried back to the counter before they could engage her in another mind-numbing conversation.
Soon enough, Travis and Richie had to leave for work, and after that, the lunch rush died so Caitlyn could sit down and give her aching feet a rest. She really needed a better pair of shoes.
Sandy passed by her on her way to the coffee pot. “Want some?”
“Might as well. It’s the only way I’ll stay awake.” She yawned and leaned forward, her elbow on the counter. Swiveling in her seat, she asked, “Do you want to see a movie Friday night?”
“Depends on what’s playing.” She filled up two cups and glanced at her friend.
“I will not go see another tear
jerker.”
“But those are heartwarming.”
Rolling her eyes, she walked over to Caitlyn and sat next to her. “They are depressing.” Setting the cups down, she continued, “I thought you’d shy away from love stories that end
in
one of the spouses dying. I mean, considering what happened with my brother and all.”
Caitlyn tore open a packet of sugar and poured it into the cup. “
I loved Randy.”
“And watching those movies help?”
She shrugged and swirled the sugar with a spoon. “I know it’s weird. Maybe it’s grim.”
“Yes, it is. Very grim.”
“Yes, but I’m not the only one who lost her husband to something like cancer. The movies remind me of that.”
Sandy sighed and touched her arm. “I hope that you’ll move on and find someone else. It has been three years, and your biological clock is ticking.”
Caitlyn grinned. “This isn’t about me. It’s about you being a godmother.”
She shrugged. “I can claim the title even if I’m not technically the aunt.”
“You’re my best friend. Of course, you’ll be my kid’s godmother.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” She winked before she took a sip from her coffee. She shuddered. “How do the customers tolerate this?”
“The ambiance.” Caitlyn motioned around the near-empty diner. “It says class and style. It’s the
in
place to be.”
Sandy giggled and shook her head. “You’re so full of it.”
“Probably.”
Jack peered through the door that separated his station from theirs. “I’m going on a smoke break. You girls think you got it covered in here?”
Caitlyn noted the two women who had brought in their children and were laughing. “
They’re not drinking the coffee you made, so we should be fine. No lawsuits pending.”
“Yeah well, I wouldn’t have made the coffee if someone hadn’t been ‘indisposed’ at the time.”
“You really want me to pee out here?”
“I’m just saying,” he said with a shrug. “You weren’t here and people were asking for coffee. I had to do something before they started taking out their pitchforks and torches.”
“Oh, go ahead and smoke,” Sandy told him. “We’ll fend off the hungry customers.”
Once Jack nodded and returned to the kitchen, she turned her attention to Caitlyn. “As long as that movie is a comedy, thriller, or horror, I’m in for Friday.”
“I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for those then.”
Chapter Two
R
ilo felt strange. He put the
brochure down and looked out the window. A spaceship flew off into the distance where it disappeared
into the stars surrounding it. The suns weren’t directly in his vision from this angle, but they lit up eno
ugh of
Star
Systems Unlimited
so
he saw the smooth silver hub where ships were docking.
He glanced at the clock above the gate where he’d depart. He’d
been sitting there for two
hour
s
, thumbing through all of the
brochure
s he could find
on Earth. It wasn’t much different from
Pandoran
, except there was more water on the surface and varying terrain.
Pandoran
had only one major ocean and a grouping of seas and rivers, but if one looked at it from space, they’d see mostly land. Another difference was that the land—all of
it—on his home world was flat.
Everything else was pretty much the same. Oxygen to breathe.
Sunlight for life to thrive. Blue sky. Blue water. Green grass that turned yellow or brown in different seasons. Well, he supposed he should have expected many similarities if he was able to find a compatible female to establish a life bond with.
He adjusted the collar of his jumpsuit and checked the temperature reading beneath the clock. Why did it feel warmer in here? The temperature hadn’t budged from 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sighing, he shifted in the seat and returned his attention to the brochure
he was currently reading
.
This part explained
the various countries and political divisions. Again, that wasn’t so uncommon. However, he did wonder just where the agency would send him. He wasn’t even sure where he’d pick if given the choice. It was just as well the agency would do that for him.
He shifted again in his seat and realized his breathing was shallower than it should be. His heart rate had also increased. He adjusted his collar for a second time
and
noticed that his neck was warmer than it should be. Touching his face, he realized he was starting to perspire. What was going on?
He set the brochure into his lap and tried to figure out what was wrong. Nothing seemed unusual. He just felt…odd. Could it be nerves? Maybe he wasn’t as calm as he thought he was?
Glancing around, he saw a few creatures passing by, laughing and talking. To his right were two beings that resembled him except they spoke a language he didn’t recognize. They must be on their way to Earth. He wondered if the agency’s promise to adapt him fully into the Earth’s culture
was accurate.
If so, he’d be able to understand and speak the language of the place they put him
in
. Again, he wondered how they could take care of all those details with such efficiency.
A bead of sweat trickled down his spine. That was it! He closed the brochure and stood up. Maybe he needed to walk around. Maybe he’d been sitting still too long or maybe this section had heat blowing directly on it. He inspected the ceiling. He didn’t see any vents. There was no warm air blowing on him.
He took a deep breath and stepped forward
, and as he did, his underwear rubbed against
the male part of him which
tingled in response.
That’s when he realized what was happening. The hormone inhibitor was wearing off. He quickly thought back to when he took his last pill. It’d been when he woke up.
That was only ten
hours ago. The effects weren’t supposed to wear off from anywhere between fourteen to twenty-four hours. He realized that he ran the ris
k of it being premature, but he’d been taking the pill for a good eighteen years so he expected it to take longer for his body to adjust to its pre-pill days
.
When he was sixteen, he decided he’d had enough distractions and so he went to the pharmacy to start a prescription. And now it’d been such a long time since he’d had to deal with an erection that he didn’t know what to do about it. Well, he knew what to technically do to get rid of it, but he wanted to be sure his body was ready
for the bonding ceremony with his life mate. He wasn’t sure what to expect from her, and he figured the sooner they went through with it, the sooner he’d be guaranteed a place in her life and the life of the children he’d give her. After all, that was why he came here.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the medical pamphlet. He already knew what it’d say, but he needed reminding.
Sure enough. There it was in black and white. Fourteen to twenty
-four hours. He skimmed through the pamphlet until he came across how he could expect his body to adjust from this point on. It looked like once his body established a natural rhythm, he could expect to ejaculate anywhere from four to eight hours until his life mate conceived a child. But until that rhythm was established, things were bound to be irregular. And that’s the part that suddenly worried him.
What if he ejaculated now and he wasn’t able to do it again for another t
en or more hours? He was due on
Earth in five hours.
Ma
ybe he could get rid of it
. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. It was all a matter of self-control
. He could do this. His body c
ould wait until he was with his life mate.
Deciding to turn his attention
to
the window, he started counting the spaceships that sought port at the station. From his vantage point, he saw three that arrived. Two were long and rectangular and the other small and round.
O
ne long one was close enough that
he could see the creatures inside it. He decided to count each one as it departed the craft.
He got to twelve when it became clear to him that this tactic wasn’t working. He gritted his teeth and placed the brochure over the bulge in his suit so no one else would notice. What was wrong wi
th him? He wasn’t even thinking
sexual thoughts.
His body temperature rose a little more and the suit was becoming unbearable. The thick material was designed for
space travel, not getting aroused
in. What could he think of that would douse any sexual desire?
Numbers. Math was as sexually stimulating as a cold shower. Leaning against the window, he closed his eyes and worked out some calculations in his head, figuring the more complicated, the better. But
it didn’t work.
He gritted his teeth.
He was going to ejaculate and there was nothing he could do to stop it!
Keeping the brochure over his strengthening erection, he strode down the corridor as fast as he could and searched for a res
ting room.
He found one
and groaned when he saw it was occupied.