The overlord snorts. “My wife and a lot of the women here, especially the ones married to Novans, all do that. They are a close-knit community. I have a feeling you and my wife would get along well despite her being older than you are.”
“I would love to meet her one day.”
“Yes. When you come to Kuria, it can’t always be about work.”
“Of course not.” Ava shifts toward the general. “Will it be possible to have access to a facility here? Will I be able to teach men and women—”
“Both Earthlings and Kurians,” the overlord supplies.
The general clears his throat. “What if we could have the training done on one planet at first and then those from the other planet be flown back here? It would help to save time. During the training, the workshops can be built on both planets.”
“That sounds good.” Ava looks to the overlord.
“You can train here, if that is amendable.”
The general nods.
“There is one more thing, Nestrol. I will need to modify plasma morphers for the devices.”
“I am willing to donate as many as is necessary for this,” the overlord says, “so long as the Earthlings will give us the specifications for their towers if it proves that they are able to help transmit the levitation frequency.”
“More tests need to be run before the training can begin,” Ava warns.
“How soon do you think this can be up and running?” the overlord asks.
“A few weeks. A month at the most.”
“Take two,” the overlord suggests. “We want to do this right and have as many bugs worked out first. And if you have more time versus less, you might have some time for celebrations.”
I cough to hide a laugh. The overlord winks at me.
It takes a few more minutes, but the deal has been made. Everything is lining up perfectly.
All that remains now is for Ava to learn just how much I ovian care about her.
20
Ava
To say I'm thrilled is an understatement. I held out on making a deal with the overlord specifically because I wanted to make a difference on Kuria and on Earth.
After the meeting, the general sends Rix and I off to a fancy restaurant, just the two of us, as a thank you. Rix looks so handsome in the candlelight, and we clink our wine glasses.
"Maybe once everything is up and running with the levitation devices, I'll be able to make a full lab for my experiments and inventions. I have so many ideas, Rix! The possibilities seem limitless."
“You’re going to revolutionize not one but two planets.”
I grin shyly. “I hope so. I, um, have a question for you.”
“You can ask me anything.”
“Would you want to be the first one to be inside a levitating centuricmobile? Or a centuricar? I’ve gotten better at the landings, but I really want you to be the first one, and I understand if you don’t want to. If you’re nervous, I totally get it. I really just want… I want everything to be perfect and smooth, and both the military here and your overlord have promised me everything I need including housing, food, anything and everything, so we’ll have what we need for anything and everything, and—”
“Ava?”
“Yes?”
“You can take a breath.”
I laugh nervously.
“We can take things slowly. We don’t have to rush things.”
“Oh, okay. Yeah, of course. I get it. I just…” I swallow hard.
“I am more than willing to be your test dummy.”
I giggle. “You can wear protective gear if you want to.”
“I trust you.”
The way he says that makes me avert my gaze. "So, if you want to take things slowly, you mean with us."
“Well, I mean, we’ve only dated a few times, and you basically asked me to move in with you. I mean, first, you rope me into being your personal pilot. Now, I just agreed to be your test dummy. It seems to me that you’re trying to turn me into a sex slave.”
“Rix!” I glance around, but thankfully, no one is paying us any attention for once.
He chuckles. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t turn that down.”
“No. No! You aren’t a sex slave. I just think that an inventor, you know, needs a partner. An explorer would be the perfect accomplice, don’t you think?”
He sits back as if considering this and slowly nods. “Yes. Yes, I do think so.”
“Do we need a label then?”
“You mean boyfriend/girlfriend? Then yes.”
“Okay. Yes.” My heart pounds, and I chug the rest of my wine. “I… I want to know what you think about the future.”
“Okay. Sure.”
“Go ahead.” I wave to him.
He eyes me, and a slow smile curls his lips. “I can see us flying around to Earth, from Earth, to Kuria, from Kuria, making trips to other planets just to see what we can see. I can see us spending our days and our nights together, and I can see us sharing a house on Earth and one on Kuria, and I can see us married eventually when you’re ready. I know you probably aren’t ready for that, that you haven’t been in a real relationship before, and I don’t want to push you too quickly. We can wait until you’re ready. I won’t dare do anything you don’t want to do.”
“I want to,” I murmur.
“You want to what?”
“I want to know what it feels like.”
“What what feels like?”
“I want to feel loved,” I whisper.
Rix grins. “Well, that’s simple. Just look into my eyes.”
I do. I stare into his barely neon green eyes, and I can feel myself falling hard for him. My breathing hitches, and the waiter hands us our food, breaking the spell. We enjoy a delicious Italian meal, and there’s even a musician walking around playing music, and I love it so much.
I love him so much.
Once we finish eating, Rix brings me not to
