“A double?” I ask.
“Double the amount of liquid.”
“A shot.”
“Yes.” She smirks. “Water, huh? Can’t handle alcohol?”
“I thought Scotch might be alcoholic. No, I can handle it. Handle it too well.”
“It doesn’t affect you?”
“Not like it affects you.” I eye her. “Or like I affect you.”
She bursts out laughing, tilting her head back, exposing her long, creamy neck. I want to kiss and bite her, to mark her, to claim her.
What the hell? I don’t even know her, but I have a feeling she won’t want me to be possessive of her.
But I do feel that way. My cock wants to be buried deep inside her.
I cough slightly.
She stops laughing and eyes me as she shakes her head. “You’re a bit too much, you know that, don’t you?”
“I’m not so sure about that, but if it’s not a bad thing…”
“That remains to be determined.”
The waitress returns, and Sophie takes a big gulp of her amber liquid.
I watch and shake my head.
“What?” she asks, her tone a little sharper.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Fuck that. You’re judging me.”
“I did think that Scotch was meant to be, ah, savored.”
“Sipped but chugged?” She lifts her cup toward me and then drains the rest of her Scotch before placing the glass back on the table.
“Any reason for that display, or did you just want to be hot as fuck?”
Sophia laughs. I already love the sound. It’s so light and airy, but there’s a hardness in her eyes that I hadn’t seen before.
“Maybe there’s a reason, but maybe you don’t need to know it.”
“Fine by me. Drink away.”
“You want me drunk?”
“I want you to be whatever the fuck you want.”
The waitress returns, and we order. I just point to something at random, whereas Sophia gets a buffalo chicken wrap.
Once the waitress has walked away, Sophia eyes me. “That was a good choice.”
“I don’t even know what it is,” I confess.
“Not your food. Your answer.”
“That I want you to be whatever the fuck you want?”
She nods.
“Why? Who wouldn’t want that for you?”
“Oh, plenty. Parents, fathers especially, tend to be overly protective of their daughters. Men tend to want their way—Yeah. Thought so.”
She’s smirking, and my own smirk, the reason for her remark, grows.
“Men want their way. I agree. That such a bad thing?”
“It is when it means that they think they can take what’s not theirs.”
I tilt my head to the side. “But if they can convince you to want to give, then it’s freely given, yes?”
“Not if it’s manipulated.”
“Manipulation is bull shit.”
“I agree.”
Our food is brought out, and the waitress asks if Sophia would like another round.
“I’ll try some,” I interject.
“Give him a double and me a regular,” Sophia instructs.
The waitress nods, rushes away, and returns shortly with the drinks.
It’s smooth going down, the whiskey. Burns a little bit and pools in my stomach, but then I feel fine. Perfectly fine.
Sophia grimaces at me, and I realize she was holding up her glass.
“Do the moms not bother to have any alcohol on Kuria?” she asks, slowly lowering her glass to the table.
I grab mine and hold it up as she had. "Not in front of me, at least. Why?"
“Typically, we…” She gently knocks her glass into mine. There’s a faint clinking sound. “Cheers.”
Sophia nods to me, expecting something.
“Cheers?”
She laughs and finally sips hers, so I do the same.
“You have a lot to learn, Tox,” she murmurs.
“Not as much as you think,” I boast.
“Hmm. Maybe. Maybe not.”
“At least I’m a quick learner.”
“Is that so?” She eyes me. “Maybe there is a reason for my drinking, but it’s nothing. It’s not something you need to worry about or know. I will say that I’ve enjoyed this meal.”
“So have I. The company is wonderful.”
“You’re charming. I’ll give you that, but if you think one meal means—”
“We’re here to eat. We just opted to not eat alone. That’s all.” I sip my Scotch.
Her smile is slow, but it seems more genuine than some of her previous ones. “Yes, that’s all,” she echoes.
Our food is delicious, and we pay for our meals separately, and then we go off, splitting. Yes, I would have liked it very much if she would have asked me to accompany her somewhere, but maybe this is for the best. There's something about Sophia that makes me want… I don't know what I want. Maybe I nailed it on the head when I say we just opted to not eat alone, and that's all. She's right about how enjoyable the meal was. I thoroughly enjoyed my interactions with her.
But I'm going to have to find a spot away from prying eyes because another part of me enjoyed the banter with Sophia, and my cock got a bit too excited. I need to go rub one out, and you better believe that Sophia will be on my mind when I do.
4
Sophia
My phone ringing wakes me early the next morning. I don’t have a hangover, thank goodness. After leaving Tox, I returned to my place and had a little bit more to drink.
I’m not sure what to think about the alien, but for right now, I need to stop that ringing. It’s going to give me a headache.
“Hello?”
“Yes, is this Sophia Clyde?”
“Speaking.” I think furiously, trying to place the stern female voice, but I’m coming up blank.
“This is General Janius Jackson. I was hoping we might be able to talk.”
“We are right now.”
“In person,” the general clarifies. She gives me a location. “Can you be there in thirty?”
“I can be there in twenty if you need me to be.”
“Twenty works even better.”
The general hangs up, and I race to shower and get dressed. Normally, I wear workout attire everywhere because I need free range of movement. There are times, like yesterday, when I need to run because my life depends on it. If I’m in a skirt or dress or heels—forget about it.
To meet with a general, I might need slightly better clothes, so I opt for dress slacks that aren't tight
