Page 18 of Trove’s Purpose

“There’s a viewing deck in the back.” Trove said, standing a few steps back, watching her as she stared out at literal nothingness. “It’s meant to be comfortable and… intimate.”

Chee made a sound that just acknowledged what he was saying. She didn’t feel the urge to seek out that space, even if that was probably where he initially planned to take her. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for a closed, intimate space with him.

If she ever would be.

Once again, the two of them were left in silence as he accepted her silent rejection. He didn’t try to push her further than halfway down this hall. He also didn’t pressure her to talk, though she was the one who had asked him to do so.

Rip the bandage off, she said to herself.

Setting her shoulders, she turned and faced him square on. He didn’t flinch back under her directness either. He just continued to watch her. Patient and calm.

“I’m your mate,” she said.

He started, as though surprised. “You know?”

She gave him a look. “Come on. You’re not exactly subtle. I may be from Earth and not know a lot about aliens, but domini are kind of the exception. I know you can tell your mate by sight, and you haven’t looked away since you first saw me.”

He opened his mouth like he was about to say something – protest or argue maybe – but after a moment, he just closed it again and shook his head.

“No. You’re right. I wasn’t expecting you to be so outright with it.”

“Yeah. I’ve been told that I can be a bit forward. But I’d rather just be out with it than try to dance around the topic. I’m your mate.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re mine.”

“Yes,” he breathed, his voice weakening. Like he didn’t want to admit it.

“Okay.” She nodded, taking a steadying breath. “Yeah. Okay. So. What do we do?”

Trove frowned. “What do we do?”

“Yeah. I mean… I’ve never had a real relationship. I dated a couple times, but it never went anywhere. Nothing serious anyway. I was waiting for my… well, I guess I was waiting for you. If you’re my mate.” She couldn’t help but wince. That hadn’t come across as romantic at all. If anything, it sounded like she was talking about a coworker with a specific skillset that she was waiting for. Chee definitely wanted true love. She wanted what her parents had. Two people ready and willing to fight against the world, to ride or die for each other.

But that’s not really what it sounded like, and she couldn’t bring herself to clarify further to this stranger that, apparently, was supposed to be those things to her.

She knew that, apparently, humans were really bad at knowing their mates, even though they were meant to do it by sight. But surely she should be feeling something right? Sure, Trove wasn’t an ugly guy. She was even attracted to his alien-ness.

However, there wasn’t this overwhelming, sudden rush of emotion and need. She wasn’t feeling the intense yearning of love at first sight. Honestly, she kind of didn’t want to deal with any of this at all. It wasn’t a burden, per se, but it wasn’t really welcome either.

As she was sitting there, wrestling with those thoughts, she realized that they had once again fallen into an uneasy silence. He hadn’t answered the question, and his expression was like he had a toothache that was throbbing in a way that also didn’t speak of true love and soul mates.

Chee frowned. And while she wasn’t sure of her own feelings on the matter, she didn’t think she liked him being that pained about it either.

“We are mates,” Trove said with the kind of reluctance of one agreeing that medicine tasted foul but was good for you.

“You’re not happy about it.”

He hesitated before offering her a disarming smile.

Disarming because she wasn’t prepared for just how much life it brought to his face. He wasn’t unattractive, but it was the first time she had seen him smile, and it truly brought his face to life. Vibrant, lively, and, yes, charming. It was the kind of smile designed to melt hearts. The kind that promised a good memory and no commitment. A playboy’s smile. A heartthrob’s smile. The kind a girl dreamed about but never settled down with.

And it set her on edge as she took a reflexive step back from him.

“I will leave that decision to you,” he declared in a way that almost seemed gallant. “You may use me if you wish. I assure you, you will enjoy your time with me,” he promised in a way that made her stomach flip – but not really in a good way.

But she persevered. “That’s all well and good, but what are we supposed to do? Like, isn’t there supposed to be this mating ceremony thing or something? I’m pretty sure I saw that when you guys first came to Earth.”