by Leela Ash
It was spontaneous. Exciting, honestly, though part of her felt she should be annoyed about it. What if she’d had plans? She hadn’t expected his abrupt invitation to go out, and her response to his sudden invitation left her bewildered as well. Go out to a bar? She was a teacher for crying out loud. She didn’t go to bars. And she certainly didn’t get asked out by unrealistically gorgeous men.
And yet something in her found it impossible to say no. She wanted to speak more with this strange man. Learn more about the mysteries contained both in his eyes and in his otherworldly physique. The word yes had slipped from her lips before she even had a chance to register what was happening.
All she knew for sure was that she wanted to stay near this man. For whatever strange reason. And so, she had agreed with his strange and abrupt request to go out to the bar with him. Not even five minutes later, she had somehow found herself following him down the street to hail a cab, even though she had a car. She wasn’t too keen on inviting him into her space quite yet. He already knew where she lived, whether he knew it or not. She had been standing right outside her apartment when he had spotted her.
“Do you have a place you like to frequent?” Max asked from beside her.
The silky rumble of his voice brought her heart to thudding and she turned to face him, surprised by her strange and involuntary reactions to his nearness. In a way, he felt so comfortable and familiar, it was hard to believe they had only just met. And yet, it was stranger to believe she was sitting here with a total stranger being asked about her favorite places to get drinks. This was ridiculous. What was she doing?
“No. Let’s just go anywhere.”
The words almost felt like a mistake as they came out of her mouth, but somehow, she was more excited than afraid. Max gave instructions to the driver and they were soon on their way down the road together.
“Let’s go to a bar. The closest one to here,” Max said. He rustled into his pocket for his wallet and held it expectantly, smiling broadly out the window before turning to face Andrea again.
“You don’t have a place you frequent either?” Drea asked, smiling to herself about the phrasing that Max had chosen. He had such a strange and direct way about him. It was kind of cute in a way. But a man like this could hardly be qualified as cute. He was something else entirely. Sexy, really. She had an idea she knew what Mel would say about him if she laid eyes on Max.
“No. I have never courted in this area before,” he said. His words seemed to have been selected carefully and yet, they came from his lips with ease.
“So, you’re not from around here then?” Andrea asked, her first bout of nervousness fluttering in her stomach.
“No. I came with my brothers,” Max said.
“Where are you from?” Andrea asked.
It seemed like a simple question, but the look on Max’s face shifted to one of anguish. She realized quickly that she had hit a nerve and pursed her lips, concerned.
“We are from a place far from here. Nobody has heard of it,” he said softly. “Were you born in this place? In Brookside?”
“Yes. I was born and raised here. How many brothers do you have?” Andrea asked.
“Five others like myself.”
“Five?!” Andrea exclaimed.
Her reaction made Max’s eyes widen and he studied her tentatively, almost as if he were afraid of the reaction he had invoked within her.
“Yes. We are five men from the same w… place.”
“Brothers,” Andrea said, shaking her head slowly. “That means your mother had six children. That’s a lot of kids, that’s all. Do you have sisters too?”
Max seemed confused by the question and then shook his head. “I don’t know. And we all have different mothers. And different fathers. I just say brothers because…well, it’s a word like… we are good friends. Very close. There aren’t any others like us around these parts, so we feel more like a family now.”
“Like you?” Andrea asked. “What’s so different?”
Part of her already had a small inkling of just how special Max really was, but she couldn’t quite fathom what that feeling might mean. Why did she feel like he was so familiar even though she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she had never met a man like Max in her life?
“We were just raised in a different place that a lot of people wouldn’t understand,” Max said simply. “That’s all.”
“Like the Amish?” Drea asked.
Max looked at her blankly.
“Perhaps?”
A sudden thought alit in Andrea’s mind and she laughed, shaking her head. “English is your second language, isn’t it?” she asked.
Now it was all finally starting to make sense.
“Yes,” Max said, smiling broadly. “I speak many languages.”
“What is the first language you learned?”
Again, the strange anguish flickered across Max’s face and Andrea frowned. She was about to ask Max if something was the matter when the taxi cab slowed to a halt and waited for Max to hand up the money. He did so, and then quickly got out of the car and scrambled to Andrea’s side to open the door for her.
He bowed at her, his expression completely serious. It looked like the kind of gallant gesture men did for women in movies that were dated far before her time, and Andrea couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. It was actually ridiculously sweet, and in a way, she loved Max for it.
“Come! Let’s get shitfaced!” Max said, smiling at her innocently. His teeth were flawless, and she couldn’t help but gaze at the bizarre perfection of his features. How the hell had she managed to get herself into this strange situation? And why did it feel so natural, even though everything about it was screaming “bizarre?”
“I’m not going to get shitfaced tonight,” Andrea said, unable to keep herself from laughing.
“Oh,” Max said, though his smile didn’t falter.
He looked around the room. It was early evening, and most people still weren’t quite in the mood to drink. He scouted out a booth near the windows and offered her the seat first, then followed and sat across from her. When they were seated, his eyes bore into hers, and she noticed the peculiar flecks of gold and amber that danced within them. He had gorgeous eyes. No. He had gorgeous everything. Normal men just didn’t look like this. Where in the hell did he come from?
But before she could ask, the waiter was immediately at the booth and asking for drink orders. Max watched Drea expectantly and she fidgeted before ordering herself a sangria. What the hell, right? It was almost summer. She was out with a beautiful man on a beautiful day. She might as well live a little. She was already here.
“I should have a beer, right?” Max asked thoughtfully, and then turned his eyes onto the waitress.
“Whatever man, it’s your dollar,” the waitress said, a bored tone in her voice. “What kind do you want?”
“A beer,” Max said firmly.
“Yeah but what kind do you…”
“Get him one of these,” Drea said quickly, pointing to the picture on the table by the napkins. Max nodded firmly.
“Yes, that. I want a beer.”
The waitress sighed and shook her head irritably before heading back toward the bar. Max seemed unphased by it, and Drea considered once again asking him more about the intriguing place where he had come from. But she remembered the pain in his expression and somehow hoped she would be able to spare him the agony of having to answer her prying questions. Perhaps in time more would be revealed about it.
“What do you think of this place?” Max asked, looking around and gripping his hands together on the table in front of him. “It’s cozy.”
“That’s probably because you’re so big and this place is so small,” Andrea said, teasing him gently. It was strange how comfortable she felt doing so. She rarely teased anybody without knowing them very well. Otherwise, she was concerned they might take it the wrong way.
But Max smiled at the remark and chuckled gently to himself
.
“It’s true,” he agreed. “I am a fairly large man for a small booth like this. I probably should have chosen a table.”
“We could move,” Drea suggested gently.
Max shook his head and leaned back. “No,” he said. “This way I get to be a little closer to you. I can see you better.”
Andrea looked down, her cheeks blushing hot. She wanted to kick herself for how flattered she was by the words. She had always resented men who cared more about looks and appearances than anything else. And judging by everything that had happened, the man had come barreling at her and asked her out to the bar very abruptly, she had ample evidence to suggest that all of this was some sort of ploy.
His intentions seemed to be very simple. He wanted sex, right? He had seen her, found himself attracted, and decided to act quickly before she let herself into her apartment and he lost his chance. And she had been an idiot and fallen for it.
And yet, when she looked at Max, it seemed impossible that he truly wanted to bed her. Or at least, only bed her. In fact, she got a strange impression of innocent joy from him. He was simply enjoying himself. They were on a date, or at least, his version of what a date should be. And now they were going to spend the evening together, at least until she found herself ready to leave.
If he turned out to be a huge pig, then she would be able to leave. She had taken self-defense courses. She could protect herself. At least to a point. And he was handsome. Maybe she should give him a chance before she wrote him off. Maybe she was judging him unfairly. It was harsh of her to make presumptions about his intentions. Especially when she felt so calm around him. It was such a strange feeling.
Usually, after a visit with her mother, calm was the last thing she felt. But, with Max there, she had a sense of strange tranquility and she was wary to dismiss it outright so soon. She should at least see where the evening went. She had agreed to go for a reason. Maybe it was time to trust herself. She had always had good intuition, otherwise.
When their drinks finally arrived, Max beamed and raised his in the air.
“A toast, to the most beautiful woman at this booth.”
Andrea laughed involuntarily and raised her glass. They clinked them together and drank deeply, Max’s golden eyes glittering mysteriously across the table. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
6.
Max had never drunk beer before, so he was surprised by the strong flavor. He coughed heartily after his first drink and looked up at Drea in surprise.
“That doesn’t taste how it looks,” he said, reaching for a napkin to wipe his mouth. He grimaced and shook his head. The alcohol on his planet was far more superior than this.
“What does it look like?” Andrea asked, suppressing a smile. It only made her already beautiful features seem more alive.
“I don’t know. Apple juice?” he guessed. What exactly had he been expecting? There was no way that the humans would be able to craft a drink as elegant as what was served on Fiora.
“Yeah, that definitely doesn’t taste like apple juice,” Andrea said. “Do you want to try this one? It’s a little more like juice. Fruit punch.”
Max tilted his head slightly and eyed the glass, then grabbed it away from the human.
“All right. Thank you.”
He drank it and was pleasantly surprised by the flavors. That was a little more like it. “Why are men supposed to drink beer? This tastes much better. And there’s more alcohol in it.”
“Amen to that,” Andrea said with a laugh. She took Max’s beer and took a deep swig. “We can trade, it’s okay. I just don’t drink much, so…”
“Me either,” Max said, probably stating the obvious. He didn’t care, though. He was just thrilled to be spending time with his fated mate. When would it be a good time to tell her everything? To explain the mark that he had seen through the device his grandfather had given him? He was burning to be out with his knowledge. But it would have to be approached carefully. If she was told too soon, it could begin to wreak havoc and bring her to the attention of the enemy.
Still, he wanted her to know exactly what it was that he had seen. He wanted her to know, just as he knew, that they were fated to be together, and that with her help, he would be able to return back to his home a hero and clear his name.
“I noticed that,” Andrea said, offering him a sly smile. It lit his body instantly aflame and his eyes fixed upon her intently. She seemed to sense a shift in his demeanor and sank back a little in her seat, eyeing him coyly. He could hardly contain himself. She was so beautiful. She had to know the truth. And when she did, he would have his mate, and all would be as it was meant to be.
“Do you like to dance?” Max asked suddenly, noticing a jukebox in the corner. He had seen the contraption on a movie once and stood up. “If you like to dance we should dance. That is a good activity.”
“A good activity?” Andrea asked, laughing quietly. The beer had loosened her up a little bit, and now she was standing up to follow him to the jukebox. The gentle way she teased him brought a strange fire to his loins and he inhaled deeply.
“Yes. Let us dance.”
Andrea was a little bit nervous about the prospect of dancing with Max. Not only because she had rarely danced before, but because, in a way, she was unsure of what to expect from him. He was clearly from another part of the world where things were done very differently, though, strangely enough, he had no accent. She attributed that to the possibility that he was a very intelligent man with a good grasp of language.
“Is there a song you would like to listen to in particular?” Drea asked, watching as Max fumbled with the machine. He was getting frustrated when it wouldn’t do as he wished and bashed it powerfully with his hand. It shook in place and Andrea covered her mouth to hide her laughter.
“Nothing in particular,” he answered, his handsome jaw set as he gritted his teeth. He seemed completely perplexed, and Drea stepped between the man and the machine and gently moved his hand away from the buttons.
“I think I have some quarters,” she said. “Let me see if I can find a song we can dance to.”
She was too amused and concerned that they were going to get kicked out for abusing the jukebox than she was afraid of dancing, at this point, and picked a song quickly. When the music started to play, the powerful, brooding anger in Max’s face vanished instantly, and he turned to her and smiled brightly.
“This is a good song. I have heard it before.”
She gaped at him – it would have been shocking to consider that he hadn’t heard it before. It was one of the most popular songs she had ever heard. But she didn’t let his ignorance of the music hold her back from heading to the dance floor. She was glad it was still early enough that there weren’t a lot of people at the bar. What if Max’s country didn’t have dancing the same way hers did?
But she was pleasantly surprised when his strong arms gripped her firmly and they began to move their bodies in rhythm with the music. There was nothing difficult or forced about it, and soon, she found herself completely lost in the beat of the music and the fiery hues of Max’s golden eyes.
“Do you like to dance?” Max asked, his deep voice rumbling in her ear. Andrea nearly melted right then and there. There was something about this strange man that she couldn’t get enough of, and she wasn’t sure why.
“I do right now,” she admitted. It made her feel a little silly to say so, but when she caught Max’s eyes, they were serious and caring. He wasn’t judging her, and she had a feeling that he probably never would. Then again, these types of feelings didn’t necessarily have to mean anything. Maybe she was just getting caught up in the heat of the moment. It could happen to anybody really.
All she had to do was try to stay realistic. She didn’t want to let herself get caught up in feelings that had no basis in reality. That was what it really boiled down to. She was tired of forcing herself into a strict routine, and maybe being out with Max like this felt a little rebellious
. Something she could do that was purely hers and hers alone. Something that had nothing to do with Eric or her mother or her job or anything else that she associated with other people.
Even if this was all a terrible idea, she was going to do her best to enjoy the moment. There was nothing wrong with that, right? She could let herself enjoy the attentions of an impossibly attractive man, even if it did turn out that all he wanted from her was sex. She didn’t have to go for it. It was just nice to feel wanted, that was all. Max felt comfortable. Safe, somehow.
And yet, when she looked up at him again, she was startled by the way his eyes had grown hard and serious. He was looking at her as if he had something he deeply wanted to say, but instead of being able to speak, he simply held her closer to his body.
It was almost a protective motion that made her feel as if he truly cared about her and wanted nothing more than to make sure she was safe and sound. It was strange, honestly. The kind of look and gesture you would expect from a man you have been married to for twenty years, not the kind you would receive from a virtual stranger after a twenty-minute spur of the moment date.
“I can’t stand to think that there is anything out in this world that could harm you,” Max said quietly, his voice low in his mouth close to her ear. It sent a small thrill through her to feel his breath against her skin this way, and she closed her eyes and pressed her head against his broad chest as they danced.
Andrea didn’t think Max really had a grasp of how creepy that could come across from a stranger, and she chose to take the statement as one of boyish innocence rather than malice. He could have meant something more than that, but she was certain he didn’t. There was something far too sincere about this strange man. Something she also wished she was able to protect.
“There is good and bad everywhere,” Andrea said quietly. “The real trick is in finding the beauty in the places where it seems most impossible for it to thrive. All of us can learn to appreciate the things that truly matter the most. When we don’t, that is when things start to get really grim and difficult.”
