An Alien To Love by Jessica E. Subject Page B

corridors of the employee level, pausing for the vacuum seals to release on doors along the way, until she reached her room for the duration of her stay. After thumbing the security pad to open the door, she crashed on the bed to the left, the right one belonging to Michelle, her best friend, who had convinced her to apply to housekeeping aboard Star Spirit. They interviewed together, starting space training the very next day.
    Four star cycles later, she enjoyed a quick moment to rest before venturing out on her seventh tour. Though she didn’t have much of a life traveling through space, she received better pay than she would find anywhere on Earth. Providing her basic needs of food and shelter while on-board, the owners of the ship also compensated her well enough to split her earnings between her parents and her savings account when she returned home. She couldn’t let the people who had raised her suffer because she’d found an opportunity they hadn’t.
    Yanking her tablet from her bag, she flicked it on, connecting to the Internet. Finding a faint signal, she logged onto her email account, praying her application went through. She scanned her new messages, deleting game requests, jokes from her friends, and e-flyers as she went. There, at the very bottom of the list, sat a message from Madame Eve.
    She clicked it open, her heart hammering in her chest as she read.
     
    Bonjour Ava ,
    Thank you for your application to 1Night Stand. I will do my best to find a man who will meet your desires. Your scheduling circumstances have been noted. As soon as your date has been arranged, I will let you know .
    Bon voyage,
    Madame Eve.
     
    She blinked at the screen, her stomach in knots. Would the woman find a man for her, or would she be deemed an impossible match? She wasn’t the typical 1Night Stand client, having had to pinch pennies in order to pay for the arrangement. Her parents would be so disappointed if they ever found out she spent so much money on one date.
    She shut her tablet off as the door slid open.
    Michelle tossed her luggage onto her bed with a grunt. “Damn security.” She spun around, staring at Ava. “What are you still doing here? We’re supposed to be up in the concourse for lift-off.”
    “Well, hello to you, too.”
    Michelle grimaced. “Sorry. The ass in Security searched all my bags, again. He won’t give up. If he didn’t have my job in his hands, I’d thump him right in the balls.”
    Ava laughed, tucking her tablet back into her bag. “Now, you won’t see him for another six months.”
    “Thank heavens.” Her friend frowned. “But I have him to look forward to when I return. I’ll get another ‘Since you’re back home, baby, why don’t we go to my house for some fun?’”
    Ava hoped to have something more exciting to come home to. A date. More than fun. One night of pure pleasure. She grabbed her ID card then headed for the door. “Let’s go before we’re late.”
    She couldn’t spend the entire cruise wondering whether Madame Eve would come through for her. She had work to do. But during the next six months, when she crashed on her bed during her off hours, she would imagine all of the possibilities.
     
    ***
     
    “Run, Nate, run!”
    Natazekiel, well aware of the stupid remark he’d made, bounded out of the pub behind his friend. As he rushed past, he toppled tables and chairs on their sides to slow his pursuers. Slamming into the doorframe, he lost his footing. He spun around, catching sight of the burly, blue-skinned Otarians lumbering after him, veins throbbing in their thick necks.
    Regaining his balance, he scrambled down the street. He spotted Wyn ahead of him, rounding a corner. But the men he’d pissed off remained on his heels. If he followed his friend, they would chase him, too. If Wyn reached their star cruiser first, Nate hoped he would find a way to rescue him.
    A beam of red light slammed into the road in front of him, blasting chunks of concrete all