a real piece of work." She clenched her fists again, but Egrix quickly trapped her hands with his and she relaxed them, smiling at him. "He actually spent the entire time we were together stealing from me and I… I let him. He didn't have a job or any of his own money when he asked me out. We lived together and I drove him everywhere. Essentially, it was very one-sided, but when I dumped him, he surprised me. He would come to my house every day trying to get me to take him back. Eventually he stopped, but I honestly got scared to be alone because I was sure he was following me."
Cara sighed, running her index finger across Egrix's chest. "I'm sorry I got so worked up. His stalking used to really freak me out and I guess I'm still not over it."
Egrix stroked her hair gently. "Don't be. Honestly, I'm pretty upset, myself." Cara looked up at him, confused. "I wish I had been here to protect you when all of that happened. I'll try my best to make up for it by keeping you safe now, okay?"
Cara smiled warmly at him, clearly surprised by his care for her. She must have remembered the camera around her neck because she looked down and picked it up. She leaned into him and held the camera in front of their faces, snapping a picture of them happily cuddling.
13
"It's probably getting close to time for me to head out." Cara realized as she thought back on the day's ups and downs. She suddenly remembered the deal they'd made earlier that evening and looked into Egrix's eyes. "Oh, but what about your wish?"
"Huh?" Egrix looked at her, confused until the request he'd made before dawned on him. "Oh, right. I was actually just gonna drop it. Although… At this point there might be good reason for me to ask anyway. Are you up for granting my wish after this day?"
"I don't know, I'm a bit worried now." She laughed a little awkwardly. "What is it that you wish for?"
"Hmmm." He gave her a critical look, then placed his chin on top of her head as he asked. "Would you want to stay the night here? I can't tell you how wonderful it would be to wake up to you in the morning and I would feel safer with you here after your stalker called out of the blue." He looked down at her again. "You'd have to sleep on the couch since I need the bed to replenish my energy, but it's pretty comfortable."
"We can't share the bed?" Cara asked nonchalantly, but a moment later both of them flushed, one red and one yellow, at her innocent question.
"We — well you could, I just assumed…"
"No, I mean, I didn't mean anything…" Cara paused, not able to form a coherent thought and getting more flustered by the second. "It's really hot in here, I'm gonna step outside and let my parents know I won't be home tonight."
Cara jumped from Egrix's lap and sprinted to the door, leaving a gold glowing Egrix to his own devices. She zipped out into the cavern and called her parents, knowing it was going to be an involved conversation. "Hi, Mom…" she started. As she spoke, she wondered what Egrix could be doing inside, and she was anxious to get back to him.
After quite a while Cara came back to the pod perturbed with her parent's mountain of questions. She approached the door to knock, but as soon as her hand got close it opened on its own, surprising her so much she let out a small squeal. She poked her head in and found Egrix with his back facing her cooking in his small kitchen. It made her smile to see him cooking for them. It didn't look like he'd heard her. She cleared her throat as she approached so he would know she was behind him.
"Sorry that took so long. My dad's pretty clingy." She giggled softly. "Sometimes I feel like I'm his parent." She paused, realizing something. "Wait, if you're in here, and didn't notice me at the door… did the door just open for me on its own?"
"Yeah, I programmed in your biological signature so you can come in whenever you'd like."
His ears and the back of his neck took on the familiar golden glow, making Cara smile at how cute he could be. The smell of food hit her like a boulder