Alien Captain's Bride - Scarlett Grove

1

My eyes dart around the quiet library and the wall of windows that look out onto the darkened campus. The only lights outside are the twinkling streetlamp near the lawn and the glow on the concrete path. Not much else is open this time of night.

A few students shuffle past, backpacks slung over their shoulders, off to enjoy the warm September night.

I look back at my book, after making sure no one is watching me enjoy my guilty pleasure. With a secret smile, I turn the page, and I'm once again lost in the fantasy.

The alien captain of the command ship Zargon reaches down to the virginal heroine sprawled across the broken ground.

"Come with me if you want to live," he says in a low, sexy voice. His three-fingered hand is strange and alien to her, but for a reason she can’t quite explain, she trusts him.

She takes his hand, admiring the rippling muscles of his chest. When he effortlessly pulls her to her feet, she barely comes up to his taut blue nipples.

I bite my lip, imagining the sound of lasers zipping past and the commander’s giant… biceps.

"You better not let Mrs. Henderson catch you reading that," says student body president Madeline Weber as she peers over the hardback tome I'm hiding my romance novel behind. Maddy’s golden-blond hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, and her aqua blue eyes twinkle with mirth.

"I'm on a fifteen-minute break," I explain.

"I don't think that will make any difference to Mrs. Henderson. You know how she feels about that kind of book."

Madeline giggles, winks, and then hurries off down the stacks, clutching her textbooks to her chest. She slides into a table beside Sophia Russo. They're both wearing blue-and-gold T-shirts emblazoned with the gymnastics team logo and the timber wolf school mascot.

Madeline is right. If Mrs. Henderson, the head librarian, catches me reading a romance novel, even on my break, she’ll give me hell for it. I put a bookmark in the paperback and slip it into my purse.

My science fiction romance fantasy will have to wait for after work.

I stand from the couch in the reading area and check my vintage Mickey Mouse watch. I only have a few minutes left on my break.

I skipped dinner today, and my stomach is grumbling. Not eating was probably a mistake. Losing that ten extra pounds isn't going to make any difference now. The damage is already done.

I don't know why I'm blaming myself for the breakup. Ashton chose to hook up with every girl who would let him.

I drag my hand over my face and groan as I walk through the hall to the water fountain. I bend to take a long drink, my emotions spilling out like the water from the faucet. Cool liquid slides down my throat. Standing, I wipe the tears from my cheeks.

The scene of last night replays through my mind. The reality of my love life is the polar opposite of the fantasy in my book.

Last night, after checking dinner in the oven, I walked back into the living room and caught a glimpse of what Ashton was doing on his phone. He had that big cheesy grin he wore when he was getting away with something. I asked him what he was doing, and he quickly turned off his phone. But I’d seen it. He’d been on one of those hookup apps, chatting with some girl. I demanded he show me his phone. We argued for hours until he finally admitted everything. Then I kicked him out.

It was one of the most devastating moments of my life. Until last night, I thought he was the one and we would be together forever. But I should have known.

Who would want to be with someone like me? Dumpy Doris Gray with frizzy red hair, skin so pale it turns purple in the sun, and a swath of freckles across my face that look like constellations in a clear night sky. Plus, there's that ten extra pounds.

I push the thick glasses up my nose, cross my arms tightly over my handmade denim shirt dress, and head back to my post behind the checkout desk. I watch a group of girls wearing tiny shorts and tank tops leave the library. They make me feel ancient.

I dress like I’m living in a 1980s sitcom. My freshman year of college, my grandma downsized and gave me a bunch of secondhand funky old dress patterns and all her vintage fabric before moving to a