Caught Between Two Blue Aliens - Celia Kyle
One
“I’m serious, Jenna. You need to re-re…”
“Reconsider?” Jenna supplied the word out of habit while she ran a brush through her hair in an attempt to tame the wavy blonde strands. She certainly hadn’t adopted her teenage sister just to kill her, but sororicide was looking better and better the more Beatrice nagged…
“Reconsider tonight,” Bea finally finished.
“I hear you.” Jenna placated, still staring in the mirror while she struggled to get ready in the tiny bathroom. Hell, the whole apartment was incredibly small and filled to the brim with what few possessions they’d managed to accrue over the two years since Mom and Dad had passed. The bathroom was no different.
Jenna winced at her appearance and whipped open a drawer under the vanity, wincing even harder at the high-pitched squeak of wood on ancient, rusting hinges. This place hadn’t been updated in an eternity, the hardware showing its advanced age. But it served its purpose. It was rent-controlled and housed all three of them on Jenna’s shoestring budget. Because there was her little brother, Noah, to worry over, too. Noah’s expensive medical treatments were the entire reason Jenna was standing in the bathroom at that very moment, preparing for a long night of serving food to a bunch of fancy people and a group of intimidating aliens.
Real ones. Actual space aliens.
A giddy shiver raced down her spine at the thought of meeting real Drokten warriors, even in passing, and she grinned at herself in the mirror.
Blush. I need blush and a bit of mascara.
The makeup was several years past its expiration date, but whatever. It still worked. Plus, she wasn’t about to waste money on new makeup when she was saving for Noah’s treatments.
And tonight, she’d earn a good chunk of change thanks to hazard pay. Freaking time and a half, at least.
“Jen-na,” Beatrice whined. “You’re not listening to me.”
“I am listening, Bea.” Jenna promised, and it was only a tiny lie. Half a lie, really. Hardly even a lie at all in the grand scheme of things.
The reality was, Jenna had a catering gig that evening at Drokten Main—in the Tower itself—the glamourous location where some of the Drokten now worked and lived. They’d created an outpost here, on Earth, in order to continue the alliance between their two species.
Working there tonight meant time and a half, easily. If there were over thirty Drokten present, she might even get double pay. Double. Pay. She could hardly imagine that many credits in her account. They’d be set for like, weeks. No worrying over Noah’s treatments or paying the rent. Nothing.
“It’s d-d-d—”
“Dangerous?”
“Dangerous and you should see the-the-the…” Bea paused and harrumphed. Then she stared at the tablet in her hands. “In-dem-ni-fi-ca-tion clause.”
Jenna leaned closer to the mirror. “You should see the size of my pores,” she murmured. If only she had the money for those high-end cleansers and creams…
“Jenna!”
Oops. She’d said that out loud.
“Yes, you did.” Beatrice glared at her in the mirror.
And that, apparently, too.
Ugh. Her mouth and the way it got away from her. She’d have to be careful at Drokten Main that evening. She knew that the high pay-off came with a drop in safety and security. Not everyone was comfortable around the alien heroes who’d saved their planet. They were scary as hell. The danger for this gig was elevated beyond the usual business parties and board meetings she waitressed for the catering company, and the paycheck would reflect that change. Double pay, here I come…
But the extra credits weren’t all that had her nervous and excited for the evening to come. She shivered over the fact she’d be around the mysterious, powerful Drokten themselves. She’d only seen them at a distance or on vid screens but never spoken to them before. Jenna couldn’t help but be fascinated by Earth’s saviors. Their blue skin, sharpened features, intriguing society and culture, the danger, the flashiness—all of it captured her imagination. It all made her wonder… What if…
“What if, what?” Bea interrupted.
“What if I…” Jenna thought fast. “Went with the red lipstick tonight instead of nude gloss?” No way would she mention how often she’d wondered what it would be like to touch, to kiss, one of those big blue aliens. Her sister would have a stroke. A stuttering stroke of hysteria, but a stroke, nonetheless.
“To make yourself look hotter?” Beatrice wrinkled up her nose. “You don’t want their attention.” Her sister shook her head in denial. “They aren’t normal men, Jenna. Haven’t you heard that they date in pairs?