you’d get to see him.
That was a good idea. Sure I didn’t want to be just friends and seeing him but not being allowed to kiss him or touch him or ride that deliciously thick dick again would be a massive bummer, but it was better than not seeing him at all. Besides, I’d told myself a thousand times that that day in Galan’s apartment was nothing more than a moment of insanity on Galan’s part and I was frustrated that I couldn’t convince myself it was true.
Him ghosting me, his nearly supernatural ability to completely avoid me, was a sure sign that he regretted what had happened that day.
Girl, the look on his face ten minutes after it happened should be enough to convince you. Or when he outright told you it was a mistake. Write him a note and slip it under his door that says you know it was a mistake too and you’re cool with being friends. You’re ruining his life, you know. If you weren’t here, don’t you think he'd be joining the garden yoga class, eating in the dining hall, trying to convince the other women to sleep with him?
I felt a wave of guilt that almost made me nauseous. I’d been so swept up in my own needs, that I hadn’t once thought of how this was affecting Galan. Of course he would miss his friends. Maybe, instead of telling him that I was okay with being just friends, I should go back to staying in my room, so he didn’t have to worry about running into me.
It's the right thing to do.
Yeah, it was. I was being a selfish cow and while I couldn’t be blamed for trying to enjoy my freedom while I still had it, it didn’t make my actions right. I would try the note thing about being friends and if that didn’t work, I’d stop hanging out with the others and stay in my room so that Galan didn’t have to avoid his friends. Consider it practice for when I was living in a tiny cell and carving shives out of plastic spoons.
“Sigan!”
A Draax who I’d never seen before came bursting around the pathway of the garden. He was sweaty and out of breath, and Sigan turned and raised on eyebrow at him. “What is it?”
“Come quickly. Our queen – she is in labour.”
Sigan sprinted down the pathway, leaving his mat and his water bottle behind.
“Holy crap,” Inara said, “Sabrina’s in labour.”
The buzz of excitement from the Draax around us was kind of cute. Bitta clapped his hands at the front of the group. “She will not give birth in the next half hour. Let us finish our class.”
He glanced over the others and pointed at us. “You three at the back. Stand up and finish the class, please.”
I groaned but climbed to my feet before helping Inara to hers. “Oh God, if I make it through this class, it’ll be a bloody miracle.”
Inara laughed before giving me a playful slap to my butt. “You got this, girl. Let’s show these Draax boys how it’s done.”
* * *
Galan
“I have a son, Galan!” Quill hugged me hard.
I returned his hug, the smile on my face so large my cheeks ached. “Congratulations, Quill.”
“Thank you, old friend.” He released me before hugging Krey.
Krey pounded him on the back and said, “I am happy for you, Quill.”
Quill stepped back, his smile as bright as keo. “Thank you.”
“How is Sabrina?” I said, as Jovie slid off the couch.
“She is doing very well. He weighed almost ten pounds and the delivery was hard on her, but Sigan has given her plenty of gallberry serum.”
Jovie wandered over. She was holding a cup of gallberry juice and she drank two big swallows before holding out her arms to Krey. “Up, Uda.”
He picked her up and she wrapped her tail around his arm before leaning contently against his chest. He kissed her cheek. “You have a baby brother, meena. Are you excited?”
She grinned at him. “Uda take Jovie swimming?”
Quill laughed. “She has met her baby brother but did not have much interest in him.”
“Is Sabrina still in the infirmary?” I said.
“No,” Quill said. “She and Jota are in the bedroom. She did not want to stay overnight in the infirmary and Sigan agreed she could leave. He is with them right now but when he is finished, I will bring you my son so you can meet him.”
“Your father would be pleased that you named your son