Weeks passed, and Troy and I continued to spend plenty of time together. We would often meet for dinner after I got off work and before he started a shift at the bar. On the rare occasions when our work schedules permitted us to do more, we would sometimes go to the movies, and I discovered Troy enjoyed all kinds of films, including dramas, which were my favorite. As the weather became more spring-like, I also accompanied...

“I fucking hate bowling!” Lexi roared in frustration as she got her second gutterball in a row. “Why did we even come here?? This place sucks!!” Four or five people were staring at us by the time Lexi grumpily took her seat. Milo got up to throw his ball, which left Crystal, Taylor, Morgan and myself sitting on the bench. Morgan was nuzzled into my chest, a place she didn’t leave unless she had to. I didn’t object; Morgan...

There are things you know but just can’t explain. You just feel what’s right. Even if it’s not what you “should” do, you know you have to do it, and it was in that moment, probably right before she would have gone to voicemail, that I hit ‘answer’ and brought my phone to my ear. Silence greeted me before Morgan did. “I didn’t like the person I was today,” her dry voice greeted me. “I can be better than that. I’m sorry for...

When Y’Dryth’s gravity finally lets go of us entirely and we’re slingshotted back into empty space, the last of the shaking abates. Neither Bane nor Rune answers my questions about our attackers/pursuers – no surprise there – but from the small line of blood seeping from Rune’s right ear, I’m guessing there was some heavy-duty Princess Leia-ing involved. For the first time since I’ve met him, Rune lies down next to me on...

“You vowed you’d take Kay home,” I repeat Rune's words, confirming with Kay via a glance at her, hoping that she’d react if this turned out to be inaccurate somehow - all just one big, hilarious misunderstanding. But she just looks at each of us in turn, warily, from her own half-crouched position. “Let me guess. This vow is super-important? Like, immensely? Quintessential Dryth-ness and honor and stuff?” Bane nods a curt...

When I was sixteen years old, I had a crush on a classmate of mine. His name was Jimmy White and he looked like Andrew Keegan’s even dreamier brother, intelligent glasses and all. I may or may not have picked him partially because his last name was also a color, just like mine, it’s a sign, y’all! Plus, he sat next to the person who sat next to the person who sat in front of the person who sat next to me in Mr. Newcomb’s...

Deviously using food as a distraction for my boys – works every single time – I provide myself with some time and space for my visit to the storage room, aka the female’s lair. The estrogen hideout. The lady cave. You get the drift. On the off chance that Drahta are water drinkers and omnivores like their male counterparts, I carry a little of each with me there on a little tray. Opening the sliding double door just a hai...

Shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh I don’t know how much time has passed in which I barely dared to breathe. My mind is spinning in panic, like a top. A top on amphetamines. A haunted top on amphetamines that also screams with the voice of a frightened little girl. Why in the Fuck’s name didn’t Bane tell me that SHE’S STILL HERE?! (Maybe because you weren’t listening to him, and then you got angry and said ‘fuck’ a lot and t...

My brain takes exactly one second to go through all the idiotic scenarios – Bane, naked female, hanky-panky, caught in the act, tears, screeching, it’s not what it looks like, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, let’s stay friends, blah, blah, blah. Then the rest of reality filters into my head. The naked woman – female, rather, clearly not human (skin’s too gray, claws are too long, and are those feelers?)...

“That’s a human.” I actually smush my fingertip against the screen where he had just been like I could pin him down. The static electricity of it tingles coldly against my skin and the picture warps slightly. “That was… a human guy… walking right there.” As I point and stare, there are two – no, three! – others popping up between all the aliens. I can make them out within a split second because of the familiar shape and g...