Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Not the girl afraid to show even a little bit of skin because I didn’t want to draw any attention into myself.
Not the girl who was afraid to fly. Afraid to drive a car. Afraid to meet new people.
What if I could be less afraid? What if I could be someone who laughed loud in a crowded room, who drove a car (or even a spaceship), who showed some skin, who was able to find a handsome husband? Have sex. Be a mom. I ran the children’s program at the library, doing weekly story and craft time for babies and toddlers. I loved children. I had written down a dozen children’s stories that had never been published but knew them by heart. What if I could live out my dreams?
What if I could live the adventures I’d only read about in books because of being too afraid to take a chance at real adventure?
I had no idea what these alien men would look like as I pondered my fate. But, when I saw that gate slide open, I saw men that were far superior to any man I’d ever seen. I’d never been focused on looks alone, so the looks on the men here were a bonus.
And now, in a sky-car of some sort, I couldn’t help but continue to ponder the thought. What if I could actually date someone who might make me interested in sex instead of afraid of it?
Here, on another planet, in a sky-car of some sort and with a devastatingly handsome male... what if my life, the life I wanted but was never brave enough to try to have... was finally about to start?
I went from a very minimalistic existence, most of my time spent either at home or at the library. Introverted. Quiet. Painfully shy. Afraid to buy the bright-colored flattering clothes. Putting on something sexy and then changing at the last minute before leaving the house. Constantly trying to blend instead of letting my light shine. Letting myself be with a friend-without-benefits boyfriend for years because it was safe, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings or rock the boat by asking for more.
And here I was, flying. Beside a very attractive man with beautiful curly hair, ice-blue eyes, and a really nice smile. With dimples in his cheeks, even! I have always been a swooner for dimples on a guy. And he was smiling at me. He looked at me like he liked what he saw. And when I’d seen what I’d looked like that day, even I kind of cautiously liked what I saw. His smile didn’t look devious. It was the purest smile I think I’d ever seen.
Prior to the fake workshop and conference that was really our abduction, the other girls had done a bunch of paperwork that I’d been given late. I’d sat with forms to list my likes, favorite colors, favorite foods. We all did psychological evals and had medical tests, including pelvic exams, and all of it was far from pleasant, but through it all, I’d been thinking, wondering if somehow all of this would be okay. Somehow, would I be okay? Could I maybe be even better than okay?
I didn’t even discuss the hope I was feeling with the other girls. There were girls excited about the possibilities who were openly discussing it. There were girls who were angry or frightened or both. Some, like Jetta, were angry. Some, like Lacey, (who swore she had the worst luck in the world) were resigned. Jetta kept trying to comfort me, mistaking my quietness for fear. Of course I was afraid of the unknown, and yes, I was quiet. But, more than anything, I was thinking, cautiously optimistic, not letting the fears of the skeptics around me get through, and kind of in my head daydreaming about potential best-case-scenarios.
It was a strange thing to feel – hope – after all I’d endured in the months leading up to the transfer. I’d been almost at the end of my rope with what felt like a string of bad luck. Yet something in me, in the part I kept hidden away, it was hopeful.
But now… Now?
I was frozen with uncertainty at this “Ollie” bit of news.
The gorgeous alien spoke to me. “Ollie’s gotten his translator in. He’s off for a few days. I won’t have to begin sharing you until he gets back.” He smiled big at me.
My throat went dry. Or drier.
“Presumptuous of us, I know, but we have high hopes,” he added.
Hope. There was that word again. I was giving someone else hope?
We were getting closer to the ground. He was looking at me expectantly. I swallowed and gripped his shirt tighter as my stomach dropped with our descent. I glanced out the window, unable to even process how excessively good-looking he was, and saw we were in a neighborhood of little castles, kind of close together, landing on top of a roof on a spot with a large slightly rounded symbol that resembled a trillium. The adjacent roofs of some of the other homes had landing spots with different symbols on them. Others had similar looking vehicles in driveways.