Best Friends (New Species #15)(15)

“New Species don’t go out on dates. That’s true. It’s not because we’re opposed to it, but we tend to draw a lot of attention and crowds if we venture into the outside world. It’s not bad here in this town. We aren’t followed around, photographed, or attacked…usually. Homeland is another story. It is surrounded by large human cities.”

He placed his arm over the back of the couch and twisted his body more to face her. “Species don’t want to put anyone in danger, and some humans have been targeted after their association with us became known. That’s a deep concern to us. It can be life threatening when a human dates a Species. Not from our kind, but from yours. It’s also tough to date at Homeland or Reservation. Not too many places to take a date. We have a bar that serves food but most of us don’t drink alcohol. Our bars aren’t like the ones humans visit.”

“You don’t drink?”

He shook his head. “Alcohol tastes vile, and it doesn’t sound fun to get drunk. No one wants to be out of control and foolish in front of witnesses. We have bars as social places to gather, dance, and eat. We mostly drink coffee, teas and juices there.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Humans who date each other have privacy when they go out. We don’t. Everyone is curious about Species, and they watch the couple’s every move regardless of where they go. It is not fun to be stared at.”

“That does make things tough.”

He chuckled. “It does.” His humor faded. “I would love to take you out on dates but I’m afraid someone might notice if you began to regularly spend time at Reservation with me. You would leave the safety of our gates, and I wouldn’t be here to protect you. It’s happened in the past. A female was kidnapped after it became known she had spent time with one of our males who lived at Reservation. She was taken from this town.”

“I haven’t heard anything about that.”

“It happened a while ago. Her name is Tammy, and she mated to Valiant. Two males targeted us yesterday because they’d heard we visit town without the kind of precautions we use when we leave Homeland. It’s made us tighten security here for a while. I had to argue with someone to come visit you. There are three armed males outside in case of trouble. I’d like to spend time getting to know you…but I don’t want to put you in danger. I am attracted to you, Melinda.”

“It’s just Mel. My boss insisted on using my full name on the tag I wear at work.”

“Mel.”

He rasped her name in a growly way and looked at her as if she were an ice cream he’d like to lick. She crossed her arms over her chest again.

“What would you like to know about Species? Ask anything.”

“Anything?”

He nodded. “Yes. There’s no need to be shy or worry that I’ll become offended. This is us getting to know each other. Think of it as a home date. I would like to. We have food nearby and privacy. I wish I’d thought to bring you flowers.”

“I’d sneeze. Roses and carnations aren’t my friends.”

He smiled. “What do you like?”

She hesitated. “You brought me food. That’s perfect. I’m not fancy. I usually feel uncomfortable in nice places. I went to one of those high-end restaurants with Mary when we were in Los Angeles. I didn’t even know why they gave me two forks. It seemed kind of wasteful to dirty an extra one. I couldn’t tell a salad or dinner fork apart to save my life.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t know, either.”

“We went to a fancy rib joint, too, and you should have seen the looks I got when I picked them up with my fingers. That’s how you eat ribs. They were using forks and knives. That’s just weird. It was a pain when I tried it.”

“I had to learn how to use silverware but I still eat a lot with my fingers. We weren’t allowed forks or knives while I lived at Mercile. We got plastic platters of food. They didn’t even give us napkins; I licked my fingers clean. Sometimes I forget to use one, despite being freed, but I eat with other Species. They don’t care or look at me strangely. Eating in front of humans makes me nervous. I worry that I’ll offend or disgust them in some way. We do like our red meat bloody.”

She smiled, liking him a lot. He was down-to-earth. “I only eat my prime rib that way. I like it real pink but not raw. I don’t mind if you eat it that way, though. To each his own. I just don’t like the taste or how chewy it is if it’s too rare.”

“You’ve eaten rare meat?”

“Not on purpose. Let’s just say my cousin married a girl who couldn’t cook and invited me to dinner. She made a roast. We ate it, but it wasn’t cooked near enough. Nobody wanted to hurt her feelings. She was trying hard to fit in, and that isn’t easy when you’re a city girl moving to a small town. I wrote her a recipe to follow before I left, told her Ray loved that version with garlic. I was real clear about the temperature and how long to keep it in the oven.”

“That was nice. You can cook?”

“As if my mama would allow me not to. She dragged me into the kitchen to help her about the time I could walk. It gave her a break when I got older, so she didn’t have to do the cooking every night. It’s just the way it is where I was raised. Women cook and clean.” She shrugged. “It’s old-school thinking. My papa did all the heavy-duty outside chores, then would drink a beer and get waited on in the evening.”