The Invisible Planet

Part 31: Bad Form

Angeline sat irritably through dinner with Marita and Mikal, staying quiet to avoid sounding rude. The pressure of her quickly approaching date with Aster had her feeling impatient and anxious.

By the time dinner was done, the sun had set. She thanked them for the meal and headed back to her house with a few of the Zumtaya fruit in Marita's small basket and a small lantern filled with glowing yellow stones to light her way.

She opened her door and set the basket and lantern on her counter with a sigh. He had said after dinner, which didn't leave her much time to—

"Nice place."

She shrieked, knocking the basket to the floor as she whipped around. Shay leaned beside the door with an amused look on his face as she glared at him.

"Get out," she snapped.

"Are you still avoiding me, Angel?" he asked, ignoring her.

"Yes. Get out."

He cocked his head with a frown. "Why?"

"Aster's coming over. He'll be here any minute."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, we're still with human boy, are we?"

"We aren't anything. In case you forgot, I'm human too. Get. Out," she said slower.

"I don't see why I can't keep the two of you company."

"Three's a crowd." She crossed her arms.

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"Because I am. Why are you in my house?" she countered.

"How else am I supposed to get a moment to talk to you when you're avoiding me?"

She scoffed. "You're not. That's kind of the whole point."

"Why is he coming over at this hour?"

She narrowed her eyes. Surely he knew, he just wanted to see her fumble over the answer. "Because he wants to sleep with me."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Does he?"

"Mhm."

"And you want to sleep with him?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Mm. But you're not going to," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Why not?"

"Well, it's bad form," he replied with a frown, taking a step toward her.

"What is?"

He took another step, nearly invading her personal space. "To sleep with a man, when you've just been kissing another."

"What're you talking ab—" she trailed off with a light gasp as he took her cheek in his hand, watching as he moved in and pressed his lips to hers. Her heart erupted like fireworks in her chest.

His hand moved to her neck and his other to her waist, pulling her closer as he kissed her deeply. She could feel his heartbeat beneath the muscles on his chest as he trailed soft kisses from her lips to her neck. Her breath caught and she clutched his waist, tugging him against her as she wrapped one leg around his. He grabbed her by the hips and lifted her onto the countertop. She felt as if she might die if she didn't have him right then.

Her thighs locked tight around his waist as he kissed her again, passionately. She lifted the edge of his shirt, untucking it from his pants to feel his skin beneath her fingers.

He broke the kiss with a smile, meeting her eyes. "Are you going to get that?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" It took her a few seconds more to register through the daze that she had heard a knock. Her eyes grew wide and heat rushed to her face as she pushed him back and slid off the counter. He stepped behind the door with a smug grin as she opened it just a crack.

Aster stood outside, holding a small bundle of flowers. The sight of them made her smile. "Hello, beautiful," he said.

"Um... I'm so sorry," she began. "Now's not a good time. I'm not feeling well."

"No?" he asked with worry. "Should I bring you something? Soup, or—"

"No, no. I-I think it's just cramps," she said with a forced grin. "Maybe another time? I'm just gonna go to bed."

"Of course. I hope the sleep helps." He offered her the flowers. "These are for you."

"Thank you," she said, reaching for them. No one had ever given her flowers before, and they were lovely. She felt a pang of guilt for turning him away.

"Goodnight, beautiful."

"Goodnight." She closed the door with a deep exhale and turned to find her house empty. "Oh, you fucking asshole," she muttered under her breath. She checked around the corner to be sure he was gone before she set her flowers down and began to pick up the spilled fruit from the floor.

Bad form, he'd said. He was right, which was the only thing keeping her from calling Aster back. The poor man didn't deserve that.

Shay, on the other hand...

She couldn't help picturing the look on his face if she decided to sleep with Aster. Would he be angry? Jealous? She wanted to scream that he didn't have the right. To reject her was one thing, but now he was simply stringing her along.

The realization that she was doing the same to Aster gave her a twinge of guilt. Was that all she was to him? Someone to string along out of a twisted need for comfort and attention?

She collapsed onto her bed with a groan and buried her face in her pillow, breathing in deeply and exhaling a frustrated scream before she composed herself. If this was the game he wanted to play, then she had no choice but to play along.