Page 10 of Alien on the Moon (Thryal Mates #3)

Rylan

After lunch, Rylan oversaw the clearing of the cafeteria for the welcome celebration. Kyn and Stiya hung up streamers while his cooks prepared their best holiday dishes. They set up a dance floor in the center of the room and covered the surrounding walls with portable holo-screens.

Some of the scientists on the base played instruments while others could sing, so they formed something of a band. He had initially suggested that they just stream music, but the musically inclined had shot that down. When else would they get the opportunity to play for royalty?

Elena sidled up to him as he watched them all work. “Carmen and Arccoo want me to tell you that you didn’t have to go to all this effort for them.”

He shook his head. “Of course I did. This place isn’t much, but a royal visitation from the crown prince deserves a royal celebration.” He glanced around. “Where are they?”

“I left them to freshen up and rest in their rooms before the party. Travel like that takes a lot out of you, so I wanted to let them relax for a bit.” Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. “I guess you’re stuck with me then.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He pursed his lips, trying to figure out how to phrase the next question. “Have they said anything about the project? Reading emotions is not my strong suit, so I couldn’t quite tell how they felt about it when I was with them earlier.”

“Carmen is impressed.” She shrugged. “I guess you expected that, though. It’s hard not to be when you come from a planet like ours. Arccoo has always been more stoic, so he’s harder to read.”

“If you had to guess, though…”

“I’d say that he’s on our side. He wants this to succeed, but I can tell he’s holding back on something, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s a problem with the council. But with the progress we’ve made, I don’t see how they could defund us.”

He nodded, supposing he should have expected that answer. The prince would reveal his plans. Rylan just had to be patient until it was time. “And if they end the project?” he asked, hating himself for the feeling of bitterness welling in his chest.

The prince’s support could make or break this project, and he was far from an expert in Rylan’s field. He might not understand what progress looked like because it wasn’t going to yield immediate results.

She looked up at him and offered a weak smile. “Well, we’ll always have Kheros, I guess. Unless—unless you’d want to keep in touch after.” Something so hopeful lingered in her gaze that his heart clenched. Didn’t she know what he felt for her?

“Of course.” He leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. “Even if this project ends, I have no intention of ending things between us.”

“Good. Because I don’t, either,” she said, though the relief in her voice was palpable. Was she really so afraid that he was nothing but a fair-weather lover?

He kissed her again, harder this time, and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself flush against him.

“Whoo!” a familiar voice interrupted their moment.

Elena leaped back as though she’d been bitten as Sofia approached with a teasing grin spread across her face.

“Is that really necessary?” Elena grumbled, her face flushing adorably.

“As your sister, it is my god-given right to embarrass you in front of all boyfriends.” She turned to Rylan. “Just like it’s my god-given right to threaten anyone who hurts my little sister with extreme bodily harm. Carmen won’t do it because she’s royalty, and those threats might accidentally be taken seriously, but I have no such limitations.”

Elena rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you already threaten him at lunch?”

“I just think it bears repeating. Do not fuck with the Flores sisters.”

Rylan chuckled. “I wasn’t planning on it.” He liked Sofia’s spirit. She struck him as fiery and willing to stop at nothing to make sure her family was safe. He didn’t have much living family, but if he did, he knew he would be the same way.

He was so glad Elena had that. No matter what happened to him, she had people to love and protect her. Maybe soon, they would accept him into this family unit they had formed.

Using two fingers, Sofia pointed at her eyes and then at him. It was clearly an Earth gesture, but the meaning was obvious across languages. I’m watching you.

“Anyway,” Sofia said brightly, her tone changing as abruptly as the subject. “Everyone is awake now, so Carmen wanted to know if we could do anything to help.”

Rylan shook his head. “We have things well in hand here.” He gave Elena’s shoulder a squeeze. “You should go, though. Spend time with your family.”

Smiling, she stretched up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Call me if you need me.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry. I can plan a single party. Family is far more important.”

He watched Elena leave with her sister and sighed. As a kid, he longed desperately for a sibling, but his mother nearly died carrying him, and after she passed, his father never remarried and never had any more children. He understood why, but it didn’t stop his childhood from being lonely.

Shaking his head, he returned to his work. After all, he had a party to plan.

The band ate first so that they could play during the party itself. Once they were all ready, he called Elena and told her to bring her family. The band started up as they entered the room.

The others all made noises of appreciation, but he was most focused on Elena. She took it all in with wide-eyed wonder.

In addition to the physical decorations, he’d set up holo-screens to make it look as though they were in the middle of a forest. The streamers hanging from the ceiling gave the appearance of jungle vines and the birdsong complemented the band’s music.

“What do you think?” he asked.

Her face broke out into a wide smile. “This is wonderful. Your planet’s technology never ceases to amaze me.”

He turned to the prince and his wife. “I know this is nothing like the palace, but I hope you enjoy our humble gathering.”

The prince smiled. “I’ll be honest; I prefer humble parties like this to the grand snobbery of palace balls.”

Carmen smiled and wrapped her arm around her husband’s waist. “Agreed.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Rylan kept his posture straight, but internally, he sagged with relief. He’d never met the previous prince, but he heard that the royal could be a piece of work, so Rylan was glad that Prince Arccoo seemed much more polite.

“Did you hire the band?” Sofia asked. “I didn’t expect you to have live music.”

Rylan beamed with pride. “In addition to being brilliant scientists, many in my team are accomplished musicians. They insisted on playing for the prince and his family.”

“Well, let’s not waste the music then.” Sofia grabbed Zaraq’s hand. “Let’s dance.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” Carmen said, grabbing the prince and pulling him onto the dance floor.

“We’ve been taught to revere our princes and kings almost as gods,” Rylan said as he watched Prince Arccoo’s human bride dance playfully in a circle around her husband. “I’ll admit that it’s strange to watch you treat our crown prince like an equal.”

“Arccoo has never been one for pomp and circumstance,” Elena said. “I think a part of the reason he fell for Carmen—aside from how awesome she is in general, of course—is that she treats him like everyone else. Where we come from, the people choose who is in charge, and they only rule for a short period of time.” She grimaced. “For better and worse.”

Judging by her expression, she wasn’t interested in pursuing that topic any further, so he didn’t ask her to elaborate. Instead, he focused on the dancers as they laughed and moved in rhythm to the music.

He held out a hand. “May I have this dance?”

Elena’s blue eyes widened, and her cheeks colored. “Oh, uh, I-I don’t dance.” She gestured to her sisters. Carmen moved with an easy grace while Sofia’s energy was unmatched. “I’m not like them. I have no sense of rhythm and have no idea where to start.”

He chuckled. “To be honest, I’m not much of a dancer myself. I’m terrible at it. But with the right partner, I thought we could have fun being terrible together.”

“I…” Her gaze slid to the dance floor, where she stared with longing for a moment before turning back to him. “Fuck it. Let’s dance.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the floor to dance among her family and the rest of the scientists. Carmen and Sofia cheered when they saw her and Rylan join them.

At first, it was awkward. Neither of them seemed to know where to put their hands and feet or what moves to make. Should they just shimmy and sway or should they make up moves based on the lyrics to the songs?

“Waltz,” Carmen said as she shimmied past.

He blinked. “What was that?”

Rolling her eyes affectionately, Elena smiled. “She said waltz. It’s a very simple Earth dance. Traditionally, the guy leads, but I can do it first to demonstrate.”

“Anything’s better than flailing around awkwardly,” he replied.

“Agreed.” Elena smiled. “So, since you’re following this time, put your hand on my shoulder. I’ll put mine on your waist. And then, we hold each other’s hands with the empty ones.”

He did as she said. One hand went on her shoulder and the other took her free hand. “Like this?”

She nodded. “Now, we move in a box to a rhythm of three beats. I lead and you follow. Ready?” She began to move. “One, two, three. One, two, three. You’re getting it.”

He smiled. “I have an excellent teacher.”

“Now, let’s try a twirl. Hold up your hand and I’ll spin out, and then spin back in.”

He did as she said, lifting her hand and letting her twirl away from him and then back to his arms. She looked up at him through her lashes. “Are you ready to try leading?”

“I think so. Forgive me if I step on your toes.” He readjusted his grip, holding her waist while she held his shoulder.

“Are you kidding? That’s half the fun.” They danced in their little box, and the world faded away. It was just him and Elena stepping in rhythm to the music.

“Did you know that the waltz was scandalous when it was first invented?” she asked, breaking some of the spell.

He raised his eyebrows. “This? How could this possibly be scandalous?” He was certainly enjoying the time and close proximity with Elena, as always, but it hardly seemed scandalous. Of course, the gentle scent of her hair and the feel of her body under his palm were nothing to complain about.

“The first thing you need to know about Earth culture is that we’re very sexually repressed. It’s gotten better in recent decades, but back then, the barest hint of sexuality used to be enough to cause a conniption. And this…”

She pressed herself close to him, close enough for him to feel his member begin to strain against his pants, aroused by her nearness. She glanced down at it and then smirked. “Chest to chest. Practically crotch to crotch. You can see the effect it has on…certain people.”

He pressed a kiss to her lips, bending her backward in a dip. With an appreciative moan, she wrapped her arms around him and nibbled on his lip. Her sisters whistled in the background, but he ignored them, righting Elena.

Her cheeks were beautifully flushed, and her lips were engorged with desire. She smirked. “Now you get it.”

They all danced until they were breathless, their feet throbbing with every step. Then they grabbed dinner at the buffet he had set up. He had broken into the base’s alcohol supply for this occasion, and all imbibed but Carmen and Prince Arccoo. As the future king and queen of Thryal, they didn’t want to risk a scandal by getting too drunk.

Sofia, Zaraq, and Elena had no such qualms. “Rylan, have you heard of a game called beer pong?” Sofia asked. Her green eyes were bright with mischief.

Her partner grinned, looking equally impish. “Sofia introduced me, and trust me, you’re going to love it.”

“Couple versus couple?” Elena grabbed his arm, and he really began to wonder what he was in for. But if she wanted to play, he would play.

“Do we have anything we can use like a ball?” Sofia asked.

Elena shrugged. “We can try flipping a coin into it. I have my lucky quarter from Earth. We can just wash it off.”

For a moment, Sofia looked disgusted. But then she just shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

As Elena ran off to grab her coin, Zaraq set up the game while Sofia explained the rules to Rylan. “So, it’s pretty simple,” she said. “You throw a coin into a cup filled halfway with alcohol. Every time you land one in, you have to drink it. The first one out of cups wins.”

“Seems easy enough,” he replied.

She grinned. “You say that. Just wait until you’re halfway through the game.”

Elena returned with the coin, and they got to playing. Sofia went first, flicking the coin from her hand and sending it sailing into a cup. She and Zaraq high-fived. Then it was Zaraq’s turn. He got it in as well, meaning that they had a strong start. Rylan and Elena would have to work hard to catch up.

As Sofia predicted, the alcohol started going to his head halfway through the game, making everything pleasantly light and floaty. Elena, being much smaller than him, was already swaying slightly and slurring her words a little bit from her successful landings.

And soon, it was down to just one cup on either side. The two couples were well and truly drunk, squinting carefully as they took aim and missed their targets. By now, a crowd had gathered around them, curious about the game and the fierce competition between two drunk couples.

Rylan was the last to go. He took a moment, focused, tried to clear his inebriated mind, and flicked the coin. It seemed to move in slow motion, the light glinting off each side as it sailed through the air. And then, with a plop, it landed in Zaraq and Sofia’s final cup.

The crowd went wild. Rylan drank the last of their cup before picking up Elena and kissing her as he spun in a circle. When he set her down, Sofia and Zaraq bowed to him in a tipsy show of respect.

“Nice work,” Prince Arccoo said, patting Rylan’s shoulder. “I hereby name you beer pong champion.”

Once again, the crowd went wild with cheers. Elena pulled him down into another kiss. “My handsome champion.”