Page 11 of Grumpy Alien Boss

CHAPTER 11

OLIVIA

" Y ou're getting sloppy with your downward dog." Mel's voice cuts through my concentration at the yoga studio. "Maybe if you showed up more than once every other month, you'd improve."

I stretch deeper into the pose, my muscles protesting. "Some of us have actual jobs."

"Please. I work sixty hours a week at the gallery." Mel transitions into warrior pose. "You're just avoiding me."

"Am not." The mat squeaks under my feet as I shift positions.

"When's the last time we had wine night? Or went shopping? Or did anything?"

"I've been busy with work."

"Oh really?" Mel's eyes zero in on my neck. "Looks like the 'work' leaves marks."

My hand flies to my collar. Damn it, I thought I'd covered that one up.

"Holy shit, it is a hickey! I knew it!" Mel's voice carries across the studio, drawing stares from other yogis. "Who is he? When did this happen? Why haven't you told me anything?"

"Keep your voice down." I tug my collar higher. "Yes, I'm seeing someone."

"I knew it! You've got that freshly-fucked glow about you lately."

"Mel!"

"What? It's true. Now spill - who is this mystery man turning my best friend into a stranger?"

The instructor shoots us a stern look. I lower my voice to a whisper. "Can we maybe discuss this after class?"

"No way. You'll just run off to another 'meeting' like last time. Details. Now."

"It's... complicated."

"Translation: he's married."

"What? No!"

"Then what's the problem? Unless..." Mel gasps. "Oh my god. It's someone from work, isn't it? That's why you're being so cagey."

I focus very intently on my breathing, which only makes Mel more certain.

"It is! You're sleeping with someone from work!" She grabs my arm. "Please tell me it's that hot CEO. What's his name - Darwin Rook?"

I nearly fall out of my pose.

My face burns as I steady myself. "Keep your voice down!"

"It is him! Oh my god, Liv!"

"Yes, fine, it's Darwin. And before you start-"

"But you swore you'd never date a boss. Like, you made me pinky promise to slap you if you ever considered it."

I sink into child's pose, pressing my forehead against the mat. "I know, I know. But the chemistry... you don't understand. From day one, there was this electricity."

"Electricity? More like lightning, from the size of that hickey."

"Mel!"

"And let me guess - he pursued you? Rich guys always do."

"He can be... persuasive when he wants something."

Mel drops her voice lower. "Listen, if you're happy, I'm happy for you. But be careful, okay? Men like Darwin Rook-"

"Have reputations?"

I want to tell her she's wrong. That Dar isn't like other CEOs. That he's literally not even human. That he's fighting to save Earth from threats she can't imagine. But I just press my lips together and nod.

"Thanks, Mel." I smile at her concern. "I'll be careful."

After class, we grab green smoothies at the corner juice bar. The kale and spinach concoction tastes like lawn clippings, but Mel swears by them.

"So enough about my love life. What about yours? Still juggling the three amigos?"

"God, don't remind me." Mel stirs her smoothie with her straw. "Brad's sweet but boring, Tom's exciting but unreliable, and James... well, James is just arm candy."

"Living the dream, huh?"

"More like living the nightmare. Brad wants to talk about his stamp collection, Tom keeps standing me up for his band practice, and James can't string two sentences together."

"Sounds complicated."

"I'd trade all three of them for one decent guy." Mel takes a long sip. "Someone who actually gives a damn, you know? Like your Darwin seems to."

The mention of his name makes my cheeks flush. "He does treat me well."

"He better. Because if he hurts you, I'll march right into that fancy office of his and smack him silly."

I nearly choke on my smoothie, picturing Mel's hand bouncing off Dar's armored scales. The mental image of her face when she realizes she just tried to slap an alien warrior makes me burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." I wipe my mouth. "Just picturing you taking on Darwin. He's pretty... sturdy."

"Please. I took self-defense classes. I can handle one smug CEO."

If she only knew. The thought of Mel discovering Dar's true form makes me smile into my smoothie. Some secrets are better kept hidden.

We hit a few boutiques after our smoothies. Mel holds up a slinky red dress against herself in the mirror.

"How's your mom doing? Still trying to save you from the big bad city?"

I scroll through my phone. "Got three crime headlines just this morning. 'Woman stabbed in Central Park.' 'Gang violence erupts in Queens.' 'Tourist mugged near Times Square.'"

"Classic Helen. She'll never change."

"She means well." The excuse sounds hollow even to my ears. "She just worries."

"She smothers. Remember when she followed you to college orientation?"

"God, don't remind me. She tried to sleep in my dorm room that first night."

"You did the right thing moving here." Mel puts the dress back. "You needed space to grow. Look at you now - killer job, hot CEO boyfriend..."

"Yeah, about that job." I fidget with a rack of blouses. "The protestors are still camped outside the building. A hundred acres of rainforest, Mel. What if they're right?"

"Not touching that with a ten-foot pole." Mel holds up her hands. "I mean, I'm not some eco-terrorist, but that's a lot of trees."

"Tell me about it." My stomach churns thinking about it. If only I could explain the truth - that those acres housed an alien threat that could have destroyed half the planet. But I can't.

Mel suggests a ride to Coney Island for old time's sake. Getting a cab this time of day is tough but we manage.

The salt air hits my face as we step out of the cab at Coney Island. The familiar screech of the Cyclone's wheels mingles with gleeful screams.

"Remember sneaking out here during spring break?" Mel links her arm through mine.

"God, we thought we were so rebellious." I buy us both snow cones from a weathered cart. "Mom would've killed me if she knew."

"You were such a good girl back then." Mel licks her blue raspberry cone. "Until Tommy Martinez corrupted you behind the Cyclone."

Heat floods my cheeks. "That was my first kiss. He tasted like cotton candy and cheap beer."

"At least you kept it PG. Unlike some of us." Mel waggles her eyebrows. "Jimmy Baylan and I got to third base on the Ferris wheel."

Cherry ice sprays from my mouth. "You what?"

"Right at the top! The operator kept the ride going an extra three rounds."

"Oh my god." I double over laughing, sticky red syrup dripping down my chin. "I can't believe you never told me!"

"Hey, a lady has to keep some secrets."

My laughter fades as thoughts of my own secrets surface. Mel must notice my change in mood.

"What's wrong, Liv?"

I stare at my melting snow cone. "Darwin told me he loves me."

"Holy shit." Mel grabs my arm. "When?"

"Yesterday. After we..." I clear my throat. "You know."

"And? What did you say?"

"Nothing really. I just asked 'do you?' and left it at that."

"Liv!"

"I know, I know." I toss my snow cone in a nearby trash can. "I just... I don't know how I feel about it. Or how I should feel."

Mel leans against the railing, watching the waves crash against the shore.

"You know what's funny? I keep waiting for this moment when I'll understand what love is. Like there's going to be some divine revelation that explains everything."

"And?"

"But I'm starting to think that moment never comes for anyone. I think that we're all just doing our best to muddle along and understand what our feelings mean." She turns to face me. "When you think of him, how do you feel?"

The salty breeze whips my hair around my face as I consider her question. "Like the weight of the world isn't so heavy anymore. When I'm with him, I can just... be me. All the weird, awkward, embarrassing parts I usually try to hide? He sees them and accepts them. More than that - he seems to love those parts best."

My fingers trace patterns in the weathered wood of the railing.

"Before Darwin, everything felt like a performance. Like I had to be this perfect, polished version of myself. But with him... I don't know. He makes my world better just by being in it."

I trail off when I notice Mel staring at me, her mouth slightly open.

"That's the best description of love I've ever heard, Livvy," she says softly. "Are you sure you don't know how you feel?"

"Thanks for blowing my mind, bitch." I pull Mel into a tight hug, breathing in her familiar vanilla perfume.

"Anytime, bitch." She squeezes back just as hard. "That's what best friends are for."

We flag down separate cabs - her uptown to the gallery, me downtown to my apartment. As my taxi pulls away from the curb, I watch her yellow cab merge into traffic until it disappears around a corner.

The ride home gives me time to process our conversation. My fingers absently trace the hickey on my neck as I replay Dar's words in my head. I love you. Three simple words that scared me speechless at the time.

But Mel helped put things in perspective. The way my heart races when Dar enters a room. How safe I feel when he takes control. The electricity that crackles between us with just a look. The fact that I can be completely myself with him - both the fierce and submissive sides of my personality.

Maybe what I feel for my dominant alien boss is love after all. The thought should terrify me, but instead it fills me with a warm certainty.

The cab pulls up to my building and I hand the driver my fare. As I step onto the sidewalk, my phone buzzes with a text from Dar:

Missing you.

My heart skips a beat. Yeah, this is definitely love.