Bridget's Bane: A SciFi Alien Romance Page 8
"How do we pick our partners?" S'ssah speaks up, looking around the group. His tail lashes, and I can tell from his stance that he is uncomfortable. For a moment, I feel bad for him. On an entire beach full of bickering clans, he is from the sa-khui tribe. All his tribe brothers are much older and mated. He does not have anyone like I have U'dron, O'jek and I'rec. Worst of all, the female he liked left this camp and went to the Croatoan camp because she played too many games and made the hunters fight amongst themselves.
Perhaps I should take him under my wing, show him how to tease the females and get them to pay attention to him. D'see would be good with this, too, I think. She has a kind spirit.
L'ren and W'lla exchange looks. W'lla shrugs. "Depends on if you guys want it to be random or if you want to pick your partners."
"I want to be with Taushen," Buh-brukh declares, putting her arm around her mate's waist.
Bek scowls at all of us and holds his fragile mate closer to his side. "I am not playing if I must pick another. Ell-ee is the only partner I wish."
I do not think anyone will fight him on that. His mate is tiny and fragile, and rarely speaks without her mate at her side. I cannot imagine her as my partner. "Then it is just the rest of us? The females should decide, then."
"However y'all wanna do it," W'lla says with a shrug. "Once all the teams are chosen, we'll assign you colors and we can start the first round, which will be fishing, since we're all here on the beach due to the weather."
L'ren claps her hands, grinning. "This is exciting!"
D'see claps, too. F'lor merely scans the group, her hands on her hips, as if she is deciding who the best partner will be. I glance over at B'shit, but she is not looking over at me. She is looking determinedly ahead. Will she choose me, then, if she picks? Her gaze flicks over to me, and I suddenly feel confident that yes, she will.
I stand a little taller, feeling smug. Five days of tasks with B'shit at my side? She will need to talk to me if she wants to win. I like this. I can make her see that I am the right mate for her. I can win her over, and by day five, she will be in my furs and begging for kisses. I rub my hands together, pleased.
"Let's do reverse alphabetical order on the names, then. Flor, you pick first, then Daisy, and then Bridget," L'ren instructs. "Whoever is left will partner up themselves.”
"I get to go first? Nice!" F'lor bounds forward, moving to stand at the front of the group. She pretends to consider each male as she walks past us, tapping her chin, and then reaches over to squeeze R'jaal's bicep, which makes his color flush. A low ripple of laughter moves through the group. I expect her to pick him—R'jaal is a good hunter, for all that he is Tall Horn, but she moves to S'ssah's side and takes his hand in hers, dragging him forward. "I pick him!"
S'ssah gives her a wide smile, looking pleased to be the first one picked.
"Well that makes my choice easy," D'see says. "I pick A'tam." She beams at me.
I bite back a curse. I do not want D'see as my partner, not in this. I want to spend the next few days with B'shit at my side, but D'see is determined to make her jealous still, it seems. I fight back my frustration and move to go stand next to D'see, glancing over at B'shit.
My female looks less than pleased, but she holds her chin aloft. She considers the three males left, and then gestures at O'jek. "You're my partner."
I…do not know how I feel about that. I do not like it, or the smirk that curves O'jek's mouth as he goes to stand next to her. He stands a little too close, I decide. I step forward, ready to push him away from her, but W'lla thrusts a red-colored scrap of leather into my hands.
"You're red team," she says to me and D'see. "Go to your marked fishing spot. You have until the sunset to catch as many fish as you can with the gear provided."
I glance back at B'shit, but D'see tugs my arm and pulls me away.
“That means R’jaal and I’rec are partners,” L’ren says.
As I pass by R'jaal, he looks at I'rec with an expression of pure disgust. I'rec just sighs.
12
BRIDGET
I must be a sadist. Surely that's the reason why I signed up to do this horrible contest and spend all day around O'jek while A'tam flirts with Daisy. I must love torturing myself. I must love putting myself into miserable situations for some reason.
Day one of the contest seems to go by excruciatingly slow. After teams are picked and we're given our colored arm bands, we head down to the beach to the marked spot. There, we're given a net and two fishing poles and tackle, and our task is to catch as many fish as possible before sunset. Since some fish are bigger than others, it won't really be a contest of how many fish, but how many handspans of fish. I can get three tiny fish or one large fish and get the same number of points, and that makes me feel a little better. I'm not so wimpy that I can't pull in a few small fish, and I know my way around a tackle box, thanks to a few summers at camp. The tackle we've been given is decent, finger-sized, slender rocks to use as weights and bone hooks. The spot we're at is decent, too. There's a little tide pool nearby and some scattered rocks that extend out into the water that I can stand on to fish, instead of just lurking at the shore.
"I think I can work with this," I say cheerily to O'jek as we pick through our supplies.
He grabs the net and stalks out to the waves, not saying a thing to me.
"Don't worry," I call with fake enthusiasm. "I'll hold up my end. No sweat." Under my breath, I add, "Dick." And I grab the fishing gear and head to the tide pool. With my hands, I catch one of the plentiful shrimp-like creatures and use it for bait on my hook, only gagging a little (just a little!) as I prep my fishing rod. I'm determined to catch enough that even O'jek won't be able to complain.
I should have picked R'jaal for a partner. He's pleasant to be around, and he's sweet. It's just…I know O'jek won't read anything into me being his partner. He barely tolerates being around me, probably convinced that I'm being a cocktease to A'tam. He won't look at me as a potential mate, and I think R'jaal might, if I show preference for him.
And there's absolutely no way I'm picking I'rec. He's an arrogant jackass.
So I'm stuck with O'jek for the next five days. Silent, surly O'jek. Fun times.
I pick my way out onto the rocks, add the weight for my fishing line, which is made of a strong but very thin braided sinew, and I cast out my bait, then settle down on the rocks to wait. I'm high enough up that the worst of the waves don't splash me, which is nice, and I tuck my legs under me, getting comfortable. I glance down the beach, checking out the competition, and discover the big drawback to this particular spot.
We're right next to Daisy and A'tam.
And they're…disgusting.
As I watch, Daisy squeals in horror as A'tam baits a hook, her eyes wide. He's using one of the wriggling shrimp, too, and she reaches out to touch it with a finger, then shrieks and giggles again as it moves. A'tam laughs, too, his head thrown back like he's having the best time, and his tail sways back and forth with his amusement.
I want a rogue wave to drench them both.
I glare at the water, waiting for my bait to get something's attention, and tease the line a little to mimic movement. I can't help but constantly look over at A'tam and Daisy as the minutes tick past. O'jek's out in the water up to his chest, throwing the net over and over again. I'm sure he's bringing in fish, and I guess I should be paying attention, but I watch A'tam and Daisy instead. A'tam shows her how to use a fishing rod, his arms going around her. They make their way out onto another rocky outcropping, and I clench my jaw a little as he holds her delicate hand, helping her maneuver out to a good spot. He's just being a good team mate, I tell myself. If I'd picked him as my team mate, he'd be holding my hand, maybe, and laughing with me.
And then, of course, he'd think we're back together, pull out his Godzilla dick, and try and cram it in my ‘petite’ vagina, and then I'd be right back to square one with him. And I…don't know what I want, but I know I don't want that.
Frustrated, I turn back to fishing, staring glumly at the water as I let my morose thoughts carry me away. I stare at the waves for hours, determined not to look at Daisy and A'tam and how much fun their having. Bad enough that I have to hear snatches of it whenever one of them laughs…which is often.
At some point, my line jerks, so forceful that it nearly pulls my fishing rod out of my hands. With a startled yelp, I grab my pole and cling to it as the fish on the other end makes his displeasure known and starts to fight.
O'jek swims up to my side. "Do you need help?"
I ignore him. Maybe it's the word “help” or maybe it's the dismissive way he says it, but I hear my mother's voice in my head. You can't finish anything on your own. You're just like your father. You never commit to anything. Someone always has to pick up the pieces that you scatter.
Yeah, well, I don't need O'jek's help. He's ignored me all day so far. I'm not going to humiliate myself by letting him take my catch and the credit. So I grit my teeth and lock my arm around the pole, putting the force of my weight on it as I hold on. The fish on the other end of the line is strong as hell, dragging me forward a step or two, until I get the idea that I need to lie down on my pole and use gravity to help me bring it in. After all, he'll eventually tire himself out, right? Isn't that how fishing works on the TV shows when they have a big catch?
O'jek remains close to the rock I'm on, though he doesn't do anything else. "You are not doing it right," he finally offers when my fishing rod nearly surges out of my hands again. "Let me—"
"I've got it," I snap. I have to be good at something, right? I have to be able to commit. I can't just bail out on everything when it's hard. So I grit my teeth and hold tighter, even though the rod is threatening to jump out of my grip and a rough spot on the pole is tearing at my hands.
Off to the side, O'jek just makes a noise that sounds like irritation, and I hear him swim away.
In the next moment, my rod jerks again, and before I know what's happening, I slide face-first into the water. I smack my cheek on something that wriggles—probably the fish itself—and then I'm in the water, flailing and gasping.
"B'shit!" calls a voice. "Are you all right?"
It's A'tam. I open my mouth to speak, and cough salt water instead, pushing my hair out of my face. Strong arms wrap around me and A'tam hauls me to the shore.
"Let me go," I protest, ashamed that I'm being hauled around like I'm useless. "I can walk."
"You swallowed water," he says, ignoring my request. "And it is cold. Let me get you to shore."
I feel like everyone's staring at me as he takes me onto the sand and gently deposits me there. I'm so humiliated. Back in the waves, O'jek stares at us with a frown on his face, and I know what he's thinking—he's regretting that I picked him as my partner. "Thanks," I say to A'tam, and wish it didn't sound so damn grudging. It's not his fault that I hate showing weakness.
A look of worry crosses his face as he touches my cheek. "You are bleeding."
I brush his hand away. "I think the fins scraped me. I swear I'm fine."
"Do not be angry," he murmurs. "I am simply trying to help."
"I don't need your help." Everyone's going to look at me like I'm weak and useless. Compound this onto the whole “rescue by A'tam” and the tribe's going to be talking about us for weeks now. I think of a fresh round of smirks and whispers behind my back and I want to just cry. "Just go back to your partner, okay?"
A'tam watches me for an angry moment and then storms back to Daisy's side. I swipe at my wet cheek and a smear of pinkish blood coats the back of my hand. It stings a little, which means I should probably go see Veronica, but it can wait. The last thing I want is to seem like a big baby at the slightest scratch and give up. I need to be made of sterner stuff.
With another irritated swipe at my cheek, I shiver at the cold wind. I'm not leaving until the contest is over, I decide. I just need to suck it up and get back to work. I climb up the rocks again, gritting my teeth, because it's a lot harder to be agile when wet leather is sticking to your body. The cold is incredibly unpleasant, but it won't kill me. As I move back to my spot, I watch as O'jek chases down my pole. The bone rod floats atop the water, practically pointing an arrow at my fish that's still zooming around in the shallows. He finally grabs it and reaches under the waves, then comes up with my fish. It's an ugly, plated monstrosity. It's also barely the size of my arm, which is depressing given that it felt like a whale on the end of the rod.
O'jek unhooks it and heads to shore with my catch, holding my pole up to me to take again. I grab it from him and nearly spear my hand with the barbed hook.
I'm apparently as terrible at fishing as I am at pottery and everything else.
13
BRIDGET
Even though it's an utterly miserable afternoon, I stick to my guns and manage to catch a few fish. Most of them are smaller, since I keep my fishing efforts nearer to the tide pools. I don't bring in anything like O'jek does, who, with his net, hauls in three enormous fish and a host of smaller ones.
We end up squarely in the middle of the pack. R'jaal and I'rec catch the most, and F'lor and Sessah catch nothing at all. They're full of giggles, having too much fun cutting up, playing pranks on one another, and generally being clowns to actually get any fish. They're out, but they also don't seem to care all that much.
A'tam and Daisy catch a few, which means they're still in the competition.
"If the weather's nice tomorrow," Lauren announces as the men string up the fish by their gills, "we'll do the hunting portion of the contest. If not, we'll proceed to cooking." She claps her hands, gesturing at the fish. "For now, though, bring your catches to the fire and we'll have a big fish fry for dinner!"
"Wait!" a voice cries, and Devi rushes forward, her eyes wide. "I have to catalog everything before you cook it! Just in case there's something new! Let me see your catches!"
Someone groans, but the men obediently put down their hauls so Devi can pick through them.
I turn to O'jek, shivering. "I'm going to put some warm clothes on."
He gives me a blank look. "Why do you tell me?"
Right. We're not friends, we're just working together to try and win a knife and then fight over it, I suppose. Something tells me that if we win, I wouldn't walk away with it anyhow. O'jek would want it, and to be fair to him, he would get a lot more use out of it than me since he hunts a lot.
Why am I doing this ridiculous contest again? Oh right, because I wanted to show everyone I'm not messed up over A'tam. Yeah, that's going great for me so far. Really working out well.
A short time later, I'm back by the fire, shivering despite my change into warm clothes, and I wrap my hands around a cup of tea, not caring that it's so hot that it's practically burning my hands. It feels good. I watch everyone as they clean fish nearby, and Devi swoops in and steals the heads of two of the fish, racing triumphantly over to her mate N'dek's side so she can chatter eagerly about them. I really envy her happiness, I think, as I watch her and N'dek together. She's got the goofiest hobby but no one cares. N'dek supports her in everything she does. She adores being here and loves her mate. Everything's turned out just perfectly for her.
I'm not even jealous, I'm just sad. I'm going to end up like my mother, picking the wrong guy and suffering the consequences of it for years and years. I'm going to end up miserable and alone, even on an ice planet where there's barely enough men to field a football team. How my mother would laugh. She'd tell me it's everything I deserve, because my mother's bitter down to her pointe shoes.
I wonder if I'm cursed to be just as miserable as she is. Depressing thought.
The ones that didn't participate in the contest scale the fish, chatting happily, and I see Sam and Steph chuckling about something as they work. Nearby, Harlow sits with Liz's girls and her son and shows them how to scrape a fish, while Vaza stirs the tea over the fire, glancing at Gail, who's nursing their son, Z'hren. S
eated on one of the biggest stones, Callie embroiders the collar of a tunic while her mate braids her hair. She talks to Mari and Penny, both of whom have their mates nearby. Hannah leans on J'shel's shoulder, and somewhere in the distance, I hear Veronica's new baby crying.
There are people coming and going, and it's just another cheery, crowded night around the fire. No one's seated next to me, even though there's plenty of room, and I tell myself that it's just my imagination. No one's avoiding me. I know this in my heart, but the small, defiant part of me worries that everyone in the tribe hates me somehow.
But then Lauren drops onto the seat next to me, a wry look on her face. "I didn't think we'd catch quite this many fish today. It's a lot. Like a lot, lot."
I smile at that. Lauren's been my friend since the first day. Just having her sit next to me makes me feel like less of a pariah. "Where's K'thar?"
"Talking to Vordis and Thrand. Something about fighting moves." She shrugs and opens her collar, revealing the tiny, naked, bat-like creature that's K'thar's pet. His name is Kki, which sounds more like a hissing-click than a name, but he's got big, dark eyes and clings to Lauren's neck in a way that's adorable. Since he's cold a lot he's wearing a fuzzy little vest she made for him, and he tucks himself under her hair, chittering in irritation.
I reach out a finger to pet him, but Kki hisses at me, and I pull back.
Lauren grimaces. "He gets pissy when he's hungry. Sorry. He'll calm a bit when I get some food in him. Hold my seat? I'm gonna see if I can snatch a bit of fish if it's ready."
"I'll be here," I say.
She heads across the camp and I sip my tea, feeling a little better about things. A moment later, another person drops onto the seat next to me, and then a heavy fur lands across my shoulders.
I look over, and A'tam frowns at me. "You look like you are still cold."