Page 17 of His Human Rebel
The red lipstick from this morning is partially gone now and I don’t feel the need to reapply. I’m on a ranch, after all. No need to look like I’m going clubbing when I’m going out to the barn. I do rummage around in my bag and find hair ties and I quickly pull my hair back into a neat ponytail.
I like this outfit, but I still have boobs that might be considered “messy” because they’re a bit too big and there’s a definite a roll in my back and even though my stomach is firmer because of the baby, my waist is still thick. But this man thinks I’m beautiful? He said I’m beautiful, which I’ve never heard in my life. I’ve heard “if you lost weight, you’d be beautiful” but Rake Flagstone thinks I’m sexy just the way I am.
I’ve been overweight since my teenage years and this is basically the shape I was born with and I don’t have grand plans of changing. Personally, I think I look damn good like this and it’s nice to know that Rake sees me the way I see myself, which is a nice change of pace.
Yet another reason why I have to give him a chance.
My stomach grumbles as I make my way downstairs. I find Rake in the kitchen, programming a cleaning bot.
“Oh, it’s cute.”
“We’ve got only this one.”
I shrug. “I’m grateful to have one. On New Earth that’s brand-new technology that not that many people can afford. I’ve never had a cleaning bot. It’s something I’ve heard about and wondered if I’d ever have one.”
“It’s very easy to program.” He takes a few minutes to show me and it’s indeed easy. The bot has its own utility closet behind the kitchen where it charges overnight. Nice.
“Oh, there’s another chair? Where did this come from? It wasn’t here before.”
“I had it in the garage, almost done. I went in and finished putting it together.”
“While I was upstairs you hammered this together for me, so I’d have somewhere to sit?”
“Yes.”
And suddenly I feel like doing something nice for him in return. “Do you want me to program a Hyrrokin meal for the both of us to eat for lunch? I wouldn’t mind trying food you like the best.”
“Can we instead have human food? I would enjoy that greatly. This dispenser can make human food, but I don’t know how to program it or what to ask for, so I’ve never used that option.”
“Yeah, that’s no problem.” I tap at the screen and see that I’m able to make pretty much all of my favorite foods. “This is wonderful. Do you want something to drink first while you wait for the food?”
“Fire ale.”
I blink with surprise because I have no idea what that is and it sounds unsafe. But I tap on the screen with trepidation and when it dings to let me know the drink is ready, I open the door to the dispenser and cry out with fear and step back because the mug is spewing fire on top.
Rake laughs and moves me aside to grab his drink. He blows out the flame and takes a hearty drink. “You’ll have to try one of these later.”
“But I can’t drink something that’s on fire.”
He gives me a molten glance. “I’ll put out your flame for you. I’ll be the male who always puts out all your flames.”
I covertly use my hand to fan at myself because this guy is so hot. “Well, okay…” Then I program myself a soda. I make the both of us chicken quesadillas, my favorite.
Soon we are both eating, sitting side by side on stools at the kitchen counter. He loves the human food I prepared and eats so much I make him seconds.
I start chatting with him again, asking specific questions as if this were a job interview. I need to know more about him if I’m going to make this guy my husband. I pull out a highly important question. “You don’t expect me to do all the cooking and cleaning?”
He puts down his mug. “No, why would I expect that?”
“Because I’m a woman.”
“I don’t understand. Is this a gender designation within your species on your home world?”
“It is. Women are left in the home to cook, clean and tend children.”
“It seems unproductive. On Tarvos, there do seem to be more women than men who work with younglings. There are more men than women in jobs that take strength. But mainly beings work wherever their talents take them. I have mainly all males out here right now and only two ranch hands that are females. But I’m used to women and men taking on all roles. At the moment, our president is female and the head of the Royal State is Queen Rebycca.”
“Do you think males and females are equal?”