28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Telke

Winnie seems to be happy. She is chatting with other teaching staff while a few males help me with putting the equipment away.

It is a great session of floatball. I hope everyone had fun.

I wanted to chase and play with everyone, but I'd probably ruin it for them. It took me a while to get used to bumping into beings and things when I play, so I don't expect them to enjoy that out of the gate.

I pick up one of the buckets with bats, heading to the storage room while a few drive the gaming ships back to the room from the other side.

It has been a while since I got to play a bit, though, which is more than what I expected. Maybe even the principal can have good ideas at times.

After we pick up everything, I lock the door of the warehouse. It stores sportswear, so there are only two keys, one with me and one with the principal, in case I call in sick from work.

I take a step back and watch the warehouse. Just the look of it still sends my heart racing and my arms jittering for some action.

Anyway, that is it for today. It is getting dark here already, and we can't be playing sports that include a quickly flying ball.

I blow the whistle. "Everyone, thank you for being here. We should get going so the guards can lock the door to the school."

We pick up our things from the benches and head to the door. Winnie is by my side once again. She is staring at the ground, though. Maybe she still doesn't want to talk to me.

But we've been fine earlier in the day and during the practice...

She turns to me. "Hey... How are you?"

"Good? That should be my question for you."

She puts up a smile, which... either she's tired from floatball, or she's tired of me. I still think I'm a pretty cool male, but maybe she disagrees. "I'm hungry."

My cock twitches even though I know she means dinner. "We had a good day of floatball."

She nods, covering her mouth as she yawns. "We did."

I wriggle my toes as we walk. It feels like the air is freezing around us and I hate it.

The school gate is a few minutes from us. We should decide where to go soon. The others are around, everyone making their way to the parking lot or somewhere. But I don't know where I'm going.

Maybe I should ask if Winnie wants dinner together. I still want to talk to her, and I doubt there'll be a better chance later. "So... Do you have plans?"

"For the evening?"

"Yes."

She tilts her head to the side and eyes me up and down. "Are you ready to buy me tacos?"

"You're still thinking about that, huh? From the morning?"

She shrugs. "I scored a point. You didn't."

I blink. I didn't because I didn't even try, wanting to give others the chance. "You weren't even looking at the ball."

"That means I'm even better than you imagined."

Um... At a glance, that seems to make sense. "But you lucked it."

"So, do you not count that as a goal in a competition if there's luck involved?"

I scratch my head. I guess... "Fine, I suppose you did earn a point."

"And the winner gets tacos."

I huff. "Fine. Let's go to the taco place then."

She grins and that warms me. That'd make us equal after I made her buy me taco last time.

I resist the urge to hold her hand. "You can have as many as you want."

She watches me. "Are you sure about that?"

My eyes drift to her stomach, resisting the urge to pat that. "How many tacos can you fit inside this body?"

She huffs. "A lot more than you can afford to buy. But I'm going to do you a service and won't break your bank."

Maybe she has a point.

We arrive at the door and wave goodbye to the others before we head toward my spaceship, or say, the parking lot.

Now that we aren't in the school anymore, I want to wrap my arm around her and pull her to my side. But I'm still not sure whether she wants that or not.

She says, "Are we riding your spaceship to the taco place?"

"We can try another taco place this time. I know another one you may like, but it tends to be a bit more busy, and... not as organized, but I think the tacos are worth it."

"Sure, let's go there."

It doesn't take long for us to be situated in my spaceship. I start the engine and get us going. She sits by my side, staring at the window in front of us, remaining quiet. Do I ask her about what happened earlier? Or do I pretend everything's been fine since she's seemingly fine now?

She is so quiet that it doesn't feel right.

"Telke... What are you doing with this hand?"

"Oh... This hand is... trying to make sure you're fine." I pat her shoulder as I drive the spaceship.

She holds my hand on his shoulder. "You know I'm fine. What are you trying for?"

"I don't know. You... Me... We... I..."

She lifts her brows at me. "Are you too hungry to talk?"

I snort a laugh, but there's a load in my stomach which I hate. "Look... I just want to make sure we're at least talking and happy."

She sighs. "Sorry, I..."

Maybe she is going to tell me to drive her home and call it a day... Maybe I should keep my mouth shut.

I'm not that smart after all. All I have is muscles and hands, but none of them are useful and...

"Telke... I just... wasn't expecting what happened that day."

"It's not long ago."

"Yeah, that. Feels like a lifetime."

I stare at the window, trying to focus on driving instead. "I understand. I didn't expect that either."

She's the one telling me to pin her against a wall and fuck her rough. She can't be changing her mind after the whole thing and blaming me for that. It's not even fair.

She holds that hand and runs her finger along my palm, which is ticklish. "I... I don't think you're looking to have anything past a hook-up with me, right?"

"No."

My heart skips a beat as we stare at each other.

What did I just say?

She blinks and lets go of my hand. "Focus on driving."

"Oh, right!" I look at the panel again. We're in the sky, following the passage of spaceships with driving assistance on, so it should be fine. There's not going to be a kid coming out of nowhere in the sky.

I clear my throat. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You didn't."

So... What does that mean?

Does she like me back?

Do I mean what I said? That I want more than just hook-ups?

I like how her body feels and her smile sets me on fire all the time, but...

I don't know. It doesn't feel like I'm smart enough to have her as my mate.

I'm just a meathead that's not even that good at floatball. Maybe I can smack bad guys and protect her, but she is probably not looking for that in her mate.

Now, icy silence lingers between us.

I silently shout at myself. I just can't stop making it hard on her... What if she doesn't want to talk about that?

It doesn't take long before we arrive at the diversion. I press the button for the light that'll tell spaceships behind us about our path.

"We're a few minutes from the taco place."

"Good."

Except her voice outs her...