“But it’s the best way to share heat.”
His skin was like a furnace as he wrapped his bare arms
tightly around her and pulled her closer. She let his warmth
seep into her, feeling her body begin to relax as she buried
her face in his neck, inhaling the musky scent of him.
“So what if it was Lieutenant-Commander Tripp you
crash-landed with, and not me?” she said sleepily. “Would
you be cuddling with him on some dark alien moon
instead?”
She felt Up chuckle, and pull her closer still. “No, mi
querida,” he said. “I’d only do this for you.”
Up woke as the sun began to peek over the mountains,
and he was still alive, and Taz was still in his arms, her
breathing steady and reassuring. He felt a strange sort of
peace steal over him, and for a moment imagined staying
like this, the alien sun just beginning to warm the fresh
dawn air, waking up next to her every day for the rest of his
life-
Then he realized that was exactly what was going to
happen if they didn’t get to that mountain soon. The rest of
his life wouldn’t be very long.
He gently jostled Taz. “Hey.”
She blinked up at him, looking surprised to find him so
close. “Buenos días.”
“We should get moving before the sun gets too high.”
They untangled themselves and set about packing up.
Neither said anything, but something felt different about
this morning. Taz had looked at him almost – shyly – before
swinging her backpack over her shoulder and setting off –
and shy was not a word he tended to associate with Taz.
They bounce-walked until the sun was well overhead,
and then Up insisted they break for lunch. Today’s entree
was supposedly Pad Thai.