Starfish

24.2

I could have handled that better, Ardus berated himself. I could have reacted like an adult, not like an adolescent boy caught with his hands in his trousers. Before he'd left his cabin that morning, Ardus had debated how he should go about his day. He'd planned on spear-fishing from the moment he'd brought it up, all those weeks ago when Nina had asked him what hobbies he enjoyed. Simply mentioning it had reminded him how much he'd missed the sport, and Ardus wondered why he'd taken so long to pick it back up. He remembered how relaxing it was to watch a spot for upwards of an hour, waiting for a good chance at a large, tasty fish like a redfin or a black-striped biter. And he needed relaxing, after what had just happened. First, the brief flash of...had it been fright? Or had he been excited by the thought that Nina was about to do as the Dreen did and enjoy the water in just her skin? You stupid fish, you have been day-dreaming about seeing her naked for weeks, why would you shy away from the chance now?

She had asked him to put that cream on her back to protect her from the sun. She asked for my help. What was I supposed to do, let her burn? Ardus understood human skin was not nearly as thick as his, and Nina would be a red, uncomfortable mess if he had refused. He had done the right thing, he knew, but the way he had felt when his palm rested against her back, the hot prickle in his fingers as he'd run his hand from her neck to the small triangle of material that covered her soft, round little behind, the pink fabric taut over her hips... Alone, Ardus did not try very hard to suppress the smirk that formed on his mouth. Indeed, his steps had picked up a jaunty swagger as he thought about it, about how he'd boldly slipped his sunscreen-covered fingers under the knot that held together the fabric covering her breasts and watched her shoulders tense in surprise. She did ask me to help her... 

His hand, curled around the haft of his spear, tingled as though he'd just scoured them with steaming water and rough sand. The outfit had delivered a powerful shock when he saw it. When he'd looked up, detecting movement from the corner of his eye, at first he'd thought she had been naked, and part of his startled reaction had been the temporary fright she'd given him. He shook his head. How does it stay on, those strings tied at her sides? It would be easy to remove, he realized with a start. All I would have to do is pull on them, and it would fall right off. Then she would be naked...

Coming upon the cove Ardus picked his way over the rocks, using the spear to keep steady. He made for a thick stone shelf that rose out of the water an arm's length, knowing that edible fish would hide there in the shade during the hot afternoon. He tied the loose end of the twine to his wrist, standing on the edge of the stone shelf and watching the water swell and splash below. 

She let me touch her, she invited me to touch her. Putting herself in that position, well within his reach and with so very little between his hands and the most interesting parts of her, she must have meant what she's said the night before about his age not coming between them. Apparently she still believed this, as showing that much skin broke yet another taboo Ardus thought he knew about humans. Though he didn't understand why humans were so shy about their bodies, he understood not wanting to show too much – his own darkened pores had caused him enough personal distress. It was only recently that he'd worn something without sleeves to cover his unlit arms, and he wondered if he would soon be comfortable showing his unlit back and stomach as well. The outfit Nina had worn was obviously designed to show as much as possible, so she must not feel quite as shy about her body. Ardus wondered how much of this behavior was intentional.

Ardus sank into a comfortable position, squatting on the rock ledge and using the spear as a prop. He stared into the water, reacquainting himself with the ebb and flow of the current in the cove and recalling the patterns of the local underwater wildlife. He saw small species of drybacks, even smaller than those that lived in the kelp forest not too far off shore, and dozens of different types of fish. Most of which were edible and would make a delicious meal cooked over the campfire. Ardus wondered what kind of fish Nina would like. A human could live indefinitely on Dreenai with little support from Earth-based crops or processed foods, eating almost everything the Dreen could.