But Aelyx wasn’t listening. He leaned against a maple tree, engrossed in a handheld electronic game. A juvenile tune rang out from between his palms, followed by a computerized bark.
“Hey,” she said. “Is that Puppy Love?”
He glanced up with a pouty expression. “Something’s wrong with your game. My canine died again.”
“I haven’t played that since I was nine. Where’d you find it?”
“I don’t understand,” he said, ignoring her question. “I fed the thing, allotted a reasonable amount of time for exercise, kept it well-hydrated. Why did it die?”
“Let me see.” She leaned over his arm to study the screen. “Oh. You didn’t give him any love.”
“Love?”
“Yeah. I don’t remember all the options, but you do little things to love your puppy. Like letting him sleep in your bed, or rubbing his tummy, or giving him hugs and kisses.”
“Cah-ra, that’s absurd.” He turned off the game and shoved it back in his pocket. “All canines, even the ones humans have domesticated, respond to an intricate social hierarchy, not affection. I asserted my status as the alpha male so the animal would know its place. Then I gave it everything it needed to survive. It shouldn’t have died.”
“Um . . . it’s just a stupid game for little girls, Aelyx. My mom bought it for me because I’m allergic to real dogs. How long have you been playing it?”
He hesitated and mumbled something unintelligible.
“What? I didn’t hear you.”
“Three days. It’s the only game in your collection I haven’t mastered yet.”
“Well, it’s nice to know I can beat you at something.” Waving him forward, she reached into her pocket for her half-eaten chocolate bar. She broke off a piece and handed it to him.
“What’s this?” He brought the brown square to his nose. “It smells musty.”
“It’s chocolate. You’ll love it.”
“That’s what you said about Skittles. I vomited a rainbow afterward.”
“True, but I was right about the pot roast, wasn’t I?”
With a dubious sideways glance, he popped the bite into his mouth. Seconds later, his face contorted in disgust, and he ran off the narrow trail to spit the chocolate onto the ground. “That’s horrible!”
“You can’t be serious. Chocolate’s the food of the gods.”
Aelyx wiped a hand across his mouth. “Not my gods.”
Cara laughed. “Do you worship gods on L’eihr?”
“Yes and no.” A yellow leaf spiraled into view and he caught it between two fingers, then paused to spit on the ground once more. “The Ancient Ones believed that L’eihr itself was the creator of all life—our Sacred Mother. Her children were the gods and goddesses of the weather, harvest, fertility, and so on. Like your Greek gods. But nobody really believes that anymore. Worship is more tradition than religion for us, if that makes sense.”
“Total sense.” She shivered, rubbing her palms together to create warmth. “I’m getting chilly; let’s head back. The Johnsons are probably gone by now.”
“And you?” he asked. “What do you believe? I’m sorry, my research indicated this is a rude question, but you did initiate the topic.”
She imagined him poring over books and electronic data to learn about her customs, and the mental picture made her smile.
“I don’t mind. I don’t go to mass that often, but I believe in God. A lot of people quit believing when your Voyagers showed up, because aliens aren’t mentioned in the Bible. But that kind of thinking doesn’t make sense to me. If you believe God’s powerful enough to create the Earth in seven days, then why can’t He create other worlds, too?”
Aelyx nodded. “That sounds reasonable.”
“Anyway, churches all over the world are half empty now. Donations are down, and there’s a lot less compassion going around. Not that there was a ton to begin with. It’s kind of sad.”
A cool wind shook the trees, sending vibrant red foliage fluttering through the air. She gazed up in awe, despite the chill. It was beyond beautiful. “The colors amaze me every single year. I could look at these leaves for hours.”
“They’re not so bad. But for me, the real beauty’s down here.” He motioned to heaps of desiccated brown leaves carpeting the ground. “In the colors of home.”
A hint of wistfulness tugged at the edges of his full mouth, and she felt that same tug deep in her belly like an emotional sympathy pain. She reached out and plucked a curled brown leaf from its branch, then handed it to him. “Here, a small reminder of home. And better than the larun I tried to bake.”
He laughed and admired his gift, sliding it over his index finger like a ring. “This leaf would probably taste better than your bread.”
With a gasp, she shoved his shoulder and clutched her chest in mock outrage. He retaliated by bending down, scooping an armful of brown leaves, and tossing them into the air over her head. Cara darted to the ground, grabbed two handfuls of ammunition, and a full-blown leaf war erupted.
He darted among the trees, dodging her every attempt to nail him, until he tripped over a rotting log and fell backward. Heart leaping at her imminent victory, Cara dropped to her knees and used both hands to bury him up to his neck in foliage.
“I surrender.” Laughing, he rested both hands on his chest and fought for breath. His leather cord had come loose, and his long honey-brown locks spilled across the ground, tangled with debris.
Cara propped on her elbow beside him and pulled a twig from his hair. She’d just opened her mouth to gloat when a sudden movement caught her attention, and she glanced up to find Tori stomping toward them from the house.
Side-swept bangs concealed half of Tori’s face, but her one visible eye didn’t seem too pleased. Probably because she’d texted earlier about wanting to hang out, and Cara had asked for a rain check. Now here she was, romping in the woods with Aelyx. This couldn’t look good.
“Hey,” she whispered to Aelyx, “you mind heading back to the house? I’ll meet you inside in a few.”
He seemed to understand. “Sure.”
As Aelyx jogged away, Cara shot to her feet and began dusting herself off, then offered Tori a tentative grin. “I didn’t think you were coming over.”
“Yeah. ’Cause you were tired and you wanted to read.” Her gaze hardened and shifted to Aelyx, now entering the house. “Musta been a boring book.”
“No, I was reading, but then—”
“Looks like you wanna be alone with him.” With a flip of her hair, Tori spun and charged away like a power walker in peep-toe flats.
“Hold up!” She jogged after her best friend, who refused to slow her frantic pace."Wait, it’s not like that.” Cara grabbed Tori’s wrist, but she shook free. “I swear I really was reading, but then Marcus showed up—”
Tori whirled around, bringing Cara to a clumsy halt. “You’re into him.”
“Who, Marcus? He’s not my type.” Cara’s pathetic attempt to lighten the mood didn’t work.
“That’s the real reason you won’t quit the exchange.”
“We’re just friends, Tor.”
“He’s playing you. I hope you know that. When it’s too late and he’s wrecked your life, remember this moment”—she pointed at the grass—“right now, when I warned you.”
“Look, I know you’re not Aelyx’s biggest fan, but—”
“I don’t trust him, and neither should you.” Tori shifted her weight to one hip while studying the tips of her own toes. She fell silent for a few beats before asking, “Remember when I said Jared Lee might not ask me to prom because of all this?”
“Yeah. And I said you can do better.”
“Well, I decided to make a move and ask him myself.”