Space Shift Stories: McGuffin 46

Just a Quick Peek

While both Strife and Celestine were out. Me and Julia are sitting idly by the Swift. She was fiddling with her camera, and I was sitting on the captain's chair impatiently tapping my fingers against the hand rest.

"Hey, wanna grab a bite?" I offhandedly asked Julia.

"They said to stay here" Julia replied.

"Okay, I'll just bring you a burger or something" I walked out to the exit. I opened the door and stepped out. "Be back in ten"

"I'd prefer a Gaian giant mite"

"What's that?"

"It is what it is. A giant mite"

"No"

"It's delicious.Trust me" Julia stood up off her chair. Bagged her camera and came near me, she handed me a drone. "You forgot your drone" she went out of the Swift first.

I followed her down. "Should we get a car or something?" I asked her.

"Not really. I'm a bit familiar with the place"

"You've been here?"

"The original documentary, I was a production assistant. That was my first job"

We walked outside the port. We continued until we reached the bay area. It was beautiful, the breeze of the ocean, the sight of different people enjoying was amazing. Julia walked ahead, I followed. She made a left near alley, I held onto my blaster while she was walking carefree. As we got out of the alley, my eyes widen. There were a number of street foods. Each puffing out smoke and aroma of food that shouldn't compliment but they do dance well in my nose.

"This is one of the planet's well known food bazaars." Julia smiled at me.

We looked around to find that Gaian giant mite she spoke of. We saw a stand, and it truly was what she said it is. Giant mites on skewer. My stomach felt a little upset.

"I had the same reaction once. But it's not that bad" Julia looked and laughed at me. "Just one" Julia reassured me. She walked near the stall. "Can we have two please" She told the woman selling the mites.

The vendor took one live mites. They were moving around so lively, like they don't want to be food or something. She held down the mite and took a meat cleaver. Sliced the mite's head clean off, she then removed the organs. She impaled it with a skewer, did a dip on a batter before putting it in a deep fryer. She repeated it to a second mite.

Julia saw me trying to hold in my disgust. "You better hope their worth it" I told Julia.

"Relax" She replied. "Can you give us two drinks as well"

The vendor took fresh cola from the cooler below her and handed us the drinks. The mites were cooked after a few minutes. The vendor put it on a paper tray of sorts took a ketchup dispenser and squeezed some sauce into it. She paused and asked us if we wanted it spicy. I shrugged my head with a no, Julia nodded a yes. The vendor did as we asked, giving me the regular and Julia the spicy one.

"You don't like spicy?" Julia asked me. She pulled out money to pay the vendor.

I incerceeded and paid for the both of us instead. "I actually do. I usually do this with new food, taste them as they are." I replied as we find a place to sit down. We saw a table just a few steps away. As we got closer, a flower vendor stopped us.

"Care for some flowers to give your lady, monsieur?" The flower vendor waved one of his flowers on my face. It was a Sima Gaian, they're like Earth's tulips. But these are slightly bigger, with a secondary bud down the main blooming bud.

"No, maybe next time" I rejected the man as I smiled.

"Madam? Care to give your man a flower?" The vendor shifted his focus to Julia hoping to sell something.

"I'm sorry we're not dating" Julia told the man. It seemed like he understood, he left us and bothered anyone else.

"Should've added yet in there." I joked.

We reached the chair and Julia took a bit off her snack. She moaned a little. "I'm telling you these things are so good." She said as she sipped her drink. "Come on try it"

I smiled, not by her invitation but by the way she feels comfortable regardless of the situation. I mean she wouldn't be a reporter if she is a very introverted one. She kept encouraging me to eat my mite. Which I did so. I took a big bite, there was a big crunch. It kept chewing the mite, it was kinda elastic but buttery at the same time. There were bits that melts in my mouth while others needed more chewing. I put my nose closer to the shell and smelt the aroma.

"It's surprisingly taste like chicken" I said to her. Which to be honest it does. Her eyes widen, like a kid telling you something cool that you believed too.

"I told you didn't?" She laughed and bit her snack. She finished chewing "Well is it okay if I ask you some personal questions? Or just any questions with regards to you?" she shifted her tone from a jolly person to a serious reporter.

"Well tell me about you... then I'll you something about me" I countered her offer.

"That's not how interviews work"

"That's how date works... Usually" I sipped my drink in comfort.

Julia pulled up her camera. Placed it in front of me and pressed the record. "Well now it's an interview"

"I'll talk." I took her camera and turned off the recording. "Everything off record" I handed her camera back to her.

She took the camera, our hands accidentally touched. For a brief moment we locked gaze, then my body got closer to hers. And so did she. I felt something. The hairs on my back raised. My face was closer to her face, as the distance grew closer my heart skips a beat. I can see her coming closer. I closed my eyes to brace for a kiss.

"Excuse me" Julia interrupted. She stopped me by putting her hand on my chest.

"What?" I asked her.

"No, what are you doing" She tries to fathom the situation.

"I thought you were..." I paused to wait for her response. Nothing. "I thought you felt something" I moved my finger back and forth between us.

"I didn't" She quickly replied. "Were you feeling something"

"Nope" I replied at the same speed as her. "Not a thing. Really. Nuh-uh"

"Okay" She said in an offhand manner. She felt awkward and so did I.

"You done with that?" I tried to change the topic. "I think we should head back. Maybe they're looking for us" I also tried to defuse the situation.

"Yup" She picked up her drinks and stood up.

I followed her. As we head back to the port we know without saying, we only have one take away from this. This is awkward, so this never happened.