I was standing in the middle of a very cool white light in a featureless blue room, I managed to examine the pretty alien in front of me (though she’s not that beautiful like our own women).
Her eyes look white tonight, with a hint of blue around the edges, and light seems to ripple around her nu*de frame while her fingers press invisible buttons in the air. I wonder briefly how she makes the light do that. It actually looks like the light covers her in places, but doesn’t actually touch her as it flickers and shifts around her subtle curves.
I can feel my body getting weaker, as the white luminescence does its work and builds up my muscles. I still can’t figure out what will trigger Vage’s ’Hot’ switch. No matter how hard I push on it, it refuses to budge. The other two move easily enough, but this one stubborn switch refuses to obey my will.
It has to be something that’s different about her species, but I don’t think I can just ask her about her race’s mating habits. Alien or not, I don’t know whether that’s considered crossing a line.
I start going over what she told me last night, which is decidedly little. It really boils down to her ancestors coming from herbivores. Is there something different about them? I try to think of herbivores on Earth to compare, but they were all dumb animals, only mating when...
An idea strikes me, and I look up to try it out, but my time in the light is done, and before I can form the switch, I find myself back in my own bed. I’ll have to try again tonight when she comes for me again.
Exhausted from the treatment, I slip back into sleep before five minutes have even passed.
****
I wake slowly, because some noise were disturbing my rest.
Rolling over, I hope the noise will go away, but it continues relentlessly. Groaning, I sat up, and only then was I awake enough to realize someone is knocking on my door.
"What?" l ask, more ornery than l’d intended, but dammit, it’s Saturday, and I value my sleep.
Besides, if the demons arrive and I can’t stop them somehow, I won’t be getting anymore good sleep; only the long sleep of death.
"Nick, are you awake?" I heard Tina’s voice outside my door.
Groaning loudly, wanting Tina to hear me, I flop back onto my pillow. I’d told her I would talk to her today, but I didn’t expect her to show up so early in my apartment.
"I am now," | I grump.
"Can I come in?" The door is already slowly opening, and my frustration is building. What is the point in asking, if she’s just going to come in anyway? For half a heartbeat l’m tempted to close the door as if it’s a switch, but decide against it.
"Might as well, but I’m only in my boxers." She slips quickly into my room, and shuts the door behind her. Quietly, she goes to the foot of my bed, and sits down, her hands clasped in her lap, as she stares at her knees as though they can impart some great wisdom to her. After she sits there for awhile without speaking, I almost lose it.
"What do you want, Tina? It’s eight o’clock on a Saturday. I don’t usually get up till at LEAST ten, and last night was a tiring night." Anger laces my words, but l’m able to keep my voice level.
It isn’t likely that Dennis will have slept through Tina’s knocking, but I don’t want to disturb any of my other neighbors this morning either.
"Tiring..?" She looks up and around, and I realize how that must have sounded.
"No, no one is here, I was just working on a project, and it’s left me exhausted."
It’s really wasn’t a lie . Somehow after everything, I don’t think I can lie to her; it would make me feel too much like an hypocrite. She nods, and I can see that she is relieved, before her eyes drop back down to her lap again.
"May I ask what kind of project?" Her voice is pensive, and I can tell she is reluctant to ask me this.
No, you may not, I thought, but answer differently.
"It will take a couple weeks before I’m ready."
She looks up at me, and then down again. I’ve never seen her act like this before. Normally she is so self confidant, but this morning it’s like she’s an entirely different person.
"Oh, okay. You look good today, even your-" She cuts herself off, and looks at my bare chest and then to my jaw, and I know she is looking for the bruises that are no longer there.
"Your chest! Your bruises are gone. How..?"
I have to think fast. I don’t want to lie, but I can’t tell her an alien healed me, either.
"You did give me a really great massage." I let that hang, hoping she will draw the wrong conclusion, and only feeling slightly guilty. Technically I’m lying.
"Massage... Yeah... I never knew a massage could do that." Her eyes are still locked on my torso, and I want to change the subject.
"I don’t think you came to look at my bruises. Why are you here?" i asked in a not very mean tone.