by Robin Roseau
It was magical. We followed the sandy bottom, the lights illuminating things for us. After a minute or two, we approached a small, rocky reef. It wasn’t much, perhaps only five feet high in twenty feet of water, but even as we approached, I saw it was full of life, small fishes swimming in little schools of other small fishes.
I pointed, and Carolina turned us. We swam along, just above the sand, a few feet from the rocks. I aimed the lights.
And then Carolina moved her hand to mine, pointing one of the lights. There was a small lobster waving his antennas at us before retreating underneath one of the rocks.
I didn’t know what any of the fish were. I didn’t see any Nemos or seahorses, and I probably wouldn’t recognize any others. But just doing a little circle of that little reef was exciting.
We took a slow tour of the entire cove. It wasn’t very big, but it was a lot bigger than I would have wanted to swim alone. It was a little eerie being in deeper water. All I could see was what was illuminated by the lights, and they didn’t make it all the way to the surface. It was as if we were all alone in a tiny world of fog.
But I trusted Carolina. Her arms around me gave me security, and I let her take me where she wanted.
It seemed entirely magical.
I didn’t realize when we turned back to the beach. Maybe I was clueless, or maybe it really wasn’t obvious. But it wasn’t until the water depth had reduced to about ten feet before it was obvious to me. Still, I let Carolina pull me all the way into shallow water before we both stood up. And as soon as we were standing, I pulled the breathing device from my mouth, wrapped around her tightly, and said, “That was completely amazing! Please, will you take me again some time?”
“I’d love to, Taisha,” she replied, wrapping her own arms around me. “You didn’t get cold?”
“A little, but I wasn’t willing to stop,” I replied.
“Could you go on a longer trip?”
“If I buy a wetsuit. I wonder if I can get one here.”
“What is a wetsuit?”
“It’s like a rubber skin,” I said. “It will help me stay warm. I could stay down a lot longer with one. I’ve never worn one and don’t know where to get one, but this is something I can solve.”
“Let me solve this,” she said.
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to,” she said.
“Okay.” I paused. “I’m cold though.”
“Dangerously cold?”
“No.” I released her. “What is your plan?”
“Jasmine told me you would want to shower afterwards. I think I would, too.”
“Then take us somewhere we can shower.”
* * * *
We showered together at the pool locker room. And it was difficult, but we behaved. Then we dressed, and I said, “Take me to your room.”
We walked slowly, holding hands. I kept looking over at her, but she was doing the same with me. In her room, I gave myself a little mini-tour. I was afraid to look at her, but I could feel her eyes. “Did you like the cove?”
“Yes.”
“Could you live there?” I turned.
“Yes.”
I smiled broadly. “Good. Do you live underwater?”
“Our homes are typically beside the water,” she said. “And may be partially submerged. I don’t know what new custom we would make here on Earth.”
I walked to her. “Stalked” might be a better word. I took her hands and smiled. “I’m overwhelmed by all of this, Carolina.”
“I am, too,” she said. “None of us came here for this.”
“It was a team building trip.”
“Yes. An excuse to visit Earth. Jasmine Brighteyes has something in mind, and I’m not entirely sure what it is.” She paused. “Do you?”
“I’d rather you not ask me to pick sides.”
“Are there sides to pick?”
It was my turn to pause. “That might not be the right word. No, I don’t think there are sides. But there are confidences, things she’s said to me, things you’ve said to me. I’d rather the two of you talk rather than putting me in the middle, deciding what I can say and what I can’t.”
“That’s fair.”
“That being said, I hope you let her play her game.”
Carolina gave a little chirp, and her hair was particularly animated for a moment.
“That is so cool,” I said.
“What is?”
“Your hair.”
“It’s not hair. It’s how we breathe underwater.”
“Like gills?”
“Yes.” She took my hand. “Let me control this. Spread your fingers.” I did, and then she combed my fingers through her hair. Whatever word I should use. “This is very pleasant, but you mustn’t tug.”
I played with her hair. She released my hand and closed her eyes. I spent a minute at it. Then she opened her eyes. “I think…” She paused, and I lowered my hand. “We were talking about being overwhelmed, and then I teach you that.”
I smiled at her. She took my hand again, and we simply held, looking at each other for a minute. “I think…” she said again.
“I think,” I offered, “that if I stay much longer, we’ll do things that make it difficult for you to see me as a possible mate.”
“I think you’re right. Taisha.”
“You don’t know if you want what I represent,” I said. “Emotions are involved.”
“I want you,” she whispered.
“But I’m right.”
“You’re right. Emotions are one thing, but logic is something else. And Jasmine Brighteyes is playing several games.”
“Oh?”
“Unless I am willing to declare you as my mating candidate, I must share you. And…”
“Just say it.”
“You perhaps prefer someone else.”
“Right now, I’m too confused to know what I want,” I said. “Do you know the phrase, ‘a child in a candy store’?”
“No.”
“Imagine a child in a store that sells nothing but candy, hundreds of different kinds, but the child can only have one.”
“I believe I understand.”
“And the child has had candy before, but has never had any of the candy in the store. The child can look at the different candy.”
“I understand that as well.”
“And in this store, the candy also has a choice. If the child picks the wrong candy, she could leave with nothing.”
“Poor Taisha.”
“Exactly. And there’s another phrase you may have heard: sowing wild oats.”
“I don’t understand that one, either.”
“Frankly, neither do I. Sowing means to plant. Oats are a grain, something farmers raise for food. But in this case, it means to experience life in a somewhat wild way. More specifically, it means…”
“Spending time with every extraterrestrial that will let you.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t at all blame you for that, Taisha. In fact, I can’t see how anyone would decline an opportunity like that.”
“I don’t necessarily mean sex,” I said.
“I know you don’t. But you also aren’t excluding sex, either.”
“No, I suppose I’m not.”
“Taisha, if tomorrow you found yourself a mating candidate, without any further choice on your part, would you be upset?”
“A mating candidate to you?”
“To me, to someone else…”
“To someone I’ve met? Someone I like?”
“Yes, let’s offer that stipulation.”
“Someone who will treat me well?”
“Yes.”
“And I can continue to work? Maybe not at Hunt Robotics, but I can work?”
“Yes, although different species have mating rituals that can be protracted, and you might not be able to work during that time.”
“Komodo?”
“I don’t wish to be more specific.”
“All right,” I acquiesced. “No. I would not be upset.”
“If Violet said, ‘You are to become mated to Carolina, or to Aventurine…”
“Or Forever Twilight, or to a few others,” I said. “No, I would not be upset.”
“Even though that would end the sowing of certain wild oats?”
“Let me ask a question. Imagine it was to you. Would you keep me in some sort of…? I don’t know. A prison, and never let me out?”
“No.”
“I could have friends?”
“Yes.”
“Are there restrictions?”
“Are we talking about sex?”
“No. We’re talking about whether you would limit with whom I may be friends, or whether I may only see them when we see them together?”
“Oh. No. There are mating rituals, but after that, you would make friends how you like.”
“Then I could still have long conversations with my other, new friends, and learn about them, and continue to be overwhelmed.”
She gave a bark, and her hair waved. “Yes.”
“Then the most important wild oats don’t need to stop,” I said. “Do they?”
“If you want sex with Forever Twilight,” she said. “Yes, they do.”
It was my turn to laugh. “That isn’t the part that’s important.”
“Good, because Niecor and Luxan don’t engage in casual sex. They are physically incapable. Oh, they could engage in some of the acts, but they wouldn’t find pleasure, and it would probably make them uncomfortable. Kitsune, on the other hand, can be quite the hedonists.”
I laughed again. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Not as hedonistic as Octals.”
“I haven’t spent much time with any Octals,” I said.
“You should ask Jasmine Brighteyes to provide an opportunity.”
There was something in the way she said it that gave me pause. I finally said, “I’ll take that under advisement. Are you going to explain that?”
“No, I am not. I think it’s time for you to go.”
“I think if I leave without more kissing, I’ll cry.”
“You will not.”
“Are you really telling me we’re going to risk it?”
“No.” And then she didn’t wait. She lifted her hand to the back of my head and pulled us closer. I didn’t resist, and I had my eyes closed long before we came together.
She played, much like she had before, and it took nothing before I was entirely worked up. My hands roamed, and hers did, too, but neither of us was too forward, just the right amount of forward, until suddenly she released me, pushing me away.
We stared at each other, panting. “That wasn’t rejection,” she said.
“I didn’t think it was. If you decide I’m not what you want, I hope you still want friendship, and that you’ll take me swimming some more.”
“Count on it. I’m going to find a wetsuit for you.”
“Good.”
“Jasmine Brighteyes is on her way for you. Turn right when you leave.”
“Hug,” I demanded. We did, holding tightly, and then she backed me to the door. I realized what she was doing and wasn’t that surprised when arms were replaced with tentacles. In front of me the door closed, separating me from the Komodo. “Jasmine,” I whispered.
“Well, well,” she said. “She’s wearing her lust all over her face.”
I turned to the Catseye. “I don’t understand.”
“Her colors are tied to her emotions,” she said. “I’m going to end up vexing her.”
“Don’t do that, Jasmine.”
“She can’t have you until Muriel’s robot is fixed.”
“Oh.”
“And she’s not the only player.”
“And you’re playing games.”
“Of course, I am,” she said. “It’s what I do.” She turned us, and we began walking. “Upset about that?”
“Too overwhelmed,” I said. “Jasmine, is she as undone as I think she is?”
“It appears that way, but Komodo are careful. She’ll get some distance and approach this logically. I have no idea what she’ll decide, or if she’ll decide that before someone else sweeps you away. Enjoy the attention.”
“I wasn’t expecting any of this, and I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“And yet, you’re doing just fine.”
“I’d call myself bad names, but I’m not stopping. I want to get to know all of them, but as soon as we get together, I lose myself.”
“I think, Taisha, that you’ve held yourself too tightly, and suddenly you’re letting go. That may be due to…” She paused. “You, like many humans, have the ETs on a sort of pedestal. If I think your behavior is appropriate, and I’m encouraging it, then it must be appropriate.”
“Is that wrong?”
“Well, I think you’re doing just fine,” she said. “But you shouldn’t let me make that sort of decision for you. I’m just a woman, as fallible as anyone.”
I didn’t say anything else until we stood at the bottom of the ramp to one of the jumpers. Then I turned to her, wrapping two tentacles around myself as I did it. She tightened, pulling me closer. I looked into her eyes. “I want to continue to spend time with any ETs who are interested. That’s about the only decision I seem to be capable of making. As long as this opportunity is available to me, I’m taking it. It’s not about finding a wife or casual sex, or anything like that. This could be my only chance, and I don’t want to let it slip past.”
“All right. You have your evenings planned for the foreseen future.”
“Good. She likes the cove.”
“As if you had to tell me that,” she said. “Of course, she likes the cove.”
“Ah. That was for her benefit, not Violet’s.”
“Yes. Oh, we’d want representatives of all the species involved in some of the decisions, especially the Komodo.”
“Why especially?”
“We want to make sure we plan around their particular needs. Everyone else is significantly easier. But at the same time, we want to keep the beach a beach. We don’t want to fill it with houses. It may be they prefer direct access to the open ocean. I don’t know. I’ve never seen a Komodo house, not even photos.”
“Ah.”
“Hug me now,” she said. And so, we did, a good, long hug before she sent me home.
* * * *
I looked up when the bungalow door opened. Felicia came creeping in, trying to be quiet. I waited until she was about to step into her room, then said, “Did you have a good night?”
She gave a little jump then spun to me. “You’re awake.”
“You’re mussed.” She said nothing, and so I asked, “Who were you with?”
“I-” She broke off.
“I had an absolutely lovely time with Carolina Komodo,” I said.
“Cape and Bight,” she said.
“The Martian couple that caught you during the hunt.”
“Yes.”
“First date?”
“It wasn’t a date. It was just dinner.”
“You’re mussed, Felicia.”
“Well… it evolved.”
I laughed. “So, it became a date.”
“It became a booty call.” She fanned herself. “I’ve never done something like that before. I’m trying to decide if I should be embarrassed.”
“Had hot alien sex?”
“I guess several new things,” she said. “That. A three way. A woman involved. They-” She broke off and fanned herself again.
“Want to talk about it?”
“No.” But she sat down. “How about you?”
“I had a lovely date. I don’t know how to feel. I think I’ve met a half dozen different ETs I’d let keep me. You?”
“This was just recreation,” she replied.
“Are you going to see them again?”
“I don’t know. If they ask.” She paused. “They said they didn�
��t plan that, but I’m not sure that’s true. I think it was Cape’s plan the entire time.”
“That’s the female?”
“Yes.”
“Awfully agreeable of you to go along with it,” I said with a smile. “You’re a good ambassador for Earth.”
She snorted a laugh. “Right.”
“So, was it out of this world?”
“Been saving that?”
“Yep.”
“I think I’m going to shower and sleep.”
“You probably would have slept better if you let yourself pass out,” I commented.
“Yeah, I doubt it. I think they would have kept me up all night.” She stood up and headed for her room. Then she stopped. “They asked about you.”
“I don’t do guys, not even alien guys.”
“So, if they were to invite you to dinner?”
I thought about it. “I’d love if we both went to dinner together, and then you can go home with them.”
She looked over at me and smiled. “I could do that.”
“Felicia?”
“Yeah?”
“What do you think?”
She froze for a minute then turned to face me, leaning against the wall beside her door. “I think,” she said slowly, “I’m glad we said ‘yes’ to being hunted.”
I laughed. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
* * * *
I sat down across from the Tutor and smiled, holding out my hand. She looked at it for a moment before taking it. We clasped briefly. “Good evening, Prudence.”
“Good evening, Taisha. Thank you for joining me tonight.”
“My pleasure,” I said.
“You have recovered from your ordeal?”
“I feel like it,” I replied. “I have an appointment with the doctor Monday morning. Hopefully that will be the end of it.”
“That is good.”
“You are the head of the linguistics department,” I said. “And your species is called Tutor. That is all I know about you.”
“Let us see to the business of dinner, and we can get to know each other,” she suggested with a gesture to my menu.
I picked it up, scanned it briefly, and set it down. We spoke to our waiter, and then I smiled at Prudence again. “Well,” she said. “Several members of my staff seem to be showing an interest in you and your coworker. And Jasmine Brighteyes is playing her typical games, but I haven’t identified her goal yet. Do you know anything about that?”