by Debbie Zaken
He pressed his lips and turned to face me. “I do not want to leave you. I just do not know how I can stay. I would defect for you, but that is not even a possibility right now. It may never be. Just talking about a Celeian settlement would cause a riot among your people.”
I raked my hands through my hair hard. “Ethan, if you go into hiding, I want to go with you. I don’t care about the danger.”
He cupped my face, wiping my tears away with his thumb. “You do not know what you are saying. Running away would mean going somewhere so removed from civilization…you would be giving up everything you know, completely isolating yourself from your family, your friends—for who knows how long. You would be putting your life at risk, and I will not let you do that.”
“You can’t decide that for me. If I chose to go with you—”
He placed a finger over my lips. “Let’s not talk about this now. Everything will be all right. You will see.”
Taking me by the hands, he led me inside the room. Despite my angry tears, when he brought me into his arms, his mouth came down on mine and I melted. He was trying to distract me, and unfortunately, it was working. I kissed him back with a frenzy. My hands grabbed fistfuls of his hair while my body pressed as close to him as it could. The currents of electricity were everywhere. When he pulled away, we were both gasping for air—to my embarrassment, me more than him. His lips spread into a devilish grin.
“Don’t you need oxygen once in a while?”
“Nah…It’s a highly overrated element.” Which reminded me—the other issue I knew I shouldn’t bring up. I wormed my way back into his arms and buried my head in his chest. “Is it true? That we can never really be together?”
“We are together now.”
“You know what I mean.”
He tensed in my arms and let me go. “I do not know. No one does with certainty. You and I, Skye, are the first of our kind. Until a few days ago I did not know if I could kiss you without giving you third degree burns.”
“But you can. So maybe…”
He took a step back, his eyes a torrent of emotions. “No. Look at what happened today with Chase. Do you think I would be willing to risk injuring you? Possibly killing you?”
“That was—”
“An accident. And accidents can be fatal. I know this is…unorthodox.” His gaze fell to my shag rug. “Copulation has such a central place in Earthling pairings.”
Copulation?
How could this incredibly sexy creature standing before me make sex sound like a science class? It was worse than being in sixth grade sex-ed class. Not exactly how you picture this conversation going with your boyfriend.
“And I take it for your kind it’s not like that.”
Ethan rubbed his chin and stood still about as uncomfortable with this conversation as I felt. “I guess for us it is similar to the way we approach our need for food.”
I thought about that for a second. “Food purely for nourishment….so sex only for reproduction?”
“Yes.” The word rolled out of his tongue.
“Oh. Oh…So. You. Don’t… feel that way about me.”
My head sunk, and this time I was the one who stepped back. Humiliation rose from my belly to my cheeks. It was impossible for him not to notice how I reacted to every single touch, every single kiss. And to know he didn’t feel the same way…
He studied me, and pulled me close. “Skye, the reactions you bring out in me are not characteristic of my kind. Sexual desire is not as strong a need for us as it is for you. But you, I want mind…” His lips pressed on my forehead. “Soul...” My neck. “And body...” My collarbone.
He kissed me on the lips with such fervor, it was like his life depended on it. When he finally let me go, my heart sprinted so hard it had already crossed the finish line. My head spun and I held on to his arms for support.
“I am drawn to you in every single way. But I am not going to put your life in danger.” He paused, his face growing serious. “I know it is a lot to ask of you—to give up something that is so deeply a part of the human experience. I would, of course, understand if this changes things, if you were to change your mind about continuing our relationship.”
I frowned, not sure if I was more hurt or insulted. “Ethan, do you really think I would leave you because of that? I’m ready to run away with you, live in the wilderness and according to you, put myself in mortal danger. As long as you’re with me— that’s all I need.”
His gaze intensified. “You are sure about this?”
“Yes.”
I nestled my head on his chest again and smelled the minty, electric air blowing against my hair as he sighed. I looked up at him and hesitated, not sure of how to continue.
“Can I ask you a question? Merely out of intellectual curiosity, of course…”
He raised his eyebrows. “Intellectual curiosity? You are already too curious for your own good. What is it?”
“Putting the risks involved aside for a minute—”
He shot me a look of warning.
“Hold on, just hear me out.” I flattened my palms against his chest. “This is an actual scientific question here. Theoretically speaking, if the two species were to try to …you know. How different from each other are they? I mean, physically would it be very different than two Earthlings?” My cheeks burned red and the disapproving look on his face was not helping.
“You mean, are the species different anatomically? Since this is simply an academic discussion… We have different genetic codes, but share the basic building blocks— the same fundamental molecules that make up terrestrial life. And since our anatomies are the same, I would figure it would not be too different from what you are familiar with.”
“So pretty much the same. Not that I’m that familiar with it, trust me.”
He stared at me in surprise. “You mean, you and he never…”
“No. No!” I shook my head. “We only went out a few weeks.”
“And before that?”
“There was no one else. But now there’s you.”
He shifted away from me, turning so I couldn’t read his expression. “It is very late. I should go.”
I rested my head against his chest and the words slipped out. “Stay with me tonight.” At the look of caution he gave me, I added, “Until I fall asleep. My proposal is completely innocent. I swear.”
“That is not a good idea.”
“Please…” I tilted my head up until I found his lips.
He kissed me softly. “Not tonight.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Possibly. Good night, Prom Queen.” He leaned in to give me another kiss when he stopped, a funny look crossing his face. “Your prom. It is next Saturday, is it not?”
“Yeah, so?” A yawn escaped from my mouth.
“Don’t you want to go?”
“To prom? And who would I go with?” Another yawn.
“Well, I was hoping with me.”
“You’re asking me to the prom?”
“Yes, I guess I am.”
“But, Ethan, the entire school will be there. Unless you’re planning on wearing those Star Wars Storm Trooper sunglasses of yours, everyone will know. Didn’t Abigail tell us to keep it on the down low?”
He shrugged. “Maybe by then, it will not matter anymore.”
“You’re crazy. Maybe you need to get some sleep, too.”
“Is that a yes or a no?”
“More like a no.” No way my parents would allow it. The media frenzy would be to send Mom over the edge.
“Is this because I am an alien? Because that would make you a specist,” he teased.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what it is.”
“I bet I can get you to change your mind,” he said in a sly voice.
I was going to say that I’d like to see him try, but then I remembered that he could.
“You’re not going to hypnotize me into going to prom, are you?”
He pressed a hand to his
chest in mock indignation. “I am offended you would even suggest that. I do have other tools in my kit besides that, you know. Goodnight my sweet Skye.”
Pulling me close, he kissed me until my head spun, until the room swirled and electric fire submerged me from head to toe. When he finally let me go, my heart thumped so hard, I was afraid it would flatline. I opened my eyes, my mouth still tingling, and he was gone. No sign of him except for the curtains billowing from the breeze he’d caused when he’d swooped down from my window.
Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound... Show off.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON MARKED a week since my visit to the alien ship, and Ethan still hadn’t heard anything from Abigail. While we’d kept a low profile sticking with our nightly rendezvous in my backyard, she had made headlines. In New York she had attended a summit of the G8 to discuss the Intergalactic International Accord: the expansion of the Celeian mission, and was welcomed with the kind of fanfare that would have made a Hollywood A-lister jealous. But along with the legion of fans, came the flag-burning protestors. Riots broke out in front of the United Nations building when a white nationalist hate group clashed with Celeian supporters. Back in the nation’s capital, hundreds of people marched on the streets toward the Washington Monument protesting the Celeian expansion. The military formed a perimeter around the Celeian Pillar of Knowledge to protect it from rioters.
I’d watched the news coverage with my parents whose anger and fear over my relationship with Ethan had been replaced by a quiet despair. They didn’t talk to me about it, but they were talking. Every time I walked into the room they’d stop their hushed conversation and their faces would take on a somber look. Mom seemed to have the most trouble dealing with anything alien. Even after we’d watched Chase’s burn wounds heal right before our eyes from Ethan’s lotion, she’d given him nothing more than a curt thank you.
The growing gap between my parents and I hurt. I missed Mom the most, the conversations we used to have. And then there was the uneasy feeling that kept growing in my stomach with every passing day of Abigail’s silence that one way or another, my time with Ethan was running out.
“Thanks for keeping me company,” Emily interrupted my thoughts. “I hate sitting through this without someone to talk to.”
We sat on the bleachers watching Lucas’s basketball practice— or pretending to watch, because neither of us cared what happened on the court. Now that they were back together, Emily attended practice every day after school, playing the supportive girlfriend.
“Sure. You know how much I love basketball.” My voice dripped with sarcasm.
“You have no idea. At least you don’t have to sit through each game twice. After practice, I get to hear the play-by-play recap. It’s practically all Lucas talks about.”
“Hey, babe!” As if on cue, a happy Lucas waved to Emily, almost missing a pass directed straight to his face. He caught the ball, avoiding a painful blow to the nose.
“Lucas, dude! Keep your head in the game,” a tall, lanky boy on the team yelled.
Some of the other guys snickered. No secret to any of them that big, Latin-tempered Lucas had been whipped by my pint-sized best friend. Lucas gave his head a light shake and turned back to the game. We broke out laughing.
“The guy just looks at you and completely forgets there’s a basketball flying around. Next time you want to get out of practice, just tell him you’re a safety hazard.”
Emily giggled. Then her smile turned awkward. “So, um...Lucas told me Taylor might ask Julia to prom.”
“Oh? Well, good for him.”
This shouldn’t have come as a surprise. I’d seen, along with everyone else, how Taylor and Julia now sat together in the lunch room every day. It was hard not to; Julia made sure of that. Every time my head turned to the back of the room there she was, looking at me with a smug smile on her face, her chair moving closer and closer to Taylor.
Any closer and she’s gonna have to sit on his lap.
“Yeah well, Lucas says he hasn’t really made up his mind.”
I shrugged. “Whatever. He should.”
It was better for him to move on than to keep badgering me with stolen Intelligence documents. Not that we’d really talked since. We were back to that ‘let’s pretend the other one isn’t in the room’ stage. That felt wrong somehow.
“And you’re okay with that?” She scrutinized me with her eyes.
“Yeah, totally. I’m over Taylor. Let him go to prom with whoever he wants.”
“Okay. And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“You’re really not going to prom?”
Prom. That was what this was about. Did Emily really think she could talk me into going now that I knew that Taylor was taking Julia?
“Even if I wanted to, I don’t really think I can.”
“Why not?”
“Have you forgotten I’m grounded? And besides, the only person I want to go with can’t really be there.”
She sighed. This conversation had dragged on for days. And after school, Ethan would pick up where she left off. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think they’d arranged to drive me off the wall until I agreed to go to the stupid dance.
“Okay, so Ethan can’t be there. But you could still go. Your mom and dad will totally let you off the hook for this. It’s your senior prom!”
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head.
“Oh come on, Skye. You can’t just ditch prom.”
“Uh, yeah, I can. Emily, what’s the big deal? You know I didn’t want to go in the first place.”
She huffed. “The big deal is that you only get one chance to go to your senior prom and I don’t want you to miss it. Besides, I don’t want to go by myself.”
“But you’re not going by yourself. You’re going with Lucas, remember?”
“Yeah, but it’s not the same. Please, Skye. Don’t you get it?” A sad frown marred her face. “After that, we graduate and boom! High school’s over. Everything will change.”
Understanding why this mattered so much to her, I placed my arm over her shoulder. “No it won’t. I mean, sure…things might change a little, but not you and me. Emily, you’re always going to be my best friend. That won’t ever change.” Even as I said the words, I recognized the falseness in them. Things were already changing between us.
“Yeah, but…things won’t be like this anymore.” She gestured to the both of us with her hand. “And besides, what are you going to do with the dress? You can’t return it.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and put on a fake grin. “I could use it as my maid of honor dress for your wedding with Lucas.”
She sniggered. “Right. Where? At Our Lady of the Rosary Church? Like that is ever going to happen.”
That, at least, got a laugh out of me. “That is such a lame excuse. Admit it, Emily. You’re pretty crazy about him.”
“Not that crazy. My mom would flip her lid. Besides, you’re one to talk… Interplanetary Hottie has you totally sprung. But seriously, Skye, think about it. I know he can’t come to prom with you, but I don’t want to be there without you either.”
“And what? Be the third wheel with you and Lucas? Um, no thanks.” That was all I needed. I could just see Julia’s smug face when she saw me walking into prom alone while she clung all over Taylor like a t-shirt two sizes too small.
“So I won’t go with Lucas. We’ll go together. Who needs guys anyway?”
I smiled back. “Em, I know you want to go with Lucas. It’s okay. Just go.”
Despite my smile, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my time with her was also running out. That night, Ethan and I lay on a blanket in my backyard. My head rested on his chest, his arms wrapped around me. We’d gazed at the rings of Saturn with my old refractor telescope.
“Who knew you could be so low-tech,” I teased him.
“Telescopes have their advantage. At least they do not give you motion sickness.”
“So have you heard from Abigail about this meeting with the Magistrate?”
His body tensed at once. “She arranged a hearing for tomorrow night at ten.”
I bolted upright, causing Ethan to sit up too.
“Tomorrow? And you’re just now telling me?”
“I found out right before I left to see you. I was going to tell you. But you get so upset when we talk about it.” His gaze met mine. “We have a chance, Skye. We really do. Let me take you to your prom on Saturday.”
“Prom? Are you insane? Don’t we have bigger things to worry about? Like exile and alien rebellions?” I fluttered my hands around in agitation. “Ethan, even if my parents were to let me, it’s too risky, especially now. Do you know how many kids in my school have parents who work for the government in one way or another? The second we walk in, there’ll be pictures of us plastered all over social media. You name it we’ll be on it! There’s no way the Magistrate won’t find out about us.” I could already see people, cell phones in hand, jaw dropping to the floor as I walked into prom on Ethan’s arm. It would be a circus.
He propped an arm on his bended knee, unfazed by my little outburst. “By then it will not matter. Their decision will be made. Being seen in public will not change it.”
I studied his smooth, unreadable features and is insistence on going to prom took on a different meaning. “Prom is your way of saying goodbye to me, isn’t it? You’re planning on leaving after that. Answer me honestly, Ethan.”
He leaned closer and our eyes locked. “I am never saying goodbye. Not as long as you want me with you. But I must prepare for all possible situations.”
“So you are leaving.” The words squeezed my chest, pressing hard against my heart.
He stroked my cheek with his thumb. “It will not come to that. We have Abigail and Naomi on our side. Let me accompany you to prom and I guarantee Saturday night we will be celebrating more than your upcoming graduation.”
“Are you sure coming out in such a public way won’t ruin our chances with the Magistrate? I’m not going to risk losing you for some stupid high school dance.”
“I think it may even help us prove our case to the Magistrate.” He cupped my chin in his hand. “It is only one night. One night to be with you in a room full of people, to dance with you… One night where you get to remember what normalcy is.”