Enchanted by the Alien Explorer

by Ashlyn Hawkes

  She yanks herself free and stomps away, swaying this way and that. I rush up to her and try to help guide her, but she staggers away.

  “Don’t you touch me,” she snaps. “You lost out. You need to go. Leave. Leave me be. Leave me alone, you fucker!”

  “I just want to make sure you get back to your way in one piece,” I tell her.

  “Peace. What do you know about peace? All you do is get under people’s skin like a… like an infection or a disease. You made me diseased, Rix. You sickened me. Made me sick.”

  “With what illness?” I ask, unable to tease her a little.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are you lovesick?”

  She glowers at me. “You think you’re so smart. You’re trying to trick me. No. No, I’m not lovesick. I don’t love you. I hate you. Do you hear me? I hate you! You made me feel hope. Hope! I haven’t felt hope in… in… Actually, I felt it when I learned my levitation device worked, but then the government fuckers and the military fuckers didn’t fucking want my device. They tossed me aside. Your overlord wants it, but he told you to close the deal, didn’t he? I bet he put you up to this, and that’s why you don’t want me.”

  “I want you to sleep,” I say soothingly.

  “I’m not tired,” she grumbles. “I—”

  A yawn cuts her off.

  “Not tired at all,” I deadpan.

  She narrows her eyes at me. “You’re mocking me.”

  “I don’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

  “You keep saying that, but I don’t know if you mean it. Do you know what it means? It means that you won’t do what you apologize for and that you won’t do it again. You better never mock me again. In fact, you should just go. Leave. Didn’t I already tell you to leave?”

  “You did.”

  “Well, then? Go! Do I look like I’m joking?”

  “No, you don’t. I just want to make sure you get to your place safely. That’s not too much to ask, is it?”

  She glowers at me, but she allows me to walk beside her. Ava stumbles a bit and starts to fall. I catch her, and the anger in her eyes starts to fade a bit before returning. I release her quickly, and she rushes forward.

  I follow her deeper into her area, and she collapses onto a mound of blankets. There’s a blanket off to the side, and I grab it. By the time I turn back to her, she’s already fallen asleep.

  That anger is gone, and she looks so peaceful. It makes my heart hurt to recall the things she said, but I don’t think any of it is true. At least I hope not.

  Carefully, I lay the blanket over her. As much as I hate it, I have to take care of my erection, and I can barely walk to leave the area. My balls hurt that much. I don't even think about anything, don't even daydream about Ava as I've done every morning, including this morning. I just need to get it done, and I spill my ejaculate all over the ground.

  After I clean up, I return to Ava. She hasn’t moved a muscle, and I lie down beside her, wrapping an arm around her. A sigh escapes her lips, and I stiffen, but she settles against me. I marvel at how she fits perfectly in my embrace.

  Her words come back to me, but all I’m choosing to focus on is that bit about her being enchanted by the alien explorer, about her being enchanted by me. If there’s any part of what she said that I hope is true, it’s that. That I can hold onto. That I can get behind.

  I’ve already admitted to myself that I’m enchanted by her. If she truly is enchanted by me too, that would mean we have a chance. That’s all I want—a chance. Well, a chance to be with her, to experience life with her, to know what it’s like to truly throw myself into kissing her with everything I have. To be able to make love to her, to make more meals for her. Maybe go on more walks with no destinations in mind. To explore the world, Earth, space, other planets. To be free to be ourselves, to get to know every detail about each other, our bodies, our minds, our souls.

  There are so many more questions I have for Ava, and if she would let me, I would track down that asshole who hurt her and kept her away from everyone else. Who knows? If he hadn’t hurt her, maybe she would have friends now. She might have an apartment or a house. It’s even possible that she could have a boyfriend or a husband.

  Scratch that. Maybe I don’t want that.

  My mom and dad both like to agree on one thing—that everything happens for a reason. They think that's a key component in a lot of the relationships between Earthlings and Novans, and maybe that's true for Earthlings and Kurians, too, because I stumbled on Ava for a reason. It wasn't by accident. I was supposed to meet her. Despite however many Earthlings there are on this huge planet, I was meant to find her.

  She sighs in her sleep, and I squeeze her and kiss her hair. A feeling of contentment washes over me, and with a smile on my face, I fall asleep beside her.

  16

  Ava

  I wake up and don’t know what the hell is going on. Someone’s arm is next to me. Their entire body is next to me, which, honestly, is a good thing because just waking up to an arm would be like something out of a horror movie.

  Rix. It’s Rix who’s beside me, and he’s sleeping.

  We slept together.

  Of course, he doesn’t have a shirt on. He never does, and I can’t remember what happened. Did we…

  I lift the blanket. Oh, man, am I seriously out of it because I didn’t realize until I looked that I’m wearing clothes. Bonus points—Rix is wearing pants.

  What happened yesterday? I don’t remember. Rix showed up. We talked some. Oh, yeah. He made me food, and I flipped out on him. We talked, and then it all goes fuzzy. Did he apologize? What did we talk about? I can’t remember any of the specifics.

  I curl up my legs and wrap my arms around them, resting my chin on my knees. As much as I want to think that I’m in control, I’m not. I really don’t have any control whatsoever. My life has been one giant mess, and I have no one to blame for that. If I really wanted to, I didn’t have to be alone. I could’ve gone to the government, could’ve gone to the base. I’m sure someone would’ve adopted me, or at the very least, I could’ve been put into an orphanage. Something, anything. A real education instead of through a window.

  But then I never would’ve made the levitation device.

  And I never would’ve met Rix.

  I eye the alien. He’s sleeping with his mouth hanging open, but he’s not snoring. That’s good because I have a pounding headache for some reason.

  As I watch him, Rix stirs and opens his eyes. He smiles at me and then flinches as if he expects to be hit or something.

  “Hi,” I mumble.

  “Good morning.” Rix eyes me curiously as he sits up. “Is it a good morning?”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, confused.

  “How’s your head?”

  I narrow my eyes and rub my temples. “Why are you asking? Did you hit me on the head or something?”

  “No, no. Nothing like that.” He slowly nods. “You don’t remember, do you?”

  “That depends on what you think I should be remembering.”

  He grimaces. “You told me everything about your past.”

  “That doesn’t sound like me.”

  “Well, you more or less shouted it at me because you were furious.”

  “That does sound more like me.”

  “I still want to hunt down that fucker.”

  I gape at him, shocked.

  “Paul,” he clarifies unnecessarily.

  “I told you about Paul?” My voice cracks.

  Rix nods. “And that was before we went to the bar.”

  “The bar…” I mumble.

  I rub my forehead and groan. My memory’s slowly coming back to me. “You cried.”

  “One tear—”

  “Isn’t crying,” we say at the same time.

  Rix grins, his smile a bit lopsided, and my stomach does a little flip that also nauseates me.

  “I… I’m sorry for all the things I said after we left the bar. The drinking
… It took a bit to hit me, and it hit all at once. I didn’t mean any of it. I… I don’t drink much anymore,” she mumbles.

  “It’s all right, Ava. I understand. You and I talked about things you would rather forget. It’s understandable.”

  “No. It’s not. I didn’t mean any of it. Not one word.”

  He nods a few times and then looks away but not before I see a flash of something flickering on his face.

  “You were there for me when I was vulnerable, and I… I appreciate that, Rix. I really do. No one else would’ve stuck around after what I said.”

  “Not all of what you said was mean or hurtful,” he mumbles.

  I furrow my brow, reflecting, thinking back, and then I gasp and try to burrow myself into, well, me. Turtles have it made, considering they have shells they can hide inside. Plus, it serves as their house. It's a better setup than what I have.

  "You mean, when, ah, I said…" I clear my throat. "I called you an alien explorer. Not a bad title, huh? Can be your nickname."

  "Yes." He grins, his eyes light but a bit wary. He's walking on eggshells around me. "I do recall you saying a bit more than just alien explorer. What was it?"

  I scowl, but it’s more for show than being annoyed. “Enchanted,” I mumble.

  “Was that true too?” he asks a bit eagerly, earnestly. “Or was that just a line.”

  “I don’t have pickup lines. I… Maybe. Maybe it’s true. I don’t know.”

  “I know trust doesn’t come easy for you,” Rix says. “Given your history, it’s perfectly understandable, and I honestly thought that giving you space was what you needed. If I thought that you wanted me to come around earlier, I… I like to think I would’ve, but I’ll be honest. You really know how to push people away.”

  “Excuse me? You wanted to sleep with me before I was ready. I… We kissed.”

  He bursts out laughing. “Yes.”

  “I threw myself at you. You rejected me. Oh my God. You really were there for me. You could’ve… You could’ve just gone with it, and your mom deserves all the medals. She really did teach you about what it means to be an Earthling, about how drinking affects us because you had as much or even more to drink than I did, and you weren’t even buzzed, were you?”

  “No. Alcohol doesn’t really affect us for whatever reason.”

  "Maybe you have a lot more of the enzymes that break it down faster, so it doesn't reach your bloodstream." I shrug.

  “You remember the kiss?” he asks, his eyes dancing.

  “Yes.”

  “And how was it?”

  “I was drunk.”

  He grimaces. “Can I—”

  “Can I make what happened up to you?” I blurt out. “You really shouldn’t have had any of that happen to you, and there’s this one restaurant whose owner owes me a fancy meal. Not that I really have anything up to dress code standards, but he should let us in anyhow. What do you say?”

  “Are you asking me out on a date?” he asks.

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Can you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Make it official.” He leans back and crosses his long legs, causing the blanket to get entangled in them.

  "You're ridiculous," I huff as I stand. "Besides, I guess it would make more sense for us to go tonight, for dinner, than to go for breakfast. You go and do what you need to do to get ready and come back here around… five? Six? Do you have a watch or clock to know what time it is?"

  “I do, yes, but I make use of military time. You mean seventeen hundred? Eighteen hundred?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you don’t want to spend the rest of the day until then together.”

  “Do you want a real date, the whole nine yards, all of it?”

  “I don’t have to have nine yards. I just have to have you. Err, I don’t mean sexually. Not yet at least. When you’re ready. If you’re ever ready.” He shakes his head and then hangs it. “I should go now, shouldn’t I?”

  I giggle. Giggle. When’s the last time I giggled? Oh, yeah, when I was a happy drunk before I turned angry drunk. Ugh.

  Quickly, before I can change my mind, I reach over and peck Rix’s cheek. “Yes, you should go now.”

  He slowly stands, and I do the same. It’s a little awkward, but he gives me a hug, and when his arms are around me, I feel… protected.

  I never felt that before. I don’t need protection, but it’s still so very nice.

  Rix walks away, and I watch him go before I head to the pond and wash up as thoroughly as I can. Then, I make my way into town.

  A woman walks right up to me. I have no idea who she is, but she seems to know me, and I draw up short as she halts in front of me.

  “You’re with that Kurian, aren’t you?” she asks boldly.

  I grimace. “I guess you could say so.”

  “You are doing something wonderful,” she says.

  I blink a few times. “Ah, sure. I don’t know what you’re referring to, but—”

  “You’re willing to help the Novans, the Kurians. You’re helping to keep the peace between Earth and Kuria, and that’s what we need. I know the military is trying to do what they can to keep the peace, and we have peace here on Earth for the first time in forever, but we need to have allies when it comes to space. Thank you.” She grips my arms near the elbows. “Thank you for your service.”

  I gape at her. “Service? It’s not a service. I’m not… We’re not…”

  The woman gasps. “You mean you really love him? Well… Wow. That’s… That doesn’t change anything. You’re willing to overlook his skin color and—”

  I slowly disentangle from her grasp. “Thank you. I’m a decent human being, and that’s what he is. He’s human too, so… It doesn’t matter if his skin is green, purple, if he has horns…”

  “Next you wouldn’t mind a tail.” She gapes at me.

  “It’s what’s inside that matters most,” I tell her firmly.

  “Well, yes, o-of course. Of course! I… I must be going now.”

  The woman rushes away.

  I stare at her, scratching the back of my head at her brazenness. What in the world was that?

  A snort has me glancing over to see a woman. She crosses over to me with a wide smile, and for whatever reason, I don’t feel defensive like I did with the first one.

  “Hi. You must be Ava. I’m Opal. I’m a friend of Rix. He told me a lot about you.”

  “He did?”

  “Yes. He’s staying at the hotel I work at, and he’s not like a lot of guests. He made a mess and tried to clean it up, and that’s how we met.”

  “He does like to do things,” I mumble. “Sorry. I must sound a bit—”

  “Trust me. Anyone would be out of sorts after listening to that woman.”

  We both laugh.

  “You look like you could use a bite to eat. I was just about to get a bagel. Do you want one?”

  “Thanks, Opal. Actually…” I exhale. “Why not? Sure, thank you.”

  We eat, and when she finds out that Rix and I are going to go out on a date, that I had a few hours to find a dress, she just grins and takes me with her to the hotel.

  "Lost and found," she declares as we enter a room. There are so many clothes in here it's insane. "Hotel policy states that if clothes are abandoned for over three months, employees can have at it. All of this has been over three months. Let's see if anything fits."

  Nothing hits perfectly. I have some hips even if I have a flat stomach, but Opal knows how to sew and quickly at that. Plus, there’s a belt. Soon, I’m wearing a tailored purple dress with a deep neckline and a wide black belt. She even finds flats for me. Thank goodness, but I don’t think I can handle heels. The last thing I want is to make a complete fool of myself.

  Opal asks if I want any makeup, but I don’t bother with any of that. She stands me in front of the mirror. She’s brushed and styled my hair even, and I don’t recognize myself.

  “Opa
l, thank you,” I say warmly.

  “I knew you wouldn’t feel threatened by me,” she says. “Rix says you don’t have a lot of friends, and honestly, I don’t either. When you’re a maid, you’re invisible. Well, the best ones are, and I’m one of the best.” She giggles. “But you make Rix happy, and I want my two friends to be happy. Pathetic, right? My other friend is my cousin, so she doesn’t even really count, but I work a lot of hours, saving up and—”

  “Three,” I correct gently.

  “Three?”

  “You have three friends. I’m sorry for interrupting. What are you saving up for?”

  At five on the dot, I’m ready and waiting for Rix. When he walks up and first sees me, his jaw literally drops.

  “It doesn’t matter what you wear,” he says, “but you look absolutely ovian beautiful right now.”

  "Hmm. Now that seems to be more along the lines of your father, isn't it?" I tease.

  “Maybe.” Rix grins and holds out his arm. “Are you ready for our date?”

  “I am.”

  Arm in arm, we walk off, and I even rest my head on his arm since he’s too tall for me to lay it on his shoulder.

  The owner, Jake Rusher, is more than happy to see me. The hostess knows about the arrangement Jake and I have. His store had been broken into, and the military never caught the thief. I happened to be nearby when he was screaming at them, and I volunteered to help set up new equipment to ensure it would never happen again. Because of my efforts, the greedy thief was caught because he returned to try to steal again. Jake offered to pay me handsomely, but I didn’t want money. One meal is hardly equivalent to what I did for him, but I just hated that he had been taken advantage of. I felt a kinship to him because Paul had done the same to me.

  So Rix and I are given the best seats in the place, the finest drinks, wine, appetizers, soup, salad, entrees, dessert, the whole nine yards. Jake comes out to greet us, serves us himself, and it’s a magical time.

  Afterward, we go to the movie theater, and we see that alien movie. Rix bursts out laughing and whispers about how the Kurian in the movie is one of his friends. Rix is so very relaxed and happy, and my chest is so very light. I’ve never felt this free before.