by Zara Zenia
"Do you believe in life out there?" I asked.
He tensed beside me, his hand becoming clammy in mine.
"Do you?"
I thought about telling him what I really thought but hesitated. He'd probably laugh at me like everybody else did. I parted my lips to speak but then said nothing. Sensing I was bursting to tell him something, he looked down at me expectantly.
"So, do you believe in life up there?"
Nodding, I managed to croak out, "Yeah... I think I saw an alien once."
Waiting for him to laugh, I assumed he'd think I was a crackpot and never want to see me again. Instantly regretting telling him, I pulled my hand away and started walking.
"I mean, forget I said anything."
He was quickly beside me, tugging at my arm.
"Wait, tell me."
Looking into his face for a sign that he was joking, I found that he looked deadly serious.
"You really saw an alien?" he gasped.
"Kinda..." I said with a shaky voice. "I saw a light anyway. Over my house. Or rather a triangular formation of lights. They hovered over my backyard for a few seconds. Of course, when I ran inside and dragged my parents back out they were gone and my family assumed it was just my ten-year-old mind playing tricks on me."
Why did you tell him that stupid story? He's going to think you're a nutcase.
"I believe you," he said.
"Really?"
"Sure. There are so many things in the universe we can't explain, so much out there. It would be peculiar if there wasn't any life out there? Wouldn't it?"
"It would," I agreed. "So, you don't think I imagined it?"
"I don't," he said and took my hand. "You're not the only person on Earth to have seen evidence of extra-terrestrial life."
There was such a strange intonation in his voice that I couldn't quite identify but before I could talk to him more about it, he said, "My hotel's not far from here."
"You're staying in a hotel?"
He gave a shrug and a weak smile.
"Yeah. For now anyway. I'm new in town and, you know..."
We stared at each other, the wind picking up and floating the garbage through the city streets. I waited for him to invite me up but he seemed to be stalling.
"I could walk you back to your room?" I offered.
His face instantly brightened.
"That would be great!"
I had never ventured into this part of town before and was glad I hadn't. Passing a corner, I noticed three girls huddled in a doorway, all in short skirts and fishnet tights and using the same lighter to spark their cigarettes. As we walked past, they glowered at us as though we were intruding on their personal space. I couldn't help but notice that above their heads lay three bullet holes in the concrete of the dilapidated building.
"Ethan? You live here?"
He pointed at the crumbling hotel with the red flashing sign.
"In there," he said with a flicker of shame in his eyes.
He ushered me inside past a group of guys loitering in the entrance. Their beady eyes remained on us as we ascended the stairs. Once in the safety of his room, he bolted the door shut and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry I couldn't bring you somewhere nicer," he said and gestured for me to take a seat on the edge of the bed.
A meager stack of books lay on the bedside table, one of them being The Intention. I picked it up and flicked through the pages.
"Don't!" he snatched it from my hand.
Shocked, I looked up slack-jawed as he pressed it to his chest.
"Sorry," he said. "I wrote things down in it."
"What things?"
"Personal things."
He secreted it away in the top drawer and sat down beside me.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to look through your stuff," I said.
He was becoming more mysterious by the second and in his suit, in this room, he looked unbelievably out of place.
"Ethan... There’s something really strange about you."
Outside, someone yelled and I looked out the window to see a rabble crowded around a car.
What are you doing here, Demi? This isn't like you. You don't go on dates with strangers or go back to their rooms on skid row.
"Strange?" he repeated. "Everyone is strange in their own way. It's what makes us who we are."
He leaned in closer and I rested my head on his shoulder.
"I promise, I've never done this before. I mean… gone back to someone's hotel room."
"Well, you're the only person I've ever had up here so it's a first for the both of us."
My heart quickened. The inevitable was going to happen. Our bodies were doing it no matter what I thought. He was irresistible, enigmatic, and magnetic. I found myself tilting my head up and closing my eyes. His hands moved to my waist, I could feel their heat through my dress. I took a deep breath as my cheeks began to flush crimson, then his lips were on mine. Soft and tender, he kissed me gently, holding me as I yielded to his touch.
Stroking the side of my face, he tucked my hair behind my ear and moved down, kissing the sensitive skin of my neck before gliding his lips over my collarbones. I gasped and felt the heat rise within me.
I slid a hand down over his chest and felt how solid and strong he was. Flicking off one button at a time, I revealed his smooth muscles and he let out a moan and smiled as I traced a finger down the space between his pecs.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want," he whispered in my ear, his hot breath sending a shock wave of goosebumps down my spine.
"I want to," I insisted and pulled the zipper of my dress down my back.
Laying me down, he pulled it free from my body until I lay exposed in just my underwear.
It had been so long since I'd given myself to a man and I couldn't help but pull my arm across my belly in an attempt to hide it.
"You don't have to do that," he said and pulled it away as he lowered himself down on his stomach.
"You have the perfect body."
For a moment, he lingered over the top of my panties, kissing my stomach, my hips, the inside of my thighs. I could feel his breath on me, feel the heat from his mouth as I anticipated what his tongue would feel like.
At last, when I felt as though I couldn't wait any longer, he hooked his fingers into the sides of my panties.
When his mouth connected to the heat between my legs, I let out an involuntary scream and gripped the sides of the headboard.
"Oh, God!"
He knew what he was doing, winding his tongue expertly over me as he sucked. I reached a hard and fast climax with my fingers tangled in his hair and my thighs clamping around the sides of his head.
When he emerged from below, his wiped his chin with the back of his hand and grinned.
"Come up here," I said and waved a finger at him.
Kissing him hard, I tasted myself on him. He groaned slightly as his hardness pressed into me and I reached a hand down inside his boxer shorts. He was so much bigger than I thought and for a second, I felt intimidated at the thought of taking him.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he leaned back on his heels.
"Yeah, it's just that... I've never been with anyone as..."
"As?"
"As big as you."
He smiled cheekily and took my hands in his.
"I won't hurt you. I promise."
He slid his underpants down over his hips and I held my breath at the thought of seeing him. Then he revealed himself. For a second I thought I was imagining things. I let out a terrified yelp and my eyes widened. In front of me, he held his long, erect penis in my hand and, to my horror, saw it was blue.
Shocked at hearing me scream, he looked down confused.
"What... why?" I gasped.
"What can I say?" he replied with a noncommittal shrug. "I'm not like you."
But despite the color, it was huge and throbbing. I curled my fingers around it and felt it pulse.
Okay, cal
m down Demi. You've never seen anything like it before but it's big and blue and gorgeous.
I looked up into his eyes and sensed he was about to give me the time of my life.
"Do it," I said and spread my legs. "I need you so much."
For a moment longer, he looked into my eyes before he thrust into me hard and clenched his eyes shut as he entered me.
"Fuck!" he cried.
"Oh, God!"
I dug my nails into his back as he drove himself into me. He filled me up, touched every nerve ending inside me until once again I was racing toward another orgasm. It rushed through me leaving me breathless and my limbs shaking.
But he didn't stop.
Thrusting relentlessly with an unwavering energy, he moved fast, his hips rocking back in a steady rhythm.
"Harder, harder!" I begged and I climaxed for the third time with my teeth sinking into his shoulder.
When I felt as though my body was about to give out, he slowed down.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"Ready for what?"
"For me to begin."
What! He hasn't even started properly yet?
I nodded as I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
Then it began.
When I felt it, I couldn't believe it was happening. I thought he had replaced himself with a sex toy but I looked down between my legs and saw his penis turning in circular motions as though it was drilling into me.
I cried out in ecstasy, thrashed my limbs and screamed. It was the most exquisite, intense thing I'd ever felt and as yet another orgasm ripped through me, I was convinced I was going to pass out.
"Oh... God!"
My eyes rolled back in my head as my toes curled into the bedsheets.
Coiling my limbs around him, I could feel his breath quicken and his heart hammer in his chest. He was moaning loudly, his face crumpled up as though he was in pain.
"I'm coming," he groaned. "Fuck. I'm coming."
He shuddered violently as he twisted himself inside me faster. Then he collapsed onto me, a long stream of his ejaculate pouring out of me.
For a minute, we lay bundled on top of one another with the sweat sticking our bodies together.
"I have... never... felt anything like that in my life," I said while I struggled to regain my breath.
He kissed me softly and sat up. Running a hand through his hair, he smiled and took his penis in his hand.
"Are you ready to go again?" he asked.
"Are you serious?" I laughed.
"Never been more serious," he said and eased himself into me, ready to do the whole thing over again.
Chapter 5
Ethazol
I was sad to see Demi leave as I watched her climb into the waiting taxi from the window. She smiled and waved from the back seat and I waved back, my heart feeling as though it was singing.
Somewhere on the floor behind me, my phone rang but I was too preoccupied with the sight of the taxi slinking its way around the corner. Her red hair was visible through the rear window, bright and vibrant just like her. Just like her lovemaking...
Last night had been the best night of my life and remembering the feeling of being inside her made me hard again. I pushed a hand down into my boxers and felt myself grow stiff. Behind me, my phone began ringing for the second time. It was probably my boss wondering why I was late.
Taking a deep breath to calm my body, I pulled the curtains shut and reached for my phone. I found it beneath a pile of clothes, ringing for the third time.
The number on the screen wasn't showing as though someone was withholding it. I frowned and wondered who it could be.
"Hello?" I asked, wondering if someone had called the wrong number.
"Ethazol?"
"Who is this?"
"Buddy, it's Draygus..."
I thought I was hearing things. I hadn't spoken to him in so long and there were times when I thought I never would.
"Dray! Holy shit, man. How are you?"
He paused. There was the sound of a lighter sparking as he lit a cigarette, a filthy human habit he picked up as soon as he arrived on Earth.
"Ethazol... Listen, I don't have much time. We need to meet you."
"We?"
"Everyone. Benzen, Jarick, Victorinth..."
He sucked on his cigarette and breathed out heavily.
"The peace is over, pal. Time to regroup, get a plan together."
Sweat covered my phone as my palms grew wet.
"Are... are you sure?"
"I'm damn sure," Draygus snarled. "Come to Richmond.
"When?"
"Now," he said. "Wherever you are, leave."
"Okay," I said, worried about what he had planned but happy to know I'd be back with my old crew. "I'm on my way."
The cafe was busy and the windows were steamed up. At the counter, a waitress was steaming milk, filling the room with an invasive white noise that made my ears sting. I looked down at my cappuccino and felt a knot tighten in my stomach. I was too nervous to drink it and slid it across the table to where Demi was sitting.
She looked as though she was on the cusp of crying but holding the tears back. She held a paper napkin in her hand and began picking around the sides of it with her nail-bitten fingers.
"You're leaving," she said. "Just like that."
There was fire in her eyes.
"I'll be back," I assured her and reached for her hand but she angrily yanked it away.
"But I thought things were going so great between us."
"They are!" I insisted. "But I have to leave town for a few days. It's an emergency."
She flashed me a skeptical look.
"What kind of an emergency?"
I thought about telling her the truth but, how could I? What could I possibly tell her? She'd either not believe me or think I was crazy.
"A family emergency," I said and hoped she wouldn't ask me to elaborate.
She frowned and looked down to the napkin that was now in shreds between her fingers.
"I thought you didn't have any family around here. Isn't that what you said?"
I was getting myself into deeper trouble the more I spoke. If I didn't think quick there was a chance I could lose her.
"I'll be back soon. I promise and I'll call you. Please, don't think I'm skipping town on you after last night. I'm not."
The hardness in her eyes softened as the suspicion subsided.
"You'll be back?"
Nodding, I squeezed her hand tight.
"And you'll stay in touch?"
"Of course," I said and squeezed her hand tighter. "I'm sad to be leaving you behind right now, I really am. Last night was incredible, it blew my mind!" I expanded my hands up high over my head to reinforce my point and she laughed.
"It was the best," she said and leaned over the table to kiss me. "But I can't shake the feeling you're hiding something. You're a real man of mystery, Ethan. I'm still not convinced you're not a super spy."
"Maybe I am..." I said with a wry smile.
Right now, it was probably easier for her to assume I was a spy than an alien. At least it seemed almost slightly more believable.
"I need to get back to work," she huffed with a cute little pout.
She picked up her bag and heaved it up over her shoulder.
"When will you be back?"
Shaking my head and looking down to the ground, I had to admit to myself that there was a chance I might never return. Who knew what Draygus wanted us to do or what Palzu had planned?
"Soon," was all I could say and I pulled her into a hug.
Squeezing her tight, I kissed the top of her head and breathed in the scent of her hair.
She smelled just like the small, red fruits Alison bought us from her grocery store. I remember Victorinth had loved them.
"Strawberries," I said to myself at the memory of those first few days we'd spent on Earth,
It seemed like a lifetime ago, in another time, another dimension. So muc
h had changed since we arrived. The fresh-faced Ethazol who landed on Earth was so young and naive and I had learned so much. I wondered what the rest of the crew would be like now.
"Strawberries?" she asked, confused and looked up at me.
"Your hair," I said and ran my fingers through her silky strands.
She laughed.
"Trust you to notice the little things."
I winked and walked her to the door.
"I notice everything."
My heart sank as I watched her walk away. When she reached the corner, I waited for her to turn onto the main road and disappear but she stopped and spun around, waving one last time and blowing me a kiss. I kissed her back but before she could see, she was swallowed up by the crowd.
For a minute, I stood watching, waiting to catch another glimpse of her but I never did. In my pocket, my phone was ringing. It would be Draygus wanting to know where I was.
As the train rolled into Richmond, I felt as though I barely recognized it. Over the course of the last few months, I had traveled too much and hopped from city to city. After a while, all the towns merged into one. It was all a series of concrete and tarmac, parks and shopping malls.
On Orba, there were no two places the same and each city was like a different country with separate cultures, laws and moral codes. But here on Earth, or least in this country, you could find the same shops everywhere and most people dressed the same in a sort of unofficial human uniform of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt.
As I stepped off the train, I looked for signs or places I recognized then I saw it, the shopping mall. As though being pulled by some magnetic force, I found myself walking out toward the glass-walled palace that beckoned me through the sunshine.
As I reached the edge of the parking lot, I saw the black smudge across the tarmac from where our ship's engine fuel burned through the ground.
Standing at the spot, I remembered the crash and those terrifying few minutes when we didn't know where we were. I remembered seeing the humans for the first time and how their looks seemed so peculiar to me. Then I looked down at my own hands and saw that I had morphed into a human so easily. It was second nature to me now and in a way, I felt as though I had become part human.