by Lisa Lace
Maybe I could talk to Sophie about it. She always had a level head when it came to giving advice, and she hadn’t steered me wrong before, except for when she advised me to get married. Even that hadn’t been bad advice. The concept was sound; it was the fiancée who was the problem.
I wondered if I could find someone else at the last minute. Of course not. It had taken my entire lifetime to find Morda. Besides, I had given her my word, and I was reluctant to go back on it because I made a hasty decision. I would have to spend the rest of my life with that woman. The thought of waking up beside Morda every day forever was beginning to make me feel ill.
Back to square one. If the impossible happened, and I found a more suitable woman in the next day or so, I would call it off with Morda, I promised myself. The dreamlike fantasy made me feel better right away. I made such a terrible mistake getting engaged to Morda. What was I thinking?
I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. When I opened them again, I checked myself in the mirror. Did I look okay? My hair was in its usual half-messy state after I combed it with my fingers and half-heartedly pushed it into place. Women seemed to like it that way. Even if I brushed it and combed it, after five minutes on The Boat it was going to look the same, so what was the point of meticulous grooming?
I had on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. My biceps filled out the arms of the shirt well. I had spent many hours swimming to earn them, and I liked how I looked. Maybe I should have shaved, but frankly, after an hour or two on the boat, I would have a five o’clock shadow again. I wasn’t trying to impress Sophie or anything.
We were good friends, and we were going to have a pleasant afternoon hanging out on The Boat. I had many questions to ask her about herself and Earth. You couldn’t get to know someone messaging the same way you could when you’re face-to-face.
I grabbed my bag and headed down the hall to Sophie’s room, knocking on her door. She answered immediately, and I lost my breath when I saw her. She had pulled her long copper hair into a ponytail, giving her a saucy look. She wore white short shorts that showed off her long legs and a white-and-yellow-striped top. Her blue eyes were smiling at me, and I stared, unable to form words. I saw what looked like bikini straps on her shoulders and latched on to the only thing I could think of to say. “Got your bathing suit on?”
“Yep. But I don’t know if I want to go swimming.”
“No swimming?” I pretended to be aghast as I struggled to regain my senses. “You know that’s a critical part of enjoying the water, right?”
“Don’t judge me.” She ducked her head. “I don’t know how.”
“It’s easy.” I tried to remember a time when I learned to swim, but couldn’t. I think I was three when I started lessons. “You’ll pick it up quickly. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“We’ll see. But I can get some sun at least, right?”
“You certainly can.” I felt my cock begin to stir at the thought of Sophie in a bikini and casually shifted my body so she couldn’t see anything. “We should get going. We have to be back here by seven. The party starts at eight.”
We walked down the hallway, and Sophie angled her head to catch my eye. “This is the party for Morda?”
“Not exactly. Mother’s arranged a hover party. She loves them. They’re impossible to describe without spending half an hour doing so. It’s something you have to experience for yourself.”
“Sounds interesting, but I’m having second thoughts about the boat, Khellen.”
“Don’t worry. I have a life band for you. It will help you relax. I don’t want to get all scientific, but you wrap it around your neck, and it creates a force field around your body that makes you more buoyant.”
Mom was out, so we locked up the house and headed down to the dock. The day was warm and sunny with a bit of a breeze to cool us off. The forest provided us with welcome shade from the sun.
“I imagine this is what Earth was like before we ruined it.” Sophie looked wistful. “Beautiful forests — though our plants are green, not purple. A gorgeous, bright blue sky. A green sky still makes me feel loopy.”
I smiled, unable to imagine a blue sky. I had never been off-planet. “Lots of clean water.”
When Sophie saw The Boat, her eyes widened. The Boat is still impressive, even to me. Dad had her built to his exact specifications fifteen years ago before he died. She was about twenty feet long, with a shaded part at one end that housed some comfortable couches and chairs for lounging out of the sun.
The other end had a control panel for piloting, a diving board, and a ladder into the water mounted on the side. In between was a recreational area. There were long, cushioned benches along the sides where people could lie and sunbathe, and in the middle of the open space was a high table perfect for conversation and eating.
We called her The Boat, but she was actually a hovercraft that skimmed two or three inches above the water when she was moving and floated on the water when she wasn’t. It was perfect for parties, hanging out in the middle of the lake, or fishing.
“This is what you’re calling ‘The Boat’?” She stepped onto the deck, trailing her fingers along the smooth, handcrafted railing.
“It’s a vehicle that moves on the water. Were you expecting something different?”
“I was picturing a little wooden rowboat or a metal motorboat like in the stories I’ve read. Not a massive party house.” She waved her hands helplessly at The Boat.
I pretended to be nonchalant but was secretly quite pleased. “To be precise, it’s a hovercraft. But it floats when it’s at rest.”
“I suppose,” Sophie said, moving towards the shaded area.
“Please put this on and activate it before we head out.”
She looked back at me doubtfully. Now I began to understand that she was frightened of the water.
“You’ll be fine.” I handed her the band, which she wrapped around her neck. It faded so I couldn’t see it. But when she turned towards me, the sun reflected off it, giving a shimmer in the light. “There’s nothing to worry about now that you are wearing the life band. You certainly can’t drown while you’re wearing it, and I won’t let anything happen to you. You’re protected twice.”
“Do I have it on correctly?” She still looked concerned.
“Perfect. Now let’s get out there. We can talk the whole afternoon away on the water.”
She stepped onto The Boat and kicked off her sandals immediately. While I got The Boat started, Sophie wandered around, gripping handrails wherever she could. I planned to take a short cruise and then see if I could convince her to go for a swim.
“What’s happening with Single for Life?” While I talked, I pressed the button to uncouple The Boat, releasing her from the mooring at the dock. I steered her along the shore, and we started to cruise gently over the water.
“I have no idea. I haven’t even thought about work since I got here.” She looked embarrassed.
“You’re on vacation. You’re not supposed to be thinking about work, are you?”
“That’s true.” She crossed the deck and joined me at the steering console. “I still feel guilty. My work is my life back home.”
“Tell me all about it. We have the whole day.”
“I’m going to catch some sun while I can. It’s still spring back home, and I’m pretty pale.”
“Sure.” I held my breath as she pulled the tank top over her head. She was facing away from me, and her string bikini left her back completely bare except for the thin straps. I closed my eyes. Give me strength.
Next, she shimmied out of her shorts, and I watched them fall down those endless legs. It was a good thing I was standing behind the console because I didn’t want her to see how she was affecting me. We were just friends. And I was getting married; I couldn’t let myself be attracted to Sophie.
She folded her clothes and then turned around, coming back toward me. She seemed like she wasn’t self-conscious, but I noticed her cheeks were
turning pink. The view of her body from the front was even better than her rear, and I averted my eyes so it wouldn’t seem like I was staring. Her breasts looked round and perky, and I could see her nipples standing upright at attention. It was too much, so I turned my gaze to the shore as she spoke.
“Here’s the thing about Single for Life. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel like I’m making a difference for Earth. The overpopulation problem is getting desperate. Our world leaders are considering requesting refugee status and shipping some of our students off-world. If we could just stop having babies, it would help even more.”
A vision popped into my head of Sophie, her belly round and full with a gentle smile on her face. The image was sweet and erotic at the same time, making me question myself. My mouth didn’t say the words that were in my head. “That’s right. Stop having babies.”
“Yes. We have actuaries in the organization who have run the numbers, and Earth’s best hope is to convince young singles to stop getting married.”
“That sounds like something difficult to sell. Doesn’t everyone want to get married and have babies?”
She shook her head. “There are lots of people, like me for instance, who don’t want that.”
I instantly felt something was wrong. For Sophie to never get married and never hold her child in her arms? That wasn’t a universe in which I wanted to live. “You don’t want to get married or have kids?” I asked. “You never told me that before.”
“I hadn’t made a firm decision before, but now I have. I took my vows right before I left Earth.”
“What was in this vow, exactly?” I was starting to feel sick to my stomach.
“We get people to commit to the single life, and we provide support for individuals who choose to live differently. We organize events and provide counseling when those who remain single run into any social difficulties.”
“You sound like you’re reading from a script.” She blushed again, and I chuckled.
“Sorry, I get carried away sometimes. Work is my life.”
Her words sounded sad to me, but they seemed to make Sophie happy. “What’s this vow, though? You didn’t explain it.”
“I don’t know it exactly, but it’s something like this…” And she started to recite: “Before these witnesses, I swear to remain unmarried and barren for my entire life. I will keep my vow for the whole of my life on Earth.”
“Wow. That’s certainly unique.” Words escaped me.
She wrinkled her nose. “I know it might sound crazy to you, but if you could see the conditions people are living in on Earth, I’m sure you would understand. Poverty, resource wars, crowded cities, pollution...there’s nothing like this left.” She gestured around at the idyllic scene.
I didn’t say anything. The picture she painted was a difficult concept for me to understand.
“Really! It’s all concrete, power lines, and garbage.”
“Garbage?” I stumbled over the strange word. Most races in the galaxy spoke Standard, but some words are never used on certain planets.
“Garbage,” she said, grimacing. “You know, stuff you throw out. A bag from the store. The packaging on food. A piece of paper you don’t need anymore.”
“Don’t you reconstitute?” The thought of junk flying around in the streets was disgusting.
“We fabricate our food, but I can’t imagine eating a newspaper.”
“You don’t eat it. At least, you don’t eat the things that are inedible. You put plastic in the machine and make new plastic things out of it. Or you put food scraps in, and they get turned into compost, and you grow new food from it. I don’t think we have what you call ‘garbage’ here.”
“You’re lucky.” She looked kind of hopeless, so I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed. I told myself it was to comfort her and not because I wanted to touch her smooth skin.
“It can’t be that bad on Earth, can it?” Reluctantly, I took my hand away.
Her brow furrowed. “You don’t understand, Khellen.”
Then she flipped over her arm, showed me the screen on her computer. The images of poverty, pollution, and the crowded conditions in which people lived repulsed me. Was that where she came from? It was clear that I hadn’t understood the extent of the problems on Earth.
“I don’t live like this, you know. But how can I go about my comfortable life knowing other people are suffering? I have to do something, Khellen, and what I’m going to do is stay single.”
I studied her quietly as The Boat made its way slowly down the lake. A gentle breeze ruffled her hair, and her eyes looked bright and ardent. Sophie was amazing, and I was fortunate to have her as a friend. “That’s surprisingly noble.” I didn’t know what to say. “Do you think your ideals help convince other people to do the same thing?”
“I hope so.” A tiny smile played over her lips as she thought about her work. “Now that I’ve taken the oath, my word will mean even more because it shows my commitment.”
“But Soph,” I said, swiping at the console to turn The Boat and head back around toward the island.
“Yeah?” She crossed the deck and lay face down on one of the benches. She put her towel under her head and closed her eyes.
“Did you ever want to fall in love? Get married? Have a family?”
“Maybe when I was a little girl.” She fell silent, then propped herself on her elbows so she could look at me in the face with her intense blue eyes. “But that was a long time ago. I have to make adult decisions now. We can only stop overpopulation by limiting population growth. And since the government isn’t willing to commit to legislation, the people of Earth have to start a grassroots movement. That’s my life, and I like it.”
“Hey, I’m not saying you’re wrong.” I tilted my head as she stared at me, her eyes unsettled. “Who are you trying to convince, Sophie? Me? Or you?”
She scowled at me. “I’m happy with my life, Khellen. My work is everything, and I don’t need anything more.”
I made myself busy turning The Boat. If I said another word, I might get something thrown at my head. I heard her huff out her breath, and when I turned back she was lying with her head turned away from me.
It seemed like a waste to have a beautiful, intelligent, sexy woman like Sophie single for life. She should be loved. And she ought to hold a sweet, innocent baby in her arms and feel a mother’s love. She ought to have her round, perky breasts droop and stretch to feed her child. She should grow old with a family around her that loved her.
I gazed at her, having difficulty comprehending why I felt so upset. It wasn’t right, but it also wasn’t my decision. It wasn’t my life, and we were only friends. There was nothing I could do about any of it. She had made her choice and had to live with it. I would have to live with it, too. Not that it affected me - my wedding was a week away. Sophie would go back to her filthy, crowded planet, and her job saving it from itself. I couldn’t change that.
But why did it feel like something was wrong?
Chapter Five
SOPHIE
We came back from the lake earlier than we planned, so I had time to get ready for the evening’s party without rushing. I nervously checked my credit balance. There was enough left from my bonus for me to get a fancy dress.
I thought Khellen’s mother had only invited me because she didn’t have a choice. She probably assumed I would show up in inappropriate clothes and make Khellen’s fiancée look even better. I’m not sure why it was so important to me to prove her wrong. Maybe it was on behalf of everyone on Earth who had aliens look down on them. Maybe I wanted to show her that I wasn’t someone to be forgotten from a low-class planet. Or maybe it was because she was acting like a bitch, and I wanted to see the look on her face when I appeared at her party looking like a movie star.
I was disappointed in myself for having that last thought. I didn’t want his mother to hate me. I was trying to like her for Khellen’s sake, but she didn’t make it easy. Perhaps she w
ould like me better if I could impress her.
“Teri, I need help.” Time for some help from my virtual assistant. She appeared before me this time in a lavender, lightweight summer dress.
“How can I assist you, Sophie?”
“I’d like a dress for a party.”
“Sure.” She snapped her fingers.
I immediately found myself sitting on a bench in the empty virtual construct of a store. “Biyaha high fashion. Find dresses for a fancy party.”
“Sure, Sophie. Do you want me to choose an outfit for you?”
I thought about it. “Not today, Teri, thanks.”
“Okay.” She vanished immediately. I wondered if she sounded disappointed or if it was only my imagination. I had to stop attributing human emotions to my assistant. It wasn’t healthy.
The store populated with hundreds of dresses. Way too many for me to decide. Maybe I needed some help after all. “Match my coloring. Something in green,” I called out.
Most of the dresses instantly disappeared, and I was left with a bunch of green dresses along with a few others in colors that might match my pale skin, blue eyes, and red hair.
“Hm.” I stood up and started looking through them. “Remove all the dresses that end above the knee.”
The selection dwindled.
“Form fitting and long,” I added.
After narrowing the selection, there was a reasonable number for a person to look through. I found five that I liked and tagged each one, sending them to my closet until I was ready to wear them.
My first selection appeared on my virtual body. I moved around in it a bit, walking back and forth in the store before deciding I didn’t like the cut.
“Let me see the next one instead.” Another dress appeared on my body. I had gone through two more before I found the perfect dress. It was forest green and made my eyes and hair stand out. The floor-length, off-the-shoulder sheath hugged my curves tightly and flared out at the hem, right below my knees. I appraised myself in the mirror and decided I looked fantastic.