by Jenna Payne
His body was warm, practically radiating. Combined with the wine and the dimed lights for the movie, Laura was at such ease she was near falling asleep. She yawned and snuggled against him.
Paul shifted and briefly tightened his one-armed embrace. Absent-mindedly, his fingers began to play with the sleeve of her shirt and run up and down her arm. His touch left her skin tingling and Laura could feel the familiar knot in her stomach, wanting to make a move and kiss him.
For the last week or so she had been on the fence about whether nor not she should initiate the next step. She didn’t want to seem too forward, but she couldn’t tell if he was waiting or if he was also unsure about taking their relationship to the next level. After all, he had been the one who asked her out to begin with so it seemed that he would not be too shy to initiate something more.
Paul kissed the top of her head and whispered her name softly.
“Mmmm, yes,” she answered softly, too comfortable to look up at him.
“I like spending time with you,” he said.
Laura smiled into his chest. “I do too.”
***
Paul felt the rhythm of Laura’s breathing shift as she drifted off to sleep. He reached around and retrieved the almost empty wine glass from her grasp, sitting it down on the end table. At his feet, Aspen stirred and yawned and Paul reached out to pat him on the head.
“I suppose you want to go out for a walk, don’t you?”
Aspen let out a low affirmative growl.
Paul smiled to himself. He was genuinely enjoying spending time with Laura. She was optimistic about life and the way she looked at him sometimes made him forget that she was a mission objective.
He dismissed his thoughts and gently extracted himself from her, but he couldn’t help but smirk when he noticed the small spot of drool that had wet his shirt. He had expected the final mission to be painfully difficult, but he had become enamored with the human girl. Up to this point he had completed all of his missions on this planet with professional detachment.
His assimilation into the human society had been seamless, and no one had noted his presence as that of anything more than another human. Between the devices implanted in himself and Aspen, they had recorded all the necessary data to assure that his people could integrate with the rest of the humans.
This last mission was to find a suitable mate to assess if their two species would be compatible, or if they would have to engage in artificial blending between their species. That afternoon a month ago, when he had first asked her out on a date, he had implanted a nano into her to track her vitals. So far all reports were that she was an optimally healthy and fertile female.
He undoubtedly wanted to be with Laura. What he struggled with now was that he did not want to treat her like a mission objective. He had never had the opportunity to cultivate any emotional relationships with people of his own species, so he found himself being drawn out of his emotional sterility by Laura.
Paul shook his head to physically clear his thoughts. The mission needed to be put first, but he did not want to think about his own emotional complications at the moment. For now, he needed to take advantage of her sleep to run a few final tests, and to move her from the couch so that she would not be uncomfortable in her sleep.
*****
Laura’s head felt fuzzy when she woke up. She knew she drank too much wine the night before, but still, the hangover was worse than what she remembered from the days when she would hit the bars. Luckily, the ache was contained to her head, and she had no worries as she remembered falling asleep in Paul’s arms last night.
She groaned and was immediately answered by a wet nose snuffling in her ear and she turned over to be greeted by Aspen’s slobbery dog kisses. This turned her groan into a giggle.
Sitting up, she pacified Aspen by petting him so that she might get a glimpse at her surroundings. The queen sized bed she was laying in had crisp white sheets and a dark wood frame. Across from her were a closed closet door, a dresser, and an open door that led to the hallway. To her right was another door that led to a bathroom. To her left was a nightstand that held a glass of water, a couple of aspirin, and a note.
I didn’t want to wake you, but I had to go to work. Breakfast is ready for you downstairs when you’re awake. I understand if you need to leave, but you’re welcome to stay. –Paul
Laura smiled. Even if they hadn’t physically moved onto another level, she felt that emotionally they had. She thought about how he must have carried her to what she assumed was his bed from the couch and smiled.
He had not undressed her, and she was glad for that as it showed he was not a pervert. On top of that he had foreseen her hangover from the wine and had thoughtfully left the aspirin out for her on the nightstand. Grateful, she grabbed the aspirin and downed them with the glass of water so that she might begin her recovery.
After using the bathroom, Laura wandered downstairs and found a breakfast of pancakes with sausage warming inside a covered dish in the oven. A potholder was laid out on the marble countertop next to the stove for her use as well as a plate with a knife and fork. On the stove there was a teakettle and another note from Paul.
I remembered you don’t drink coffee. There is tea and sugar in the cabinet above the stove, or orange juice in the refrigerator.
Aspen sat patiently across the room while Laura made a cup of tea and fixed herself a plate. Feeling guilty she held up a piece of sausage, “I won’t tell if you won’t.”
The dog’s ears perked up, and Laura stealthily fed him the piece of meat as if they were both being watched by Paul. She laughed at herself and then took her tea and her plate over to the dining table to enjoy her breakfast. She had nearly forgotten how good of a cook Paul was until she took her first bite of the pancakes. They were divine.
Aspen laid down at her feet while she ate and she made hypothetical conversation with him just like she used to do on their walks. She found she kind of missed these little conversations with the dog since she and Paul had ended their business relationship when they pursued their romantic relations.
“So what does Paul think of me?” she asked him between bites. “You’re the one who spends all day with him.”
Aspen let out a low whine in response.
“Do you really think so?” The dog made a noise that sounded like a “harrumph” and Laura giggled to herself. “I must sound like a desperately crazy woman to be asking you how Paul feels about me. Would you like another piece of sausage?”
Aspen sat up straight and barked clearly. There was no doubt that he definitely wanted the sausage. He scarfed down the treat and waited patiently while Laura finished the rest of her breakfast.
Afterwards, Laura returned her dishes to the kitchen, rinsing them off in the sink. Then she decided she would explore the rest of the house and see what benign secrets she could discover about Paul.
Trailing at her heels, Aspen accompanied her as she casually moved about the different rooms of the house. She appreciated his taste in art and she even recognized some of the prints, like Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange.
All of his bookshelves were filled with historical texts and high-level science books, far more complex than her high school biology knowledge. He clearly wasn’t much of a fiction reader, which was a little intimidating, but she figured it was more than appropriate given his personality. Although, she did consider that perhaps she should introduce him to some fiction authors, like Tolkien, who wrote dense fictions that he would probably enjoy.
Just off from his living room, she found his office. There was a large mahogany desk with a couple of computer monitors hooked up along with neat stacks of paperwork. She decided it best not to snoop around there lest she shuffle the papers and cause the loss of important documents.
She was just about to settle in the living room and see what was on the television, but thought she’d give the upstairs a quick peek as well. Her investigation brought her first to a guest bedroom, which she de
termined as such only because the only items in the closet were spare bed sheets, a few boxes of labeled decorations, and an acoustic guitar.
Then she returned to the bedroom where she woke up. This was, without a doubt, Paul’s bedroom. The knowledge made her heart flutter. After all, he had a well put together guest bedroom, but had chosen to have her sleep in his bed. The next thought that struck her was that he had probably slept right next to her in that bed, his bed. It was enough to make her giddy.
“He slept right there next to me, didn’t he,” she asked Aspen, who barked an enthusiastic reply. Laura laughed with delight and shared Aspen’s excitement. “Let’s go for a quick walk,” she suggested, “and then we’ll see what’s on Netflix.”
***
Aspen let out a sharp bark before the door even opened to alert Laura to Paul’s presence. She paused the episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine that she was on and followed the dog to the front hall to greet Paul. There he stood removing his jacket and the moment his eyes found her a smile spread across his face.
“I’m glad you decided to stay.”
“I didn’t think you wanted me to go,” she said as they crossed the distance to one another.
“I don’t,” he said as his arm slid around her waist.
In that moment she knew what was to come and tilted her head as their lips met in a kiss that felt like a jolt of electricity flowing through her. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling the longing he had for her in the way his lips crashed down on hers along with his grip around her waist and his fingers knotted in her hair.
Paul kept holding her closer until she was barely on the ground anymore. Then in one swift movement he swept her off of her feet and carried her up to the bedroom, his lips never leaving hers.
As soon as he laid her down on the bed, Laura’s hands began tugging at the green polo shirt, releasing it from the waistband of his khakis. Paul responded quickly and the shirt disappeared, revealing the body the she had dreamed about for months. He was just as perfect as she had imagined, his tanned skin rippling with toned muscles. There was a light dusting of blonde hair on his chest that condensed and darkened as it trailed down his abdomen.
Laura ran her hands over his body and reached up to kiss him again and pull him down onto her. His hands began to explore her as well, feeling her curves through her shirt and jeans. She wanted so badly for her clothes to disappear so that she wouldn’t have to unlock her lips from his.
Paul was the one who pulled away first, pulling Laura up into a sitting position on the bed. She reached for the hem of her shirt, but his hand caught hers before she could remove it.
“Wait, I-I have something to tell you first.”
Laura wasn’t sure how to react and silently looked up at him while he held her hands in his own, waiting for whatever it was he had to say.
“I think I love you,” he said and Laura felt her mouth fall open, but before she could utter a word he continued. “That’s why I have to tell you something, and you may not like it. I don’t want to lie to you though. I don’t want you to be upset either.”
A million worst-case scenarios ran through Laura’s mind all at once. Was it a disease? Was he already married? Was he secretly a con man? A hit man? All of these thoughts jumbled up inside of her, but when she opened her mouth all that came out was an intensely calm and decisive voice saying, “It’s alright, Paul. You can tell me anything.”
“Laura,” he stopped to take a breath, “I’m an alien.”
*****
Laura locked the door of her apartment behind her before falling against it and sliding to the floor. She wasn’t sure what had just happened, just that it left her shaken and confused.
An alien? Not only that, but he had gone on to call himself a cyborg, a hybrid of an organic life form with technology. She could have dealt with anything else, kids, ex-wife, current wife, even a communicable disease, but this alien nonsense was too much for her.
To begin with she thought that it was a joke. Then, as he continued to explain his “mission on this planet” she thought that maybe he was just crazy. But what she couldn’t shake was when he held up his left arm and it began glowing and calling up data and statistics at his command. In her mind this all had to be an elaborate hoax.
She shook violently as she remembered how he reached out to her when she excused herself and began to back away. He moved towards her and she made a dash for the door. Her keys were lying on the kitchen table and she grabbed them as she darted towards the front door, forsaking her shoes and jacket.
Paul was calling out her name as she wrenched the door open and when she slammed the car door shut behind her she looked over to see him coming out onto the front step.
“Laura.” He shouted and she was sure that all the neighbors were hearing and watching this spectacle. “Laura, wait.”
She jammed the key in the ignition and blew through more red lights than she cared to admit just in order to reach home, where she could safely have this meltdown and attempt to process what had just happened. Here she was, sitting in the entryway of her apartment sobbing violently and wondering why the universe had to be so cruel to her.
***
Paul couldn’t understand what it was that he had done wrong. According to his research, which consisted of a great many chick flick movies and daytime talk shows, being honest and upfront with a woman was supposed to be the best way to go. He felt sick in the pit of his stomach, as if someone had just punched him and knocked the wind out of him. He couldn’t seem to get enough air and he wanted to throw up all of his organs.
“What did I do?” he muttered to himself over and over. He could understand why she would have trouble believing him, but he didn’t know why she ran away from him. Hadn’t he shown her in all this time that he cared about her and had no ill intentions?
Paul sat in his living room, hands clasping his head, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He was stupefied and this confusion slowly turned into a rage. His whole body began to shake until his emotions overflowed and he lashed out.
Afterwards, when he observed the damage he felt ashamed. Tables were turned over, chairs broken, art ripped from the walls, and ceramic sculptures smashed into a million pieces. At least the damage was contained to his living and dining room area. His loss of temper scared him, and he accepted the mild comfort that at least Laura had not seen this lapse in his self-control.
Aspen peeked out from the doorway of the office to see if the wave of destruction had subsided. Paul caught sight of the dog and was momentarily choked up.
“I’m sorry,” he said to the canine. “I’m so sorry.”
Slowly Aspen was coaxed into coming out of the office and towards Paul, but he was clearly still frightened and unsure about the state of his owner. Sitting back down on the couch, Paul extended his hand outwards to pet Aspen and felt a pang of guilt when the animal flinched away from him.
“I’m sorry, boy.” It seemed to be the only thing that he could say, but his repeated apologies did not seem to be doing much in the way of making amends.
Sliding down from the couch, Paul knelt down before the dog and held out his hands as a plea for his forgiveness. Slowly, Aspen stepped forward and placed his head into Paul’s outstretched hands. The broken man began to sob, burying his face into the dog’s long golden hair. Over and over again, all he could say was “I’m sorry,” until finally he fell asleep, leaning against the couch with his arms still wrapped around Aspen, who sat diligently keeping watch over his master.
*****
Two weeks had gone by since Paul had revealed to Laura the nature of his being. Two weeks since she had run away from him in terror. For the first whole week Paul had refused to even check in with his commander or to go into his mundane accounting job.
When he did finally return to his Earth job, it was under the pretense of having been sick. His excuse to his commander was a system malfunction that had knocked him offline for a while. In either case, he couldn’t
admit that his absence was because the first woman that he had fallen in love with had run away from him as if he were a monster from a science fiction movie.
In that time, he had come to appreciate Aspen as more than just a piece of mission equipment. He discovered that it was time that he acknowledged that the dog was a living creature, same as he was, and deserved affection. Through this reformed bond with Aspen, Paul discovered that he could receive unconditional love from this animal. Also, being a dog, Aspen didn’t care if parts of his owner were technological implants and physical enhancements.
The nano tracker he had implanted in Laura still sent him information on her and Paul reserved himself to quietly watching over her at this point in time. She had made it clear that she did not want to be near him. This did not mean that he had to dismiss his feelings for her.
Every morning when he woke up and got ready for work he would check on her, sleeping safely in her bed. Then in the afternoons he would check again to see her moving vitally around the park, walking all of the other neighborhood dogs. And once more, he would check in the evenings, to make sure she was getting home safely from class.
She went about her days routinely, and as far as Paul knew, she was moving on without him. From his limited insight, she appeared to be doing just fine without him.
***
Every day was painful for Laura. She physically ached from her emotional pain. It was little help either that she still worked in the same neighborhood where Paul lived and would have to pass by his house nearly every day.
It also did not help that when she did pass by his house, sometimes she would hear Aspen barking for her, or catch a glimpse of him peeking over his backyard fence if he was outside. It made her heart ache so much that sometimes she considered stopping by, just to check on Aspen, but she knew that it would be too much for her.
Sometimes she would wake up from dreaming about Paul, and sometimes she could still feel the ghost of his embrace wrapped around her, the memory of his lips pressed to hers. It was always the worst in the mornings when she’d awaken to find herself alone in her room. The second worst was in the evenings when her mind pondered whether or not things could have turned out differently.