by Zara Zenia
“I see.” I lean back in my chair with a hand on my full stomach.
“And what about your friends? I’ve not seen them in so long, and my dad says they’re not living with you anymore? Have they returned home?”
“No,” he looks so sad as he thinks about them and bows his head. “They have simply moved on.”
He doesn’t elaborate, and I don’t want to upset him by turning this into an interrogation.
“Well,” I smile. “I’m just glad you decided to come into the store that day. You’re really cool, and it’s been fun hanging out.”
His face lights up, and his smile is so wide as he leans forward and takes my hands in his.
“You make me very happy, Allison,” he looks into my eyes and squeezes my hands so tight I can feel him cutting off my circulation. “Just, so happy. You are a very kind lady, and I’ve been so fortunate to have met you. Who knows what trouble I could have been in without your help?”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Benzen.” I pull away feeling a little embarrassed. “It’s been a pleasure. I don’t like seeing people in trouble.”
He’s silent for a moment as he looks at the lobster carcass on his plate. He’s torn it apart in an attempt to eat it, but eventually left most of it untouched.
“I don’t think you should work in the store anymore,” he blurts out.
“Excuse me?” I almost choke. “Why would you say that?”
“Because,” he hesitates. “Because you are too good for such a place. You should be a doctor instead, be in a job that cares about people. I’ve seen how the customers in there treat you, and they treat me the same. It’s almost as if we are not as important as they are. They think we are low and subservient to them, all because we are the ones that scan their food.”
He’s angry, and I can tell, but it only makes him look cuter. I pull my chair around the table so I’m pressed up close to him with our thighs touching. I can smell his cologne and recognize it straight away as one we sell in the store. Then I look at his shoes and see that we sell those too.
“You're so sweet,” I whisper, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m lucky to know you.”
I feel my heart race. He’s not like any other guy I’ve met, and I don’t want to let him slip through my fingers. I pick up his hand and place it on my thigh.
“Benny,” I smile. “You don’t mind if I call you Benny, do you?”
He shakes his head.
“I like that name.” He looks down at my leg. “Especially because you created it.”
He’s endlessly alluring and romantic. It could be the wine, but in the moment, it seems that everything he says is endlessly cute and thoughtful.
“You can touch me,” I announce. “You know that, don’t you?”
And I pick up his hand and pull it even further up my thigh. I can see he’s beginning to blush, but he’s not pulling away, either.
“I’d love to treat you,” I whisper into his ear.
“Treat me?” he asks confused.
“Yeah, like really show you a good time.”
He doesn’t seem to get what I’m hinting at, and it’s the most charming and precious thing to watch.
“You’re such a darling,” I breathe into his neck.
I can feel all the tiny hairs on his neck rise up as goose bumps form on his skin. Then, finally, he squeezes my leg. He gasps as he feels my thigh. I look down and see a little bump form in his pants, meaning he’s just as turned on as I am.
“How about we take this outside?”
“Outside?”
“To my car,” I smile. “How about it?”
“Yes!” He’s excited at the thought. “I’d love nothing more.”
After paying the bill and stumbling out of the restaurant, we make our way out into the parking lot. With our hands around each other’s waists, we struggle to find my car.
“I’m sure it’s this way!” I wave my keys in a random direction.
“You usually park over that way, near the store entrance.”
I ponder this for a second before bursting out laughing.
“Oh yeah!” I clap my hands together. “I must be drunker than I thought.”
I lean into him, draping myself over his body.
“Are you sure?” He asks as he brushes the hair from my eyes.
“Sure about what?”
“About…you know.” he raises his eyebrows.
“Absolutely.” I reach up and kiss him on the cheek.
“As long as you’re sure. I don’t want you to think I’m pressuring you.”
“Oh my god, Benny, Benzen, I mean, Benny. I’ve never had a guy be so considerate before.”
“I am not other guys,” he says.
I’m surprised by him. It’s the first time I’ve seen him act so confident, and it’s pretty sexy.
“What are you then?” I grab his tuxedo jacket and pull him to me as soon as we reach my car.
“I’m special.” He presses his body up to mine.
“That’s pretty obvious,” I bite my lower lip.
He looks at me intently for a moment, and a serious look washes over his face. Then he leans in and kisses me gently. His lips are cold yet soft, and he tastes sweet. He’s a gentle kisser, and he holds me tight. I feel my body yield to this touch. I’ve never wanted someone so much in my life, and I’m eager to get him into the car.
I fumble with my keys behind me as I try to unlock the door. At last, I get the key in the lock, and we fall inside. Once in the back seat, I pull him on top of me and begin tearing off his clothes. Ripping his tuxedo from his body, I run my hands over him and feel every part of him. I can feel how rock hard his abs are. Yet as I move my hands around to his muscular arms down to his lower back, he tenses and pulls away.
“Sorry,” he gasps. “I just...don’t like being touched there.”
“Sorry!” I move my hands to his front. “I understand.”
We kiss for so long it feels like a dream. Our limbs become entangled as we grind against each other in a steady rhythm. It isn’t long before he wants to see me naked too, but in his typical style, he makes sure I’m ok with it first.
“Can I pull your dress down?” he asks. “I want to see your breasts.”
“Of course.”
I stick my thumbs into the straps of my dress and pull them down over my shoulders to reveal myself. My nipples stick out stiff and pink, and I feel Benzen’s hardness prod against me. I pull his head to my chest and let him suck, his tongue running laps over my skin. He’s caring and gentle as he kisses my body, and I fling back my head, easing into the feeling of being pleasured.
“I’m ready,” I say as I pull my legs apart. “I wanna go all the way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!” I nod. “More than anything!”
I don’t have to tell him twice. He jumps on me and presses his chest hard against mine. Then, when I feel like I can’t get any more turned on, he enters me. It shocks me. Something’s not quite right, but at the same time, it’s the best thing I’ve ever felt in my life.
I can barely explain the way he’s moving inside me, but in my drunken state of ecstasy, I don’t want him to stop, either. It’s too good. He’s hitting places I’ve never been touched before in a way I’ve never experienced.
“Oh god!” I dig my nails into his back. “How are you doing that? What are you doing?”
“I told you, I’m not like other guys. I can move in a way other men can’t, and I can pleasure a woman in different ways.”
“What do you mean?”
I feel an orgasm approach me so fast and hard my thighs start trembling.
“Fuck!” I scream.
The whole car is bouncing from side to side, squeaking as he thrusts into me over and over again. But as I climax, I’m almost convinced he’s not using his penis on me, but an amazingly huge vibrator instead.
“Aaaaargh!”
It’s as if he’s moving clockwise inside
me, touching my g-spot over and over again. I climax hard as I groan loudly into his chest, biting into his skin as I shudder. Then I’m breathless, gasping for air as the blood runs from my reddened cheeks.
“You’re the best,” he answers simply.
He looks down and gives me a sly, cheeky look. Then he kisses me softly, caressing my body as we lay side by side in the back seat.
“How did you do that?” I’m still so confused.
“I can move in a different way.”
“Wh-what do you mean?” I’m still struggling to speak and catch my breath.
“My penis, it moves like in the way you would expect a drill to move,” he begins to explain as though what he’s saying is perfectly normal. “You know, in circular motions.”
He traces his finger through the air to show me what he means. I burst out laughing and smack him in the chest.
“You’re crazy!” I giggle. “But…whatever you were doing, it was the best I’ve ever had.”
Chapter 12
Benzen
I’ve just had the best time of my life with Allison. I always dreamed that I could be close with her in such a way, but I always cherished just being friends with her too. Now, as we pull our clothes on and giggle as we tickle each other, I feel as though I could never be happier.
Once dressed, we climb into the front seats and sit for a moment. I can sense Allison is still shaking in her seat, recovering from the orgasm I just gave her. It makes me smile, knowing that I could pleasure her in such a way.
“There’s that cheeky smile of yours again,” she laughs and pinches my cheek.
“I can’t help it. I’m happy!”
“I am too,” she says, her tone low as she leans over and kisses me.
I hold her tight, wanting to make her feel safe. We’re lost in the moment, enjoying the touch and taste of each other when something tears us apart. There’s a noise. It’s almost deafening, and we flinch and clasp our hands to our ears.
There’s an explosion, a flash of orange light and a roaring fire that leaps out from the front of the restaurant. The flames are long tendrils of heat and light, dancing up to the sky as people burn inside them.
I hear Allison scream, a torrent of fear escaping her throat. Looking above, I see the attackers. They come in matte black shuttles, ones that aren’t too different from the one I came to Earth in.
“Palzu,” I mutter through gritted teeth.
“What?” She turns to me, bewildered.
“I know who’s done this.”
“How can you? What are you talking about?”
She’s frantic and panicking, delirious with fear, and I can’t blame her. There’s screaming all around us, broken glass settling over the parking lot like glittering snow. Allison’s eyes are filled with terror and shining with tears.
I try to reach over and hold her, but before I get the chance, there are troops on the ground, jumping from the landing shuttles. They’re running everywhere, and I watch as they terrorize innocent people. It then strikes me that they aren’t looking for me in particular, but they're hurting humans indiscriminately. It appears that instead of looking for just me and my crew, they have decided to obliterate an entire area as if killing vermin.
“Who are those people?” Allison screams.
I don’t answer, because I don’t want to frighten her anymore. She slams the locks down in the car in a futile attempt at protecting us, but we both know that the attackers are powerful. A fragile window means nothing to people as barbaric as this. They’d punch through the entire body of this car in a heartbeat and kill us with their bare hands if they wanted. I’ve seen them do worse.
It isn’t long before they’re surrounding the car. Allison is trembling so much that her entire seat is shaking. She grabs my hand and digs her fingernails into my skin. I don’t care about the pain she is inflicting, and I just relish the chance to feel her touch.
The troops move closer with guns slung over their shoulders and a savage glint in their eyes. Then they’re closer still. There’s one who has his eye on Allison’s side of the car, and he moves over quickly and yanks open her door. I knew the lock wouldn’t hold him—not much could.
She screams as he grabs her by the arm and in my rage, I close my eyes. I focus all my power on him, and in a split second, he’s flying through the air. He lands against a van in the distance, unconscious and limp as he falls to the ground.
Allison looks at me, shocked and petrified. Meanwhile, the other troops are moving in fast with their guns at the ready. They’re standing in a line around the car, fingers against the triggers and ready to shoot.
“They’re going to kill us!”
She flings herself at me and clings to me.
“Keep down,” I lay her head in my lap and stroke her hair. “I will not let any harm come to you.”
She looks up at me with desperate, tearful eyes, and I gently brush my fingertips down over her eyelids.
“Don’t look,” I whisper. “I will save you.”
Inside my mind, I am furious, yet externally, I'm perfectly calm with concentration. I can see all the troops in front of me, and I know it’s only a fraction of a second until they all shoot at once. I relax, knowing that no matter what they do, I am ready for them. I close my eyes and wait for the sound of gunfire.
It comes quickly, but before the bullets reach the car, I deflect them. They fall to the ground with a gentle clicking noise as though a child skimmed their marbles across the tarmac. They look on in disbelief. I have saved both of our lives. For now.
Pushing Allison off my lap, I insist she get back in the driving seat and start the engine.
“What the fuck, Benzen? What’s going on?”
“Don’t think about it, don’t look ahead, and don’t ask questions. Just drive fast and get us out of here.”
She nods and does as I say with a look of grim determination on her face. We speed out of the parking lot with the tires screeching and the sound of burning rubber trailing behind us.
Despite my words, after we've driven a ways, she blurts out, “What did you do back there?”
She’s screaming while she’s driving, gripping the steering wheel so hard she has white knuckles. I don’t say a word, but I know that sooner or later, she’s going to have to find out who I really am.
Chapter 13
Allison
I’m running up the stairs with my heart in my mouth and my legs weak and trembling. I don’t think I’m going to reach Benzen’s apartment before I pass out. This can’t be happening. What I just saw back there wasn’t real. It can't be. I try to make sense of what I just witnessed. Maybe we stumbled into the middle of a movie being filmed. Maybe it was an incredibly high tech and super expensive prank for a reality TV show, or may I’ve lost my mind and suffered a psychotic break. Or maybe it was real…
As we reach Benzen’s floor, I struggle to catch up with him. He’s so much fitter than I am and is hurtling down the corridor toward his apartment.
“Hurry!” he calls after me.
Unlocking the door, he flings me inside and slams the door shut before bolting all the locks.
“We’re in great danger!” he yells.
“I can see that!”
I don’t know whether to be afraid or angry. He’s hiding something, and I know it.
“What are you not telling me, Benzen?”
He doesn’t say a word. He does what he usually does when he’s trying to ignore my questions. Pacing up and down his living room floor, he fails to make eye contact with me and merely flicks up a hand to silence me.
“I’m thinking,” he grabs at his hair.
“I don’t care what you’re doing. You have to explain what happened back there. You have to tell me everything. We almost died, people DID die!”
Again, he remains silent. I’m too scared and in such a state of shock that I don’t feel like being sensitive to his emotions right now. I grab him by the shoulders and scream, “Tell me, Ben
zen! For Christ’s sake, what did you do back there?”
He looks hurt at my outburst, but then his eyes meet mine, and he nods.
“Ok. Sit down. I’ll tell you everything, but you won’t believe me,” he warns as he slumps onto the sofa.
“After what I just saw, I don’t know what I believe about anything anymore. The bullets, they were coming right at us. I heard the gunfire! But then I heard them all fall to the ground like pennies. When I looked out the window, I thought I was dreaming, imagining the bullets on the ground. They should be inside us right now. We should be dead like the rest of them!”
“I deflected them,” he says suddenly.
He’s calm as he speaks, his voice cool and tart. I’m not quite sure that I hear him right, and I look at him for a moment for signs that he’s joking. There aren’t any. His features are flat and motionless, sad and scared just like mine.
“You deflected them?”
“With my mind.”
“What?”
“I can do a lot of things with my mind.”
I churn this over in my head for a few seconds before leaning forward and pulling at his clothes.
“Are you a psychic?”
“I am, but that is normal for us.”
“For who?” I ask, my fingernails digging deep into his shirt.
“For Orbans. We…are aliens here.”
Again, I’m certain I’ve heard wrong. There’s no way he just said he was an alien. What kind of nonsense is this? But as I replay all the events of the last couple months, my brain starts to piece it all together. The strange way he arrived at the store, his total lack of knowledge about everything, and of course, the way his body felt as we made love. It's almost beginning to make sense.
“Your friends?”
“Yes. We are from the same planet. We fled to Earth together, and that’s why we’re in great danger.”
“I can see that.”
I’m angry as hell. Hard as it is to process that Benzen is an actual alien, all of the carnage I just witnessed back there is because of his coming here. But I can’t be mad. Whatever is happening is so much bigger than what I can understand right now. It’s too much to hear. All I know is that the man I’ve been falling for is not from the same world as me, and that is enough to contend with at the moment.