Candidate (Selected Book 4)

by Robin Roseau

  "You told them."

  "For me, there were no words like those. It was so hard. Two words. Just two words, and they were the hardest two words of my life. I'm gay. I pushed away from mom, sat at the table quietly, and then said it to my hands."

  "What happened?"

  "Mom said, What? We didn't hear you. Speak up. So I looked up at her and said, only a little louder, I'm gay. And then Dad cupped a hand behind his ear like an old man and said, What? Speak up. So I said it louder. And they kept teasing me until I was practically yelling it. And then Mom said, I'm glad you finally got that out. You've kept that bottled inside you for years. Who wants ice cream? And honey, if you have a girlfriend, we expect you to bring her home to meet your parents."

  "Wow," said Tracey.

  "Yeah. For me, it was those two words. I'm gay." Then I raised my voice, lifting my nose to the ceiling. "I'm gay!" I looked down at her. "It's liberating."

  She lowered her eyes. "You can't give me to a man."

  "Why not?"

  "You know why, don't you?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about. He'll treat you very well."

  "You know."

  "Why can't I give you to a man, Tracey? I don't have enough influence to get you out of this mess. Unless you win your challenges, you're leaving here with a suitor, and I think they cheat."

  "What do you mean they cheat?"

  "Let me tell you about the Octal." By the time I was done with the story, her eyes were practically bugged out of her head. I shrugged. "The men cheat too, somehow. I'm sure you'll love him."

  "Please, Andromeda," she said. "Don't give me to one of the men."

  "I need a reason, Tracey."

  She looked down. "You know why," she whispered.

  "I can't hear you," I said. "Speak up."

  She lipped the words. I'm gay. I checked the tapes later. Not a sound came out.

  "What? I can't read lips."

  "I'm gay."

  "I still can't hear you."

  She looked up and stared into my eyes. "I'm gay! All right? I'm gay! Are you satisfied?"

  "Maybe I am, but I'm not sure that made it to the tape, and without it, the aliens aren't going to believe me. I'm just a dumb human. Shout it, Tracey."

  "I'm gay!" she yelled. "I like women. I love women. Okay, I don't know, I've never had a woman, but I want to have a woman. Or have a woman want me. I like women. I like their curves and their voices, and it's all I can do not to stare in the locker rooms. I like women. I'm gay!"

  "I know," I said. "Ever said it before?"

  And then she was sobbing and shook her head. So I moved around the table and held her while she cried.

  "Feels good, doesn't it?"

  "Uh huh."

  It took a while, and she thanked me how many times, I don't know. But then I moved back to my side of the table. "So, you like women. What kind of woman?"

  "What? What do you mean, what kind?"

  "Tall, short, butch, femme..."

  "I don't even know what those are."

  "Tough and rugged or opera gloves and dresses."

  "Curves," she said. "I like curves. And breasts. I love breasts."

  "I love breasts, too," I said. "Unfortunately, so far I haven't seen a single breast on any of 'em. Could you live without breasts?"

  She side. "I really like looking at breasts, Andromeda."

  "You know what? The aliens are fascinated by human breasts. God, you wouldn't believe what they made me do today." I told her about it. "And they're making me go again this afternoon for the ones who didn't make it this morning, and once more tomorrow morning. I wouldn't suppose you'd go with me."

  She stared. "Okay."

  "Really?"

  "If you let me look at your breasts."

  I laughed, and Jasmine and Cedar both walked in. I wasn't expecting them both. Tracey's eyes snapped up, and she froze.

  I looked over my shoulder. "Oh, now it takes both of you to babysit me? Tracey and I were just having an amazing conversation. Tracey, the Catseye is Jasmine Brighteyes. She likes being called Administrator. The Loris is Cedar, and she's very sweet."

  "Loris?"

  "Like a slow loris," I said. "You know, with the big eyes."

  "Oh," said Tracey. "She does look like a loris!"

  "She sure does," I said. "She's married to a rather obnoxious male Loris," I said. "Although I bet he's going to grow on me."

  "Bay?" Cedar asked. "I doubt it. He's a jerk, but I love him anyway." She grabbed a chair and sat on one side of me, Jasmine on the other.

  "You two are aliens," Tracey said.

  "Yes, we are," Jasmine said. "Space aliens."

  "From outer space," I said. It seemed like the thing to say at the time.

  "Yeah, I got that," said Tracey.

  "Administrator Brighteyes," I said, "I was just telling Tracey about my swimming promises. She wants to join me."

  "Oh, she does, does she? And does she know how much clothing you'll be wearing."

  "I think that was the clincher," I said. "Wait for it though." I turned to Tracey. "Tell them."

  "Tell them what."

  "You know," I said. "You told me. Now tell them. Come on. Tell them."

  She smiled. It was a shaky smile. "I'm gay."

  "Oh come on," I said. "The Loris is hard of hearing. It comes from listening to her male whine at her 24-7. Say it like you mean it."

  "I'm gay!" she said not quite yelling. "G-A-Y gay! A lesbian. A-"

  "Don't say it," I said. "I hate those terms."

  "Right," she said. "Sorry. Carpet muncher."

  "Oh, you didn't just say that!" I said.

  She grinned at me. "That really is a disgusting phrase."

  "So, as I was saying, Administrator, she wants to go swimming with me, and yes, she knows what I won't be wearing. I am fairly certain that was the clincher. Why is that, Tracey?"

  "Because I like looking at boobies!"

  "You see? She's gay. She wants to look at my boobies. Although they're kind of small." I gave Tracey a considering look. "Shit. Her's are a lot better than mine!"

  She looked down. "They're not bad," she said.

  "So, as I was saying, Tracey wants to go swimming with me. So she can look at my breasts."

  "Right," Tracey said. "What she said."

  "And does she know she won't be wearing anything more than you are, if I let her swim with you?"

  "She didn't actually mention that part," Tracey said. "It's all girls though, right?"

  "It better be, or I'll get my Wookie friend to kick some Catseye ass."

  "Wookie?"

  "Oh let me show you a Wookie!" I grabbed the tablet, brought up Soft Rain's image, and turned it around. "This is a Wookie. She's huge. And loves kicking Catseye ass."

  "There won't be any males," Jasmine quickly promised.

  "I'll do it," Tracey said. "And I'll even let the other aliens look." She grinned. "As long as they're all naked, too."

  I laughed. "They were this morning, but not a boob among them. It was quite depressing. Some of 'em have great asses, though, and others have, well, other things."

  "Other things?"

  "You'll have to see for yourself," I said. "Administrator Brighteyes, are you coming swimming again this afternoon?"

  "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

  "Chicken," I said. I leaned across the table. "She can't swim, which is far more ironic than you realize."

  "What? Why?"

  It wasn't my secret to tell, but I was ready, and I flashed a message to Jasmine. "May I tell her?"

  The answer came back almost instantly. "I'll trust your judgment."

  "Well, Tracey," I said, lowering my voice. "She has entacles-tay."

  "You're not actually fooling me with that, Andromeda," Jasmine said.

  "I don't see any," Tracey said.

  "They're kind of like boobs. We hide our boobs. She hides her entacles-tay." I smiled. "She looks just like an octopus-way."

 
; "Seriously?" said Jasmine. "Octopus-way, and I'm not supposed to know what that means?"

  "Uid-squay?" I said sheepishly. Tracey laughed.

  "What is an uid-squay?" Jasmine asked.

  "Ha. I knew you didn't understand." I turned back to Tracey. "How about it? Want to flash some boobs at the aliens and let them lust after us?"

  "Sure," she said.

  "Excellent. Administrator Brighteyes, we have a small issue. Tracey doesn't actually know what kind of alien she wants. She isn't sure if she likes them big and strong, or more petite and, well, closer to a human's view of feminine. Do you think we can arrange to give her a chance to decide?"

  Jasmine scoffed. "With you, it's always about decisions, decisions. You should be quiet and do what you're told."

  "Yeah, that's going to work. Let her go swimming with me. Oh, and there's a party tonight. Par-tay! Girls only."

  "I don't have to be naked there, too, do I?"

  "No, but they're going to make you dress skimpy. You know, cause aliens don't have a sense of imagination and need to see our awesome legs or they're not sure we have any."

  "Right," she said. "How skimpy?"

  "Um." I looked her up and down. "About that skimpy. Think of it as a sort of slumber party, and we're all wearing pajamas."

  "Are the aliens going to be wearing pajamas?"

  "No," I said. "They're afraid we'll ogle them too much."

  "I don't think we should go if we don't get to see theirs, if they get to see ours," Tracey said.

  "What she said," I said.

  "Take the party or skip the party," Jasmine said. "We can just toss you both into the arena with the slobbering males."

  I leaned across the table again. "I'm going to go to the party. She's pretty implacable on this."

  I glanced at Jasmine, and she was glaring at me. Yeah, I'd picked that word deliberately and had been hanging onto it, waiting for an opportunity to use it.

  Tracey looked at me. "I want to look pretty."

  "Administrator, do you think we can do something about that?"

  "What are you asking for?"

  "Cosmetics. A brush. Blow dryer. Time. And pretty slippers to go with the pajama look."

  "So you want more privileges and you think she should have a say in what happens."

  "Yep."

  She looked across the table to Tracey. "If you decide you prefer the species that like a challenge, then I will arrange it. Otherwise, you will accept an offer from one of the species that prefer a willing mate. Are we agreed?"

  "Agreed."

  * * * *

  Twenty minutes later, Jasmine, the three senior event coordinators, Dark Skies, and I gathered in the conference room. Jasmine had her tentacles out and couldn't hold still. Cedar and Dark Skies had a good idea what was going on, but Clover and Bay were left confused.

  "So, how did it go today?"

  "I have three more to do," Bay said. They all had a few more. "I'd like to get back to it."

  "I need to send Andromeda to the swimming pool," Jasmine said. "Andromeda, how did you feel it went?"

  "Okay," I said. "A few cried, but I calmed them down. A few were really angry, but I got them to listen. I think they're going to be okay."

  "How many are you sending into the arena?"

  "I think just the one."

  "Wait," said Clover. "How many did you interview?"

  "Seven. Half as many as the rest of you, and I had Jasmine's help with all of them."

  "Only after she closed the deal," Jasmine added.

  "Wait," said Clover. "What?"

  "Six offered to be willing mates," Jasmine said. "One more would have, but she won't be happy with the choices, so we're sending her to the arena. I'll have to rearrange things a little, but she'll offer her ribbon to one. She didn't want the challenges, but she'll do her best."

  "What!" said Bay. "She went seven for seven. As humans say: bullshit. Bull followed by shit. Bullshit."

  "You cherry picked for her," Clover said. "You picked easy ones."

  "How many volunteered for you, Bay?"

  "One."

  "I got two," Clover said.

  "One," said Cedar.

  "None for me," Jasmine said. "Five or six is average for a batch, isn't it, and then a few more change their minds once we get them into the arena. She got seven on top of our four."

  "Seven," said Clover.

  "Clover, schedule a flight to see Peony. You need to get your more difficult cases through their three challenges, but you can feed the easier ones to me, and I'll give some to Andromeda. Feel free to prioritize a little. I'm sorry, I can't give you more than three nights, but I'm working on it."

  Clover began snuffling loudly, and then rocking in her chair besides.

  "Andromeda took two off my hands," Cedar said. "I could take one or two if it helps."

  "I can run events," Dark Skies said. "If someone else handles the negotiations."

  "Make it four nights, Clover," Jasmine said. "We can't be assured of this success every batch, but we'll send you as often as we can, and I'm still trying to find fresh help."

  Clover nodded, still snuffling. Then she looked up at me. "Thank you."

  "I didn't do anything," I said. "But you're welcome. Was there more? I'm due, and how is Tracey getting to the pool?"

  "Tracey who?" Bay asked.

  "One of the women," I said. "She's going swimming with me."

  "You bribed one of them with swimming?" Bay asked. "Is that how she convinced all of them? Gave them bribes?"

  "I'll handle that," Jasmine said. "You'll need to collect her from her cell. I'll have two guards for you."

  "Robes for both of us," I said. "During the walk."

  "Of course. I'll be down after my last interviews."

  * * * *

  I changed out of my work clothes and into my mating candidate clothes. I walked to my cell, and a minute later four guards showed up. They had shackles, and I stared at them. "Are those for me?"

  "No," said Piper.

  "Oh, right. Let's go." I stepped through them, but Piper and Dilly grabbed my arms. I laughed but didn't fight.

  Five minutes later we were outside Tracey's cell. The guys went in first, Tracey and Piper holding me back, and then they let me into Tracey's cell.

  "Hey," I said. "Remember me?"

  "You look different," said Tracey. "When do I get to see your boobs?"

  I laughed. "In the pool. I wouldn't suppose you have a hug for me?"

  "The voice said I had to stay here until I was told otherwise."

  "Right. Guys, can she get up and hug me?"

  "Ms. Peterson, will you cooperate with us?" Piper asked.

  "Yes," she said. "Promise."

  "You may stand," Piper said.

  I stepped forward and pulled Tracey to her feet, and then we hugged. She whispered into my ear, "Thank you."

  "You're welcome," I said. "It wasn't so hard, was it? I think you should tell the guards."

  "Screw them," she said. "They're not offering to let me see their boobs."

  I laughed. "I like your sense of humor," I replied.

  Then I stepped away. She wasn't wearing the visor. I saw it sitting on the end table. "Didn't it work?"

  "I didn't want to get it wet."

  "Waterproof," I said. "And it's better than swim goggles. But it's up to you. If you don't wear it, they'll make you wear a hood instead, at least until we get to the pool."

  "I can wear it swimming?"

  "Yep, but you'll lose control of it in the hallways."

  She grabbed the visor and slipped it on. "You're sure?"

  "Yep. I swim with mine every day. They have to shackle you. Sorry."

  "You're not shackled."

  "I'm some sort of trustee," I said. "That's what happens when you let the Catseye hug you. Let 'em shackle you up, and we can go."

  I stood back. They did the shackles and handcuffs, and then both our visors dimmed.

  "Hey!" I complained.
>
  Someone took my arm. "Come along, Trustee," said Piper.

  * * * *

  They kept us both blind until we were led into the changing room. I grumbled about it, though. "I wanted to see you in the handcuffs, Tracey."

  "Kinky that way, huh?" she asked.

  "I like the way they make your visor pop," I replied.

  She and I engaged in banter the entire way to the pool, but finally the guards left.

  "Finally," I said. "They are such pouty faces."

  "Are you always this perky?"

  "No. I'm whistling in the dark."

  "Oh, why?" she asked.

  "Because we're about to skinny dip with a bunch of space aliens, and they're going to be staring at us. Although they'll probably stare at you. You're far more stare-worthy. Young and perky. I'm old."

  She smiled.

  "Well."

  "Right. Show me yours and I'll show you mine?"

  We laughed and stripped. And yes, she stared at me.

  "I've never touched someone else's," Tracey said.

  "Nice try. I'm saving myself for marriage."

  "Yeah, I bet."

  "All right. We can do this. Right?"

  "Right."

  "They're just space aliens."

  "Right."

  "Naked space aliens."

  "I hear that when you give a speech, you can relax if you think about the audience as naked."

  "I tried that once. Oh, it didn't work for me."

  "Why not?"

  "Because my boss was there, and I didn't really want to think about my boss naked. And I really, really didn't want to think about her boss naked. He was like a hundred and four."

  She laughed.

  I grabbed her hand and turned her to the pool. We walked side-by-side, and her grip grew tighter. "What if they don't like me?"

  "Then you can spend the entire time staring at my ass."

  "No way. I'm not into ass."

  "Then you better be a good swimmer, cause otherwise it's my ass that you're going to see."

  "Oh, I might be able to keep up with you," she said. "You're an old lady."

  "We'll see."

  And then we stepped out into the pool room.

  As I had this morning, I scanned. No males. No other humans. "Whew!" I said.

  "What?"

  "No males."

  "Oh. Yeah." Then she scanned the room. "Oh shit, there are a lot of aliens though, and they're all staring at us."