by Raeden West
However, the very idea of turning such a gorgeous man away was difficult. He wasn’t just tall and handsome. He had amazing puppy dog eyes and a hard chiseled face. His body was lean and muscular, and his eyes baby blue. When he smiled everything in the world seemed a little brighter. And his confidence was out of this world—like a movie star researching a role. For a moment she stared at his face and wondered if she saw him on TV. He was just too cute to be in such common surroundings.
“My name is Valor.”
Nelly laughed. “Your name is Valor?”
“Yes.”
“What, are you an actor in a futuristic musical or something?”
“Or something,” he smiled. “You?”
“I’m Nelly. Look, I’m not interested in buying anything.”
“Fair enough. Then why not let me buy you a drink?”
“Oh…”
“I think you look all melancholy sitting by that fountain. So I think I should cheer you up.”
“No thanks,” she said, squinting her eyes. If only something this strange and cool would have happened last week, before she learned the magic of NO.
“All right, you can buy me a drink then.”
“What?”
“Come on. You have nothing better to do. You’re going to lament about life and sit there all sad looking on that bench and in front of that fountain. When you have the opportunity to change your life for the better.”
“That sounds like a sales pitch. Thanks, but no.”
This is when the nice guys usually make their exit. But something was definitely up with Valor.
“Why are you afraid of opening your heart again?”
Nelly laughed. “I’m not. I just don’t want to go with you.”
“Are you taken?”
“No.”
“Well…even if you were, I couldn’t stop myself from talking to you.”
“Thanks but I have to say no.”
The mystery man shrugged and smiled.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. If you’re obligated to say no, then follow the rules.”
“I’m not obligated…I just…”
“Just what? Come and have coffee with me. I promise I won’t seduce you in the coffee shop. I just want to get to know you.”
“Why?” she asked suspiciously.
“Because…”
“You really expect me to believe that I’m the prettiest girl you’ve seen all day?”
“The truth?”
“Of course.”
“Because I’ve been sent to find you.”
“Oh really now?” she asked suspiciously, not sure if that was a line or an admission that he was a psycho. “Why is that?”
“I don’t think you would believe me if I told you.”
“Try me.”
“I’d like to.”
Nelly laughed. “Come on! Don’t flatter me, handsome stranger. I’m just a woman walking around minding my own business. I don’t want—”
“It’s not flattery. You are beautiful. That’s why I chose you.”
“For what?”
“For a project of great importance. Something I will have to explain in length. Over coffee. So, won’t you accept my hospitality?”
“No.” She smiled, against her will, but she was still determined to keep her self-made promise.
“Fine. Then kiss me. Right here, right now.”
“Why in the world would I kiss you?”
“Because I think you’re the most lovely woman here. And because I obviously want you. I want your attention. I want to take you to dinner and have fun talking. And you obviously think we have no chemistry. So I want to prove you wrong.”
Nelly laughed. “And what if we don’t? Then what do you do for me?”
“I will become your love slave.”
“Nice try! That sounds more like fun for you, not me.”
“I will give you one hundred dollars. Consider it a kill fee for losing my fair wage.”
“Hmmm. I still have to say no,” she said with a smile. “I’ve started a new arrangement, where I say no to everyone, even if my instinct is to say yes. I just need to stop trying to please other people so much. Nothing personal.”
“Okay. I understand. So the answer is no. But let me ask you this. If I were to tell you that I’m in love with you would you say that you don’t feel the same way about me?”
He smiled.
“No.”
“So you wouldn’t say it. Which means you do feel something for me. Am I wrong to assume that?”
“No. I mean…you’re funny.”
“Come on. Stop your little game of saying no to everything and come let me explain it all over coffee.”
She flinched. How did he know about that?
Something about this handsome fellow seemed strange. Naturally, Nelly’s first thought was a serial killer or a spy. There was just something off about a guy who was good looking, confident and this determined.
“All right, I’m not saying yes. But I will walk to you to the coffee shop and think about it.”
“Fair enough,” he said, signaling her to follow him to another mall section.
As they walked, Nelly glanced over at “Valor,” such an obviously fake name, and wondered what the scheme was. If he were a salesman, she had to admit the pitch was good and probably worth buying some chocolates for. If he were really a lonely guy trying to con his way into a date, it was creative enough to work.
But the fact that Valor moved so swiftly, so “in the moment” and with intensity in his face, told her it had to be something else.
“Just to let you know, I don’t trust you. So I’m not going anywhere that’s not in the public view.”
“That’s smart. People are too trusting these days,” he said with a nod.
“Yes, they are. So explain. Who are you? Why do you claim to know me?”
“I didn’t say I knew you. I said I have chosen you.”
“For what? Some psycho cult thing?”
“No. Look, I know there are some extreme differences between our species when it comes to communication. You want to take things slow. I take things quickly.”
“Our species? What, men and women are so different from each other?”
“Yes. That is why I have to put it in language you will understand. I want to take you out to coffee. I want to get to know you. I think you’re interesting. Is that not clear?”
“Sure, but what is the end goal? What do you want from me?”
Nelly smiled in hesitance, knowing she was being harder on this guy than anyone else that had ever approached her. But he deserved it. You have to be a little hard on guys when they’re that cute.
“If I say sex, I’m a predator. If I say marriage and family then I’m a needy little creep. So I just like to say, I am a play-it-by-ear kind of guy.”
It was the right answer, but something about this tall and smiley stranger seemed off. She went inside the coffee shop for herself, not because he asked her to, and listened in intrigue as he went about discussing the future. They discussed matters over two cups of coffee, sitting at a booth.
“You know the end of the world is not too far off,” he said, munching on a muffin.
Nelly laughed. “Wow, you are really good at funny, quirky date conversation.”
“Who said this is a date?”
“Well…you implied it.”
“Have you ever wondered what’s out there? Beyond the sky and beyond the stars?”
“Look, if this is just some trick to…”
“Nelly, I am not trying to trick you. I am offering you an opportunity to start a new life. Your planet…yeah it has like only a hundred years left. But it’s on a collision with a fast-moving star. It’s going to take everything.”
“Okay, so you’re just crazy.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I could spend one year to first show you that I’m a decent guy, a lovable husband and father, and all that nonsense. But time
is of the essence. I am in a hurry. I want to save you. I want to give you a better life away from this doomed planet.”
It wasn’t too hard to say yes this time, for once.
“NO. I am not going with you to outer space, Mister Alien.”
“I just assume that after the experiment, you would want to leave earth. From what my comrades tell me, most earth girls fall in love with their doctors. They find the idea of saying goodbye quite depressing. So I just assume…”
“Well, don’t! Don’t assume. I do not want to leave Earth. Especially with some lunatic guy who thinks he’s an alien.”
“Ah, that’s right. How silly of me. I haven’t shown you the evidence. Your species is very particular about peripheral evidence.”
“Well, yeah! If I came to your planet and just barged in telling you to evacuate…”
Nelly laughed herself silly. “Oh my God, I am so not sleeping with you. Okay, this is really funny!” She laughed again. “But I will never be able to be intimate with a guy who says he’s from outer space just for a line.”
“It’s not exactly my favorite thing to do either, you know,” Valor said with a frustrated frown. “I would much rather be out hunting for dragons then trying to convince a woman that winning the lottery is a good thing.”
“Lottery?”
“Yes. But that doesn’t really make it believable now, does it?”
“You’re a very pessimistic alien, Sir,” Nelly said with a smile. “You should be a lot more into your role. Smile more.”
“Well, a lottery is the only sensible way to choose. There are so many variations of human beings, that we simply have to restrict our campaign to region. This was your state’s turn. That’s all.”
“To what? Kidnap me?”
“Yes. Although it will be consensual. No woman selected has ever not wanted to go.”
“And what? You’ll take me to your planet?”
“Yes. It’s safe there. It’s fun. You seem to have no attachments or family that you care about. I can’t imagine a problem with it. Except of course, your instinct to say no.”
“Fine. I am giving you ten seconds to show me proof that you’re an alien and that I’ve won the lottery.” Nelly smirked and then flared his nostrils in annoyance. “Then, when you fail to do that, I am going to walk away and never speak to you again. And that sucks because if you had just tried to be normal rather than make up this ridiculous lie, I probably would have went out with you. So chew on that.”
“Yes, yes,” Valor said, looking down and resenting the lecture.
“So, Mister Alien. Show me something fantastic,” she said in resentment.
“All right.”
Valor held his hands together and tilted his head, looking a bit bored. He spread his hands apart and waited for Nelly to see it.
Nelly stared downward and saw Valor’s proof.
“OH MY GOD!” she screamed.
She shook her hands in dread as she stood up from the booth. She inhaled in panic and then took off running.
Valor sighed, as if this was the predictable part. He was making bad time. This usually took ten minutes. But this girl was making it very difficult on both of them.
II
Nelly tossed and turned all night. Everything about the once peaceful night now seemed terrifying. Were there aliens watching her? Was there really a devil and his demons? What if all the myths they talked about thousands of years ago were true? She tucked herself in and put a pillow over her head, hoping to not see anything unnerving.
Nelly.
“Who… Who’s there?”
She got up from bed, but noticed there was no furniture…or even a floor. The whole room had melted away into a surreal nightmare of strange shapes and infinite levels of existence.
“Oh God…I better be dreaming.”
I’m sorry I wasn’t more…warm and friendly. I admit, sometimes I don’t understand how to talk to you people. Your species is very particular with language. Your emotion overpowers your logic. But since many of you are duplicitous I understand why you are stubbornly conservative in your viewpoints.
“Are you in my dreams, Valor?” Nelly said.
I felt this was a better medium for what I have to say.
“It’s not! I mean…it’s not great, but about as good as anything else. Look, I’m sorry I bolted out of there. I just wasn’t prepared to see that yet.”
I know. But if it will put you at ease, I promise you this. You will not be forced to relocate. You will always have the option to say no.
“Really? I can?”
Yes. It would be strange and idiotic for anyone to pass up this opportunity. But I suppose I can understand why some beings would not want to do it.
“Hmm…so what would happen once I go to your planet? Science testing?”
“Not really. Perhaps one verbal consultation with our greatest scientists and doctors. But other than that, just a lot of sexual intercourse.”
“What?!”
“Yes. It’s the only reason any planet takes a species from its home habitat. You’re an endangered species in your galaxy. Your planet has an estimated one hundred years left to exist. We want to save you and have you breed in peace.”
“Oh my God…you want to fuck me? Just a life of constant fucking?”
“In a matter of speaking. At first, we were only taking two humans at a time and mating them. But after about a hundred years or so, we discovered that cross breeding the humans and our own species produced a new species that had greater mental and physical capacity. Not everyone at home is approving of this course of action, naturally, and sometimes there heated discussions in which it takes hours to come to an agreement.”
“Wow. At least your planet doesn’t have people protesting and killing each other.”
“No. That is something very human,” Valor said with a smirk.
“Umm…so would it be with you?”
“Usually we select from five of our best available specimens. I’m merely the recruiter. It is my job to start a conversation, make a woman feel at ease and then get her to the ship for selection.”
“Well, you’re not very good at making women feel at ease.”
“Making the transition from seductive male to female contact, and turning it into alien to human contact is rather difficult.”
“Well, Mister Valor. If I did agree to this, I would want you. You only.”
“Really?” He seemed surprised and almost turned a bluish color, which was alarming.
“Are you blushing or getting sick?” she asked with a raised brow.
“Oh. I‘m…merely surprised that you would want me. Some of our more experienced studs are very adept at what they do. I’m…well…I’m only me.”
“But I liked you. I invested all this time and you. Why would you just hand me over to someone I don’t even know? Sometimes a woman wants to feel safe. Like, with a friend.”
Valor’s human smile started to grow and distort, changing shape in a horrific display…
Until Nelly woke up. Still in her normal bed, still with her normal human existence.
“Valor? Was that really you?”
She fluttered her eyes awake and felt no particular alien presence. Maybe it was just a random dream.
But she knew what she saw. That much was for certain.
Nelly went to work later that day, trying to re-focus on the here and now and not worry so much about the future of the world. She worked in a library. It was kind of ironic that all those years of reading science fiction novels and the first guy who showed interest in her in a long time happened to claim he was from outer space.
Of course, hearing her friend Mary’s approach to life didn’t help to keep things sane. Mary, the senior librarian, noticed that the room was empty and Nelly was spacing out. Mary was always the envy of everyone’s eye since she was thin and blond and had a certain party girl side to her personality that men always found appealing.
“So…guess what I did
yesterday?” Mary said with a smile.
“What?”
“Totally had sex with this guy I met at the bar.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Mary said, smiling wide and dizzy with happiness. “We had a lot of drinks. Teased each other all night. Then we went to his place and he ate me out.”
“Wow,” Nelly said with a reluctant smile. “That’s so random of you.”
“Who cares? You know, I for one am tired of this social stigma that says men get to be dogs all the time but that a woman who has a one night stand is a slut. Get over yourself, guys!”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true…” Nelly said in squinting suspicion. “But…how do you know if it’s safe. You know, to go home with just some random guy?”
“Well, you just use common sense,” Mary said. “You can tell if a guy is creepy and is trying to Charlie Sheen you. And if in doubt, just use a condom.”
“Yeah, but…you can’t use a condom with oral sex.”
“Come on, Nelly,” Mary said with a head shake. “Sometimes you just have to take a chance and balance things out. If you go through life demanding everyone get tested before fucking them, you’re going to have a boring life.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Now with you, I guess it’s a little different,” Mary said smugly. “You’re a big girl. Nothing wrong with that. But the guys that are interested in you are only looking for commitment. So it’s a little bit different.”
Nelly was provoked and stared Mary down…but Mary had already sent her eyes elsewhere. Mary smiled at a young man who just entered the library as they finished talking, having heard none of the dirty conversation.
“How are you, young man?”
“Fine.”
“I’ll bet you are.” She winked to Nelly, who stared in curiosity.
Maybe Mary was right. Maybe all this hesitation and skepticism was just ingrained guilt, right? Maybe any woman would be flattered by Valor’s proposal. Maybe any woman should feel lucky to leave the planet and fuck her brains out for the rest of her life. But…still, it was a lot to take in. Maybe her saying no was just the defensive and rational thing to do. Maybe she needed something else.