I don’t understand what happened, or why…

6

Marv

I don’t understand what happened, or why my female is suddenly acting like I’ve duped her or something. She did not seem so unhappy last night.

“My love,” I try again, but she shakes her head.

“I want to go home.”

I sigh. There’s no way to take her back to her planet. The App is a one-way ticket, and I don’t really understand how it works. The V’aalarans invented it, and for some reason they decided to share it with the other tribes.

“I can’t take you all the way across the galaxy. We’d die from old age before we’d get there.”

Naomi bends down and picks up her undergarments, which she quickly puts on. She starts scanning the room for something else, so I bend down and start looking for her clothes, too.

“Found it,” she mumbles.

But instead of standing and getting dressed, Naomi bursts into tears and collapses beside me.

“So, all the women on your planet were also taken?”

“Well, technically you’re the first woman that will be going back there. But I’ve got the App and my people will be so eager to find their mates.”

“I’m not your mate,” Naomi states flatly.

I shake my head. “Yes, you are. You are bound to me. You accepted me last night.”

Naomi pulls her knees against her chest and begins to sob. “I was drunk. I was so wasted. I have no idea what I said, and whatever it was, I shouldn’t have said it.”

“We did more than talk.”

“I figured that out, Mr. Alien Man. Obviously. We were both naked.”

I don’t know what to say to that. She isn’t wrong. But it hurts to know that she doesn’t seem to remember what we did.

“What is… drunk?”

Naomi looks up at me, her eyes surrounded by fresh dewy tears. “I had vodka. It’s a drink.”

“Vodka?”

“Yeah. I was trying to forget… and then I forgot everything.”

“Vodka.” I shake my head again. “We don’t have anything like that up here. Forgetting juice would be problematic.”

She rubs her eyes, pushing away her tears. “I used to joke about vodka,” she tells me. “But vodka makes the clothes fall off.”

“I liked that part,” I tell her. Our eyes meet, and I know she probably wants to drive a dagger through my face or something, but I won’t lie. I enjoyed mating with her.

And I would give anything to do it again.

“So now what?”

I take her hand and gently guide her back to a standing position. “Now, we get ready for our first full day together. And tomorrow, we fly back to my planet. Our planet.”

“But…”

“Naomi, love. We can’t stay here. It isn’t safe. There was a Foog attack this morning, and it appears that they’ve formed an alliance with the Ta’al. Those are two enemy tribes.”

“And they’re here?”

“Of course. This is an intergalactic research station, so we allow all tribes to come here.”

“And you’re from what tribe?”

“We call ourselves the Narulians. I am from the planet Narul.”

She pauses, then sounds out the name. “Narul.”

“I will be a good Mate. I will take good care of you.”

“I didn’t ask to be taken care of,” she says, but her voice doesn’t sound as angry this time.

“Then I will make it my life’s purpose to spend every waking moment keeping you happy.”

She shrugs. “No one can promise that.”

“Perhaps no Earthling. But I’m Narulian,” I boast.

She doesn’t say anything to me after that. Instead, she wanders back to the window and stares at the spacescape. I glance down at the bundled-up clothes that she never finished putting on before walking over to join her.

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