Page 18 of So I Married an Alien
“Sorry about that,” I say.“You’re just… a little alien to them.”
“I expected as much when I chose to come here.”His lips twitch in the ghost of a smile.“Do not worry about me.”
“They’re just jealous they don’t have four arms, too.”
We enjoy the weather together as we walk in a companionable silence.The loop takes us around and back to the start, where we emerge from the trees into the sunshine again.Roth’kar pauses here and gazes up at the sky, his face surprisingly peaceful.
He is beautiful, I must admit, as the light reflects off the surface of his purple-blue skin.His smile returns when he notices me watching him, and Roth’kar offers me his arm to walk home.
It’s Saturday night, which usually means a night out with the girls.Fiona shoots me a text as we’re on our way back from the park.
“Are you going to bring him out to meet us?”she asks.“Your new alien husband?Or are you going to keep him a secret?”
I finally had to confess the truth when I went to go pick Roth’kar up at the spaceport.Now that my friends know, I should have guessed they would swoop in like vultures, wanting a piece of him.
They’re wonderful like that.
“What do you think of meeting my friends tonight?”I ask my new alien husband.His antennae jump to alert.
“Your friends?Of course, I would be pleased to meet them.”
He’s so agreeable.As long as whatever I’m asking him to agree with doesn’t have four legs and a tail.
“All right.We’re going to a club, so there will be a lot of sensory input, but?—”
Roth’kar gently touches my arm.“Amara, you don’t need to protect me.I will tell you if we encounter anything I can’t handle.”
“Deal?”I ask, holding out my hand.
He blinks at me.“What is your offer?”
I laugh.“The deal is that I won’t worry about you, if you promise to tell me if you need to leave.”
Roth’kar takes my hand, and we shake.
“You humans do like your hand shaking,” he says, stretching his fingers after I’ve let him go.
I wish I had something to put him in besides his dirty, very obviously alien clothes.
“Can I wash this for you real quick?”I ask.“I know you don’t have anything else to wear, but I could get you a towel.It’ll take an hour to wash and dry them.”
Roth’kar’s eyebrows rise.“A towel is not necessary.You are my wife, are you not?Would my nudity offend you?”
I stare at him blankly.He’s offering to walk around naked while I wash his clothes?
“Oh, um.”I don’t even know what to say.Part of me is instantly thrilled.What does he look like under there?I could finally find out if he has two dongs or just one.
Or something else entirely.I didn’t consider that.All they told me is that we were “sexually compatible,” whatever a Frahma might think that means.God, what if they’re totally wrong?
Roth’kar doesn’t miss the expression that crosses my face.“I get the sense this might make you uncomfortable.”
I rub my hands together.What should I even say?He’s right that we’re husband and wife now.We’ll be seeing a lot of each other naked, and hopefully, doing other things that involve no clothes.That’s an essential if we’re going to make it in the long term.
But what if what I see is too strange?Tooalien?
“Maybe we should kiss first,” I joke.“Then I can see you bare-assed.”
He furrows his brow.“Kiss?The translator is giving me an image that cannot be right.”
