Page 59 of Rizzed Up By My Alien Neighbor
I hesitate only a moment. Then I reach out and flick the switch.
The device shutters. The basement lights flicker.
My skin shimmers.
A ripple of crimson scales washes outward, covering my arms, chest, limbs. Golden eyes ignite in the shadow between lashes. My height stretches, body shifting; what was human becomes Vakutan. Claws remain tucked but visible beneath gaiters—but they don’t matter.
I stand tall. Towering. Red warrior among soggy cardboard boxes and glowing lab cables.
Sammy blinks. I hold my breath.
She whispers, “I knew it.”
Pizza boxes splay across the coffee table like alien artifacts, pepperoni-scented and greasy. A quartet of juice boxes lines the surface like sentries. I sit on the couch—my true form wrapped in deep red scales, golden eyes flicking between Sammy, glued to the table, and Nessa, pacing like a caged predator.
The tremor in her voice cracks me, “Holy—fucking—Jesus!”
Her curse rattles the quiet living room. I flinch, heart pounding, nostrils flaring at the scent of fresh herbs and heat from the pepperoni. The hum of suburban normality stabs me:lawnmowers outside, a car door clang, the stray thrum of air conditioners.
I steady my breath.
Sammy, wide-eyed and delighted, raises her hand. “Okay, LOTS of questions.”
Nessa stalks a path around the rug, eyes narrowed. “This isn’t some cosplay charade, Richard. You just blew up—no, reinvented—the entire concept of my life.”
I rise to my full height—seven-foot-two in human terms but closer to eight in Vakutan scale. The ceiling creaks. I feel the thickness of the air, the weight of curiosity, fear, and fragile trust.
“I understand.” My voice is steady, calmer than the storm of my emotions. “And I’m not asking you to accept this. I’m explaining because you deserve truth.”
She stops pacing. The giant tabby cat crosses her path and flees; the tension is palpable enough to warp the air. Slowly, I sit, leaning forward, scales catching the light—like copper under a lamp.
“I’m from the Vakutan Empire. It’s centuries into your future, after the Coalition-Vakutan War—the Great Centuries War. I was in space, piloting a starfighter, when I jumped. A malfunction sent me through a superluminal rift into 2025 Earth. Your world. Your time.”
I trace a shard of light on the floor with my gaze. “I tried to survive by hiding—denying what I am. I never expected… this.” I straighten, eyes lifting to Nessa. “The bond triggered when I met you, Vanessa. Jalshagar—the bond says we are mates.”
Her laugh is low and bitter. “You think just because your alien magic picked me, I’m yours now?”
Her voice shakes like freezing tea. “That’s not how it works, Richard. I have a choice.”
I close my eyes briefly, tasting bourbon on my own breath in my repressed memory. “Yes.”
Softness in my voice. “You do.”
Sammy pipes up:“So… he’s actually from outer space?”
I nod, meeting her gaze. “Yes. And I know how it sounds.”
Nessa uncrosses her arms, jaw taut. “So you’re going to keep doing this—lying—pretending—until you actually own me by cosmic decree?”
“I’m not asking you to be mine,” I say honestly, voice laced in weariness and sincerity. “I’m offering an invitation.”
Her eyes shimmer—tears pricking the corners. “And if I say no?”
I shift, sitting back. “Then I will honor your need for distance. I will step back.”
Silence hums. The cat returns, padding between my legs. I stroke it—cool fur against my palm.
“But,” I continue, "I hope that’s not what you want.”
