Page 10 of Stowaway to the Stars: A Duet
Once she was rinsed and tingling from the minty soap, she turned around to finally face the monster behind her.
Steam rose in the air surrounding him, and water droplets cascaded down his well trimmed abdomen. He was staring down at her, his icy eyes wild. Stephenie shivered and dropped her gaze. How could something…someone so different be so…attractive? He was an alien, for God’s sake!
Focus, she told herself.You need to focus on getting back home. To Earth! Remember Earth? Your home planet!
She pushed open the shower door and stepped out. She needed to get away from Ee-rah for a moment. Taking a shower together was too intimate. It clouded her judgment and confused her.
Ee-rah turned off the water and followed her out. He waved his hand over some sort of scanner, and a small compartment opened up in the far wall, producing two very large towels. Hehanded her one, and Stephenie was surprised to find that it was warm, almost hot to the touch.
“Thank you,” she said as she wrapped the towel around her shoulders. It was so big, it drug on the floor as she walked back into the attached sleeping chambers. She glanced around, looking for a place to sit, before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. She pulled her legs up against her chest and studied Ee-rah as he emerged from the bathing room.
“Ee-rah…” She said after a beat had passed between them. “Listen, we really need to talk about some things…”
“You wish to return to your planet,” he said simply as he stepped in front of the left wall. He waved his hand over a scanner, and another compartment opened up in the wall, revealing a new, folded loincloth for him. Stephenie blanched and looked away.
“Y-yes…” Stephenie said carefully, trying to avert her gaze as he stepped into his clothes. God, he had a nice ass…even with the two tails. “Ineedto go home. I-I can’t just stay here. Besides, you said no one was supposed to interact with humans. What- are you supposed to hide me away in here for the rest of my life?” She shivered at the thought. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that. She didn’t want to give this creature…man, whatever…any ideas.
He placed his used towel in the hole in the wall, which closed afterwards and made a strange humming sound, before he finally turned to face her.
“You do not wish to stay with me.” It wasn’t a question.
Stephenie felt her heart rise in her throat. This huge monster suddenly seemed much smaller than before, defeated. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him- especially after he had saved her from the green guy. God, what even happened to that guy? And here she was telling him she was not his Mate and that she needed to leave him forever.
It was painful, but it was necessary. At least that’s what she tried to tell herself.
“I can’t stay with you.” She tried another angle. “I can’t stay hidden here forever. I need to go home, to be with my own kind. I mean, what kind of life would it be to be stuck here in this room forever?”
Ee-rah’s eyes softened as he met her gaze. “But it wouldn’t be forever. I will take you home to my planet after this trip is over, and I will build you the largest dwelling among the trees. And everyone will see and accept you as my Mate. I will put a babe in you and we’ll watch them grow…”
As he spoke, Stephenie’s stomach fluttered; whether in fear or excitement, she didn’t know. She didn’t want to admit that the sweet words he whispered were quite enchanting. No human man back home had ever been interested in such things with her… Sure, she had dated a few guys in college. Who hadn’t? But it had never been anything serious, never with anyone she wanted to settle down with, like what Ee-rah was describing…
She shook her head, trying to clear her muddied thoughts. “You should be with someone of your own kind, Ee-rah. Someone like you. And I need to be with my own kind, too. Don’t you see? It just wouldn’t work out between us.” Wow. To think the first time she was having a “break up” conversation like this would be with an alien. Life was so surreal sometimes.
“I already told you,” Ee-rah replied. “My kind Mates for life. If you were to leave me… There would be no one else after you.”
“Please, Ee-rah.” Tears filled her eyes. “I have to go home.” Couldn’t he see? This was insane! She felt like she was stuck on the cover of one of those lying magazines: Girl Falls For Alien After Discovering He Has Two Cocks. She shuddered at the thought.
“I could take care of you.” Ee-rah came closer and fell to his knees before the edge of the bed. “I will make sure you and ourchildren are well fed. I can provide you with the finest silk the trees have to offer. We can look at the stars together every night- I will make sure the roof of our home is removable so we can see them as we lay together in bed. And once the dark days hit and winter returns, I will keep our home warm and filled with furs and meat. We will gather together and hold each other to fight away the snows outside.”
“Ee-rah…”
“And once a moon, there is a festival held in the forest to give Thanks for the gifts the Goddess has provided for us. We feast together and give gifts to those we love to remind them that we are thankful they are in our lives. I would give you the largest, most extraordinary gift of all because there is nothing I am more thankful for than my Mate.”
“Stop. Ee-rah, listen…” Stephenie tried again. Her stomach twisted. There was so much she wanted to say, but she couldn’t find the words.
Ee-rah let his head drop into her lap, his face pressing into her legs. She could feel him shuddering against her. The tips of his horns grazed against her abdomen, and she straightened up, trying to avoid gauging herself on them.
She wanted to stand firm and push him away- even if he was probably too big and heavy to do so- but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. To see such a large creature…man…so desperate for her was unnerving. Without even thinking about it, her arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders and rested against his chiseled back.
“You are my Mate.” He mumbled into her legs.
Her heart cracked inside her chest. What had she done? How could she have been so stupid as to think she could seduce another like this? This was wrong… She had never intended to hurt him like this. She was just doing what she knew, what she had been taught. Using her body for leverage to get whatshe wanted or needed was something she had done most of her life. Since she hit puberty and her mother needed cigarettes and they didn’t have the money for them, Stephenie stepped in…or, rather, was pushed in. She was trapped, needed a way out, and there was a man, alien or not, and she did what she knew best. He would give her what she needed if she gave him something in return.
That’s how the world worked…right?
“Ee-rah, I-” She couldn’t find the words.I’m sorrywas not enough. She…fuck, she DIDN’T KNOW! She didn’t know, and instead of finding another way, she allowed her traumas to come forward, and now she’s stuck in this mess, and now it’s a huge cluster fuck. She needed to explain… But how? She was so lost, a big bubble of emotions and trauma responses molding into one. “I-”
Before she could speak, the sound of an ear piercing scream filled the air.
