I glance over at Bobby and roll my eyes.
“What’s really going on with you?” Bethany asks. “How are you dealing with this new arrangement with the captain right after your breakup?”
“It’s a lot, I’ll be honest.”
“Why do I get the feeling there’s more?”
“I’m not going to talk about it here, not when Bobby can walk back out here any minute.”
“Let’s go somewhere private.”
I pick up my half-empty wineglass and follow her into her suite. It looks almost identical to mine, except the painting on her screen appears to be a classical oil painting rendered by Rembrandt. It has the same play of light and shadow as the old master. But this is a piece I’ve never seen before. So I assume it is by someone else. Maybe a Martian. In the picture, a naked man, rippling with muscle, is battling a ferocious male lion. The beast’s long yellow mane bristles with energy. Its massive, sharp fangs are bared, and they glisten in what little light shines from above.
We sit in her living room area, and she stares at me from the armchair across from my seat on the couch. I take a sip of wine, trying to figure out how to tell her what has been happening with me ever since I was paired with Jaxxo.
“There is more to the story,” I say slowly. “It’s just hard to explain. And more than a little bit embarrassing.”
“I’m not going to judge you. We are all in the same boat. Any experiences that you recount with the Martians could help the rest of us process our transition.”
“Well…” I’m searching for the right words to say, but none of them feel any less embarrassing. So I decide to just jump in and tell it like it is. “Every time I’m near him I feel so turned on it’s like I’m an adolescent boy.”
“Oh…”
Silence hangs in the air between us. And I feel that maybe she is judging me, until she speaks again.
“Do you think it’s because of the injection?”
“I don’t know. It only happens when I’m in his presence. But then it slowly fades. So it must have something to do with him being close.”
“Maybe you’re just super attracted to him. He is really hot. Like all these Martians. I honestly can’t wait to get mine.”
“He is attractive. And he is a gentleman. I wasn’t lying about that. He hasn’t taken a single liberty with me. When he dropped me off today, after our date, he did kiss me. But it was so brief, it was like we were twelve years old on the playground.”
“Clearly, that was disappointing,” Bethany says with a giggle.
I sigh. It was disappointing. But after my conversation with Bobby, I almost feel guilty for wanting him. I know that it’s unnatural to have these feelings. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m having them.
“It was disappointing. But I don’t understand why I want him so much. I think that they used some kind of genetic technology to cause that level of arousal. And I don’t know how to feel about it.”
“So you don’t feel aroused now?”
“Not as much. It kind of fades away when he leaves. But when we are together, I can hardly control myself.”
“Maybe it has something to do with his pheromones.”
“Maybe. That could be an explanation. How, exactly, I have no idea. But clearly, something is happening.”
“Have you asked him about it?”
“I haven’t. It’s too embarrassing. And like I said, he’s actually very reserved with me. I can barely tell if he’s attracted to me at all.”
“Of course he’s attracted to you.”
I stand from the couch and turn to the painting on her wall. I begin to flip through the various options. I land on a field of flowers ascending toward a glorious sunset. Golden colors sweep across the sky and landscape. I turn back to her, my thoughts a tangled web.
“I feel like he’s just doing it because it’s his duty. And I’m so hot for him that I want to jump his bones. Which is so not me.”
“That’s quite the predicament,” Bethany says.
“If Bobby was here, she would be mercilessly attacking me.”
“But she’s not. It’s just you and me. And you can tell me the truth. I’m on your side.”
“I know,” I say, settling back onto the couch.
“So why don’t you jump his bones?”
“You know I’m not a first-move kind of girl.”
“You know what I’ve realized about these Martians?” she asks, trying to suppress a giggle. “They’re all virgins.”
“I know,” I say, raising an eyebrow and pursing my lips.
“Maybe he just has no idea what to do with a woman.”
“Believe me, that is a possibility that I have entertained.”
“You really should take it easy on him and yourself. If he isn’t making any moves, you have nothing to worry about. Especially if he hasn’t asked you to wear a slave Leia costume. Although, from what you’ve told me, I have a feeling you’d be into that.”
“Oh my God, shut up,” I say with a laugh.
“But seriously. If he acts like a gentleman, and he takes things slowly, just let it develop naturally. You are more experienced than he is. Maybe you’re going to have to show him what to do.”
“It’s mortifying. Can you imagine a man like that back on Earth being a virgin?” I shake my head. “Talk about cognitive dissonance.”
“So, you’re going to move in with him?”
“Yes,” I say with a breathy sigh. “Tomorrow morning.”
17
I land my vehicle outside the bridal house, preparing myself for seeing my little Earthling and bringing her home. Home. My bride is coming home with me. After all these years of waiting and wondering if we could really pull it off, I am the first to be honored with a pairing. And it couldn’t have been a better one. My bride is sweet and beautiful and highly intelligent. I feel like the luckiest Martian alive as I stride up the front steps of the bridal house.
When I arrive at her wing, the women sitting in the living room stare up at me. The mixture of expressions I receive overwhelms my senses. It has been so long since women have been on the face of our planet in such numbers that the range of emotions these women express has been lost to us. Not only because our feminine half has disappeared but also because our genetic manipulations have dulled our ability to feel or express the range of emotions that were so common for Earthlings of their era.
With the Earth females in my presence, it’s as if those long-dead emotions are reemerging. But I have no way of processing or arranging them, so they materialize in a clashing cacophony that I cannot comprehend. I clear my throat and greet them, informing them that I have come for Doris.
Her door slides open, and she is there before me, wearing a long, flowing orange dress that complements her red hair and surrounds her with the colors of the most brilliant sunset. I walk toward her, the desire rising instantly in my blood. I am struck with the intense need to grab her and press her luscious body against mine. But instead, I greet her politely and ask her if she is ready to go.