Eighteen

 

“Just give her space.” That was what all the human movies and TV shows would say right now. “Space” seemed to be of the utmost importance to humans.

Being from a different kind of space, Marsha didn’t quite understand the customs. How long was she supposed to leave Sophie alone? Because she hadn’t brought up the subject of their relationship in well over twenty-four hours, and Sophie seemed to be completely uninclined to bring it up herself.

When Marsha got home from work on Wednesday, Terry was in his room. The muffled sound of sad music came through the door. Marsha bypassed him and opened Sophie’s door. Since the human way wasn’t working, Marsha was going to go with what she knew. She was going to speak to Sophie openly and honestly.

Sophie was on her bed, lying on her front with her nose in a book. She quickly put it aside as Marsha came in.

“Reading something good?” Marsha asked.

“Just this silly lesbian romance.” Sophie mumbled out the word “lesbian.” “It’s about a vampire and a human.”

Marsha sat beside her, wishing she had the right to run her fingers through Sophie’s hair and rub the knots out of her neck. “Sounds almost like us.”

“We’re not dating.”

“We could be.” Marsha kept her expression neutral as Sophie jerked away from her. She knew Sophie liked her—why was she running from it?

“How was your work?” Sophie sat up at the other side of the bed, her eyes on the wall rather than on Marsha.

“You’ve had some time to think,” Marsha said softly. “Am I to understand you’re not interested? If your answer is no, I won’t push it. Right now, I just don’t know how you feel.”

Sophie spun around to look at her. “Of course I’m interested. I just… I don’t know.” She bit her lip. “Terry thinks…”

Marsha waited, but she didn’t finish the thought. “What Terry thinks doesn’t matter. This is between me and you.”

“But are you serious? Like, seriously serious.”

“A hundred and ten percent.”

Sophie lowered her gaze. “How can you be? I mean, you’re this amazing beautiful person, and I’m just me.”

“You’re amazing.”

“How would you even know? I’m the first person you met when you stumbled onto this planet. Maybe I’m just the same as every other human.”

“Give me some credit here.” Marsha’s voice hardened, even as she patted herself on the back for using the human idiom correctly. “I’ve been here for over a month. I’ve interacted with several of your species. Not to mention that I’ve been all over the galaxy. I’ve met all kinds of people, and the only one I want to be with is you.”

Sophie blinked slowly, and Marsha would’ve found her confusion adorable if she hadn’t been so nervous. This wasn’t like what she was used to, propositioning someone for some casual fun. She was opening up the deepest parts of her heart to Sophie, and Sophie could take them or smash them.

“How can I know you’re for real?” Sophie asked softly. “If somehow your search party shows up or someone here invents a teleporter, how do I know you won’t be back on HR 8832g before I can snap my fingers?”

“I would never go back,” Marsha said. “Not without you.”

Sophie caught her breath. “You’d take me with you?”

“If you wanted to go.” Marsha gazed at her hands, desperate to take them in her own. “I don’t want to be anywhere that you’re not.”

Marsha watched Sophie carefully as she took that in. She hoped Sophie believed her, because she was being utterly sincere. The more she voiced her feelings, the stronger they got. She didn’t know what trick of fate had brought her here, but she knew that she was exactly where she was supposed to be. As long as Sophie was willing to be with her.

“Would you answer me, Sophie?” she asked gently.

Slowly, Sophie shook her head. “I need time,” she whispered.

Marsha’s chest tightened painfully. “Anything you need.”

 

***

 

Sophie stayed in her room until noon the next day, half an hour before Marsha was supposed to be leaving for work. Marsha had slept on the couch without a word, which Sophie both appreciated and resented.

Her mind hadn’t stopped working since Marsha had left her bedroom. Marsha seemed sincere, and Sophie was certain that she was a good person—and yet Terry’s words kept echoing through her mind, telling her this was a terrible idea. He always knew better than she did; shouldn’t she listen to him?

And then there were the softer words from way back in her childhood, the ones that were now barely more than a whisper. They told her that she was useless and dumb, that she had nothing to offer. That she should have never left the farm, where she belonged. That no one would ever love her.

She had to face Marsha eventually. Not knowing what she’d say, she headed into the kitchen. Marsha had her feet up on the table, her phone pressed to her ear.

“I can’t afford that,” Marsha said in a flat tone. “Do you have anything cheaper? Okay, thank you.”

Marsha hung up and looked at a piece of paper on the table. Her heart dropping, Sophie pulled the paper away from her. A bunch of phone numbers were written down, along with addresses and prices.

“What is this?” Sophie asked. “Are you moving out?”

“I thought it might be a good idea.” Marsha’s face lacked its usual glow as she pulled her feet down to the floor. “It might be better that way. Easier.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Sophie’s gut wrenched. “I haven’t even given you an answer yet.”

“And you don’t have to. I’m not trying to guilt you into anything. I just figured—”

Sophie followed Marsha’s gaze to see Terry coming in. Seeing the look on her face, he took the paper from her hands. “Who’s moving?” he asked.

“Marsha is thinking about it,” Sophie said dully.

“Hmm.” He moved toward the fridge.

“That’s all you’re going to say?” Sophie asked.

“What else do you want from me?” he snapped.

“She shouldn’t leave,” Sophie said. “She doesn’t have to. Tell her.”

“You want the truth?” Terry said, his eyes narrowing as his fists balled. “Here you go. I want her gone. I want her out of here the way she should’ve been a month ago.”

“Terry, don’t say that.”

“Why not?” Terry’s eyes were hot with rage. “Maybe if she wasn’t here, I’d have half a chance of the love of my life coming back. But instead, you want me to sit here and be happy for the two of you getting together.”

Sophie felt sick. Her best friend had never yelled at her like this before. He was morphing into someone else before her very eyes.

“You asked me what I think?” he said. “I’ll tell you. It’s a terrible idea, just like most of your ideas. You want to throw away  your future to support her. You could be with someone with an actual career, and instead you want to be with a goddamn busgirl—who’ll probably get fired from that soon, too. And that’s assuming she doesn’t go back to her own planet. She’d leave in a heartbeat if she knew how, so instead she’s seducing you for an Earthside meal ticket.”

Sophie couldn’t even look at Marsha. “That’s not true,” she whispered.

“You know it is.” His tone was icy. “But maybe you deserve each other. You’re as bad as she is.”

In the time it took for Sophie to gasp, he was at the apartment’s exit. The door slammed shut behind him.

Sophie’s hands were at her heart, each grasping the other clammily. She could barely breathe. Slowly, she turned her gaze toward Marsha. The alien looked as pallid and traumatized as if she’d just seen a car crash. Or a spaceship one.

“He didn’t mean those things.” Sophie’s voice was weak. “He was just trying to hurt us. To drag us down and make us as miserable as he is.”

Marsha didn’t make a sound. She stared ahead of her, unblinking.

“Say something. Please.”

Marsha didn’t.

Without thinking any further, Sophie pulled her chair next to Marsha’s and wrapped her arms around her, enclosing her tightly. Sophie had hugged her a hundred times, embraced her so that Marsha’s not-quite-human scent filled her nose—but this was different.

Marsha was trembling, and although she didn’t say a word, she let out a sound that was almost like a whimper. Sophie hugged her harder, her heart overflowing with compassion. How could Terry have been so awful to Marsha? To her Marsha? She adored this woman—she would’ve done anything for her.

Marsha looked up at her, and the sight of tears in her eyes made Sophie’s own fill up. She hurt for Marsha. She felt everything Marsha felt. For the first time, the enormity of Marsha’s plight struck her—being alone, stranded a galaxy away from everyone she knew, having no past here and no future. Marsha had hidden her pain so well behind her upbeat attitude and endless curiosity, but it had been so hard for her, hadn’t it?

And despite everything, Marsha had made the best of it. She’d found herself a job, kept going when it was tough, and now she was even willing to leave the only home she knew for Sophie’s comfort. Sophie could never even begin to understand the strength that she was showing. The scale of it was overwhelming.

Now Sophie was the one who couldn’t breathe. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but they were of feelings rather than sadness. Her heart pounded in her chest, a drumbeat too loud to ignore. There was no question of what she should do now. There was only one way to move forward with Marsha.

She tilted her head downward toward Marsha’s and brushed a feathery strand of hair out of her face. Marsha’s face was so close to hers, and her eyes were full of confusion—and, Sophie thought, more than a hint of desire. Sophie’s lips hovered an inch from hers, and she hesitated before closing the space between them. Marsha was so amazing, so perfect, it was almost impossible to believe that she really wanted this. But the expression on Marsha’s face invited her in.

Sophie’s heartbeat drummed in her ears as she placed her lips on Marsha’s. They were soft and sweet and the tiniest bit salty from Marsha’s tears. Sophie stayed still for a second, exerting no pressure. She was trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she was doing this, because it seemed too good to be true. Then Marsha sucked Sophie’s lower lip between both of hers, and the electric shock told Sophie this was absolutely happening.

Sophie tried pressing her lips harder to Marsha’s. She was finally kissing someone, and it was the woman of her dreams. Realizing she’d forgotten to breathe, she sucked air through her mouth. Marsha’s soft hands on her arms made her open her eyes, and she smiled to see Marsha’s beautiful features this close up. She kissed Marsha more confidently this time, and even laced her fingers through Marsha’s silky hair.

“This isn’t just to make me feel better, is it?” Marsha murmured.

Sophie gave her hair a gentle tug. “This is me doing what I’ve always wanted to do.”

The joy that lit up Marsha’s eyes couldn’t possibly have been faked. Warmth grew in Sophie’s belly as she realized Marsha was really, truly serious. She wanted to be with Sophie as much as Sophie wanted to be with her.

As they meshed again, their lips meeting at a new angle, the sound of footsteps came from the hallway. Sophie looked up to see Terry standing in the doorframe, his expression blank.

“Great,” he said, “just great.”

Marsha scooted away from Sophie, clearing her throat. “You know what? I’m running late for work.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you are.” Terry stayed in the doorway, blocking Marsha’s path until the last second.

“You can be such an asshole,” Sophie muttered.

“Excuse me? Did you say something?” Terry’s eyebrows rose in a challenge.

“No. Nothing at all.”

 

***

 

Marsha’s mind was not focused on her work that day. As she hurried around Grubinski’s, she kept flashing back to those precious moments with Sophie before they’d been interrupted. She’d felt so awful when Terry was being cruel to her—and then Sophie had wiped that out of her mind altogether.

She’d been in bodies that made love by inserting one tentacle into another, or winding their stalks around and around. In that slug-like form she hated, she’d extended a penis-like projection from an opening on her head and exchanged her sperm with her partner’s.

And all of those experiences paled in comparison to what Sophie had made her feel with the soft brush of her lips. Marsha closed her eyes where she stood and fought back a full-body shudder. Sophie had been so shy at first, then so passionate. What would their chemistry be like once she was comfortable touching Marsha?

Holding a water jug, Marsha marched up to a table of customers. “More water for you?” She poured, her mind on Sophie’s smooth skin and lean limbs. Once Sophie gained some confidence, she’d be a firecracker. Their connection would be explosive.

“Miss! Miss!” The customer frantically pointed at his glass.

Marsha had zoned out while she was pouring and flooded water all over the table. “I’m so sorry. Let me get you a new…” The tablecloth was too wet to be salvaged. “Table.”

Marsha reseated the customers, irritated with her own lack of attention. She had to keep her mind on what she was doing. She couldn’t get fired and prove Terry right. If she lost this job, it’d show that she wasn’t good enough for Sophie.

She sighed to herself as she went back into the kitchen. On her home planet, she had a real career that anyone would’ve respected, and Terry knew that. It wasn’t like him to be so mean. She knew he was suffering with his break-up, and that humans were emotional beings whose words didn’t necessarily reflect how they felt.

She pulled the wet tablecloth off the table and put a fresh one on, then brought out new glasses and cutlery. She was sure Terry would feel differently about her relationship with Sophie if he hadn’t just had a break-up. And he didn’t deserve to be dumped at all.

As she deposited the tablecloth in the wash bin, she wondered if there was anything she could do to break Terry out of his funk. She’d feel so much better if she didn’t feel like her happiness was hurting him.

An idea occurred to her—a brilliant one that couldn’t possibly fail—and a faint smile grew on her face.

She couldn’t wait to share it with Sophie.