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Nisha eyed the gas gauge. She only had a quarter of a tank left. “We might as well fill up before we hit the road again,” she grumbled as she steered her truck from the hotel parking lot.
She was in a terrible mood. She’d tossed and turned all night, dangling somewhere between vivid dreams and an equally vivid imagination. All while listening to Kien’s light snoring. At least one of them had slept well. Which made her doubly pissed. How could he sleep when they were mere feet from each other?
Nisha wafted between wanting him to stay exactly where he was on the couch to praying he’d come to his senses and climb into bed with her, declaring his unyielding passion. She’d had trouble deciding if she’d wanted him to make slow, sweet love or bend her legs to her shoulders and break her back.
Just thinking of either of those scenarios made her insides gooey and pussy engorged. Yesterday had been her personal hell and it seemed like she was on track to have another uncomfortable ride filled with racy thoughts and hot flashes with no relief.
Can women get blue balls?
Hmm. Maybe?
Just her luck to have this pent-up sexual frustration with no way of relieving herself. Especially since her and Kien were joined at the hip for the next week.
She blew out a heavy breath and pulled into the gas station across the street from their hotel. Kien jumped from the truck to pump gas before she could put it into park. She’d told Kien the day before that she could pay for the gas, but he’d have to pump it. After all, American men pumped the gas in relationships. That was also when she gotten the idea that she could probably make him do anything by stating that. She put that bit of information in her back pocket for later.
“Incoming call from The Kidnapper.”
She glanced out the window as Kien started the pump and hit the accept call button. “Hey, ma.”
“Well, it’s nice to know that you aren’t murdered somewhere.”
Nisha rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic, mother. What are your plans today?”
“While I would love to tell you all about my busy day of taking the dogs to the groomers and getting my hair done, none of that is exciting as what you have going on.”
“Exciting?” Nisha humphed. “I’m going out of town with a friend. There’s nothing exciting about that.”
“Really? So why are you with him?”
Nisha eyed Kien’s reflection in the side mirror through her window. “I told you, nothing is going on between us. I can’t speak about it right now, though.”
“Nisha, you are out of town with a man. There’s got to be a reason for that, even if he is just a friend. At least tell me about him so I have something to tell the authorities if you come up missing.”
“Kien is...handsome, and fit, I mean, he’s got a great body and he’s handsome.”
“Um, ok. So, he has a nice body and he’s handsome. Got it. If you come up missing, I’ll tell the authorities to look for a fit, handsome man.”
Nisha choked. “Ma, that’s not what I meant.”
Sayaka’s laugh was loud, deep and throaty. “You’re the one who talked about his physical traits.”
Kien glanced at her and gave her a two-finger salute that started at the middle of his forehead and flicked outward in a sweeping motion. He’d done it to her once before. Yesterday, they’d been at a store and he’d gotten a little too excited about bobble heads and she’d told him to cool it.
“He’s an explorer. I think that’s interesting, really interesting. He’s smart. He’s a scientist and has a really good at his job.” Kien lifted the gas nozzle from her car and put the hose back. “But you don’t have to worry about me. Tasha is dating his friend and he’s good people. I’m just doing him a favor since he’s new in town and doesn’t know a lot about America.”
“Oh? A foreigner? Where is he from?”
“Greece or somewhere.”
“So, nothing is going on between you and this man?”
“Nothing.”
“Well, good. Because my friend Jenni has a nephew she thought you would be interested in.”
Nisha didn’t want Jenni’s nephew or anyone else. The man she wanted was unavailable. The epitome of it. “Ma.”
“If you say there’s nothing going on between you and this man then what could be the harm? I can give him your number—”
Kien was making his way around the car. There was no way she could have this embarrassing conversation with him within earshot. “Ma, I’ll call you back later.” Before Sayaka could answer, Nisha disconnected the call.
Kien opened the door to slide into the passenger side. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to have your mother hook you up with a man while we’re petending to be mated.”
Nisha flustered as embarrassment rushed over and through her. She’d hadn’t even thought of that possibility while she talked. How many times had Tasha told her that she was too loud?
With her face aflame, Nisha pushed out of the door. “Hang tight. I’m going to get us some snacks for the road. Do you have a taste for anything?”
“I think I would like to try the beer and the soda.”
He was the fit type who’d she’d normally wouldn’t think would put beer, sugar or sweets into his system, but he was also an alien slumming it on Earth and probably wanted to experience everything Earth had to offer. He’d sampled the women, food was the natural progression.
“Beer, soda and candy it is.”
* * *
“I SPY, WITH MY LITTLE eyes, something purple.”
Nisha squinted as she peered out the front window of her truck. “Purple? Are you sure you know what the color purple looks like? I don’t see anything purple out there.”
She’d tried to teach him some road trip games, and I Spy was the only game he seemed to get. Their game of Hangman was laughable because she didn’t understand any of his references and he didn’t understand hers. They tried the Volkswagen game but one playful punch from him and her arm was still tender. So, I Spy it was since they were pointing out items on the road.
She spared him a quick look. His grin stretched from ear to ear. “Shall I tell you?”
His playfulness was...unexpected. It also left her with conflicting emotions. One part of her knew there could be nothing between them. Yesterday, her entire body had felt tied in knots. Her shoulders tense and her neck and back strained.
Today? Today, she was relaxed. Sitting beside him now felt comfortable and right.
“I spy, with my little eyes, something purple.” He sang it this time.
Nisha bit the inside of her cheek to stop from smiling. “I don’t think you know what purple looks like.”
He chuckled. “Does that mean this round goes to me?”
“Sure, whatever.”
“There’s a structure about five miles up the road that has purple window dressings.”
Nisha leaned closer to the steering wheel and peered out the window. There were a few cars and trucks sharing the two-lane back road with them. The only break to the monotony of corn fields was the occasional barn or country store.
“I don’t think you know what a mile is either.”
“I studied your driving rules and descriptions before we left. I know what a mile is just like I know you didn’t come to a complete stop at the last stop sign.”
Nisha straightened and huffed. “So, you read a book. That doesn’t mean you know all our rules.”
“We’re fast learners. We learned your language in a few weeks.”
“Now I think you’re fooling me.”
“How long do you think it should take for us to learn your English?”
Nisha thought about that as she drove. She’d been trying to learn Spanish for the past couple of years via a language app, but she wasn’t consistent with it. “Maybe six months to hold a short conversation?”
“We haven’t been here for six months,” he pointed out.
“Okay, okay. I get it. The aliens are smarter than us normal Earth folk.”
Kien smirked and sat back in his seat and watched the road ahead. “You, said it. I didn’t.”
Would not laugh. She refused on principle. A comfortable silence filled the car as a 90’s R&B station played softly in the background.
After a few minutes they passed a building with purple trim around its many windows.
Kien held up a finger. “That round goes to me.”
Nisha’s jaw dropped. “Wait. How could you have seen that so far away? Do you have super vision or something?”
He wore a smug look on his face. “No, I don’t have super vision. My eyesight is normal for a Thellian.”
“So, superhuman. Noted.”
He tipped his head to the side in thought. “Maybe being able to see far distances would be considered superhuman to you.”
She watched the road, but her gaze kept veering to the side to look at him. He was bigger than the average man but would fit in with a rugby team, offensive football line or even weightlifters. He had a clear accent, but no one would point to him being from a different planet. His skin had some color to it now.
When she’d first met him, he’d been paler. Now he looked like he could be of Mediterranean descent. His hair was growing into loopy curls that she itched to run her fingers through. The only discernible physical difference between him and another human were his lavender colored eyes.
“So, you’re super smart and have really good vision. What are the other differences between your species and ours?”
“The structure of our heart and its pumping ability. Nothing you would be able to see just by looking at me. Oh, my penis vibrates. So, I guess that’s notable.”
Nisha lifted her eyebrows and blinked rapidly. “There’s no way I heard that right.”
“We’re a different species. Of course, we wouldn’t have the same organs as humans.”
“Not that part,” she said slowly. “The penis vibrating part.”
Tasha was a very private person. She would never discuss the salacious details of her sex life. But a vibrating penis?! Tasha would’ve definitely said something about that.
He shrugged as if this were a normal conversation. “It’s a gift from my Phessi father.”
A million thoughts ran through her head at once and none of them made any sense.
“Your turn,” he said.
He’d moved on while her mind was still stuck in the gutter.
Like, how much does it vibrate? Is it vibrating right now? She listened intently, blocking out the music. She would’ve definitely heard a vibrating sound. Can he do it on command or is it spontaneous?
“Nisha?” Kien said, interrupting her thoughts.
Nisha startled. “Um, what did you say?”
“I said it’s your turn.”