Chapter 3
Open and honest communication with someone you’re interested in is the best way to create a solid foundation for a relationship. Depending on your and your prospective partner’s home world, you may need to learn linguistic conventions and codes from each other’s cultures.
Body language also conveys a lot of information, but some behaviors and modes of physical expression are particular to specific cultures.
What might mean one thing in one society could mean something radically different in another.
Innocuous gestures for you might be offensive to others.
Take the time to learn from each other because it will pay off.
It can also be a whole lot of fun! The twitch of a tail, the subtle ruffle of feathers, the changing colors of scales—these can all signal something unique depending on one’s culture.
Learning about your future sweetheart is a way to build trust and mutual respect and show that you care about more than her hot bod. Enjoy finding out how your love interest could be giving you the green light for more or letting you know to slow down.
Three weeks before Christmas…
Gemma
“What the fuck is happening right now? Am I still dreaming?”
The last thing I remember is getting off a grueling overtime shift at the urgent care clinic, coming home, and crashing hard until my cell rang.
I blink away the fog of sleep and stare at my brother’s face on my phone screen, along with some very strange-looking folks surrounding him.
I squint. Wait, are those costumes?
“Hey, Gemsy,” he says, using my childhood nickname and looking distinctly nervous.
That’s when I know something is very wrong.
“So, yeah,” he continues, almost tripping over his own tongue, “some crazy stuff happened last night, and, well… surprise! I actually found aliens in the desert.”
He punctuates that with a sad attempt at jazz hands. Clearly, my high school drama club-inspired teachings didn’t manage to stick with him. Awkward but adorable, that’s my brother for you.
Then what he said sinks in, and I choke as I gape at the brightly colored motherfreaking aliens crowded around my brother.
Felix wrings his hands as he rushes on. “Yeah, so I spotted them when they landed in the desert on a covert mission to acquire a ton of Christmas decorations. It’s a long story, don’t ask.
Anyhow, one thing led to another and they…
er… invited me aboard their ship for an intergalactic adventure. Cool, huh?”
I have never considered myself a fainting damsel in distress, but at this moment I am genuinely concerned I might pass out. What the ever-loving fuck is happening right now?
The bright pink alien leans closer to the screen and waves a few matching tentacles in the air. “Fear not, sister of Felix. Your brother is our guest, and we will take very good care of him.”
Oh. My. Fucking. God!
“What in the tentacle-porn hell is going on right now?” I screech.
That’s when a super-hot alien goddess steps forward, her green tentacles swaying and matching green pigtails bobbing on her head.
I’ve never seen anyone so mesmerizing in my life.
“Hi there, gorgeous. I’m Luna Bazran, the ship’s engineer,” my brand-new alien crush purrs in a sexy voice that makes me tingle all over.
That old disco song “Ring My Bell”—Nana loved that music—plays in my head as I stare at Luna like a hormonal teenager faced with the hottest girl in school. I mean, I know I’ve been hard up in the lovin’ department, but my libido has locked on Luna like a tractor beam. Heh.
She waves a tentacle in the air, and I can’t look away.
Of course, she notices.
“Like what you see?” she says with a flirty tone I’m very into. “We are part of the Dravethian species, and we possess a few more appendages than you humans. They come in quite handy for all kinds of things.” She follows that up with a wink.
Holy sexy alien temptress with tentacles!
I’m ready to get on my knees for you, honey.
I have to swallow a few times to produce enough saliva to speak. “Uh, hi, Luna. I’m Gemma.”
Smooth, Gemma. Real smooth. You sound even more awkward than Felix.
I wince. “What kind of trouble did my brother get himself into this time?”
Luna chuckles, and the slightly husky sound makes me shiver.
“Don’t worry. Felix is a sweetheart. He did nothing wrong.
Totally our fault. He happened to spot us and our ship when we were trying to remain hidden from human eyes, obviously not very well.
Freaked out, we kinda panic-abducted him to try and figure out what to do. ”
Suddenly, I notice another person nearly behind the pink alien. Well, fuck me sideways. It’s another human. At least… I think he’s human.
“Ahem, hey you, hiding behind Mr. Pink. Who the hell are you?”
He sighs and gives me a half-hearted wave. “I’m Sasha.” He jerks a thumb at the pink guy. “His husband.”
I seriously want to ask more about that, but Luna distracts me.
“Sorry, Sasha can be a bit of a grump sometimes. Back to what we were talking about, I want to assure you that Felix is totally safe with us.”
This lovely lady alien may have my libido perking up and saying howdy in the bombastic style of a Pride parade, but I can’t leave my poor bro hanging.
I level all the extraterrestrials with my sternest glare. “You guys better not plan on hurting him.”
“No way,” the pink guy hurries to assure me. “We’re taking him along for the ride while we tour a few planets and then head back to Earth. I promise we’ll keep him safe.”
He’s holding his hands over his chest and giving me the most earnest look I’ve ever seen.
For some reason, he also appears to be wearing a Christmas-themed T-shirt.
It’s kind of cute. This alien screams softie.
Although the grumpy gold-colored alien standing near him with his arms crossed looks a lot more intimidating.
“You can trust us,” Luna says, drawing my gaze back to her like a homing beacon.
Why is she so dreamy and so fucking far away!
Story of my goddamn life. I meet a woman who sparks my interest and bam!—she’s either taken or only in town for a visit. An alien takes that last scenario to a whole different level.
Some harmless flirting wouldn’t hurt though. I mean, I need to get my kicks where I can these days. Besides, these folks are going to have to return to Earth at some point to bring my brother home, right? They fucking better. Anyway, then I can meet this vision of tentacled temptation.
I lick my lips. “I’ve never met an alien, but I must say you’re quite beautiful.”
She’s got the Star Trek lesbian thirst traps beat.
I go for coy as I twirl one of my auburn curls around my index finger, all while wishing my unruly hair wasn’t such a mess. “Green’s actually my favorite color.”
Is it just me or do I detect an answering spark in Luna’s unusual eyes?
My brother sputters. “Are you… flirting with one of my abductors?”
“Not abductors. Friends,” the pink guy gently explains, as if this isn’t the first time.
I notice Sasha snickering quietly.
Luna licks her lips and studies me with obvious interest, which diverts my attention. “I’ve always had a thing for redheads. And your curls?” She practically purrs. “They’re divine.”
That tingling sensation from earlier takes up residence between my legs, and I’m about ready to cream my panties.
Seriously, it has been way too long since I last got laid.
And evidently, green babes with tentacles turn me on like nobody’s business.
Luna and I spend a full minute checking each other out, and I make sure to arch my back a little and put one of my best assets—my ample bosom—on display.
She smirks and twirls one of her green pigtails coquettishly.
She’s wearing a Christmas-themed T-shirt too, one that showcases her toned, athletic physique.
Fuck, she’s hot.
Then Felix has to go and ruin the vibe in the way that only an annoying older brother can.
“Gemma,” he says in his sternest voice, “you do understand that I’m light-years away from Earth right now and roaming the universe with a bunch of aliens on their ship, right?”
Duh. He’s not the only brainiac in our family.
He may be a vet, but I’m an MD, thank you very much.
As preposterous as this whole situation seems, I can’t deny the reality of what’s happening.
Seeing is believing. There aren’t professionals in Hollywood who could make aliens—and especially those tentacles—look this convincing.
These guys are definitely the real deal.
I cross my arms. “I’m getting to know your new friends.” I frown. “Are you seriously in outer space right now? You’re not still somewhere out in the desert?”
“We’re on our way to Glacius Major,” the big golden-hued guy interjects matter-of-factly.
A little robot-type thing in the background beeps out, “To infinity and beyond!”
I gape. Aliens who love Christmas and… movies? Have I been teleported to another dimension? If this is the freaking multiverse, I’m kind of okay with it—especially with Luna around.
Felix runs a hand through his hair and gives me a boyish grin. “It’s wild and out of this world—pun intended—but I really am traveling in outer space.”
Well, fuck. I haven’t seen him this excited in far too long.
I survey the unusual trio of brightly colored aliens. “You all aren’t trying to use my brother for some kind of weird medical research or experimentation, are you?”
The heart eyes Felix is sending in the golden alien’s direction tell me he probably wouldn’t mind getting probed by that guy, but I’m not taking any chances. He is my only brother, after all.
“No, beautiful,” Luna replies with a chuckle. “We don’t even have a scientist or medical officer on the ship. Besides, we’re more interested in human movies than human physiology.”
Okay, so I was right about the movies thing—and I so want to learn more about that. Like, how did they even discover films?