Touched by an Alien

worry about anything but getting out of our clothes as quickly as possible. I may have just had the most mind-blowing kiss of my life, but it hadn’t turned off my brain completely.
    I didn’t say anything, just nodded. He gently turned me around and moved me back to the stall.
    “Jeff, what do I do?”
    “Wow, one kiss and you’re finally calling me Jeff? I’ve still got it.” He bent down and nuzzled my ear. I had to stop my eyes from rolling back—maybe I really had fainted the first time because his lips were so close to mine. “You just walk through. I’ll be right behind you, so don’t dawdle.” He kissed the side of my head, and I stifled a moan of pleasure.
    He stroked my arms and let go. On my own. Forced to walk into a men’s toilet stall all by myself. I took a deep breath and stepped in. Just before I hit the toilet, a totally unappealing idea based on its cleanliness level, the bathroom disappeared and the horrible whooshing feeling started right up.
    For me, nothing wipes out the happy glow of intimacy faster than feeling nauseated. I was still moving, I could tell I was, but I felt as if I were standing still and the world was moving past me. My foot seemed to be moving in slow motion. When it finally hit the ground and the destination jolt hit me, it was just in time. I didn’t want to exit the gate barfing, and it had been a close call.
    I finished stepping through, and Martini came out seconds after me. Clearly, the journey didn’t take as long as it had felt like.
    “You okay?” He put his hand on my lower back.
    “Sort of.” I figured he was picking up the nausea.
    I looked around to see Christopher glaring at me, his arms crossed over his chest. “Took you long enough.”
    “I had to send your boys off,” Martini said before I could think up a suitable reply.
    “They were supposed to wait.” Christopher sounded furious.
    “I didn’t want them to,” Martini said with a shrug, while he moved us away from the gate.
    “I’ll bet you didn’t,” Christopher snarled. “You aren’t authorized to give them direction.”
    Martini stopped and walked over to his cousin, until he was right in Christopher’s face. “I know what this is about,” he said in a low growl. “You want to play games, fine. This isn’t a game to me.”
    “They’re all games to you.” Christopher was matching Martini’s tone and facial expression. The anger was rolling off both of them, I didn’t have to be an empath to feel it, and I wondered whether they were going to start a cage fight without the cage.
    I heard a woman clear her throat. “Kitty, could you come help me with something for a minute?”
    I looked over my shoulder to see Mom standing there. She had that funny look on her face again, and I decided it might be wise not to be nearby if Martini and Christopher started to really go at each other.
    Mom grabbed my arm and dragged me off. I looked back to see both men watching us. Christopher still looked angry, but Martini looked upset.
    We got out of sight of them, and I noticed we were in what seemed like a huge cavern, loaded with more computers, desks, and screens than I’d seen at Home Base, or ever, really. “Did we land in the Bat Cave?”
    Mom made her exasperated mother sound. “No. This is the Dulce Science Center for Extraterrestrial Studies.”
    “Or, next stop on the UFO Tour, whichever you can say three times faster.”
    Mom shook her head. “You’re really a joy to work with.” She stopped dragging me along. “Look, you need to stop baiting Christopher.”
    “I beg your pardon? What are you talking about? There’s nothing I’m doing on purpose to piss him off. He’s just a jerk, to me and about me.”
    Mom rubbed her forehead. “God, are you dense.”
    I was about to demand an explanation for this insult when I heard someone call my name. “Kitty, over here!”
    I looked around and saw Reader waving at me from across the room. He was gesturing, and it was clear he wanted me over there. I sighed. “Mom, duty calls. You can explain my density later.”
    “Trust me,” I heard Mom mutter as I headed for Reader.
    Unlike Home Base, this place was loaded with women. I was glad I’d changed now—I felt dowdy enough next to most of them in the relatively clean clothes I had on. In my bedraggled suit I might not have been able to make it to Reader without self-destructing from embarrassment.
    I could tell they weren’t human, though. Not that they had antlers