Touched by an Alien

get older, they want something different.”
    “Something smarter yet far less attractive?” I couldn’t help it, it was impossible to comprehend choosing Geek of the Year over Martini, unless we were only talking about earning potential. And even if he’d dated over twenty women total, I was still ahead of him. I was the winner of Slut of the Month club, at least in this room.
    “I guess, if that’s how you put it.” He still looked miserable.
    “Well, it’s how I put it. Jeff, it’s different for women, at least in how Earth folk think of it. A man can date a lot, sleep with someone on their first date, and he’s a stud. A woman who does that is considered loose or a slut, or worse.”
    “Oh, one of the Earth double standards.” He sounded both relieved and as though it was old hat. “Like all the other prejudices, based on one rule for some and a different rule for others.”
    They must have taught them this in A-C schools. He sounded as though he was discussing a concept, not something he’d ever experienced himself. “So, A-Cs don’t have a gender double standard?”
    “Nope. We also don’t have sexual preference issues or skin color issues.” He was looking as though he didn’t want to tell me something again.
    “What issues do you have?” Reader’s suggestion to ask why they’d been the ones chosen to come to Earth popped into my head. “Why was your family, or whoever were sent here, the ones selected to come to help Earth?”
    “We need to shower and get dressed.” Bingo. He obviously didn’t want to answer this, and it was clear it was connected to our prior discussion.
    Great sex must have helped my mental synapses—my mind was working as though I’d been up for hours and already had a full pot of coffee. “What prejudice does Alpha Centauri have, and how does it relate to all of you here on Earth? Oh, and I’m not showering or dressing until you answer me, and I think I’m satiated enough that even if you try kissing me, it won’t work as a distraction from this.”
    “Damn.” He heaved a sigh and turned away from me, fiddling around with the shower. “Religion,” he said shortly, his back to me.
    “How so?” He was tense, I could see it in the way his back muscles were bulging. I rubbed his shoulders, stroked his back, and I felt him relax.
    “There’s only one official religion on Alpha Centauri.”
    “But you’re all a part of the unofficial one?”
    “Right.” He felt the water and stepped into the shower, seemed to consider something, then pulled me in with him.
    This was fine, and I allowed him to stall a bit longer by making out with me under the flowing water. Okay, I allowed him to stall a lot longer by making love to me in the shower. Mind-blowing, just like every other time. I really found myself again hoping the room was soundproof, especially because I really got the echo reverberating when he had me against the side of the shower with my legs wrapped around his body during my second of four orgasms. It was a long shower, but I had no complaints about water waste. We even managed to clean off in there somewhere.
    We were out and toweling off and I decided to pick the conversation back up, now that I could speak coherently again. “So, the religion thing. It’s rampant here, so I don’t understand why you’re avoiding telling me about it. Are you guys devil worshipers or something?”
    He winced. “No. That’s part of the problem, though.” Martini got really busy toweling off.
    I nudged him. “Jeff, c’mon. Just tell me. It’ll be okay. You’re from a different planet. You have two hearts. You run fifty miles in the blink of an eye. And you’re a sex god. I think I’m prepared for a difference in religious backgrounds.”
    He sighed. “That’s just it. There’s not that much difference.”
    This was intriguing. “I want an explanation. With more words than you’ve gotten out so far.”
    Martini rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. It was great while it lasted. The world-sanctioned religion is similar to most of the religions on Earth. One ruling God-being created us all, good people go to Heaven, bad people go to Hell.”
    “Okay, so what’s the problem?” I realized I only had the clothes I’d arrived here in to put on. Great.
    “You have clean clothes in the drawers,” Martini said. “They should be sized for you, but we’ll get some stuff from your apartment later, just in case.”
    “How—”
    “Empath. Your worry