Chapter 7. Double Trouble

“What do you mean you’re aliens from outer space?” I huffed, pacing back and forth in the living room as I stared, or rather glared at the three gorgeous women sitting on my sofa. My moderately sized apartment was beginning to look smaller and smaller with every addition to the group. What is this, an adoption center? Heck no.

Tahti glanced at me calmly, like she always did. Her hands on her lap. “Like they have said earlier Alena, we all came from the same planet. Jorge and Gina are my kin. They followed me here.”

“Followed you for what? Invasion?” I took a step forward. “Manipulation? Mind control?” Different scenarios played in my head, the first being huge spaceships landing on earth. Then, people running all over while zapped by super guns or whatever the hell they called their weapons if ever they had one. And here I was welcoming them in my home like a little vile creature. Damn. I was a traitor to humans.

Jorge, the French looking girl stared me up and down. A smirk began to appear on her face. That was weird. Tahti never showed such an expression before. “We are not here to invade your planet,” she said. “Rather, we’re here to ensure that our leader is safe. When she escaped months ago, we-“

“Escaped!” I gasped, glancing at Tahti in surprise. “So you’re a prisoner in your planet? You need to leave. Now.” I pointed to the front door deliberately, hoping they would take a clue. No such luck. They even decided to ignore me.

“Oh holy one,” Gina the Asian beauty spoke up, addressing Tahti directly.

“As long as we’re on earth, you need to call me Tahti,” their apparent leader replied.

Gina nodded respectfully. “Okay Tahti. When will we return to our planet?”

“After we’ve learned everything that needs to be learned here on earth,” Tahti said patiently. “Also, Alena should come willingly with me.”

Gina frowned. “But Alena is your bride your holiness. I meant Tahti,” she corrected quickly. “Why wouldn’t she come with you if you asked of her? You are her soulmate. I would rather turn to dust and return to the galaxy than be separated to Jorge. That is how things are.”

“Hey I’m right here guys,” I said, waving to them. Again, I was ignored like a ghost. They continued their conversation.

“There is a saying in this planet that goes like this. When you are in Rome, do what the Romans do.” Tahti’s voice took on that educational tone. Very much what one would use when talking to a child. “The same goes for us. As Alena only knows this planet’s rules, we should honor that. Besides, I read a line in a book called quotable quotes by YurikoHime. Want to hear it?” Gina nodded eagerly, while Jorge shrugged her consent.

“I’m pretty sure it said, Roses are red. Violets are blue. If we’re not meant to be together, then eff you,” Tahti declared with a straight face. My jaw fell open. “I don’t really understand what the eff means. I should do more research on the human speech. But from what I could sum up on the quote, maybe it meant something about soulmates. So Alena and I will end up together no matter what.”

“Maybe the eff meant forever,” Jorge supplied, appearing bored all of a sudden. “Gina and I have to study more as well. We only got to read in one library before heading straight here, and the information there was too outdated and barbaric. There was even a book there about paddling someone on the behind and clipping something on the body parts. It was called BDSM and it was cruel.”

Gina raised her hand. “Yes?” Tahti asked, turning her attention to the other alien, like a teacher looking at a student.

“I read a book about E.T,” Gina said with an excited gleam in her small eyes. “E.T is this alien like us. But it looks different so it must have come from a different galaxy. Anyway, it made friends with the human, and then it left. The end.” Gina turned to face me. “The point is, Alena can we be your E.T?” she asked sweetly.

The other two turned with the same expectant expressions in their faces. I didn’t know whether to laugh at the sheer madness of it all, or to cry because let’s face it, three live aliens were here with me, and they weren’t demanding to pull my brains out. They wanted to be E.T with me. Were they losing their minds? Or was I?

After finding my voice I said, “Look Gina. I’m not even comfortable with Tahti being here.” Her face fell, and I couldn’t continue what I was going to say. I should have told them that they should go. That I didn’t want to be their friend because it was too weird and I was still scared of what they’d do to me. But I didn’t. Couldn’t. Maybe after being friends with only Niko for so long, I craved to be with different people too. Granted that they were aliens, but still.

So in the end, I let out a long breath of air, totally defeated. “Okay. We can be E.T together.” Gina pumped her hand in the air at my answer, while Jorge began to look bored and uncommitted again. As for Tahti, she had her usual calm expression, though her brown eyes turned orange like the sunset for a millisecond, telling me that she was pleased.

“But,” I said as I turned around. “It’s past 8 pm and I’m really tired. Let’s talk more about this tomorrow. I’m going to sleep.”

“Okay,” came their replies.

After ten minutes, I found myself shifting uncomfortably in my bed. How did it end up this way? How? I thought with butterflies in my stomach.

“How what?” Tahti asked beside me, her breath tickling my right ear. I moved an inch away from her.

“I meant how did we end up being roomies? You should have slept in the spare room with Jorge and Gina. Instead, you insisted to stay in my bedroom and even sleep in my bed which was meant for a single person only. Haven’t you heard of personal space Tahti?”

I pulled the blanket closer to my body, hoping it would shield me from her skin, to no avail. Aaaargh! The bed was too small for both of us and I was beginning to get uncomfortable and sweaty. Yuck! To make matters worse, I could feel Tahti’s eyes boring holes on my face. She was too close. But dang she smelled good.

“I cannot possibly sleep with Jorge and Gina,” she said. “They are wedded, and in my planet’s tradition, those who have been wedded and did the joining already would not be allowed to sleep with other species of their kind. Or any other species for that matter. They need their privacy. Besides, you are my bride. It is best that you become accustomed to sleeping with me.”

“You mean sleeping beside you,” I murmured, heat creeping in my face.

“Yes that,” Tahti replied. “Why Alena, are you not happy here beside me? Should I sleep in the floor like what I read in the books?”

“No,” I said hurriedly before she could do anything. “It’s just that I’ve never really slept beside anyone before. When mom and dad found me in the fields when I was a baby, my adoptive sister already finished college and was living here in the city so I was raised alone. Besides, you saw the inn right? I could have any room I wished for. Sharing a bed was never one I had to deal with.”

Tahti surprised me by saying. “Me too Alena.”

“Care to elaborate on that?”

She moved closer, but took care not to touch me. “I told you that everyone in my planet is born with a partner right? Like a soulmate.” I nodded. “Well those partners are raised together. For example, Jorge and Gina. When they were born and showed the exact mark, very much like the one we both have, their parents ensured that they stayed together until their wedding, or whatever ceremony you call it here happened.”

Tahti’s voice got lower, so I had to shift nearer to her. We were almost touching and my whole body was hyperaware of it. “In short, they shared a bed ever since they were small, until they turned the right age and did the joining. That was never the case for me.”

I faced the beautiful alien, who was looking sad for the first time. My hand took a mind of its own. I was already touching her face before I could stop myself. “Why not?”

Her eyes hinted of the orange color. “Because my soulmate is here on earth,” she whispered. “That’s the reason why I never shared a bed with anyone.”

“But there must be a mistake right Tahti? Your partner can’t possibly be a human like me. It’s not right.”

“Only if you think that,” she said, the orange in her eyes consuming the brown color. For a moment, I couldn’t speak. All I could do was stare at the sunset in her eyes and how it reminded me of the stars and the constellations that I loved. Once more, a falling sensation overtook me, and I was stumbling on my feet, even though in reality, I was safely tucked in the comfort of my bed beside her.

“What will happen during the joining?” I blurted out of curiosity, my hand still on her smooth cheek.

Tahti smiled endearingly. “You will touch the stars and become one with the sunset. Nothing would be more beautiful, except you.”

“How did you know that was what I was thinking of?”

Before she could answer, a loud sound, like someone was in pain reached my ears. My eyes widened. “What was that?” I said, sitting up at once.

“Ignore that.” Tahti took hold of my hand. “Come back to bed. You should sleep.” The sound repeated again. This time, I was sure that someone or something was moaning in pain. Not in my house, I thought as I jumped out of bed quickly, running to my bedroom door to see what the ruckus was about. “Alena, come here.”

“No Tahti. When someone needs your help, you should help them no matter what.” Turning the doorknob, I went to the hallway, listening for the sound of pain. After a few seconds, I heard another moan. Oh damn. It was coming from the spare room where Jorge and Gina were sleeping. Maybe someone realized they were alien, followed them here, then attacked them while they were defenseless.

With those thoughts in my head, I ran to the location of their room which was just across the hall and kicked the door open menacingly. “I’m going to kill you mother effers for daring to murder someone in my house!” I screamed, rushing inside the spare bedroom.

“Aaaaaah!” yelled Gina who was naked beneath Jorge. I walked in on them doing the dirty and I almost died of embarrassment and shock at what I saw.

Shielding my eyes quickly so I wouldn’t see anything more, I mumbled a quick apology before returning to my bedroom. To my bed beside Tahti who now had a very amused expression on her face. “What. Was. That?” I asked, begging my heart to slow down its rhythm as I crawled on the mattress and wrapped myself like a cocoon with the blanket.

“I told you they need their privacy,” Tahti said, hiding her smile.

“Is that the joining?”

“The joining happened a year ago in earth’s time for those two. No. They are merely expressing their compassion.”

“Oh okay,” I mumbled, squeezing my eyes shut. “Let’s drop the subject and go to sleep.” Without bothering to say goodnight, I turned to my side, trying to shut the images I have witnessed beforehand.

A couple of hours passed like that. Every time I was close to drifting off to sleep, the memory of Jorge on top of Gina would flash in my head, jerking me awake. It was only a single glance, but that was all it took for me to see their legs tangled, their chest collided, and their hands everywhere. Perhaps the worst part was that each time the image crashed in my mind, the faces would morph into mine and Tahti, making me feel hot all over.

It was only around 2 am when Tahti wrapped her arms around me in her sleep did I relax and succumbed to the darkness. Oh the irony of it. She was the reason why I was awake, and there I was falling asleep as soon as she held me. Admit it or not, the alien was getting to me, and I was letting her.

The next morning, I woke up refreshed as ever. “It’s unusual for me to wake up at 10 am,” I muttered under my breath. One could call me a morning person. Perhaps I was tired because of everything that happened yesterday.

Walking into the kitchen, I spotted the three aliens. All of them were wearing fashionable clothes that made them look like they came straight out of the magazine or runway. Jorge and Gina wore matchy matchy jeans and tops, with different colored scarves. Tahti was showing off her abs with a cropped top and shorts. She was hot. Stop it Alena.

“Aren’t you cold?” I asked as I sat on one of the chairs. It was a sweater weather, and whilst I was already shivering in my own ensemble of boots, jeans, and hoodie, the alien looked ready for summer.

“Not at all,” Tahti replied, sitting beside me. “The three of us have the ability to regulate our temperature.” She crossed her legs, making me look down. It was toned and long. Totally sexy. “What’s the matter Alena? Did you lose something?”

I blinked a couple of times, confused. “Uh no.” Shaking my head, I turned my attention to the other two. Gina was preparing something at the counter while Jorge leaned next to her, reading the morning paper. Good thing they had clothes now, I thought, trying to veer my head away from yesterday’s images. My stomach growled loudly. “Sorry,” I said sheepishly.

Gina turned her head to me and smiled. “I’m almost done with the preparation. Please sit tight.”

After a few minutes, she placed a plateful of salad in front of me. Then one for her and the other aliens. “What is this?” I frowned. “Where’s the meat? I need meat to function.” I pushed the green leafy thing with my fork in distaste.

Jorge and Gina sat across from me and Tahti. “It’s called Tuscan salad with Balsamic vinaigrette,” Gina said cheerily, already digging in her share. “I read this morning that some lesbians are vegetarian so you’ll like it.”

I stared hard at her. “I’m not lesbian okay? And I’m definitely not vegetarian. Listen hard because this is the first and last time I’m going to say this. I need my bacon. I need my meat. I can’t go a day without it.”

Jorge lowered her fork, studying me with a look. Once again she had that smirk in her face. “Do you like cats Alena?”

The question threw me off track. “What? I. . . Umm I guess. Why?”

“Because they said in the internet forum that I checked this morning that lesbians love pussycats,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “So if you love it, you must be lesbian. Am I right Tahti?”

The alien beside me chewed slowly. “If that was what you gathered, Alena is truly a lesbian. Besides,” Tahti said, spreading vinaigrette on her salad. “I saw her looking at my body when she entered the kitchen. According to the books, it is called, checking each other out.”

“No I did not,” I protested, rolling my eyes.

“Yes you did,” Jorge smirked. “You even looked at her legs. You’re a lesbian Alena. Admit it.”

I glared at her. “So what if I turned out to be one?” The words came out of my mouth so suddenly that I couldn’t do anything to stop it. “Fine! Fine, I’m a lesbian. I got the hots for Tahti. Happy?”

“You are?” someone spoke from behind. Without even turning around, I knew who it was. My boyfriend. And his tone told me that he wasn’t happy at all. What have I gotten myself into? I thought as I pushed myself up, glared at the three aliens, and walked to Niko to clear things up. But the fact was, even I was confused.