Alien Sex: 19 Tales by the Masters of Science Fiction and Dark Fantasy

SAVING THE WORLD AT THE NEW MOON MOTEL ^{ROBERTA LANNES}

THE BRASS BELL CLANGED over the screen door of the New Moon Café. Terri turned, once again, to see if it might be Earl come to beg her forgiveness and haul her butt home. It was a trucker. She sighed heavily and held out her cup for a warm-up.

“Go home Terri. That’s your eleventh cup of coffee. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re still up in a couple of days and can’t, for the life of you, remember what coulda kept you from sleepin’.”

“Please, Mary Ann, I want to be wide awake when Earl gets here.”

The coffee sloshed over the top and into the saucer. Terri giggled, giddy with caffeine. “Thanks.”

“He ain’t gonna come, Terri. He’s a stubborn man. And he ain’t in the prettiest spot, either, with you knowin’ about his affair with Florence and all…”

Acid bit her stomach. A twist of pain in her heart made her gasp. She didn’t need to hear anyone speak of it again. She just wanted him to say he was sorry. Grovel a little. Then maybe they could go on with their lives and not be hurting each other like that anymore. Hell, it wasn’t the first time, and she’d done her share of messing around, but this was different.

She drank down half the cup of coffee, filled it back up with cream, and added five teaspoons of sugar. She opened the menu then let it slap closed. She ordered her third piece of apple pie à la mode. Or was it her fourth and she’d had three brownies? She couldn’t remember.

The bell. She looked over her shoulder.

A man. Short, maybe five feet tall, but thickly built. And handsome in an exotic way. His round dark eyes reminded Terri of a snake’s. He wore a smart-looking leather jumpsuit. He moved smoothly, gracefully, like someone with a foot more height and the agility of a dancer.

She turned back to her coffee. The bars closed at two. Much of their clientele trickled into the café, nearly filling the place. But Terri sat alone at the counter. He sat down beside her.

She shifted uneasily on her stool. She hadn’t had a man interested in her since before she’d had little Earl and put on sixty pounds. Maybe this one was one of those guys she read about in Real Romance that like their women large. She needed this. Badly.

Mary Ann noticed the man’s obvious interest and gave Terri a wink. Terri smiled at the man as she picked up her fork to dig into her pie.

The man smiled back. He reached for a food-stained menu wedged behind the napkin dispenser.

Terri cleared her throat. “If you’re looking for dessert, they have the best apple pie….” She pointed to hers.

“Thank-you.” He looked up at Mary Ann. “I want same.”

“You won’t be sorry. Hi. My name is Terri Sipes.” She held out a hand. He looked at it curiously, took it in his, and turned it over, examining it. She pulled it away.

His eyes met hers. “Thank-you. My name.” He paused, took a gulp of air. “Name is Pauldor.”

His voice was strange. Deep, brittle, emotionless. It was like Earl’s when she’d asked for an explanation of his behavior with Florence. He’d droned on and on in that same tone, not making much sense. Her stomach churned.

“Paul Door? A nice name. Where are you from?”

He looked blankly at her, then smiled. He gulped air again and whistled. “Thank-you. I am from the other side of the world.” He made a giggling noise at some private joke. “And you are from here?”

Terri looked to Mary Ann and back to Paul. He seemed nervous, she thought. A foreigner.

“Here? Yes, I live in town. Up the highway a few miles.” She slipped her wedding ring off under her napkin and put it in her coat pocket. “What are you doing so far from home?”

“I am in travel.” He smiled, licked his lips. A long pale tongue. Terri shivered.

“Travel? Oh, how wonderful. I would love to travel. I haven’t been but a state away in my whole life. What do you do, work for a travel agency?”

He brightened and his voice took on some expression. “I do. I do advance work. I go ahead. I seek new places to take tour. People. Visit. Is this good place?”

Terri shrugged. She didn’t know. “I bet you could take a tour through Olympia. They make great beer there. Then you could sort of slide through Budd. Canada’s just a bit aways up north. It’s supposed to be incredible.”

“People are easygoing, friendly like you?”

This was getting good. He leaned closer. Now if Earl would just walk in…

“Yes, oh, yes. Very friendly. At least the women. Like me.”

“You. You are special? Women?”

Terri puffed. “Well, I think so. Not all women are…” She thought hard. “Not all women are as warm and giving as I am.”

He beamed, clapped his hands together. “Special. Good. Very good.”

She got the feeling they weren’t quite communicating, but he was from a foreign country and she didn’t speak any language but English. And the universal language. Love. An idea was beginning to grow in her. She would just have to take advantage of this situation and seek retribution for Earl’s infidelity. Definitely. The Bible came to mind. An eye for an eye. A screw for a screw.

Terri swallowed the last piece of pie and purred.

“Would you be interested in seeing the accommodations in the motel here? They are quite nice….” She smoothed her sweater.

“This is proposition, yes?”

This guy was blunt. She’d never been picked up by a foreigner before. Maybe they just got right to it.

“Maybe…”

He grabbed their checks and presented Mary Ann with a roll of twenties. Both women’s eyes went wide. Mary Ann took two twenties and handed him back the rest. Terri slipped behind the counter and pulled her friend close.

“Pay dirt!” She whispered.

“What if Earl comes while…”

“You said yourself he won’t show. Look. I need this. I deserve to make myself feel better any ol’ way I want. I’ll see Earl in the morning with a smile on my face and forgiveness in my heart. It will be worth it.”

“Well, good luck. But, I dunno. I heard those little guys have little you-know-whatses. I wanna hear all the details….”

Terri looked smug. “I’m not worried. You should have seen his…”

Paul took her arm and steered her out of the café and into the motel office. She marveled at his ease of movement, his style. If he moved like this out of bed, heavens, she could hardly stand the thrill she felt at the possibilities.

As many times as she’d eaten at the café, Terri had never seen the inside of the motel. Their room was off the highway. Paul opened the door and followed her in. The walls were faded puce cinder block. Over the chenille-covered double bed was a large velveteen tapestry depicting a group of dogs playing poker. That seemed to fascinate Paul. He murmured something about animals and humans while Terri flicked on the TV.

“Damn, it’s scrambled. Got a quarter?”

Paul was sitting on the bed, feeling the texture of the wall. The light from the New Moon Motel sign outside cast a reddish glow over him. He blinked and looked at her.

“What, thank-you?”

“The TV is on cable. If we put money in it, we can watch it.”

“I do not want TV. I come for you Terrisipes.”

“Hm, maybe we could get cozy first. I’m not into quickies.”

“Cozy. Is that good?”

She went to the bed and sat down beside him. She tried to reach into his leather jacket, but he pulled away. His smile faded.

“What, thank-you, is this?”

Terri put her lips to his and let her tongue slide out. His mouth hung agape. He pushed her away and stood.

“Hey, I thought you wanted me? This is too weird. First you’re in a hurry, then you’re cold. Maybe you need to be inspired.”

She stood and slowly peeled off her sweater, then her stretch jeans. Paul seemed mesmerized. She was on to something. She took her boots off slowly, then pulled down her knee socks and flung them over her shoulder. Paul was drooling. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. Her breasts came tumbling out over her stomach. Paul began gasping for air. She pinched the sides of her briefs and drew them down over her hips. She turned so he could see her huge backside and bent over to lower the panties to the floor.

Paul was speechless and paralyzed with passion. He sat on the bed, his erection tenting his leather pantsuit. In fact, there were many lumps beneath the textured gray skin.

Terri waited. Nothing. Well, there was one more thing she could try.

“I’ll be in the shower when you’re ready, sweetie….” She swung her hips as she walked into the bathroom. She could hear him gurgling behind her.

The anticipation fired her adrenaline. With all the sugar and caffeine in her system, she felt like a rocket about to take off. She also felt anger at Earl. She could kill the bastard. Kill him and move to Sedona where an old boyfriend ran a convenience store. But no. She wanted to use this energy to give herself the best lay she’d had in years….

She turned on the water, adjusting the temperature. She tucked her permed hair into a skimpy plastic cap the motel thoughtfully provided and got in. The water felt great. The tension began to melt slightly. And she could take as long a shower as she pleased. At home, Earl got homicidal if she used up the hot water on her body, for chrissakes.

She rubbed the lilac-scented soap over her plump expanse of flesh until the lather was as thick as whipped cream. She let the warmth wash over her, the energy flow through her.

The shower door opened and Pauldor stood naked, sort of, his gray leather suit hanging off his back, his pinkish underskin glistening with sweat. Terri’s eyes went to his groin. Her face brightened. He was not only well-hung, but he had almost a dozen more erections over his chest and stomach. Each one just as red and rigid as the one in his groin.

He got in and embraced her. The projections attached themselves to her with squishing suction pops. The last one slid gingerly in where it should. Terri yelped with pleasure and pain as the suction grew. Then she moved like she’d never done before. She gave it all she had. Take this Earl Sipes.

Pauldor gurgled loudly, his eyes rolling up into his head, leaving pale orbs, his hands kneading her, clawing her backside.

She was there. She howled, thankful she was not at home where Earl said everyone in the surrounding trailers could hear her. Paul gave an equally loud, but more pained sound, and the erections popped off. He stared down at his groin for a moment, seeming not to believe what he saw, then collapsed onto the shower floor.

Terri stared down at where once there had been a penis. She felt a slight burning and a cramp when the blackened flesh fell to the metal drain and washed between the slats. She put her hand to her mouth, then began to laugh. It was like she’d been stung by a bee and… no, she shook her head. This was something else. She knew foreigners had to be different in some way.

She checked to see if he was breathing and turned off the water. She decided he just needed to rest and tiptoed out.

As she dressed she noticed the marks the suction left. They were raw, sensitive to the touch. She carefully pulled her sweater back on. The scratches on her backside hurt too. For all the pain, she felt more satisfied than she could remember. Foreigners. She’ll have to tell Mary Ann about this one. Whew!

She shut the door quietly behind her and walked a little awkwardly back to the café.

Mary Ann was surprised to see her.

“You’re back so soon. Musta been a bust.”

“It was… incredible.” She sighed, radiant.

“No kidding. Well, I hope so. Earl called. He wants your ass home. Now.”

“Really? Oh, this is perfect. I feel great and Earl’s gonna be terrible jealous when he sees all the hickies I got. I’ll see ya!”

Terri was almost outside, stopped, then turned back and grinned.

“Take good care of my friend Paul if he comes in for breakfast. He should have a hearty appetite. And by the way, not all small guys are… you know. Some of ’em have more than you could imagine.”

She winked at Mary Ann and was gone.

Mary Ann shrugged and looked at her watch. She had a break coming in twenty minutes. Maybe he would be rested by then. She would just have to go find his room. Yup. She would.