"It is. Come to the table. Why do you look older?"
"We come into maturity at a certain age. Declyn says we're not mature, but our bodies stop aging. Coming into maturity early allows us to fight for our planet and maintain the way of life there. I'm too young for a family, but I'll never have one."
"Why?"
"What Earth female would want one of us?"
Chapter Six
Lunch went well. Shelaughed with Ven, listening to him tell stories about Enzo and Declyn that brought smiles to her face and a couple of tears because she laughed so hard she cried. He helped her clean up, and now they were standing across the street from the female who had him crushing. It was adorable even though she felt it was a little stalker-ish.
The girl was sitting on the porch and lived in the same neighborhood, just about three blocks away. The porch had sturdy wicker furniture on it and a cute rocking chair, in which she happened to be sitting. There was a book in her hands and a pair of headphones on her head.
Deja shook her head, kids today, and then she smiled.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Ven whispered in her ear.
As far as she could see, the girl had mousy brown hair, and although she couldn't be sure from the quick walk-by she'd done a few minutes earlier, but she thought she saw blue eyes and rather pale skin.
The girl looked up, and it was obvious, at least it was to Deja, that she caught sight of Ven. Her entire countenance changed. Her eyes sparkled and her smile made her look like she could give the women in the Miss America Pageant a run for their money. And her body that looked dumpy now held itself with pride and purpose.
Deja had to turn and look at Ven again. He might be young, but he wasn't stupid, and yeah, that girl was gorgeous.
The young girl's smile disappeared when she caught sight of Deja. Deja moved back and tried to give the universal sign of "I'm the parent." The girl must have gotten it because her smile returned, and the sound Ven made earlier of pleasure returned. It was a low hum.
She was starting to feel weird standing out here watching the two of them until two couples, both around eighteen, walked down the street. The girl on the porch caught sight of them, and her whole body language changed.
"Angel," one of the girls walking down the street called out.
Angel lifted her hand and waved back, but her heart wasn't in it.
"We were coming to see you. I'm happy you're sitting outside," the other girl said.
The two girls and their boyfriends stood in front of the porch, but they never made a move to go up the stairs.
Angel said something, but it was too low for Deja to hear. Turning to take a look at Ven, his face was stormy. Could he hear what she said? Before she could ask, one of the girls said something loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Hey, we're going to a party tonight and wondered if you wanted to come?" The girl tilted her head up to look at Angel. Her body language screamed, "I'm better than you."
"Yeah," one of the boys said, leaning into the girl who just spoke. "We could use a mascot tonight, and you're big enough to play the part."
The kids laughed, and pain shot across Angel's face. Deja shot her hand out to catch Ven before he managed to walk across the street. He stilled, but she could see he was hurting for her.
"Pay him no mind," the other girl said. "You know he can be a butthead at times. Look, there will be lots of alcohol. Are you allowed to drink yet?" Again, they went off into laughter.
"Most of all, we'll all be drunk, and maybe Nate will be there and drunk. If you beg nicely, he might even fuck you, just to see what it's like to be with a fat girl," the other young man said, causing them to laugh more.
Angel got up. The humiliation on her face made Deja want to hurt the youth. They're just children, she reminded herself. Angel turned around and disappeared inside the doorway.
"Come on, Angel," one of the girls shouted. "You can't be a virgin forever."
They laughed and took off down the street. Ven was practically vibrating in her grip.
"Ven? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Declyn and Enzo told me something about girls and how they act."
"What did they tell you?"