Page 39 of All You Need is Alien Love
He blushes and kisses the top of her head.
“Aren’t they just too adorable?” River asks dreamily.
I shudder.
Iyarans have much longer lifespans than humans, and we begin to age at a much slower rate once we reach adulthood. Consequently, my grandparents don’t look all that much older than my actual parents.
Given the long hold we have on youth and vitality, our species is known to indulge our libidos for many decades, which is one reason why we take finding mates so seriously.
Nevertheless, I don’t need my grandmother sharing intimate details of her sex life with my grandfather. They’ve always been like that though. Iyarans are very vocal about sex, especially back on the home world. However, after living among humanson Earth for most of my life, I’ll admit that I’ve internalized their more comparatively prudish tendencies around discussing such matters openly. Particularly with my family members who have no filter. I have no shame about having sex, I just don’t want to listen to the very detailed stories about my grandmother’s and mother’s sexcapades with their mates, particularly because I have to look my dad in the eye at work and call him “Sir.” I didn’t need to envision any other contexts for that terminology with my father.Thank you very much for that one, Mom.
Benji, who’s seated beside my brother a little further down the table, leans over him to speak to me.
I have to bite back a laugh when my brother goes momentarily cross-eyed as Benji’s long hair brushes against his lap.
“I just wanted to tell you your underwater moves were wicked cool, Kai. How did you stay under there without breathing for so long?”
Mal makes a pained, high-pitched whimper that I fully intend to tease him about later. It’s only right that I do so as his older brother.
I clear my throat loudly to help him out. “Iyarans once possessed gills when our species was more fully aquatic but as we evolved, we became more land-dwelling and lost our gills over the centuries. However, we still possess powerful lungs that can help us hold our breath underwater for much longer than the average human.”
Benji’s eyes widen. “Whoa, that’s super cool, man.” He leans back a little and darts a glance at Mal. “Does that mean you can do that too?”
Mal, whose face is still rather flushed, nods and shifts awkwardly in his seat. “Uh, yeah. Although Kai’s really the most talented swimmer in the family.”
Benji glances down at Mal’s lap and my brother makes a strangled noise.
“So I guess you’ve got some of those purple tentacles too, huh?”
My brother looks like he might pass out, so I “do him a solid,” as River would say, and step in.
“All Iyarans possess tentacles,” I explain. “It is part of our aquatic heritage that we haven’t lost. But our tentacles serve many purposes. Their function is not purely for movement in water.”
River snickers and waggles his eyebrows suggestively. “Tentacles can dosomany things—and go so many places.”
A slightly stoned Benji leans back in his chair and nods his head, stroking his short beard.
“That’s pretty rad. I mean, extra appendages could be useful for so many thi—” His eyes widen and he beams at Mal. “Dude, I should totally get you to try and help me with my pottery some time. I wanna see how your tentacles can work the wheel.”
Mal’s mouth keeps opening and closing as he does an imitation of a fish out of water trying to breathe on dry land and failing miserably.
Thankfully, Grandma Iris comes to the rescue this time, getting to her feet and clinking her glass with a fork. “Ahem. If I can have everyone’s attention, please? Our lunch break will end in ten minutes. Please finish your meals and get ready for our next event!”
The second half of today’s ceremony is what has me the most nervous. I’ve been dreading what I have to share with everyone this time around.
In contrast, River is bright-eyed and raring to go, which I suppose makes sense since he’ll be in his milieu with this task.
I, on the other hand, can’t hold a candle to him when it comes to what’s ahead. But I have spent the last few weeks fine-tuningmy contribution, and I can only hope that River appreciates all the hard work and personal humiliation I’ve undergone for him.
Who am I kidding? I’d do far more for him in a heartbeat. River’s worth it.
That puts the foolish grin back on my face.
Once the food and banquet tables are cleared away, our family and guests move to the far end of the hangar, where seats are set up in a wide circle around two chairs that face each other. That’s where River and I are going to have to sit.
I gulp.
We all take our places, and Grandma Iris, our MC for the day, steps between River and me, mic in hand.
