Page 1 of My Brother's Alien Match
Chapter One
ROBIN
A flash of pink in the reflection of a puddle caught my gaze as I skipped over it.
Standing safely on the sidewalk, I paused, looking up at the massive sign glowing from a billboard above me.
It was an ad forAlien Mates. A large, topless, blue alien gave the camera a rather sultry look. Next to him, the app’s logo flashed. It was a simple heart with a classic UFO inside it shooting out a beam of light. The catchphrase beneath it read;swipe up, to go up.
For a prolonged minute, I stood there, looking up at it. Normally, I rolled my eyes when I saw the ads for Alien Mates. Since you could get a grant for agreeing to go off planet for relationships, it was a cash grab for many people. For others, it was fantasy fulfillment. People often made jokes about the types of aliens that hadtentacles, orotherinteresting appendages. It didn't hurt that a lot of aliens looked exotic and interesting and different in all the good ways.
I didn't like how it was okay to objectify the off-planet types of aliens when we wouldn't accept it for different human races here on Earth.
Tonight, though, with a bag filled with comfort foods like Cherry Garcia ice cream, chocolate bars, and pizza pockets, it all held a very different light.
People acted like aliens were hard to get. People liked to show them off when they had them as partners. But if they were on the app… Didn't that mean they were looking for humans too? Maybe getting one wouldn’t be so hard.
My brother Taylor was just out of a breakup. He really didn't need another boyfriend just yet… But the Cherry Blossom Ball was coming, and hewouldneed a date. And maybe even a distraction.
Shaking my head, I continued toward our shared apartment, up to the seventh floor on the elevator which was always stiflingly warm and stale andslow.I looked down at my grocery bag, hoping that the ice cream wasn’t melting already.
When it finally landed on my floor, I squeezed through the door before it was fully open and hurried down the hall. I’d been gone longer than I’d planned.
To my relief, the apartment wasn’t in shambles when I entered. I’d expected Taylor to break at least one dish while I was out. His last breakup with Neil had resulted in an entire smashed dishware set. We’d spent two weeks eating on paper towels until he got paid and could replace them… which had led to late bill payments. It had taken months for him to properly catch up on bills and they’d already been back together by then, so I was glad to see that he’d learned from the last time. Still, it was odd to walk into silence, when he’d been crying and watching TV before I left.
“Taylor?” I called walking into the living room.
I heard a sudden noise, someone laughing quietly, and followed it to the couch. Sadly, he wasn’t on it, but was in fact lying on the floor in front of it, curled dejectedly around his phone.
“Hey… What are you doing?” I asked, taking a seat on the couch behind him.
I set the bag on the coffee table and leaned down to see his screen. My heart broke for him when I saw that he was watching videos of himself and his ex. Judging by the sweet way Neil put an arm around Taylor’s waist and kissed his cheek, you’d never know how close to breaking up they’d been.
Taylor sniffled and I reached down, prying the phone out of his grip.
“Don’t delete it!” he said in a panic, abruptly sitting up.
His sandy blond hair was ruffled, his green eyes red with unshed tears. He hadn’t shaved or changed since yesterday but despite how scruffy he looked, he was still far too good-looking to be crying over a boy.
“I’m not deleting it,” I said gently. “I’m just putting it away and we are watching a movie. An action. Or horror. Nothing with any romance whatsoever allowed.”
He stared and then, despite the sadness in his eyes chuckled and climbed onto the couch next to me.
“You are far too good to me, Robby,” he sighed. “Too bad Neil wasn’t as good to me as you are.”
He laid his head back on the headrest, staring up at the ceiling.
“You would make someone a fantastic boyfriend.”
As soon as he gave me that familiar side-eye, I reached for the remote with a groan.
“Stop,” I said before he could start.
“I haven’t said anything,” he grumbled, reaching for the bag of treats I’d bought. He went straight for the ice cream, scooping it straight out of the container with a wooden spoon while I looked for a movie.
“I’m just wondering why you never date anyone for longer than a minute?”
I groaned.
