Page 79 of Malliko
“Yes. He’s Eidron.” Her face fell. “The short story is that he was another researcher that I had to assist with practical matters here on Earth. Soros was charming and I fell head over heels for him. That was a big fat mistake on my part.”
“Why? What did you mean when you said that Eidron men ruin a woman’s love life?”
Tania groaned. “What I meant was that you’ll be comparing every human man to them, and it’s not a fair comparison. Trust me, I’ve tried dating and it’s...” She rolled her eyes and sighed before emptying her glass of soda in one go.
“But you’re a showstopper. I’ll bet you can have every man you want.”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes and she seemed more sad than flattered. “That’s kind of you to say, but what good does it do me when the man I want is on a different planet? He has probably forgotten about me by now. Eidrons don’t form bonds like we do on Earth.”
“Malliko did say they don’t have families, but I don’t understand what he means exactly.”
“It means that they don’t partner up the same way we do. As children they grow up with one or both parents but it’s unusual for the parents to live together.” Tania paused. “Maybe that’s where humans are headed as well with the divorce rate and all.”
“Are you divorced like me?” I asked her, but she shook her head.
“No. I guess you can say that I haven’t been lucky in love.”
“Me neither.”
“But at least you got married, so you must have loved at some point.”
I scoffed and looked out the window. “I thought I did, but a pregnant teenager is hardly thinking straight.”
“Ah, I see. How long have you been divorced?”
“Six years.”
“Have you dated much?”
“No.” I kept my answer short.
“I get that. The dating world is ruthless. Personally, I have a special skill of attracting and falling for unavailable men.”
“Like Soros.”
“Yes.” Tania sighed and pulled her legs up on the sofa before she continued. “But before him I was with a man for two years until I realized he was married and had a family.”
I frowned. “How is that possible? Didn’t you ever visit him?”
Tania shrugged. “He was a pathological liar. I swallowed all his bullshit about his apartment getting renovated and listened to his sob stories about how the contractors kept screwing up. He would take me on business trips with fancy hotels and dinners. It wasn’t until I overheard a phone conversation between him and his daughter that I got suspicious.”
With a sympathetic glance, I said, “I work for Go2Match as a moderator and so I’ve learned to recognize all the signs of a married man.”
“Yeah? What are the signs then?”
“No picture and vague information on their profiles are some of the first signs. When people ask them why their profile is anonymous, they say it’s because of their work. They want to meet during work hours and like to avoid questions about their private life. Often, they will steer toward the topic of sex quickly because that’s typically all they’re looking for.”
“Sounds about right. I’ve been on dating sites and often the questions quickly turned sexual. How long since you last had sex? Do you like oral? Do you squirt? Are you into anal?” Tania looked at me and for a moment we held eye contact before I added:
“What is your filthiest fantasy? Are you into dirty talk?”
Tania grinned. “Right. I see we’ve been talking to the same men.”
We burst into laughter and then I explained. “I haven’t been talking to many myself, but I’ve been a moderator for years and so I’ve seen thousands and thousands of conversations. Some are innocent and fun, but most are repetitive and sexual. At least the ones getting reported to us. Although…” I laughed a little more. “I once had two quirky people who had talked for months when he reported her. I had to read through innocent talk about knitting and baking and couldn’t find anything that violated our rules. Turned out that he was upset with her for not answering for three days, which isn’t something we can moderate, of course.”
Tania drew in a long breath and shook her head a little. “Dating is complicated.”
“I know. Which is why I haven’t dated since my divorce. The problem is that I’ve been so shut down, and that’s what Malliko is helping me overcome. At this point I’m not looking to find a partner. Just to feel present in my body again.”
