Page 84 of Malliko
After another half hour of tossing and obsessing over all the questions I had for him, I chose to get up and go see if by any chance Malliko was awake as well.
Quietly, I opened and closed the connecting door between the two apartments so as to not wake up Tania. Walking to the doorway of Malliko’s bedroom, I stood for a second to see if he would move. When he didn’t, I called out his name gently and right away, I saw movement in the dark room.
“Clara?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t sleep. My head is buzzing with questions.”
A small bedside lamp was turned on. The soft light it provided showed me how Malliko pushed himself back to sit against the gray upholstered backboard.
His torso was naked and as ripped as I had imagined. I couldn’t see anything below his waist, but the thought that he might be completely nude made me look away and feel heat rise to my neck and face.
“I don’t know where to start, but I’ve been tossing and turning since we got back from the night club. This whole thing about your being alien, and our ancestors fleeing a doomed planet. It sounds…” I leaned against the doorframe. “Well, it just sounds like something from a sci-fi movie or book. It’s hard to believe that it’s real.”
“I understand.”
Fixing my eyes on his shoulder, I carried on, “But it’s not just that. At the nightclub you rejected a lot of stunning women.”
Reaching out his hand to me, he whispered, “Come.”
As if he was pulling a rope tied to him, I moved forward and crawled up to sit next to him.
“Clara, I want you to listen to me.”
Turning my head, I gave him my full attention. “I’m listening.”
“I’ve been with my share of women. Don’t think I can’t recognize a beauty when I see one.”
My face fell a little with his admitting that he’d found all those women beautiful. “So why did you reject them all?”
“I didn’t.”
His answer confused me. “What do you mean? I saw you and you didn’t talk with any of them. You came back here alone.”
Taking my hand, he played with my fingers while looking into my eyes. “I didn’t reject you, did I?”
“Ohh.” My eyebrows drew close. “No, but I mean, those women were all young and hot like Shanice.”
Weaving our fingers together, Malliko spoke softly. “I get that Jeremy hurt you when he left you for another woman, but do you think it would have hurt less if she had been older and less attractive? I’m asking because you seem to focus on her age and body a lot. Could it be that Jeremy and Shanice are a better fit when it comes to humor, values, or their sexual desires?”
I looked down. “I don’t know. It’s possible, but there’s a saying. There’s always going to be someone younger and prettier. Those women tonight were both younger and prettier than me and I guess I’m just confused why you didn’t show them any interest. Or Lucille from work for that matter. Why me? Was I just the first woman you met and that’s why I’ve been getting special attention from you?” I averted my eyes from his as I glanced at our intertwined fingers.
Malliko patiently addressed my insecurities. “You humans also have a different saying that I came across. It was something about beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Do you know that saying?”
“Yes.”
“What if you have the looks and shape of my dream woman?”
“Tsk.” I smiled a little at the notion because even though it was a nice thought, I couldn’t take it seriously.
“What’s funny about that? Why is your version of a woman’s dream body more valid than mine?” he asked.
Opening my mouth to speak, I closed it again and thought about it. “It’s not. But here on Earth the beauty standards are hard for women like me to live up to. I think the new generation of young women might be better at accepting their bodies, but I grew up with my self-esteem ruined from seeing petite womenand teenage models used by the fashion industry to define what a beautiful body looked like. And then when Jeremy stopped feeling attracted to me and left me for a petite woman, it consolidated my feeling of being unattractive.” I sighed. “I want to believe you, Malliko. But it’s hard.”
Leaning closer, he cupped my cheek and lifted my head to make me look at him. “For you to feel unattractive is a waste of time. I’ll bring you to my home planet and then you’ll see for yourself how the Eidrons would react to you. We love women of all shapes. But most women that I’ve had access to as a soldier were as toned and fit as me. That might be the beauty standard on Earth, but your softness is incredibly appealing. I guarantee that trillions across the Universe would desire you.”
I smiled and soaked up his words. Without thinking about it, my glance went to his lips. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it that you truly are attracted to my looks.”
“Actually, it isn’t the only reason why I’m attracted to you. When I first met you, I had an impression of humans as over-emotional beings who were less developed in intelligence and awareness. I was instantly drawn in by your eyes. They are incredibly expressive and beautiful. Then you started sharing your reflections on human sexology and that showed maturity and depth that I hadn’t expected. Humans are known to be limiting themselves with taboos and rules of all kinds. You crushed that notion and showed me that it's definitely not true for all humans.”
