Page 22 of My Christmas Alien Mate

"Now where to?" he asked when we exited the truck, and I replaced the lock on the chain.

"That way," I waved down main street, passing several shops. All decorated in the Christmas theme, and all filled with customers. Charming was booming thanks to the tourists. Only a few people like my grampa, who had worked for the water company, hadn't gotten rich off the tourist's backs.

He could have. He could have painted rocks and sold them at the stores and people would have bought them. Charming was that popular. He could have built another house and rented it out, even as far out as we were. That hadn't been my grampa though. He didn't like other people, and he liked their money even less.

Galexor stopped in front of a wide storefront to stare at a toy train making its rounds across a miniature town that looked exactly like Charming, except we didn't have a train.

"That's astonishing," Galexor marveled.

"Don't…" I searched my memory for his species name and was grateful when it came to me, "Scekyns children play with toys?"

"Nothing like this," he said as his eyes followed the train. "Do your people travel in these things?"

"They're called trains, and yes, we use them to transport goods around the country and for people to travel. You don't have those?"

"We have conveyance tubes that transport goods and people for most planetary travel. They are underground though and very fast."

"Then people can't see where they're going," I pointed out.

"No," he shook his head and looked up from the train. "Then again, our cities are not this… charming."

"What do your cities look like?" I asked, intrigued.

"Tall, overcrowded," he searched for words.

"We have those too. You just happened to land in the most beautiful town on Earth."

This time when his eyes met mine, they were downright smoldering, and I swallowed to dispel the sexual attraction growing between us. If this continued, I would rip his clothes off before we made it back home.

"I most definitely found the most beautiful human female."

Oh God, I felt the need to take my jacket off as heat spread through me. This man sure had a way with words.

"The jeweler is over there." I cleared my throat and pointed a few stores down.

The streets were filled with people whose hands were overflowing with shopping bags, but I noticed how Galexor curiously took in some couples who were holding hands.

"Is that another one of your customs?"

"Yes, couples like to hold hands," I said.

"Interesting," he remarked and folded my hand into his.

More warmth spread through me, and my flesh tingled where it met his. Yes, our sexual attraction was definitely growing. Honestly though, at this point, I was beginning to worry more about my heart than my virtue. This man was getting under my skin like no other ever had.

Amber'slittletownwaspretty. I had never seen the sense of shopping before. All I needed was a place to sleep, eat, to be with my family, and a ship to fly. I had never given decorations or things a thought, but after seeing Amber's cozy house stuffed to the rafters with knickknacks, I understood the appeal.

I noticed how she stole occasional glances at the ring she said had been her mother's, how sometimes she twisted it and smiled, and I wondered if it was like the pictures hanging on her wall, making her remember a loved one.

We had pictures of course. They were stored on my data processor, but I had never collected any mementos, not like Amber did, and judging by what all these stores offered and the many customers inside, she wasn't the only one.

After we sold the diamond at the jewelry store, where Amber assured me the owner, Mike, had definitely underpaid me, I bought a sweatshirt that read,Charming has my heart, which was utter nonsense, but for some reason, I could see myself wearing it years from now and remembering this day, this moment.

I would remember walking hand in hand with Amber through this, yes, charming town, while what she called snow slowly began to fall. The sky was beginning to darken again, but it never slowed down the number of people milling about. I knew that whenever I would wear this sweatshirt, I would remember the touch of her skin against mine as we held hands and how the snowflakes felt melting on my face.

This world of hers was very different from mine, but I liked it. I liked it a lot.

Main street wasn't that long, but there were so many stores on each side that it took us hours to make our way down one end. We reached the town's park, that was filled with half open tents where more people peddled their wares, reminding me of peasant like markets I had seen on other, underdeveloped planets, but here it looked just downright… charming like everything else in this town.

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