"Let's go to the Mandible Seafood Restaurant."

"Are the food there fresh? I've seen the dock, Afren. It's dirty, with an abhorrent water color..."

"Of course! They've cleaned the shells and scales of the marine life forms before they cook them!"

"I want to go to the Veggie Cafe... I don't really like to eat meat."

She stopped on the sidewalk and groaned out loud. Grabbing my thick right arm, she looked at me in the eyes. "Jake, stop being a baby! It's just fish and clams and maybe some octopuses! And I don't think they count as meat."

I eyed her suspiciously. "What's a clam and octopus?"

She would have fell down with stress had I not stopped her before she could say any comebacks. "All right! All right! We'll go the Seafood thing!" I rolled my eyes with annoyance.

Hooking my arm with her own and staying well clear of the piercing spikes, she literally pulled me down the walkway. "You know, this is our first time after four months of non-stopping work that we are actually going out together, alone."

I sighed as I gazed up into the hazy orange sky. Over the past four months, Roxan had made plans to transport all the soldiers on Atarii to planet Earth. Right now, two hundred thousand battle cruisers were standing by with full fuel tanks and ammunitions. Orb, Talus, Wriik, Traven, Dantri, and I were going over the map of the blue world and discussing our strategies over and over again. Our main priority was to land on Earth, and head straight to the Burnt Land far away from the Dome Cities to acquire the nuclear weapons.

Afren jerked my arm to snap me back to the present time. "What are you thinking about?" She asked while gazing at me dreamily with her crystal blue-colored eyes.

I smiled as I hugged her closely to me. "Nothing serious. Just thinking about all the exasperating jobs that we have done. Gathering such a massive army isn't that easy. I'm glad that we are close to the launch date."

She leaned against my broad shoulder and said: "Let's not think about that right now... We come out here to have fun, not to ponder what had happened or what will happen."

A cool breeze swept across the nearly bare street. There was only a miniscule amount of people walking around at this time. It was close to evening, and most people were heading home after a day of hard work. It was fairly dusty, and I had to keep Afren near me.

"Aren't you cold?" Afren asked when she playfully traced her long, slender index finger along my bare, leathery, navy-blue chest.

I shook my head and grinned foolishly: "No. I'm feeling hot right now, and wearing a cloak would kill me. Even wearing a pair of pants right now is killing me."

She giggled and said: "Then does that mean what I'm wearing now will kill me?"

I contemplated the image painted in my head. Then I squeezed her hand. "What do you... I mean, we, call ourselves?"

Afren seemed as if she had been walking and talking with a stranger, which, in a sense, was true. I didn't know about my origin. I didn't know anything about my race's history. I had always thought myself as a human, which I was originally, but not anymore. I could say that I was a mutant with a vast power that little could possess.

"Jake, we call ourselves the Caten. For some reasons, with the way our skeletal structures are formed, we are similar to the cats on Earth. Of course, long ago, we don't call ourselves by this name considering that Earth is pretty far away and we don't have the technology to travel between each sector of space." She stopped and took a drink from the crystal cup beside her.

I sighed as I looked at her. "I need to ask you something..." I struggled to get the words out. "I... You... Actually, I - I need to know if... Wait... It's better if you... You see-"

She held up one of her claws to stop me. "Jake, just ask the question."

I rubbed my face and then my neck. My face was burning up. I swore that she could see me turning red. "I... this will sound stupid, but you see, I have this... ... ... I don't know how to say it. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked-"

Afren then laughed and touched my face with her hand. I was so overwhelmed that I didn't know what to do. I squirmed a little. Then without further warning, she suddenly leaned across the table and planted her lips against mine. My golden eyes were wide with shock and I froze in incredulity. My heart was beating faster and faster.

At first, my blood went cold. Then gradually, it began to warm up. It was as if something inside my mind was urging me on: kiss her back and confess to her. It was as if a block of ice had melted and I was alive. It was the first time when I had finally found a reason to continue to stay alive. Afren was now the only reason in which I would not give up no matter what kind of hardships there were. I was starting to value life now, because I didn't want to leave her.

Despite the fact that there were other customers (though not many) were around, and they could see us osculating, I let Afren lingered her soft and warm lips around my own for another few seconds before we depart.

"Does that answer your question?" she smiled slyly.

My body was trembling from the experience. Voicelessly, I nodded.

The store manager brought our food to the table, announcing each dish. Afren's space cheese was a group of small, orange-yellow balls with tiny holes in them. My cosmos salad consisted of at least forty different vegetables from all over the planet and other parts of space. No wonder it was called "cosmos", considering that my bowl was twice as large as Afren's.

I took a testing bite and found the greens (and reds, and blue...) deliciously crunchy and fresh. Immediately, I dug in. Within five minutes, I cleaned out my dish. When I looked up with my stomach satisfied, I blushed. Afren was staring at me with mouth open.

"You... sure eat fast," she mumbled with the fork inches away from her mouth.

"Sorry," I apologized sheepishly. "I guess that I'm not acting like a gentleman."

"Grr... But it is my treat!" She showed her fangs at me.

I winked at her. "Not anymore!" I handed the money and the charge to the wolf alien. Well... he looked like a wolf.

When both of us walked out of the restaurant, it was already pitch black. The air was cold and no one was taking a stroll on the streets. I put my arm around Afren's waist and we walked downward.

"This is the best night I've ever had," she stated as she leaned on my shoulder while walking with my pace.

"Really?" I answered. "Well, I've never had this kind of occurrence... Ever since I was born, I was restricted behind solid walls and steels underground."

She looked up. Her blue eyes twinkling. "Really? Then how did you escape?"

I shook my head as I chuckled. "It's a long tale. I can't possibly finish it before we can get back to the inn."

Then she poked my ribs. "Who said we have to go back there tonight? Besides, I am anxious to hear your story."

I laughed again. "All right. Where can we stay for the night?"

She rolled her eyes and said: "My house, of course!" Then she whispered: "You are the most handsomest man that I've ever met, and I really mean it."

I flushed. "Afren, you are making me feel weird all over the place!" I cried as I rubbed my body.

She giggled and pressed close to me. We both continued down the caliginous lane while teasing one another. At times, Afren would kiss me again on the cheek. Later on, I grew bolder and lipped her on the mouth.

Only God knew how I had ended up in her bed. I felt as if I was a different person, literally. I had never seen a female before and I had never touched them body to body. It was... exhilarating but inexplicable at the same time. My memory of entering her house and having a conversation was blotched out. It was as if someone had deliberately cut off the timeline in my head. I felt lightheaded.

Her house was small, but still big enough to shelter both of us, especially me. The place was spruce, with no trash littering around on the lime-colored glass tiles. The house was made of a special type of wood that could withstand any weathering processes. There was a main living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. In the family room, there were only a couch, a long metallic table, and a flat screen television with surround sound system. In the kitchen, an oven and a refrigerator were present. The whole area was engulfed in a soft bio-light, which could provide a kind of relenting mood.

Afren's bedroom was smaller than the kitchen. Though miniature, it was cozy. Her bed was pliant, with a creamy color bedsheet. The bio-light was tuned to a point where I could only see the faint outline of her body.

I felt her arms rubbing my back and I caressed her face with the back of my hand. During the period in which we made love, I had discovered something bizarre. The spikes on my arms, shoulders and back retracted back into my body. The same thing had happened to Afren as well.

"It makes things much easier," she tittered between pants.

"Sure is," I murmured.

It was hours later when we fell asleep with Afren in my arms, against my large chest. I held her tightly and went into a deep slumber.

We got waken up the next morning by a large buzzing sound. Instantly, a plasma flat-screen slid down from the opening up in the ceiling. The monitor flickered a few seconds before Wriik's face appeared. We didn't have enough time to jump out of the bed away from each other's grasp. At least, I didn't have time, or should I say, I didn't have the chance to do so. Afren, laughing out loud, held onto my tightly. Her arms gripped my chest. She was on my back. I groaned with tiredness.

"Yo! You guys! We need to- whoa!" Wriik was going to say something when he saw both Afren and I naked on the bed. Immediately, he turned into a beautiful crimson color. "Uh..." he blinked a few times. "I think we can talk later back at the inn. Sorry to bother you two." He signed off.

I moaned as I said: "Oh great! Now Talus, Orb, Dantri, and Traven are going to torment me for the rest of my life..."

"Who cares, Jake?" Afren kissed me on the lips. Then she drew away and continued: "They will know sooner or later."

I gazed at her for a minute. She was ravishing. "Do you love me?"

She smiled. "Yessssss... Do you love me?"

I hugged her with desire and other bits of emotions. "Of course I do."