Aliena Read Free Page B

a middle ground where they can interact that satisfies them both. It’s called dating.”
    “This middle ground—where is it?”
    Now he laughed, feeling more comfortable. “It is not a place but a convention. They agree to meet and do things together, like eating out or seeing a movie. They may hold hands and kiss, but mostly they talk about mutual interests.”
    “Not mating?”
    “Not mating but with the chance that it could occur. That is the lure that holds the man.”
    “I would like to do these things, learning love. May I date with you?”
    “At the moment, with the power outage, the movies and restaurants won’t be operating. But at such time as they are, I will be glad to do it, Aliena.”
    “Still we can talk, and hold hands, and kiss.”
    She was single-minded, plainly unaware of the suggestive nature of the process. Aliena was amazingly innocent. He was beginning to appreciate why Martha had kept her secluded. Yet the temptation to interact with this lovely creature was compelling. “We can do these things,” he agreed.
    Now she gave him a straight look. “I have enormous things to learn of this body and this culture. You are generous in teaching me. I do know this much: a person should not take without giving something equivalent. How may I repay you for the burden I am to you?”
    “I think we have discussed this before, Aliena. You are not a burden. This storm and power failure prevent me from working, and I am highly intrigued by you. I truly have nothing better to do today than be with you, and I am enjoying your company.”
    “Because this body is esthetic and you would like to mate with it?”
    Yet again Brom schooled himself to be literal. “That is true. I am a man and I react like a man. But also it is that the loss of Lucy left a void in my life, and you are filling it for the moment.”
    “Lucy, your girlfriend whom you loved. Whose clothing I am wearing.”
    “Yes.”
    “Whom you mated with.”
    “Yes, though we did not have children. There are ways to do it without generating babies, so sex can become part of the interaction.”
    She pounced on it. “If I utilize a way to prevent pregnancy, then I can mate with you without consequence and that will repay you for your kindness.”
    Again, the temptation was becoming overwhelming. “That would abate the physical consequence but not the emotional consequence.”
    “Love.”
    “Love,” he agreed. “I know little about your background, Aliena, but I suspect that you are destined for greater things than having an affair with the likes of me. I’m just your neighbor, of no consequence. You don’t want to love me.”
    She focused on him again with that disturbing intensity. “I am taking advantage of your kindness. You must be fully candid with me. Do you wish to avoid love with me?”
    She was supremely ignorant but also intelligent and motivated. He had to make her understand. “Aliena, love is a joy to both parties. But when it ends it can be such pain as to cause a person to—to want to die. As Lucy did. I do not want to inflict that on you, or suffer it myself. I am afraid that your destiny does not include me, and I do not wish to compromise it. I am helping you now because you need help, knowing that our relationship is likely to end when your friends return. It’s nice associating with you, and I would like to have it continue on a personal basis, but love is no necessary part of it, nice as it might be.”
    Her expression firmed. She was getting better at showing feelings. “If I learn love from you, I will not allow it to be broken. I will not do to you what Lucy did. The people I work with will not oppose it once I make my preference clear.” She paused briefly. “But when you know me better, you may not wish to have it. I am not the pretty girl you see. I am a foreign person you may not like. Then I will let you go, and I will suffer. But I understand the risk, and wish to take it. Please, do you wish to avoid