Palmdale on a Saturday Night

“What, uh….” Bill started. “What do you want to do? We going swimming?”

“Hmmm mmmmm,” Ralph said, not wishing to move. It felt so good, lying there with an arm around him. The fact that it was his best friend’s arm, a guy, didn’t seem to bother him. It’d been too long since anyone had touched him like this, he was craving it. He finally mumbled, “If you still want to.”

“I dunno, I kinda like lying here, the way my head’s all whoozy right now. Might not be a good idea to swim, feelin’ like this.”

“Good point. Not a good idea at all. We should just stay here, maybe sleep.”

“Sleep, yeah.”

Neither moved nor spoke for a few moments. Bill jiggled his arm holding Ralph’s shoulder. “You asleep?”

“Far from it,” came Ralph’s clear reply.

“What was that earlier, Ralph? A holograph? I know they can hit you outta the blue sometimes, even if you’re not vibing on someone.”

“I don’t know, Bill, it was just this overpowering need to, uh…. To touch you.”

“Hmmmm,” Maxwell grunted.

Ralph lifted his head, looking into the pine-green and brown eyes. He carefully stretched forward till his mouth was millimeters from Bill’s. His partner’s ever-expressive face didn’t leave much to interpretation; he was open and inviting to whatever Ralph had in mind. The younger partner shyly brushed his lips over Maxwell’s.

Bill reacted by clutching the shoulder closer to him, lifting at the same time to encourage Ralph to close the distance. When their mouths touched, the weird images started to flow again. Bill drew in a sharp breath through his nostrils, his chest expanding, and a wave of desire and vertigo flowed through him.

Ralph held on to Bill’s shoulders and neck, pushing off on his leg to rest on his friend’s chest.

“Hmmmm,” Bill moaned, either in warning or desire, Ralph couldn’t tell. He relented on his hold over the shoulders, mindful that he was still in his suit and he didn’t want to get so caught up in what was happening that he’d hurt his partner.

“Hmmmm,” he acknowledged, daringly opening his mouth against those soft lips, darting his tongue in and out.

“Oh, gawd,” Bill murmured against Ralph’s tongue and lower lip. He reciprocated by thrusting his tongue into Ralph, who pulled it in, sucking on it, and alternately nibbled on the lips.

The two friends instinctively turned to lie on their sides, arms over and around one another. Maxwell drew one leg up and down, his long, sensitive feet feeling every inch of Ralph’s muscular, suited leg.

It’s been so long, came a thought.

I love you, came the next.

The images moved back and forth, lightning-fast, as thoughts, hidden desires and emotions came to the surface. A small, cognizant part of Maxwell was stunned by what was happening, but he was helpless to stop it. He wasn’t too sure he WANTED to stop it!

I know, I love you too.

Oh, gawd.

What’s HAPPENING?

I don’t know, but it’s great.

It’s been so long.

I can’t stop.

Do you want to stop?

No.

They kissed and fondled for a time, losing themselves in this new-found sensation. When they closed their eyes, their hands moving up to embrace one another’s heads, allowing them to drill even deeper with tongue and lips, the vertigo returned full-force.

Why am I so dizzy?

I don’t know, it can’t be that water by now.

Unless something was in it.

That did it. Maxwell’s internal alarm went off, and he opened his eyes, releasing Ralph and pulling back till the headboard stopped him.

He looked at his friend, stunned, as if he was only now aware of what they’d been doing for the last several minutes.

“What… what the hell are we DOING, Ralph?”

Ralph shook his head, trying to clear it. Opening his eyes helped dispel the vertigo, and he looked around with a dazed look on his face.

“The water….” He said quietly.

They both looked at the crystalline pitcher on the vanity, then at one another.

“Go holograph on it, Ralphie.”

Uh oh, thought the first alien to the other, borrowing the Humans’ exclamation.

These two are good, friend. They were already suspicious.

Are we able to stop him from using the holograph power?

No, we cannot. He is most adept at that suit power, even without the instruction book. He uses it often, without concentrating too much. They learned early as partners that Mr Maxwell can share in it as well.

Ralph stood up and swayed for a moment. Bill jumped up behind him, steadying his partner.

“You okay?”

“I don’t know, Bill.”

“Go get the pitcher, see if you can pick up anything from that little girl that brought it.”

Ralph retrieved the pitcher, and went to sit next to Bill on the bed, so he wouldn’t fall over while focusing. Bill put his hand on Ralph’s shoulder, and the two opened up to the familiar sensation, staring blankly at the room’s white wall.

They saw the young hotel hostess in a kitchen, sliding her hand in her pocket and looking around cautiously. She opened a tiny glass bottle and poured its contents into the pitcher, then tucked the bottle back into her pocket.

“She slipped us a mickey!” Bill exclaimed, jumping up and then weaving back and forth.

“Steady, partner,” Ralph said, clutching Bill’s hand.

“Careful, Ralphie,” Bill warned again. “You’re gonna hurt me again if you keep that thing on.”

There is no possible way they can connect what she did to us, friend, one alien thought to the other.

No way at all, I am confident.

“Well, sit down before you fall down,” Ralph insisted, guiding Bill to the bed. He looped his arm around his partner’s back, leaving it there.

Bill gave him a strange look, and deliberately turned his head to look at Ralph’s arm over his shoulder and back.

Ralph scooted closer, looking up into his taller partner’s eyes. “Was it so bad, Bill?”

The two were quite lucid and conscious of what was happening now, not overwhelmed by the vertigo.

“No, it wasn’t, Ralph.”

Bill stretched out his arm to grasp Ralph’s shoulder, and their connection resumed. He pulled his younger friend down and to him, and their lips touched again.

Oh, what the hell, Maxwell thought, receiving a chuckle in reply.