How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon

“did
it really do that?”
    Jen shrugged and whispered back, “Wouldn’t
put it past a girl from Venus. They aren’t known for their
class.”
    “Alright, Mr. James, it looks like you are
all set. Just make sure to have the vehicle back by midnight." The
desk guy handed a set of keys to Malcolm, ignoring the steam that
was rising from Snurf’s overly teased hair.
    Gavin came up behind me and pressed his lips
to my ear. "We'd better go before she explodes."
    Obviously Gavin had forgotten, or had chosen
to ignore our interaction only a few nights ago, and was still
trying his hardest to make an impact on me. As we approached the
big green vehicle we heard the clunking of heels behind us. I was
afraid that it was Snurf coming after us, but when I turned around,
I saw she was the least of my worries.
    “Hey, sorry, I got sidetracked reading an
article, but I'm here now!" The last person I expected or wanted to
see was coming toward the vehicle. Riley. She climbed in the front
seat like it was some sort of throne and didn't even look at the
rest of us.
    “Uh, are there enough seats for all of us?" I
looked up to the small backseat then back down to Gavin, Jen, and
Justin.
    “Well, I'm not sitting in the back," Riley
quipped and buckled her seat belt. "And it looks like we are all—"
she stopped to smirk in my direction. "—well, most of us are
twenty-one and should be able to get in without a problem. If
anyone needs to stay back, it should be the underagers."
    I was about to turn around and head back to
my room when I felt Gavin’s hand on my shoulder. “It’s fine. We can
squeeze in.” He looked down at me, smiling. “The girls can sit on
our laps if they need to."
    Gavin’s arms slipped around me as Malcolm
started up the Jeep and headed out of the hangar. I wished that it
had been Ace’s arms around me instead, and I couldn’t help let my
mind wander back to our second almost-kiss in the security office.
I really hoped that he would be waiting for me at our
destination.
    The bowling alley was about thirty miles from
the base in some small town with a population of 200 and one stop
sign. Each house looked more worn down than the next and in the
middle of town sat the bowling alley. It looked more like someone
had thrown up a rickety shack in the middle of a few houses. The
only light came from some candy-colored signs in the windows. I
tried to ignore the moldy smell in the air as we walked past the
mixture of locals in cowboy hats leaning against the wood-paneled
bar or teetering on snakeskin-upholstered stools.
    “Alright, I need a drink." Riley sauntered
over to the bartender, an overweight redhead who was missing so
many teeth I wondered how she was able to talk.
    “So, do you want to bowl?" Gavin looked over
at me.
    “Of course she wants to bowl." Jen nudged me.
“She needs some good ol’ human activities.”
    Gavin forced a smile, gritting through his
teeth like he was struggling to speak. “Great, I’ll go get us some
shoes if you girls go pick out a lane.” He didn't even paying
attention to Jen, just stared at me. “What size are you?”
    “Seven,” I blurted, staring down at the
sticky floor.
    “Same,” Jen said before Gavin turned toward
the shag carpet-lined shoe counter.
    “I thought you had obnoxiously large feet,”
Jen whispered. We walked over to the six lane bowling area,
complete with seventies Coca-Cola ads and orange carpet that felt
like sandpaper.
    “I do, but I didn’t want him to know that," I
whispered back, not looking at Jen as I searched the lanes, hoping
to see Ace or at least someone else from Circe, but there wasn’t
anyone I recognized except for the people I rode in with.
    “What are you looking for, brown eyes?"
Justin asked as he and Malcolm approached, handing Jen a drink.
    “I think she’s hoping to see someone of a
different race here, and I’m not talking about Malcolm." Jen winked
before taking a sip of her drink.
    “You’re not talking about