I arrived at Astrid’s club within an hour and saw that only her car was in the lot. It was odd to see it during the day like it was out of place from the surrounding area. If anything, it was due to the stark white and gold those Bevu’s held in such high regard and the blocky structure of the building itself. And compared to the dreary greys, blacks, and blues of the buildings nearby, Astrid’s place sticks out like a sore thumb.  

I slowly walked over to where the entrance was, trying not to remember what had happened only a short distance away. It felt like ages ago, but the feelings were just as real as the day that bouncer assaulted me. Shaking my head off those thoughts, I knocked on the door and hardly before my hand left the metal frame, Astrid opened the door. 

Good lord these aliens love whipping open doors. 

“Dean! You came. I am so happy!” Astrid was practically beaming, looking down at me with a smile that could cut through steel, hell, with those teeth she probably could. Funnily enough, she was still wearing a pair of jeans like the night I met her, only instead of a T-shirt, she wore a front-tied shirt that cupped her breasts like pockets. Her abdominals were exposed, revealing several deep scars that ran both vertically and horizontally across her body. She saw that I noticed and covered her belly, embarrassed. 

“Hey there Astrid, it’s great to see you again!” I returned her gleeful greeting with one of my own and thanked her for wanting to hang out with me. 

“Pshh, of course! Who would turn a sweetie like you down? Come on in, I’ve got something for ya.” With a wink, she turned around and beckoned me inside. I could hear some electronica playing at a volume much too low for a club. Not that I minded, it helped calm my nerves. 

Astrid led me over to the bar and pulled a seat out for me, and once I climbed up into it like a child, she sat next to me and with a delighted expression told me to eat. Turning to the tray of food before me, I inhaled the small feast before me and salivated immediately. 

Looking down at the plate, I saw what looked like a hamburger, only, the meat was a dark purple with the normal human fixings of lettuce and onions. Next to it were green things that matched the consistency of french fries. And to complete the ensemble were tiny black balls in a white sauce that I couldn’t think of an Earthly equivalent to. Now, the safe thing would be to figure out first if I could safely digest any of this. But the lizard part of my brain said screw it and I took a huge bite out of the burger. 

Now, when I tell you I bit down into heaven, God smite me down right now if I’m lying. But it was the best-tasting burger I’ve had in my life, aside from my mom's obviously. It tasted like chicken and was seasoned with a salt-like spice that had a bit more kick to it. If I wasn't careful I was damn sure Earth food wouldn't cut it for me after a while.

“Do you like it?” Astrid asked, swaying back and forth expectantly. I gave her a nod and a thumbs up. She clapped all four of her hands together excitedly. “Hell yeah! Ya know, I’m not only a club owner, but back on Bevu Prime I was a chef when I was in the military.”  

“Ohh, well you should’ve started a restaurant instead of owning a club, no offense. But you’d make a killing for sure.” Astrid waved that idea away. 

“I couldn’t get a permit for that; your human scientists say that you can’t trust most of the foods from my planet yet.” She snorted and popped a couple of those fry things into her mouth. 

“You know, I’m surprised you guys didn’t just take everything over and do things your way from the start. Why even care what we think?” I asked between bites. She pursed her lips in thought for a moment before replying. 

“Well...there’s two reasons. The first is that we can’t exactly have your male population come to hate us. It is against our laws to force companionship with the weaker sex and so we must make sure you’re comfortable. The second reason is, while we are an empire, we consider ourselves a benevolent one.” I thought about what she said, I already understood the first part. I was well acquainted with their version of gentle sexism. The second part was concerning to me. 

“Do you think your people are benevolent, or is it the case that you’re so technologically advanced that you haven’t needed to shed tons of blood yet? I mean, have you encountered any other species yet that could harm you?”  

“No...” She whispered, “I mean we have engaged in war, but um...most planets only took about a week to conquer.” 

“And in those wars how much of the population did you have to kill to get them to surrender?” 

“Less than half a percent in most campaigns as far as I’m aware.” 

“So, looks like you ladies were just so powerful that those planets said fuck it and surrendered rather than thinking you’re these enlightened despots that will make their society better?” Astrid threw up a couple of hands in defense of the accusation. 

“Hey now, I was just a soldier, I don’t know what the Royal Houses think or do, so take it up with them kid. Come oooon, let’s not spoil the mood with all this political shit.” She was right, I was getting worked up over stuff I barely knew anything about. I’ll have to ask Freyja later to see if she could tell me more about their culture. 

“Meh, I guess it doesn’t matter. You treat us just fine, so I don’t have much to complain about. Well, most of you.” I ate a while in silence while Astrid thought about what I had said, eyeing me as she did so. When I finished, I turned to her and patted my stomach. “That was delicious, Astrid. Seriously, you start up a restaurant and I’ll be there every night.” She smiled, which seemed to bring her out of her funk.  

“Happy to hear Bevusian cuisine doesn’t offend your palate. If only more humans thought like you, shit, just this morning I found these posters taped to the side of my club. Something about an anti-Bevusian League. How dumb is that? They better hope the authorities don’t find em out.” She rolled her eyes as she picked up my dish and brought it around the counter to clean. 

“Yikes, sorry to hear that. I wouldn’t worry about it though, with a body like yours they’d be too afraid to fuck with you anyway.” I chuckled.  

“Yeah, you’re right, thirty years in the military turned me into a killing machine, never enjoyed it but here I am.” She turned back to me, noticing my confused expression. “Ah, I’m uh...pretty old by human standards.” 

“How old, if it’s not rude to ask I mean.” Astrid blushed and took a deep breath. 

“Converting it to human years, I would be...thirty-six. You see, every ten years for a human is equivalent to one year for us. To put it bluntly, I’m really fucking old by human standards.”  

“Whoa.” I looked her over, there was just no way with a body like that. She frowned when I didn’t say anything else. 

“I know! Who would be interested in an older woman like me? I’m past my prime, never thought I’d find a partner, so I stayed in the service an extra ten years.” She then pointed at her stomach. “Look at these scars! I’ve had my innards yanked from my body and packed right back in, it’s disgusting, isn’t it? Ugh, couldn’t get a date no matter what I tried!” She would have kept going had I not intervened. 

“Whoa, let’s relax a minute here. My choice of words...frankly sucked ass. But Astrid, you are...incredibly beautiful, an awesome cook, and one hell of a fighter. You saved me. Any guy would be lucky to be with you. And didn’t you know that scars are hot?” I teased, causing her mouth to fall open, appalled I would consider saying anything remotely that I just did. 

“It’s rude to tease an older woman, Dean. Don’t give me hope like that.” Astrid mumbled, casting a few glances in my direction. 

“Thirty-six isn’t old. And last I checked; you called this a date. And I’m having a banging time. Free food in the company of a lady such as yourself? I couldn’t be luckier.” With that said her blue pupils were shining now. She leaned forward across the bar and inspected my face, her nose nearly touching mine. 

“By the Deities, you’re serious?” Her eyes were narrowed now, focusing on something unknown to me as the gears in her head worked. 

“As a heart attack.” Her lips brushed against mine, pausing as she tried to sense any hesitation on my part. When I didn’t pull away, her lips pressed against mine. It was a chaste kiss, far less needy and lustful than Freyja’s had been. She was soaking in the moment, one of her hands eased against my cheek as she pushed her lips harder onto mine, only for a moment, however, before pulling away. She pressed a few of her fingers against her lips and exhaled a shaky breath. 

“You’re not repulsed by me? Even after what...happened?” I shook my head. 

“I’ll level with you, Astrid, I’m already involved with another Bevusian. Don't worry, she knows I’m here, in fact, she encouraged it, ha-hah. I’d be happy to take you on a date sometime as well, not that this lunch wasn’t fucking fantastic. And what happened to me was not your fault.” Astrid looked at me for a moment and stiffly told me to wait one second while she checked on something.  

I watched as she exited through a door behind the bar and closed it. 

“Yes! Yes! Hell yes! I finally did it!” Astrid’s muffled screams brought a grin to my face. I suppose it was to be expected that lot of Bevu women would react like that. I don’t say that to mean that I’m something special or a gift to women or anything like that. They were emotionally stunted in the romance department, and it showed. No matter how they tried to hide it. 

Except for Hilda, huh. Maybe she was married or something. Eh, a question for another time. 

Moments later, she returned as though she didn’t scream her head off seconds ago. With a completely neutral tone in an attempt to hide her excitement, she said she’d be delighted to go out with me again. 

“Great! I don’t have a lot of cash but I’m sure we can find something to do. But before we get into that you’ll have to meet with Freyja.” A flash of realization came across her face when I mentioned ‘the other woman’ before she agreed. 

“Right, right, she is your first. The last thing ya want is for the ladies to hate each other's guts. Believe me, my father ignored his first’s warning about my third mother Helga, and whew, the fights they had were legendary.” She laughed fondly at the memory. The only thing I could picture was two muscle-packed demons laying waste to a city. The rest of the date went well, she proceeded to tell me about her childhood, her many, many sisters, and how she longed to see her father again. 

“For most Bevusian women, our fathers are the only men in our lives, they’re precious to us.” Astrid looked into the distance, her eyes and mind elsewhere. 

“You could...call him?” I offered, not sure what the problem was. She snapped back to the present moment and wiped a tear from her eye before it fell. 

“He’s dead.” 

“Fuck, I am so sorry. Apparently, I cannot read the room.” I placed a hand on her massive yellow one and she gave me a small smile. 

“Aw, don’t you worry about that. A woman like me shouldn’t be getting all sappy with a guy around, I’m a veteran, can’t be looking weak either.” Clearly ,this topic was a sore spot for her, and I wasn’t going to pressure her to talk about it further, regardless of the front she was putting on. If anyone knew something about father issues, it was yours truly, so I knew when to back off. I patted her hand a couple of times before getting out of the chair and checking my phone. 

“I’ve gotta go, I’ve got an assignment that’s due tomorrow, and got to hit the gym. I just want you to know that I had a blast and don’t be scared to hit me up, okay?” Astrid got up to say goodbye, her arms fidgeting like she wanted to reach out to me. “Just hug me already.” I laughed. Next thing I knew I was lifted off my feet and my face mushed between two large and soft gelatinous orbs as her arms wrapped around me.  

“Consent is everything for us, Dean,” she chuckled, “It makes everything...special. Like we are truly desired.” She put me down and walked me back to my car, one of her arms not leaving my shoulder until I closed the door. Only then did she give me a final wave and walk back to her club. I pulled out of the lot, feeling good, great even. Things were looking up. 

“I think Freyja would like her,” I said to myself before blasting some music as I headed down the freeway.