times when it was practically impossible for her to concentrate on her novel because she was so busy daydreaming about Micah, so eager to be in his arms again.
Sometimes it was embarrassing, but she couldn't keep her hands off him. He had asked her if she would mind if he remained in his natural form, explaining that it took a considerable amount of concentrated energy to maintain the shape of an earthling, and she had assured him that she didn't mind at all. The slight differences in his anatomy didn't repel her in the least; she had quickly grown accustomed to the faint blue glow that emanated from his skin. Like a teenager with her first big crush, her every thought was for Micah. She looked at him, and she wanted to touch him. She touched him, and a touch wasn't enough. She filled her eyes with the sight of him, loving the way he walked, the way he carried himself. He moved with catlike grace, agile, unconsciously sensual.
Gradually, they fell into a routine. After a leisurely breakfast, Lainey went into her office and wrote until noon. She took an hour off for lunch, went back to work until five, and then spent the rest of the evening with Micah.
Micah spent his days learning everything he could about Lainey's civilization. He read the newspaper every day, perused numerous books and magazines, watched countless hours of TV. He remembered everything he read, everything he saw, everything he heard.
Sometimes, in the evening, they went out. Lainey took Micah shopping, buying him a couple pairs ofLevis , some T-shirts, a couple of sport shirts, shoes and socks. She tried to buy him some underwear, but he adamantly refused to wear it.
Weekends were the best. They spent a day at the L.A. Zoo, with Micah comparing Earth's animals to those of Xanthia. They spent two days touring theMuseumofNatural History . Micah was fascinated by the skeletons of Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops, by the great whales, the wooly mammoths, the three-toed sloths and saber-toothed tigers.
They went to a baseball game and pigged out on popcorn and Junior Mints. They went to the movies often.
She taught him to play tennis, took him bowling, taught him how to dance.
Micah found it pointless but amusing to volley a tennis ball.
Bowling was more to his liking, and after a few lines, he bowled a perfect game.
"You've done this before," Lainey had accused him, but Micah had just grinned at her and explained that he had merely applied a Xanthian scientific principle to put the ball where he wanted it to go.
But it was dancing Micah loved best of all because it gave him an excuse to hold Lainey in his arms, to feel her body pressed close to his, to breathe in the flowery scent that was hers alone. No matter how many times he held her, kissed her he still found it difficult to believe that she desired him, that she enjoyed his company. Her easy laughter never failed to delight him. She was such a rare creature, filled with a love for life that had somehow been lost on Xanthia.
Lainey couldn't help noticing that, no matter where they went, women turned to stare at Micah. In the form he assumed, his resemblance to her favorite cover hunk was uncanny, and she often overheard women whispering, wondering if he was who they thought he was.
The days seemed to fly by. Lainey had always liked to cook, but now cooking became an adventure. Micah didn't care for meat - Xanthians, she learned, were vegetarians. He loved spaghetti. He loved grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. He developed a taste for coffee heavily laced with cream and sugar. He loved anything chocolate; his favorite breakfast was a big bowl of Cocoa Puffs and a cup of hot chocolate smothered in whipped cream.
"You'll soon be as fat as a pig," Lainey had muttered one morning, but he had only laughed and said Xanthians never got fat.
They spent a couple of evenings with her parents because Dolores and Ralph had expressed a desire to get to know Micah better. At first, Lainey had been uncomfortable, knowing that her parents disapproved of her having a live-in companion.
One evening, when Micah had been busy in another part of the house, Lainey had asked her parents to please try and understand.
"I never meant for this to happen," she explained. "But I love him so much, and he's so good to me."