Kissing is definitely something Caiden and I are good at, and it isn’t until Caiden’s stomach growls loudly that we break apart. It occurs to me I didn’t have a chance to go to the market and lack enough food to make a decent dinner. I say, “You’re hungry. Put your clothes back on and I’ll take you out to eat. Is there any earth food you’d like to try?”

“Hamburgers and French fries. Are they as good as I’ve heard?”

I smile as I recall my favorite diner a block away. “I think so. I’ll even buy you a beer to go with them.”

“Beer.” Caiden flashes his sparkling white teeth as he smiles back. “That’s another thing I want to try.”

After Caiden gets dressed we make our way down to the street where warm air blows around us along with the odor of exhaust as cars whiz by. I tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear to keep it from getting in my eyes. “I’m taking you to my favorite diner. Diners are restaurants that make simple food most of us grew up eating.”

Caiden is glancing around at the people and the buildings. I keep a firm grip on his arm to steer him forward so he doesn’t break the flow of foot traffic. “It’s so noisy.”

A few strangers stare at him, and it’s most likely the green tint to his skin. Since I don’t want to answer questions about how I have an alien already I rush us along. “Do you come from the country?” I’m not sure he knows what that means. “An area with lots of land between homes?”

“No. But we travel underground most of the time. It’s very hot on my planet.”

A siren blares as an ambulance races by us as if to prove Caiden’s point about the noise. I say, “That explains why you don’t like clothes.” He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I can’t help but smile back.

The door of the diner is heavy as I tug, and Caiden reaches above my head to pull it open easily. The tantalizing aroma of fried food makes my stomach growl as the waitress leads us to a booth. My bottom slides easily across a red vinyl bench, and I order two draft beers before the hostess walks away. A plastic menu is slick in my hand when I give it to Caiden. “They have a lot of choices.”

As Caiden peruses the options he frowns, “I don’t know what half these things are. Order me the best one.”

When the waitress returns, two frosty mugs thump on the table and I order us cheeseburgers. Frost flutters as Caiden scrapes his glass with a fingernail, and I explain, “They chill the mugs so your beer will stay cold longer.”

He nods and lifts the drink to his lips, then holds the liquid in his mouth for a moment. After he swallows, he lets out a sigh of appreciation. “This is good.”

“Yeah? Wait until you have it with the food.”

Caiden takes another drink and manages to empty half the glass before he smacks his lips. “I’m going to need more of this.”

I chuckle. “When our food comes we’ll order more.”

Caiden studies me for a moment. “You’re beautiful.” The skin of my face tingles and a rush of desire runs through me at the sensation of Caiden’s hands holding my cheeks. The pressure of what I think is the pad of Caiden’s thumb brushes over my lower lip. “Such a luscious mouth you have, Mandy.”

“You’re doing it again. How?”

He shrugs. “I think about it, and it happens.”

“Can you touch--” I stop myself as my thoughts turn to the places I’d like Caiden to go.

“More?” Firm pressure is applied to the sides of my torso as he slides invisible hands down the edges coming dangerously close to my breasts, and he stops at my waist. I let out a shaky breath as he says, “Yes.”

“My god.” His touch disappears, and Caiden gulps down the rest of his beer. He turns to look around, and I think he wants the waitress for another. “She’ll be here in a minute.”

Caiden nods as he tugs at his shirt and undoes a button. “I like this place. It makes me happy.” He leans forward and reaches for my hands, which I place in his huge palms. “I like Earth. Please don’t send me back.”

I look into his mesmerizing eyes. The anger I felt before is long gone, and I squeeze his fingers. “I won’t. Let’s learn about each other and take this one day at a time.”

When the waitress approaches the table, we release our hands to make room for the plates. I order another beer for Caiden, and then I show him how to add condiments to his burger. Ketchup squirts onto the side of my plate. “You want to dip your fries in this. It makes them taste better.”

I watch with amusement as he takes his first bite, and grin at the moan he makes. “They were right,” he says. “The food on Earth is much better than ours.” When the server arrives with his beer Caiden flashes her a sexy smile. “Thank you. You should bring me another because this one isn’t going to last long.”

The waitress blinks a bit as if she’s stunned by him, and she asks, “Are you from Eroscia?”

He smiles. “Yes, I am.”

“Wow. You look so--” She blushes bright red. “Normal.”

I bite my cheek to squash down my annoyance at the girl’s obvious crush and say, “I don’t think another drink is a good idea, Caiden.”

Caiden squints his eyes at me as he says in a firm voice. “Make it three.”

The girl seems to be under an alien-induced spell, because she acts as if there’s nothing wrong with ordering three beers and says, “Sure.”

When the server walks away I ask, “Did you just touch her or something?” I’m ashamed to admit I have a twinge of jealousy along with my anger that he may have used mind control.

“No. I will only touch you lovingly. Eroscians are true to one mate.”

Caiden flashes a toothy smile as if that should placate me, but I’m not so easily swayed. As he gulps down more beer I begin to wonder if he’s aware of what he’s drinking. “You should slow down on that, unless you’re a lot more tolerant of alcohol than we are.”

“Alcohol?” Caiden covers his mouth and tries to stifle a burp. “The stuff that makes people do crazy things? We don’t have that on my planet.” He leans back and undoes one more button. “Is it hot in here?”

I shake my head at him. “No. You’re getting drunk.”

He sits up taller. “I am not. Why--” Caiden grabs his mug and downs the other half. “I’m just enjoying a good brew.”

“What?” I can’t help but chuckle at a popular slogan used in a beer advertisement. “Did you learn all about Earth from bad television shows or something?”

“Maybe.” He lets out another belch without much effort to keep it quiet before he lifts his burger. “Is it not really like that here?”

“No. Most shows are an exaggeration, or the extreme. Regular life isn’t so entertaining.”

Ketchup splatters onto the table as Caiden waves a fry in the air as he speaks. “You are uptight, aren’t you?”

The waitress sets down Caiden’s new beers with a thud, and I pull two of them toward my side of the table and tell the girl, “Please don’t bring any more, no matter what he says.” I cross my arms over my chest and glare at Caiden. My friends tease me about being a control freak and it’s made me a bit touchy about it, but this is different. “I am not. You’ll thank me tomorrow for this.”

Caiden starts to laugh and leans forward smearing the stray ketchup on his arm. “I’ll fix that.”

His words are a bit slurred. “You are most definitely drunk, Caiden. I don’t think aliens can hold their liquor.” The table is cool on my forearms as I lean forward to speak quietly. “But since we’re on the subject, how exactly do you plan to fix me?”

I gasp when Caiden touches me in his alien way, although at this point I should be getting used to it. He traces his finger down the side of my breast and just underneath it without breaking the kissing only rule as he gazes intently in my eyes. My insides melt with the heat, and I’m afraid I might slide down into a puddle as he says, “I’m going to do things to your body no human can do.” Caiden stops abruptly and grabs his mug again. “Aliens can definitely hold their liquor.” He lifts his glass and drains the contents. “I love this stuff.”

I blink to crash back down to earth just in time to grab the mug Caiden reaches for and hold it out of reach. “Seriously, you need to stop drinking.”

“You need to stop ordering me around.” He yanks the beer out of my hand and downs that one too.

He’s not going to be a happy camper tomorrow, but I decide he’s probably one of those guys who needs to learn things the hard way. “You know what? Go ahead.” The final draft scrapes across the table as I push it toward Caiden.

“Finally, you’re lish--liss--listening to reason.”

“Right. That’s it. Let’s see how you feel about this tomorrow.”

Caiden turns to the table directly behind him and says, “I love thish girl.” The young guys give him an amused smile before he turns back around and begins to play with the jelly packets. “Little building blocks.” He closes one eye to focus on stacking the rectangular packages. “I really like Earth.”

The containers clatter on the table when his tower crashes, and I sigh as I wonder how I’m going to get him home. When I catch the server’s eye I ask for the check. My drunk alien is about to learn a lesson about control, and maybe next time he’ll be the one to listen to reason.