Kitt touched his fingertips to Honey’s face. He was hypnotized by the softness of her round cheeks and the stillness in her large brown eyes.

Every other part of her seemed prepared for sudden motion. From her pointed toes to the coiled up hair on the top of her head, Honey was a study in potential energy. He had never seen anyone like her.

Back at the observatory in Stargazer, Dr. Bhimani also bound her hair instead of wearing it loose like the other women. But hers was twisted in a loose pattern and bits of it escaped the arrangement to gather around her face.

Honey’s hair was so sleek he could see the lights reflecting in it. He wondered if she smoothed it back like that to enhance her aerodynamics.

In any case, Kitt was completely enchanted with the opposing forces of swiftness and stillness that battled for dominance in the elegant form of this woman.

He reveled in the warmth of her soft skin against his hand and would have held her there with that careful touch - a flower hosting a butterfly - for the next forty years, if necessary, if she would allow him to maintain this giddy proximity.

Or so he thought.

No sooner had he decided that further contact would frighten her, than his entire body seemed to call him toward her with the gravity of a sun. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, brush her lips with his own, like the hero on one of the television shows and movies he had watched from the Earth time capsule.

His intentions must have shown on his face.

Her eyes widened and she drew back slightly. “Is it true?” Her voice was a whisper now. “Are you really an alien?”

He nodded, careful to make the movement slow and gentle.

She bit her soft pink lip.

Kitt willed his heart not to race. “Don’t be frightened,” he told her. “I have come to learn your culture. I will not harm you.”

She tilted her head slightly to the side, her brown eyes warming. “Did you really come here looking for a mate?”

Her words intoxicated him, but he slowed his heart rate again, considering her question against what he knew of her language. Although it had the ingredients of an invitation, her use of the word “really” in the middle introduced doubt.

“I would be most proud to offer myself to be your mate,” he told her carefully.

Her mouth dropped open.

It closed again.

Then she smiled at him, and his heart sang.

“Oh.” She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean me.”

“You already have a mate?” Kitt was very disappointed. Getting his bearings on this planet was difficult, but this particular interaction had been refreshingly simple. He had expected it was because this woman was to be his mate.

She got a surprised look on her face, then shook her head again.

“No,” she said, “I don’t. God no. And if I did he’d end up being a bank robber or something.”

It was a horrifying thought. He wondered if he should offer the woman his sympathy for her dreadful fate.

But she laughed and he realized she was making a joke.

“I’m glad you do not have a criminal for a mate, Honey McCarthy,” he told her earnestly.

“Yeah,” she smiled, looking at him like she wondered something. “Me too.”

Before he could ask her what she was wondering, the door to the room opened.

A young couple stepped shyly in. In one of the movies Kitt was educated on, they would be considered nerds. Nerds, he knew, were humans whose intellectual and emotional acuity was overlooked due to their lack of physical prowess. Since he had never possessed a corporeal body before coming to Earth, Kitt had a hard time understanding the reasons for the distinction. And if he was being honest, suddenly having a ton of muscles didn’t really solve the riddle for him.

The man who entered was scrawny, and the woman wore thick-rimmed glasses. But they were surrounded in a sort of glow of happy energy. Kitt wondered if Honey could see it.

“Alan, Jenna, I’m so glad you made it,” Honey smiled.

“We decided to give waltzing a try,” Alan said.

“You’ll be so glad you did,” Honey assured them. “It will be so romantic to waltz at your own wedding.”

She turned to Kitt with a look on her face that told him she was wondering what to do with him.

“I’ll go find my brothers,” he told her.

She smiled in relief. “Come find me later and we’ll catch up. I’m in the senior ladies staff cabin.”

He wondered briefly why she lived in a cabin for elderly women, but there would be time for questions later. He headed past the young couple to the door.

The bespectacled girl blushed furiously for some reason as he passed.

Kitt replayed the moment in his head. He was sure he had done nothing impolite. Perhaps he should have greeted her. Although he had not been introduced.

This new world was so much more complex than in the movies and TV shows he and his brothers had enjoyed.

Once he was outside again, Kitt took a deep breath.

The air in the camp was fresh and fragrant - actual mountain breezes smelled a good deal better than the laundry detergent back at the lab had led him to believe.

Life was full of surprises.

He hoped more of them were like mountain air and Honey McCarthy.

He followed the path down from the dance studio, past the swimming pool. The sun shone brightly overhead, the grass was soft under his feet and the sound of laughter was all around.

Children squealed with delight and splashed in the water of the false lake. Kitt found it odd that they would choose to swim in the strange chemical mixture of the pool when they were in view of the real lake with all its life and mystery.

But it was lovely anyway. The whole thing was like a holiday compared to his previous accommodations. It was even better than ice cream day at the laboratory.

And even the sterile lab had been like a party compared to the calm and stately life on Aerie.

Two adults walked toward him, swinging a laughing child between them.

He smiled and they smiled back as they passed.

Kitt felt a pang of sadness.

It didn’t make sense to feel anguish - the mates and their young were happy. But he supposed his sadness came from the lonely pull he had felt from the moment he awoke in his human body.

Music distracted him from the wistful chain of thoughts. On the wide open lawn a man with a long blonde ponytail played a stringed instrument. A semicircle of others held similar instruments and tried to imitate his song. It was both beautiful and jangling.

“Brother,” a voice called to him.

He searched the lawn and sure enough, there were his brothers, Indiana and Remington, standing at the far end of the massive stone building near the entrance.

“Did you find her?” Remington’s deep voice held a note of concern.

“Of course he did.” Indiana winked at Kitt.

They had learned winking from one of the scientists in the lab. Indiana, as it turned out, was very skilled at winking and had made a sort of art of it.

“I did,” he assured Remington. “She was very kind.”

Remington nodded, looking decidedly less ruffled.

“Will she be your mate, brother?” Indiana asked eagerly.

Kitt thought about it.

“We did not have much time to discuss it,” he said at length. “But she said I could find her tonight to speak with her more.”

Remington nodded sagely. “This is good,” he said.

“Do you want her to be your mate?” Indiana asked.

“Yes,” Kitt said, before he had considered the question. But he knew his answer was correct. Honey was exactly the right mate for him, though her responses had been deeply confusing.

Kitt felt a wave of contentment wash over him.

Yes, this new world was full of surprises.