Remington woke at the first hint of dawn.

He’d been dreaming about Addy, dreaming that he was tangling his fist in her long blonde hair and kissing her, gently at first, then owning her mouth with all the pent-up passion he had.

But he woke up with nothing more than a handful of sheets and the stiff, pulsing demand of his penis.

All around him the other male staff members still slept.

He eased himself off the bed, holding his towel in front of him to cover his groin, hoping that by some miracle he could make it to the shared bathroom and let some pressure off before anyone woke up.

But, as usual, the creak of his bunk when his big body left it woke the man in the bunk below.

“You’re up early, too, huh?” Tim Belvins sounded wide-awake.

Remington stifled a scream and instead smiled politely.

“Good morning, Tim.”

“Morning, Rem,” Tim said.

Remington had never been called by a nickname before. He decided he liked it very much.

So that was one good thing.

He headed for the showers with Tim close behind. As it turned out a few of the guys were in there already, so he would not have had any privacy anyway.

The showers were just a big open tiled room with showerheads coming out of the walls. Remington had not occupied a body for long, so he had no hang-ups about baring it. But he came to understand that this was an awkward situation for some of the other men, so there wasn’t much talking in the showers and what talking there was generally turned into an endless barrage of insults and friendly teasing.

This morning it was silent and he relished the feel of the hot water on his skin.

A few minutes later, showered and dressed, Remington stepped out of the cabin and surveyed the grassy lawn of the resort.

It was early in the morning and the rotation of the Earth had turned the lake a vivid pink.

His Earth friends would have called it a sunrise, and Remington tried to think of it that way too, but he had a hard time blaming the condition on the movements of a giant star when it was clearly the spin of this tiny satellite that caused the lake to look like it was on fire.

Almost no one was outside yet, but soon the lawn would be covered with people - large and small, old and young. Until Stargazer, Remington had never seen a human created on Earth, outside of the movies of course.

He had always felt he and his brothers looked quite different from one another, but now that he had met enough native humans, he could see that the Stargazer men truly had been built taller, stronger, more symmetrically.

They were designed precisely to attract human females.

Remington had already found himself pursued by several of his co-workers at the restaurant. The design was clearly effective.

But it was not effective enough.

It had not worked on Addy.

His physique was not going to be enough to win her. And he wasn’t sure what else he had to offer.

His hand went to the bit of his home world he wore around his neck.

On Aerie, he was known to be smart and skilled.

But here on this new planet, he was more like a youngling - without wisdom or sophistication.

They all were.

Except Indiana, who seemed to have an inexplicable gift for understanding humans.

What did Remington have that Addy wanted or needed if his body wasn’t enough?

It was a difficult problem and maybe it did not have a solution.

Raised voices from the pool area brought him out of his own thoughts.

“You have to be kidding me.”

It was Addy, her voice pitched a bit higher than usual, indicating some sort of distress.

Remington headed toward the pool.

“Sorry, Addy,” a man’s voice was saying. “We can’t work for a place that would support her over Wade Travers.”

“Wade Travers is a maniac,” Addy retorted. “He was stalking Honey and he tried to set our cabin on fire.”

“That’s her side of the story,” another man’s voice said.

Remington turned the corner just in time to see Addy standing near the diving board in a confrontation with three men.

“That’s the story, period,” Addy said, tilting her chin up in a way that reminded Remington slightly of the famous John Wayne. “You know what? Go ahead. Get out. I can’t have jerks like you working with my kids’ classes. Just go.”

“Whatever.” One guy turned and left.

“Good luck finding anyone else,” another laughed.

Remington walked straight over to Addy and stood by her side. He didn’t like the men’s sarcasm and he certainly didn’t like the hostility it masked.

The third man opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then looked at Remington and seemed to think better of it. He turned on his heel and left without comment.

As soon as he was out of sight Addy sank into a lounge chair with her head in her hands.

Remington knelt beside her. Instinct told him not to speak or touch her. So he waited patiently.

“I can’t believe it,” she said into her hands at last.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“Those creeps are friends of Wade’s,” she said.

Remington felt a shiver of revulsion travel up his spine. Wade Travers had been Honey’s dance partner before Kitt came along. Wade had wanted to be Honey’s boyfriend too. And when she refused him, he had spied on her and tried to set her cabin on fire.

Remington was glad that Wade was now in jail.

“It is a good thing you made them leave,” Remington told her.

She laughed, but it was a bitter sound.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m glad I made them leave too, but I might just lose my own job,” she said, shaking her head.

“Why?”

“Because those guys were half of my lifeguards,” she said. “And they were my swim coaches too. I can’t do it all myself. And I don’t have time to train or hire anyone else.”

“I will help you,” Remington offered.

“Do you know how to swim?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “But I will learn.”

Remington loved the water, the way it changed color under the sun and stars, the way it sparkled and moved. The idea of immersing himself in it was enchanting.

“I can’t teach you how to swim in a day,” Addy said. “But thanks for the offer.”

“You’re a very good teacher,” he said. “Would you give me one lesson?”

“I’ve got to find Mr. Abrams and tell him what’s going on,” Addy said apologetically.

That was not good. She would tell Mr. Abrams and Mr. Abrams would fire her.

He had no choice.

“I think I’m going to need that lesson right away,” Remington said as he peeled his t-shirt off over his head and flung himself heedlessly into the pool.

“Remington,” he heard her shout. “I’m not coming in after…”

After that there was nothing but the rush of water, cold and refreshing.

He looked around.

The water stung his eyes. He hadn’t expected that. But after a moment he grew used to it.

He could see the lines in the concrete bottom of the pool, and the place, far ahead of him, where the floor rose up to the shallow section.

It was quiet in the water, cool and peaceful.

Then there was an explosion of bubbles.

Addy.

She swam straight for him, her hair swirling around her like golden ribbons.

Although she appeared to be making a serious effort to get to him quickly, she moved as if in slow motion.

She was beautiful in the water, maybe more beautiful than usual. Her fierce expression made him think of a super hero. Tiny bubbles issued from her nose and raced each other to the surface, sparkling like diamonds.

He opened his arms to her, ready to embrace her, there in her natural habitat.

She wrapped her arms around him, warm and strong.

Then she tugged him to the surface of the water and with a strength he hadn’t suspected, dragged him out of the pool and onto the tiles.

His heart pounded when she straddled his big body.

It was all so unexpected, although not unwelcome.

He closed his eyes to accept the kiss she was leaning down to give him.