Page 7 of Accidentally Abducted (Nereidan Compatibility Program #1)

Jake

I wake up sticky, sweaty, and thoroughly debauched, with Zeph's arm draped across my chest and his face buried against my neck. The golden glow has faded to barely visible, but I can still feel the warm contentment radiating from him through our empathic connection.

It's been about six hours since our... educational encounter, and while I don't regret a single second of it, I'm becoming increasingly aware that I desperately need a shower.

"Zeph," I murmur, running my fingers through his hair. "Hey, gorgeous."

He makes a sleepy sound against my neck, something between a purr and a hum that vibrates against my skin. "Mmm?"

"I need to ask you something, and please don't take this the wrong way."

That gets his attention. Zeph lifts his head to look at me, golden eyes still soft with sleep but alert. "What is it?"

"Do Nereidans... bathe? Like, regularly?"

Zeph blinks at me, clearly not expecting that question. "Bathe?"

"Yeah, you know, wash, clean ourselves, basic hygiene maintenance." I gesture vaguely at my own sticky state. "Because right now I feel like I've been marinating in my own bad decisions, and I'm starting to think maybe your people have evolved past the need for daily scrubbing."

"Oh." Zeph's expression shifts to something that might be embarrassment. "You require cleansing facilities."

"I require cleansing facilities," I confirm. "Preferably ones that involve hot water and soap, or whatever the alien equivalent is. Please tell me you guys didn't solve the hygiene problem with some kind of sonic vibration thing that's going to rearrange my internal organs."

"You should have mentioned this sooner," Zeph says, sitting up with a look of genuine concern. "Of course you need to bathe. I simply... it did not occur to me that you would be uncomfortable."

"It's not uncomfortable, exactly. More like... gross. Humans typically bathe daily, sometimes more if we've been engaging in particularly vigorous physical activity." I give him a pointed look. "Which we definitely have."

The blue flush spreads across Zeph's cheekbones. "I apologize. I should have considered your hygiene requirements."

"Hey, no apology necessary. I just need to know if there's a sonic shower or a cleansing beam or some other sci-fi bathing solution that's going to make me question everything I thought I knew about personal hygiene."

"We do have bathing facilities," Zeph says, and there's something almost shy in his expression. "Though they may be... different from what you are accustomed to."

"Different how?"

"Perhaps it would be easier to show you."

Zeph climbs out of bed with that fluid grace that I'm becoming addicted to watching, and pulls on a loose robe that somehow makes him look even more attractive. I grab yesterday's clothes, which feel disgusting against my skin, and follow him out of the sleeping area.

Instead of heading toward what I assumed would be a bathroom, Zeph leads me through a section of the quarters I haven't explored yet, down a short corridor that ends at a door I hadn't noticed before.

"The cleansing facilities," Zeph says, pressing his palm to the access panel.

The door slides open, and I stop dead in my tracks.

"Holy shit."

What I'm looking at isn't a bathroom. It's not even really a pool, although there's definitely water involved.

It's more like someone took the concept of a natural hot spring and redesigned it using alien technology, unlimited resources, and possibly a team of designers who really wanted to show off.

The space is larger than I expected, with smooth walls that curve organically toward a ceiling that's been designed to look like an underwater cave.

The lighting is soft and blue-green, giving everything an aquatic feel, and the air is warm and humid in a way that makes me immediately want to dive in.

But the centerpiece is the water itself;a series of connected pools at different levels, with what looks like a gentle current flowing between them. The water glows faintly with the same golden light as Zeph's skin, and steam rises from the surface in lazy spirals.

"This is your bathroom?" I ask, still trying to process what I'm seeing. "Jesus, Zeph, my entire apartment could fit in here. Hell, Derek's entire upstairs setup could probably fit in here too."

"Among other things," Zeph says, and I notice he's watching my reaction carefully. "Nereidans have certain... aquatic requirements."

"Aquatic requirements," I repeat, then remember the gills I've noticed on his neck. "Right. You're part fish. I should have guessed from the whole 'glowing like a bioluminescent sea creature' thing."

"Not fish, precisely. But we are... amphibious, in a sense. We require regular immersion for optimal health."

I walk to the edge of the nearest pool, mesmerized by the way the water seems to pulse with gentle light. "And you didn't mention this because...?"

"Because our research indicated that humans find water immersion recreational rather than necessary," Zeph says. "I did not wish to make you feel obligated to participate in activities that might be uncomfortable for you."

I turn to look at him, this alien who's apparently been hiding his own personal water paradise while I've been complaining about being sticky. "Zeph, this is amazing. Why would I be uncomfortable? This place makes every spa I've ever been to look like a kiddie pool at a run-down motel."

"Many species find aquatic environments... threatening."

"Well, this human finds aquatic environments relaxing as hell, especially when they look like they were designed by someone with unlimited resources and a serious commitment to making me feel inadequate about my own living situation.

" I start pulling off my clothes, suddenly desperate to get into that glowing water.

"Seriously, after seeing this, I'm never going to be able to look at my shower the same way again. "

"You wish to join me?"

"I wish to get clean, and if that involves sharing what is essentially an alien resort spa with my alien... whatever the hell we're calling this situation... then I'm definitely on board."

Zeph's smile is so bright it makes the glow under his skin flare visibly. "I would like that very much."

I finish stripping and step to the edge of the pool, testing the water temperature with my toe. It's perfect;hot enough to be relaxing without being scalding. "How deep is it?"

"The main pool is approximately two meters at its deepest point, but there are shallower areas for... different activities."

"Different activities," I repeat with a grin. "I like the sound of that."

I slide into the water and immediately understand why Zeph spends time here.

It's not just warm,it's alive somehow, with a gentle current that seems to massage tired muscles and skin that feels softer than regular water.

The glow is more pronounced now that I'm surrounded by it, and I realize it's reacting to our presence.

"This is incredible," I breathe, sinking deeper until the water reaches my chest. "It's like a full-body hug from someone with really excellent taste in water temperature and possibly magical healing properties."

"The water contains minerals that promote healing and relaxation," Zeph explains, dropping his robe and sliding into the pool with a grace that suggests he's completely in his element here. "And the temperature and current are adjustable based on individual preferences."

"Of course they are." I watch, fascinated, as Zeph moves through the water like he was born to it.

His movements are different here,more fluid, more natural.

And when he dips his head back to wet his hair, I catch a glimpse of the gills on his neck fluttering slightly.

"You know what? This is deeply unfair. You're basically a gorgeous water god and I'm just some guy who gets excited about adjustable shower heads. "

"Like what?"

"In your element. You move differently in the water."

Zeph glides closer, and I notice that the glow under his skin is brighter now, more vibrant. "Water is... soothing for my people. Essential, even."

"How often do you need to do this?"

"Daily, ideally. Though I can manage longer periods without immersion if necessary."

I think about this, about Zeph quietly managing his physiological needs without mentioning them, and feel a pang of guilt. "Have you been skipping this because of me?"

"Not skipping," Zeph says quickly. "But perhaps... abbreviating my usual routine."

"Zeph." I move closer to him, reaching up to touch his face. "You don't have to abbreviate anything for me. This is part of who you are."

"I did not want you to feel excluded."

"Excluded? From this?" I gesture at the glowing pools around us.

"Are you kidding? This is like having access to a private resort that probably costs more than I make in a year.

I don't feel excluded, I feel like I've accidentally stumbled into some kind of alien luxury lifestyle that I'm definitely not qualified for. "

That gets me a laugh, warm and delighted, and Zeph's hands settle on my waist under the water. "You are not what I expected, Jake Morrison."

"Good unexpected or bad unexpected?"

"The best kind of unexpected," he says, pulling me closer until we're pressed together in the warm, glowing water. "The kind that makes me reconsider everything I thought I knew about what I wanted."

The words hit me harder than they should, carrying implications that we're both probably not ready to examine too closely. Instead, I focus on the immediate,the feel of his skin against mine, the way the water makes everything more sensitive, the golden light that pulses brighter when we touch.

"So," I say, desperately needing to lighten the mood before I do something stupid like have feelings, "are you going to show me how this whole aquatic cleansing process works, or are we just going to float here having a moment?"