Mira slept for a while, her body exhausted. Ezra held her, memorizing every detail of her face. He had always been curious about humans, about how they didn't have any markings, and about how destructive they were known to be. His mother, one of the few dozen women that survived the illness that wiped out the female population on his planet, had warned him not to get too attached. "They are selfish and greedy people. Only doing what benefits them," she had said. This was hours before the selection ball, and he had taken it to heart. That is, until he met Mira.

He let his fingers comb through her hair as she slept, and he loved how soft it felt. He could still taste her on his tongue, and though his body had mostly calmed down, he still felt the desire to please her.

When Mira's eyes finally fluttered open, he wanted to flip her over and take her. But he wouldn't do that. Not yet. He wanted her to be sure. And one look at her and he knew she was still conflicted about being with him.

"I can't believe I fell asleep." She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawning. Her golden brown hair fell down the length of her back, a hair tie lost somewhere in the bed. But she didn't care. She climbed over to the edge of the massive bed and eased herself up.

Ezra sat up too, enjoying watching her walk around in his shirt. He knew this was a normal human custom, but he never understood why until now. Mira disappeared in the closet and returned in human clothes. He could tell she was put off, and knew it was probably because she was afraid of all the Jayku items that would cause her to lose herself again.

That was fine with him. He would wait for her to be ready again, and he wouldn't push her. He never wanted to pressure her.

"Do you want some lunch?" He asked, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed.

She gave him a sharp look, but it wasn't angry. It was afraid, and it made his heart tighten in his chest.

"There's some human food left. Pancake mix, peanut butter and jelly, and some human vegetables—carrots and broccoli."

She sighed in relief. "Peanut butter and jelly sounds good. I can make it myself though." She walked into the kitchen, and Ezra wanted to follow her, but he knew she might need some time to process her feelings about what had happened this morning, so he decided to shower instead.

The human shower was so strange, but he knew how to operate it. They had to live in these cabins for a few days before the selection, to make sure they knew their way around. He turned the knob in a circle motion and the water sprayed out of a pipe. He was used to the waters chemicals. Jayku's had actually built up a tolerance to it of sorts. But it still made him think of her. He replayed the few short sweet moments of her pleasure in his head again and again, the sound of her moans and the way her body shook.

Meanwhile, Mira finished eating her lunch, and inspected the fruit in a large basket on the counter. She eyed it as if it was evil, and considered throwing it away. But there was no point. She agreed to be here, she might as well try to embrace it.

But she just couldn't yet. She wasn't quiet ready to throw herself into her duty. She wanted to know more about the world first.

Ezra exited the bedroom wearing baggy grey pants and a light blue t-shirt. He gave Mira a look and grinned. "Is this normal for guys on your planet?" He asked, gesturing towards his clothes. He already knew the answer, as he was required to study their culture and their language for years. But he wanted to make her smile, and the question did.

She nodded. "Yes, but you look like you're about to go jogging or something."

"Do you like to jog?" He asked, sitting down at the island as she took a bite of a carrot as she stood in the kitchen.

"It's okay," she shrugged and walked around the island to sit beside him. "I'm more of a hiker. Though there aren't many forests left on earth to hike through. They do have a lot of parks that are fenced off as preserves... but you probably know that already."

"We could go for a hike here. There's a lake not too far if you want to go swimming."

"Is it a fertility lake?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"Actually, yes," he laughed. "But some of the other couples might be there, assuming they get out of bed."

Mira thought of Beth and Shay and wondered how they were doing. "I thought we are supposed to be alone for the first day?"

"Twenty-four-hours is almost up."

She shrugged. "Sounds fun, but I'm not swimming."

Twenty minutes later and they were climbing the small cliff in their backyard, since the lake was only about a mile walk in that direction. She couldn't reach the top of the cliff, and tried to pull herself up on some roots. But before she could, Ezra picked her up by the waist and lifted her above his head. She grabbed onto the ledge, and rolled over it. She sat in the dirt at the top, and watched Ezra as he pulled himself up effortlessly and swung his leg over the edge. His muscles bulged underneath his blue t-shirt.

"Are all Jayku men super buff?"

"Anyone who is part of the selection process must be very healthy. But most of us are. Obesity is not a problem here like on earth."

"Neither is war."

Ezra paused and looked down at her for a moment as she climbed to her feet and began dusting off her pants. "We've known war before, but not in many years. Our main problem is the one you came here to solve."

"And what is a world full of men like? Do you all just run around working out and punching things?"

That made Ezra laugh. "Is that what your men would do without women?"

"Probably," she chuckled, feeling strangely happy as they began walking into the colorful forest.

She took in the different colored trees, the blue moss, the green squirrels with six arms, and listened to the animals that sounded a lot like monkeys. Even the birds were similar to earths, except that they also had extra limbs and double the amount of wings.

"This place is so beautiful," she admitted, watching an entirely purple butterfly the size of her face flutter above her head

"Yes," Ezra agreed. "I've always loved being in the forest."

They walked in silence for a few moments, just listening to the birds sing and serenade the trees.

"What was your life like on earth?" Ezra asked, hoping to learn as much as he could about her.

"Um," Moe thought for a moment, surprised by the questions. "Well, I have three older brothers and one younger sister. My dad owns a junkyard, and I grew up learning how to fix things and figuring out how they worked. I hated school, but I did decent enough to get into college. I couldn't afford it, so I stayed at home and helped out in my dads shop with my brothers."

"And your little sister, the one that was sick, what is she like?"

Mira let out a short laugh. "Well, we hated each other until I was fifteen. We had to share a room until my oldest brother moved out. But once we had our own space, we became a lot closer. Probably because she didn't steal my clothes all the time anymore. How about you, do you have any siblings?"

Ezra took a deep breath. "I had an older sister, but she died from the disease when I was very young. And I have a younger brother. He's seventeen in earth years."

"How old are you in earth years?"

"Twenty-three. And you?" Ezra asked, though he already knew from her file.

"Twenty."

They reached the edge of the forest, and paused to gaze out on the sparkling lake. Ezra had been wrong, there were no other couples there. But that was fine with him. He wanted her all to himself.

They walked to the beach, and Mira kicked off her shoes to let the orange sand seep in between her toes. They walked along the edge of the water, but she never let the light blue liquid touch her. It amused him how she avoided it, but he said nothing about it. Instead they talked about her life, and she shared stories about her childhood, about her first boyfriend, about the time she tried having a girlfriend until realized she was not into girls. It fascinated him, two girls being together, and when he told her that she laughed, saying it fascinated men on her planet too.

He told her a little about Akaari, about since the shortage of women many men have turned to each other for company. And she said it made sense. Just because there aren't any women didn't mean they didn't still have needs. Ezra didn't care about their needs or even his own, all he cared about was hers.

After they watched the sunset in the lake, they walked back to their cabin and he began to make dinner, but she insisted he let her help. He gave her a knife and told her to cut earth vegetables, since she had made it very clear she did not want to eat Akaari's.

But they did eat Akaari meat, and when she asked, Ezra assured her it was just normal meat, not fertility specialities. She trusted him enough to eat it, and when they were finished, Mira felt the need to take a shower, but was afraid of what the water might do to her.

So she went to sleep covered in a layer of grime, and when she woke, there was a plate of carrots and broccoli instead of the fruit. She smiled at the sight of it, and couldn't help but feel like she lucked out with Ezra. She wasn't sure if any of the other Jayku men would have been so patient and understanding. Would they have expected her to jump into bed immediately and seal the deal? What would they have done had she said no? They couldn't exactly take back the medicine from Mya, but they could have forced her family to pay back the money—which they didn't have. Maybe they would have taken her father's junk yard and home away, throwing her family onto the streets. She had seen it happen before. It wasn't a good time to be poor on earth, but historically, it never was.

Mira found a note under her plate that informed her Ezra went to see if he could find more earth food. That made her like him even more. He wasn't trying to push her into his arms at all. He was actually a perfect gentleman, waiting for her to say the words. And maybe she should say them again, not under the influence of any fruit or water or pillows or anything else. Maybe, she thought, I should actually give him a chance.

She felt dirty from the lack of bathing, and submitted to a quick shower. She felt the water cleaning her pores with the chemicals and soap it was infused with, just like the bath she took before the selection. It made her body numb all over, and her nipples perked up. She wanted to be touched again, but Ezra was gone. So, she touched herself.

Her fingers slid along the surface of her vag, pushing their way in between her clit and gliding along the folds. She rubbed herself for several minutes, leaning against the shower wall, the water dripping down her body, over her breasts, down her naval, and in between her legs. Her insides throbbed as she grew closer and closer to climax, her knees beginning to shake. But then the water turned cold and she leaped with a scream from the shower. Her feet, being dripping wet, slipped on the hardwood floor. She tumbled forward, bruising her knees on the hardwood. A second later, the door swung open and Ezra rushed to her side, wrapping a towel around her and inspecting her.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, his voice full of concern.

Mira, dripping wet from head to toe, gazed at the alien man before her and felt nothing but desire for him. None of this was like she thought it would be. He was not anything like she thought he would be. He was so much better. All she wanted to do was taste his lips again.

"Mira, are you hurt?" He repeated, growing more concerned with every passing moment.

"No," her voice was barely a whisper, and she threw her arms around him, her lips colliding with his. The towel slipped from her body and she no longer cared. All she cared about was the taste of him, the feeling of his hands on her skin, the smell of his short brown hair. She wrapped herself around him on the bathroom floor, and she was fully prepared to give into temptation when he stopped her.

"Mira," he pushed up on her hips, her name a groan on his lips. "Wait." She lifted herself off of him, a bolt of rejection striking through her like lightning.

She sat up grabbing for the towel. "Sorry," she said, feeling destroyed with embarrassment.

"I just want to make sure you didn't hit your head," he chuckled a little, holding out a hand to tuck her wet strands of hair behind her ear.

"No, just my knees."

His gaze darkened, and he smiled seductively at her. "You sure you want to do this?" He asked, glancing at the shower. He knew how she felt about the fertility water and fruit, and he didn't want to take advantage of a hurt girl naked on the bathroom floor being influenced by chemicals and nutrients alien to her.

She looked at him through the water drops sliding down her face and she licked her lips. "Take off your pants," she said sternly.

He tried to suppress his smile and failed as he began unbuttoning his pants. He wasn't sure what she was planning to do, but he wasn't about to say no.

He pulled out his dick as the last of his pants came off, and she gasped at the sight of it.

Mira gazed at the throbbing man as he kneeled in front of her. "It's huge," she said, overwhelmed. She had wanted to taste it, but she knew now she would barely be able to get it in her mouth, if she could at all.

As she sat in disbelief, Ezra reached for her breasts, pulling her close to him. He wanted to kiss her, but she had other plans in mind. She liked a challenge.

Her lips found the tip, her tongue exploring as it slid in a circular motion around the top. She opened her mouth as large as he could, and she let him fill her. His dick slid in and reached the back of her throat, and she loved how he felt inside her mouth. Her tongue watered at the taste of him, sweet and warm and good. He slid in and out carefully a few times, and each time her pelvis leaped. She grabbed his hips, pulling him inside her faster, and she sucked hard, wanting to know what his juices tasted like. But he had other plans. He pulled his dick from her lips and she crawled forward after him, her hands falling to the floor in defeat. She was on all fours when he pulled her up by the waist and threw her over his shoulder.