She pats me as we break apart. “We should get inside while we can.” Then she notices what Khesan and Shathar are wearing, and her stern mask falls for a moment. “Wow, you guys look great.”
Both of them preen, their fans expanding, and I laugh. “They do look perfect for tonight, don’t they?”
“You’re a lucky woman, Fi.”
We get in line to head inside, and we’re not even to the ID check area when Amara texts that she and Roth’kar have arrived. The place is stuffed to the gills with people, but at least I know Rex-A-Tron is huge inside. There will be two shows going on at once—loud, upbeat music in one hall, and slower, lo-fi music in the other. There’s also a calm room, where only soft music plays, and people go to relax and take a breather. It’s full of pillows and my favorite place to chill out between sets to recalibrate.
At last, we’re let in. The doors open and the music washes over us, and both Shathar and Khesan grab one of my hands at the same time.
“Don’t worry!” I call out to them over the music, then fish around in my favorite fanny pack for earplugs. I pull out a pair for each of them, then demonstrate putting some in my ears. Khesan and Shathar mimic me, and then Shathar’s face visibly relaxes.
“It is very loud!” he calls over the music, and I laugh.
“Yep! That’s the idea.”
We head to the bar to wait for the others to arrive, and that’s where Marguerite brings out the goods: a little pillbox that opens to reveal a few brown crumbs of zik. It tastes like ass, but it works, so I won’t complain.
She hands me a small bit, and then passes one to Shathar and Khesan, too.
“You guys don’t have to take it,” I tell them as I eat mine. “Totally up to you. I think you’ll have a good time no matter what.”
“If you are doing it, then so am I,” says Khesan. He tosses back the zik, then makes a disgusted face. I pass him a cup of water while Shathar looks down at the crumb in his fingers.
“What does it do?” he asks.
“Makes you feel happy. Carefree. But also…” I lean in toward his ear. “It makes you want to touch. And fuck.”
Shathar’s eyes widen, and then a big grin comes over his face before he pops the crumb in his mouth.
I think we’re going to have a good time tonight.
After obtaining our cups of water, which cost a few dollars each, Amara, Roth’kar, and Kendall appear. Roth’kar takes a bit of zik, too, and makes the same grossed-out face.
“Worth it,” says Amara as we wade into the crowd.
Now, at last, my husbands can see what I meant about wearing lots of white and bright colors as the blacklight hits us. People all around are wearing fun outfits and showing lots of skin. The pounding music fills up my bones, and I can’t help it as I start dancing. I grab Khesan and Shathar’s hands to bring them in, and they, too, start to move.
“But please don’t do the weird dance!” I call out to them over the frantic beat.
“Weird dance?” Shathar’s brow creases. “The mating dance?”
“That one!” I laugh. “I’m sorry, but you can do it for me in private, okay?”
Khesan smirks. “I think she is embarrassed of us,” he says to Shathar, elbowing him. Shathar snorts in return.
“I think you’re right.”
As if just to rub it in, they both start doing the dance, and I want to die on the spot. Luckily, everyone around us is too busy dancing wildly, too, and so they don’t notice my alien husbands holding the world’s most bizarre performance of Footloose.
It isn’t long before the zik sets in. I sense when the lights become brighter and more colorful, and all my skin feels perfectly warm. My mood lifts even more, and I feel like I could fly with Shathar and Khesan on either side of me, our hands linked together. Amara and Roth’kar are grinding nearby, gazing into each other’s eyes lovingly, and I think they’re feeling it, too.
Marguerite, though, has been quiet. She typically keeps to herself and doesn’t often dance with strangers, but tonight, there’s something off. I slip away from my husbands to put an arm around her shoulder.
“How are you?” I ask.
Marguerite jumps at first, then sighs and leans into me. “I’m fine.”
“Really?”
