"Aaah! That felt good, Alli."
"Tell me about it, Sky."
"Did... did I mess up? I just wanted you to feel good while I was feeding."
"Oh, it felt good, alright. Did you eat enough?"
"More than enough. There was a lot of dead skin on your chest. I will soon be as strong as I used to."
After Skylar retracted to the back of my neck, I ran my hands on my boobs, and they were SO soft, almost glowing. That had to be the best skin treatment in the entire universe; what else to expect from a hungry alien?
The most astonishing part of the treatment has been how easily she had manipulated my pleasure. Obviously, she didn't mean to do anything wrong since my comfort and happiness were what she yearned for, but when she had tried to follow my wrong directions, the unexpected result had sent me to a place of euphoria.
I sat back in my bed and asked her a few questions.
"Sky, how did you know how to trigger the pleasure center in my brain like that."
"You are a simple being."
"Uh? Thanks... That's rude."
"Oh, sorry. I just meant that your physiology is extremely easy to understand and manipulate. I observed you this past week when you were masturbating and understood right away how that aspect of human physiology worked."
"My head is that simple to you, uh?"
"The physiology is... there are still so many things I have to learn. Your psychology is very intriguing."
"So, what else did you learn?"
"The list is long. I know your genetic code, your memory process, your aging process, your..."
"Wait... My memory? You can tamper with my memory?"
"Yes, easily. But I would never do that!"
"How would I know if I can't remember it?"
"... I don't know... but I would never ever do that! It would be mean."
"Show me."
"No! Allison. It will scare you. I don't want my host to fear me."
"It's okay. Some humans do that temporarily to other humans as entertainment. Try something. I want to see how it feels."
"Mmm... I dunno about that..."
"Come on, Sky. I won't get angry. I promise."
"... Fiiine... What is your name?"
"My name? But you know that already... It's... it's..."
"You forgot, right?"
"... Yes... so odd. Ah, now I know, it's Allison."
"See... It's easy. But don't make me do it again. I really don't like that. I don't want you to think I'm manipulating you."
Interesting. That didn't frighten me. Instead, I thought it was cool. The guilt in her voice made me understand that she had no intention of harming me in any way, shape, or form, which had strengthened my trust in my funny parasite.
But what about the other things she said? Aging?
"What about aging, Sky? You said you understand it?"
"Yes. That's actually pretty simple."
"So, can you do things like giving me back my 20 years old body?"
"... Alli... That's enough for now. I don't want to answer that. I don't want to feel... used."
"Aaah, I'm sorry... You're right. It's just that for us, humans, getting older is a bit scary."
"That's what makes you who you are. Without aging, you'd be... different. right?"
She got that right. But without aging, I wouldn't turn into some sort of wrinkled apple over time. 31 years old wasn't bad at all, but I already missed being 20. If I read between the lines correctly, she probably had the power to do something about it but clearly wasn't keen to go around her strong ethic to do it. It would have to be a discussion for another time, even if the thought was rather exciting.
Anyway, I had better things to do right now than debating the laws of the universe.
"Sky, I need to go to work today."
"Work?"
"Yes... so I can earn money."
"Money. The thing you used to obtain a museum ticket?"
"Exactly. People use my skills and give me money in return. It's a great system."
"Sweet. Make more money so we can go to more museums, then."
"I don't mind if you stay connected to my brain, but you have to stay quiet, so I can focus on what I have to do."
"Yes. I won't interfere. I promise."
***
After a light breakfast, brushing my teeth, and dressing up, I headed to work with my new friend well hidden behind my neck. Since I lived downtown, I didn't need a car and just walked to work. It was the most convenient thing ever and also waistline-friendly. On the way there, Skylar kept me company and asked me funny questions about things that I knew nothing about, like the sewer system and why people were playing music. I guess I took for granted many things to the point where they were so ordinary that nobody cared about how they really worked. It made me a bit sad. Appreciating all the work that those workers had put into an infrastructure that made my life so much easier should be the least I should do to thank them.
"Alright, quiet now, Sky. This is my workplace. People can't see me talking to myself, or else it will be odd."
"Okay. I won't bug you."
"Thanks, Sky. I appreciate it."
I entered the giant building and headed straight to the ninth floor. After two weeks away on vacation, I could rest assured that a massive pile of paperwork awaited me, and probably six million emails as an extra. Being an accountant came with the downside of never running out of work.
As soon as I stepped into my small office, my boss showed up with the same workaholic attitude he had before I left.
"Ah, thank God, you are back Allison. Can you review those books? Something doesn't add up for June. The client is freaking out."
"Welcome back, boss."
"Yeah, sure, welcome back, Allison. And I need this before 10 am."
"Before 10 am? Come on. I just came back from vacation. What is this?"
"10 am, Allison."
I sat on my chair and lowered my forehead on the desk. That wasn't how I expected this day to start. But since it paid the bills, I didn't have much of a choice.
After logging back into my computer and ignoring all those unread emails, I turned to the books and tackled the first one. If I wanted to have a chance to finish this by 10 am, I had to start right away.
After half an hour of looking at the first one, It was not as bad as I thought, and I found the errors pretty rapidly. I made a few notes here and there and put the book in the completed pile. The second book was pretty much the same and quickly joined its friend in the completed basket.
"Apparently, I still know what I'm doing."