4 Rosalynn

I should be terrified by the idea that someone else will choose me, choose our future instead of it being a casual mutual interaction: a regular at the grocery store, someone I bump into at the laundromat, or even a coworker that became a friend and then a lover. I always imagined meeting someone at the university. But that didn’t last long. And Lorado proved that coworker romance doesn’t work. At least not for me.

A staff member from the Alien Bride Race team puts me to sleep in a glass chamber for the shuttle ride up. I didn’t feel like sleeping, but I’m glad for it when my mind wanders to an arena in chaos, alien males chasing us—me. A two-headed Nicosu tackles me, sniffs me, and moves on.

Do they have two sets of double heads or just one?

A dark green Retterwan circles me takes one nibble of my ear, sending a titillating wave through my body, and then bounds away.

It’s the scent. It has to be.

In my dream, I roll around in a nearby dust patch and am finally tackled, collected, and sheltered from the others. The mysterious, dark creature moves with confidence and finesse as he crushes me against him so hard I feel his erection dig into my belly. Right as he leans in for a taste, light filters in, and I feel myself waking.

Wait! No! For once I had a slice of an alien male.

But I still smile as I wake.

A young brunette helps me sit up. “Two more questions for you before you get your race uniform.”

“Would you rather be a little older and wiser or younger and dumber?”

“Older for sure. The more I know, the better decisions I make.”

She nods and moves on. “Do you prefer the natural world or the technological one?”

“Both have their place in our universe. I would not want to deprive a sick child of the latest healthcare nor would I wish to take away the only reason we can exist. We need crops and medicine. Both.”

“Intelligent, but reserved in personality,” someone says before plucking a device from my forehead.

“Give her green armbands,” another voice calls out.

The room is abuzz with other women getting their assessments and being guided into a line out a door and into the next room.

The realization they have considered me an intellectual with a high acumen makes me feel like maybe some college was better than nothing. I just prefer to finish what I start.

Abr staff wave us into the next room. It is filled with other women, waiting in lines for their uniforms. I walk toward the pickup counter, my backpack in tow.

“I hear they’re all on edge because the war with the Nebulous Empire is getting out of hand,” a woman in an adjacent line remarks to another. “They’re extra desperate for mates to create heirs in case they don’t—” She lowers her voice. “In case they don’t survive.”

I hadn’t considered the war, even knowing how dense the conflicts were in the outer regions of our Federation.

I wish Aryssa was with me. She would have something comforting to say in such a situation.

Stepping up to the counter, I receive my spandex bodysuit sporting the Abr logo and my green armbands.

Green. I still can’t believe I got green!

Wanting to offload some samples and reduce my scent trail, I hurry to the locker rooms and change quickly, then hold up a fistful. “I’ve got perfumes, ladies! Anyone want one? They’re little testers, but they’re free!”

I start handing them out to interested women.

Some of them already have distinct scents like they wear Cotton Sunrise, Candy Cuddles, or Rouge. I save the few I really like for myself but also find myself stuck with the gross samples I can’t give away.

“I don’t wear perfume,” a young woman with blue bands says in passing.

“For broke girls, perfume in the eyes can work almost as well as pepper spray. And it tastes far worse,” I offer.

She stops, laughs softly, and nods. “Alright, I’ll take one.”

They’re all little tubes containing two milliliters of fragrance, and often match the color patterns of the larger bottles. As I get down to the bottom of the stock, I see a familiar scent tester pattern among the samples.

Damn it. She gave me Rising Celestial. I dig deeper and find Sandalwood Sunrise and Starfire.

I quickly wrap them in some socks and stuff them in a pocket of my pack. If a tester of one of those breaks open, it will clear out a room. I don’t need to blow my chance, because everything I have is invested into this race.

The pink-banded girls go for fruity and fresh scents. The reds take musks. Blues and greens take lighter ones with herbal and spicy notes. And the monochromes avoid me completely. I’ve gathered they’re the quiet ones, the most likely to win the race, and they like to be untraceable or at least they don’t bother with dolling themselves up.

We get an update over the holovid in the center of the ceiling. “Recent races have led to some changes, including increased security. Initial festivities are now held in the Interstellar Relations flag ship, Coalescence . There will be no more intrusion by non-participants or their security teams.

“Everyone is heavily vetted. The Lunar Abr facility defenses are being bolstered by increased security systems and patrols.”

The countdown to the start of the race begins on the holovids as it clears overhead.

I’m as excited as a pink but with the deep worry of a blue about who I’ll meet. I’ve watched enough episodes with Aryssa to know the types. But as I look around, I don’t see other greens like me.

Jitters grip me as I stuff my things in a locker and follow the other dressed women into the buffet hall. It’s surreal to walk the rooms of the shows I’ve seen on the TV.

My stomach grumbles with the plethora of options but I am far beyond the desire to eat. All I want is to meet my future alien mate and feel needed for once.

I just hope he isn’t a jerk.