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"Dreams are just like wine, and I am drunk with mine."

I Can Dream, Can't I? - Cass Elliot

Like me, Xintaie turned out to be older than she looked. Unlike most women of my limited experience, she happily claimed to be thirty-two when she could have passed for twenty, except for her demeanor, which spoke of more life experience than did her looks. It wasn't long before I realized that she reminded me of my adopted little sister, Sally. Xintaie had that same warm, caring way about her. Counteracting Vaira's lightly veiled hostility, it made me feel more relaxed and at home. I was sorry when she and her tall, dark escort announced their need to leave early, but Xintaie invited me to her place in town and P… Star promised to show me the way.

I was thrilled when Vaira retired to her room with a headache, leaving Star and me to take our coffee into the garden. He seemed to have recovered from the unpleasantness at dinner and was eager to hear more about my "history."

"Did you come to Earth directly?" he asked, when we were comfortable in the cooling dusk of the fragrant, friendly plants. I reached up to loosen my tie and breathed a little easier when I'd shed it along with my jacket. P… Star did the same.

"No, I made one stop before leaving the Federation completely." Memories of anger and humiliation sharpened my tone, and I took a second to modulate it. "I remember only one man who was ever nice to me back then, Chaldin, ruler of Thaenus. (The same planet that was home to the lovely Suria, Paul's "advisor.") He didn't visit the palace often, but when he did he always took special care to talk with me, ask me how I was doing. It meant a lot to me, and I looked forward to seeing him." I sighed. "I guess I thought he would protect me from the 'bad guys', but he was afraid for his own life and asked me to leave." I paused a minute, then added, "That hurt."

Looking back now, as an adult, I supposed it would have been asking too much for Chaldin to risk his life for me, but to a lost and lonely child his rebuff had seemed a betrayal.

Star shook his head. "I know Chaldin. He is a good ruler when it comes to his people, but indecisive and fearful when dealing with Lecurela… like many other members of the Council. I wish the other planets were stronger and had more influence in the affairs of the Federation… were not so willing to bow to Lecurela."

Politics meant little to me. Lecurela was the largest, most highly populated planet in the Federation, as well as having a large and organized military force. I supposed it was only natural that others would defer to them, though all planets in the Federation were supposed to be "equal." Like on George Orwell's Animal Farm, I suspected one planet might be more equal than the others.

Star sighed, then smiled that signature little smile of his. "Why did you pick this planet?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I remember thinking the farther and more primitive the better and… I found myself here." I went on to describe the wonderful family that found me, wandering alone on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, and "adopted" me, raising me with all the love they showed their own children. I knew I had been very lucky. "'Black' was their surname," I finished.

Concentrating on dinner with its stressful repartee and then more of my story had helped keep my mind above my beltline. Now, caressed by warm breezes and seated next to the sexiest man in the universe, all my resolve to think of him as only a friend melted away. I stared, thinking "Star," and how well that name fit him. His dark face and bright hair shone, almost glowing in the dusk. Damn, I wanted him bad.

"Uh, Star…." He smiled at my first use of that name aloud, which raised his wattage considerably. "I think I should be going. Maybe I could call a cab…?" I had to get out of there. She could come back out at any moment, and I didn't want her to find me looking at her husband like a starving lion looks at a meatloaf.

His smile dimmed, and I thought maybe it was because he liked being with me, at least on some level, and would be sorry to see me go. Anyway, I was almost sure it wasn't just politeness. Or maybe he wasn't looking forward to whatever sort of confrontation might take place with Vaira after I left. He hadn't said anything about her "comment," but even though it had been silent, this was the first time I'd seen him disagree with her… or anyone. I wondered which one of them would be apologizing later.

In spite of my loathing for Vaira, I had no desire to come between Star and his wife… well, not really.

"Of course, Evan, I understand, it's late," he said. "Kareinon will drive you."

I stood and he followed suit. "I really like your calling me Star," he said shyly. When he reached out to hug me I had to turn slightly to keep from bumping him with my hard-on. He was kind enough not to mention it, though I'm sure he knew.

All the way on the silent drive back to my own rooms, I thought about how it would feel to have him in my bed. A cold shower didn't help, and I couldn't even think about sleeping until I'd come twice… by my own hand, as it were.

The next morning, I looked up Buddy.

* * *

Buddy wasn't a bad lover, once we got down to it. He was well built and enthusiastic, and he'd obviously been around the gay-sex block more than once. He did seem to get distracted sometimes during or just after sex, and I could never quite figure out what was bothering him. But… sex with Buddy was lots better than no sex at all, and so far his was the only offer I'd had. I still wasn't comfortable spending the night with him, so I usually insisted on going to his room for business and leaving whenever I'd had enough. Sometimes that was three or four in the morning, but I still wanted to sleep by myself.

Alone every night in the dark in that big bed, I clutched the thought of Star to me like a teddy bear. I treasured every hug, every touch, every kind word or smile. He had begun teaching me, or rather reminding me, of all the things I had learned when I was a child on Lecurela. Even though I had escaped the palace's tender clutches when I was several years younger than he was when he left, he didn't know much more than I… just minor details to be filled in here and there, mostly updates about political goings-on in the Federation. I still knew all the practical stuff, intellectually; the problem was that I was so out of practice in using what I remembered.

At the age of nine, I'd teleported across an unthinkable vastness of space from Lecurela to Earth, using only the memories I then possessed, trusting my senses to find the right path. Now, after more than sixty years of suppressing those memories and abilities, jumping from one room to another was more than I was willing to try. He told me how, even demonstrated the act, but it wasn't until he took me by the hand and jumped with me that I began to "feel" it.

After that, I tried jumping to places I remembered. A clear picture of details was all-important. It helped when I began to get back a remote sense of place. I could picture a location and "see" it in my mind, in real time, not just the way it had been when I visited it last. That ability enabled me to jump to places I hadn't been… a useful skill.

Telepathy became easier too. I did my best not to listen in to casual conversations, but if I wanted, I could "tune in" to any of the surface thoughts around me. Thankfully, I could also tune them out.

Time went by quickly. At night I sang at Drackett's "Crystal Affair" club, named that way because of the many mirrors, I supposed, and during the day I hung out with Star as often as he would allow. Of course, it was more like whenever his wife would allow. She and I continued to dislike each other, more so all the time if possible, it seemed to me. But we kept things civil… me for Star's sake, Vaira… I couldn't guess at her reasons.

Sometimes Star was otherwise occupied, behind closed doors at Suria's lab. Part of me wanted to know what she did to him during the "tests" she was so fond of, but I was afraid that if I let myself eavesdrop, as I was tempted, I'd lose it and maybe do or say something Star wouldn't be able to forgive.

What sort of tests could be needed? I only had to look at Star to see that he functioned perfectly, in a physical sense. I kept telling myself that Star knew best, he was the perfect one and I just a flawed prototype. It was none of my business what he did… or what he let Suria do.

She had been quick to openly express an interest in our similarities and her desire to quantify them "scientifically" to her satisfaction, by performing tests on me. My gut reaction was not only "No" but "Hell no!" and I stuck with that, even through puzzled looks from Star. Hey, it was my body.

I'd taken only one good look into Suria's eyes, and that was more than enough. In my opinion, her single-mindedness shaded toward madness, and I didn't want to touch those lizard-flavored thoughts. But… I still didn't trust my own judgment, so I kept my peace.

* * *

It finally occurred to me that, though I wasn't spending a lot of money, I did have the occasional expense and no income at all. I had no problem singing for Mr. Drackett in return for lodging and most often meals too, but asking for a salary was out of the question. I needed a real job.

Star and I were enjoying the morning sun on a rare trip to the beach, accompanied only by the ubiquitous Kareinon, who kept his distance on the boardwalk above while Star and I played in the sand and got our feet wet. I assumed the big man could go into bodyguard mode from there with no problems. His size alone would make most bad guys cringe; I noticed that pedestrians gave him plenty of leeway.

Star and the beach were made for each other. His dark skin and platinum hair made him look like he spent most of his life there, anyway. We'd done some surfing earlier, but the waves weren't very challenging today so we had spread blankets and talked away the morning. Star's ideas on everything were unique to him, and I could have listened and talked to him forever… and looked at him, of course.

Star was wearing Speedos… white, naturally. Well, I was too… red, if you must know. It was an early fall Tuesday so there weren't many other people on the beach. Those that did stray by stopped a moment to stare at Star, males and females alike. He always smiled, when he noticed, and he waved at any kids that passed.

I had seen Star's birthmark, high on his right shoulder, a conglomeration of white marks suggesting a center point with seven unequal lines radiating out from it. Looking at it gave me a chill up my spine.

As for the rest of his body, that gave me chills too… of an entirely different sort. I had little body hair, except at pits and groin, and he was the same. I spent most of the afternoon trying to see some pubes around the edges of his suit but with no luck. His armpit hair was platinum too-which was kind of startling for some reason against the brown.

After I checked that out I had nothing to look at but Star's glossy velvet skin. I could remember how his hands felt, and I badly wanted to know if the rest of him felt the same, warm silk over steel. In fact, I was wishing I had worn surfer trunks instead of that little scrap of stretchy cloth. I would have welcomed an 1890s swim suit… the kind that included a long shirt… anything to hide the feelings he aroused in me that I was fast becoming unable to control. If we weren't going to fall into bed, it was time for a change of subject and scenery.

"Star," I said from my figurative refuge behind my sunglasses. "I really enjoy trips like this one, but I may not have too much time for them soon. I'm going to look for a job tomorrow."