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The Otter Offer

by

Lutrian

I had never seen a Lutrian before, not until about a year after the war. I had known that they generally preferred to not wear any clothing, but to see one down here, in the middle of Manhattan, wearing a business suit, sans tie, crossing at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 49th Street, that was a strange sight indeed. Despite having made contact with earth about three years before, most people still have never seen one, except occasionally on TV. Of course, Manhattan was about as good of a place to see a Lutrian, as any, these days. Like always, this intersection was teaming with crowds of people, though a giant bipedal otter easily stands out. I hung back and watched the creature cross at the light, its thick tapered tail covered in deep brown fur, hung from a tailored hole in its black dress pants. "Why even bother," I mumbled to myself, noticing just how awkward and unnatural that looked.

The creature abruptly stopped in mid stride, turned, and gazed in my direction, with its large almond-shaped eyes, and whiskered muzzle face. Its ears were small and rounded. After a moment, the creature walked back to the curb, and continued to gaze at me. Around its forehead was a headband, with a small device, just above and between its eyes, which I recalled as some kind of mental translator device. The creature spoke in its unintelligible otter sapiens speech, which my brain instantly interpreted as, "Human, I know how ridiculous I look in this thing, but as a Chakharan businessman, dealing with humans, I'm expected to wear this atrocious attire."

I was taken aback by this creature's frankness. "I, I meant no disrespect, I, ah."

"It's ironic how when I come to your planet to conduct business, I'm expected to follow your customs, including wearing this," he paused for a moment, and appeared to grimace, "thing that makes my fur itch. Then when members of your species come to Tera Luna, or sets foot on one of our ships, your people refuse to dress like us."

"I'm sorr-"

"You people are funny," he interrupted. "But maybe you're worth talking to. Would you accompany me?"

To say that I was nervous was an understatement, but I was also flattered. Since I was merely window shopping the various overly expensive stores, and waiting for sundown so I could, hopefully, find a decent prostitute to take home, I welcomed this diversion. "Sure. Where are you headed?"

He stepped to the light pole and tapped the crossing signal button, then turned to me again. "I'm returning to my ship. Need to find a place out of the crowds so I can be safely teleported."

The light changed. I walked with my strange otter-like companion, through the intersection, dodging the mass of people crossing from the other direction. "So it is true, that your people can beam themselves and--"

"I have a friend who turns this into a show. He clears an area on the sidewalk, then people donate money, basically he turns this into a street act. Yesterday, he collected over fifty dollars in your currency just before teleporting back to the ship. It's amazing how people are willing to pay, even despite the fact that they could still watch it for free."

"That sounds like fun." I said. "Why don't you do that?"

"I'm a bit more discrete." he responded. "I typically use alleys, subway stations, large public toilets, parking lots, bank lobbies."

There was a question that begged to be asked. "So, what business brought you to my humble planet, today?"

He stopped abruptly, and slowly turned back to face me. "I don't know what I'm at liberty to tell you. Classified, government. It's why I looked for someone to accompany me. Those people are stuffy, and stupid."

"You should have eaten them."

The Lutrian chortled slightly. "I was that close to biting your president." He turned and began walking again.

I laughed. Around us, were nothing but tall bank buildings, as we approached Madison Avenue. "Why don't you catch a cab? Probably get you to a good spot a lot quicker."

"Your cabs are expensive, and filthy. And I don't carry much money in your local currency. Besides, it was stuffy talking to those politicians. I'd prefer to walk through your city, maybe find someone to talk to on the way, maybe someone to bring back to my ship for," he paused for a moment lost in through. "Intimate interaction."

Startled, I stepped back, and stared at the Lutrian. "Those rumors about your species and ah, culture...."

"Don't worry," assured the Lutrian, "I'm not hiding anything. I'm extending the offer. If you want to return with me to my ship. Dinner, sex? Me, my crew?"

My mind reeled as I started to blurt out, "I'm not gay." but though he was male, Lutrian males did seem far more feminine than human males, probably due to their slim builds, and their faces that didn't correspond to human gender expectations. Also, half the prostitutes I've picked up, had been transgendered. After the shock of the first one or two transgendered prostitutes, I became fine with them. The interspecies thing was something I found weird, but I felt a certain draw. This would probably be safer than my current plans for tonight. "I, ah, was probably going to hang around here for a while, then cruise around for hookers. You know, I think I would like to accompany you. It's a date."

He grinned, then reached an arm towards me, which I recoiled from, "What's wrong?"

When he lowered his arm, I stepped towards him and quietly spoke, "I want to be discrete about this. Once we're on your ship, you can be all over me."

He nodded, "Understood." He gazed around, and motioned towards the entrance of an immense bank building. "This lobby will work. Let's be quick. They blame me for damaging their carpets."

I followed him through the large glass doors into an expansive lobby with numerous teller windows, and areas roped off to form queues. The carpeting was maroon with a basic tiled pattern. Turning my attention to the otter-alien, I noticed that he was speaking into a communicator which resembled a mobile phone. "...lock into my current position and bring us aboard." After a pause, he said, "Yes, he's a cutie." A strange hum sounded as the bank lobby dissolved in a spread of blue-white luminance, as the realization grew in my mind that my adventure had just begun.