
One more cup of coffee for courage, then I needed to leave to do something I was dreading. The waitress brought another latte. The heart on top was perfect for my mood. I thanked her for it and commented on the art. It was almost too nice looking to drink. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to cool off. As I sipped it, I considered several options. Leaving town was an idea that appealed to me, but it wouldn’t solve anything. And I couldn’t avoid her in the small town forever. Eventually, we’d meet again. It was better to meet her now and get it over with and suffer the sling and arrows of love and other such nonsense. But it wasn’t nonsense, although it had seemed like it at the time. But when she told me she loved me. I almost fell out of my chair. Yes, I loved her too. But… There’s always a but involved. The but was, I couldn’t marry her as much as I wanted to do. She wasn’t married. She couldn’t be. No, I’m not married. As I sipped on the latte, I remembered our nights together. It was then I discovered her true nature. The powers she had and the forces she commended were beyond anything that I’d ever encountered. She could do things most men have never dreamed of, and that was before we made love. Making love with her was an extensional experience I’ll never forget or have again. Getting up, I paid for the half dozen coffees and lattes I’d drank in the last several hours. High on caffeine and sugar, I was as ready as I’d ever been to see her. She was waiting at her house. I rang the doorbell. She let me in. Inside, we relaxed, and I returned to my natural state. And she to hers. It was unfortunate that universal law forbids interplanetary marriages. She was from Venus. I was from Mars.