I later found out her name was Barbara LeFang. I met her last week in, well you know, one of those bars. Business had been great and I wanted to celebrate. Honest, I had only a couple of drinks when she walked by my table. Little did I know she was an illegal.

Anyone could be forgiven the mistake. I swear she looked as legit as you or me. I guess it was the booze. That and my working fourteen hour days for two weeks. Most nights I'd just make it back to my pad on the 27th floor, nuke a bit to eat, and crash. No need for a nightcap.

But, we'd just finished compiling the new decrypter and the test guys had it now. It was my turn to cut some slack and catch up on my needs, if you know what I mean.

The Petite Bar had everything a guy or gal could want. Me, I stuck to the human floors. Call me an Earthie if you like, but I still cringed at the cross-species pleasures of life. But let me get back to my story.

Barbara stared into my eyes and I felt a definite "Click!" in my heart. Or maybe it was lower in my torso. By now, I couldn't tell. The sirens went off and I just grinned in return.

Her voice was perfect, melodious even, and with just the right amount of feminine charm."Hi."

All my defenses dropped like a lead balloon and I stammered like a goofball. Chalk it to my fatigue, maybe, but I replied, "Hi." E gads! Was that all I could say? Here was the answer to my prayers and all I could do was be an echo?

She smiled at my embarrassment and gave me another chance. "You're cute when you blush."

Oh crap! Now my face was hot, too. "I, ah, can say more than one word, believe me. Would you like a drink?"

She gave me the look-over and I felt like I had lost all my clothes and was sitting there stark naked. Well, maybe I wished I were. I was ready to hop, I tell ya. She was that good.

She wore a tight red skirt and white blouse, one of those that you see the outline of her strapless bra. From a crack between the buttons of her blouse, I could see she had on a red bra, too. Her hair was a bit unusual, a mixture of red and black streaks following her long wavy hair. Her makeup was simple. Matching red lipstick and just a trace of eyeliner. No blush. I was doing all the blushing for both of us.

A slow slide of her hips in my direction was all the response I needed and I slid over in the seat. Thank heavens the Petite booths had narrow seats because when she sat, her hips nestled next to mine and I swear I could feel some electricity. Her perfume should be illegal, for sure. The way I felt, I suspected she was using some illicit pheromones. Every breath I took filled my head with desire.

I raised my hand to signal the waitress one table over, and then I turned to my guest. "What'll you have?"

She replied in that sexy voice again, "A Johnny Over." That's one of the new drinks out here.

I ordered another B and B for myself.

I must've stared at her, any healthy deprived guy would've a hard time doing anything else, because she broke the silence that followed with, "What's your name?"

"Ah, yes. I'm Jack. Jack Mere. I'm Chief Programmer over at United Stellar Systems."

"United Stellar?"

"Yeah. We're the guys who supply all these stations. I work in IT."

"IT?"

I chuckled. "I'm sorry. That's Information Technology. I won't go into the details. I program computers."

"Oh," she replied with the softest look in her eyes. "You must be very intelligent. I thought computers programmed themselves."

"Well, they do actually. But it still takes humans to do the design work. That's what I do. I design."

She only nodded and I could tell she was bored. In an instant I realized I'd better change the subject or I'd lose her.

We chatted and drank for a couple hours. She was also from Earth, from Wisconsin.

"I hear it can get pretty cold up there in the winter."

The puzzled look on her face should've been a clue, but I was stilling inhaling her and didn't get it. When the lights flickered, I knew it was near closing time and I hadn't popped the question yet. I took a deep breath to steady my head, but all it did was create more tingles. "Care to go to my place? I've got some real coffee."

Her eyes lit up just a tiny bit. “Real, you say?"

I lowered my voice and leaned closer to her. “I’ve got clearance for special packages from home."

When we left the Petite, my legs had lost their stability and I must admit I leaned on her strong and steady shoulders. How she could handle all the liquor I couldn't figure out. Back at my bachelor pad, I realized just how much a mess I'd left. But she didn't let me spend any time cleaning up. Instead, she caressed my chest with those long fingers and raised her lips closer to mine. I felt a tiny sting as our lips touched.

That was the last thing I remembered of her.

My foggy mind recalled being asked questions and all I can say is that I gave all the answers. Passwords, codes, social number, the whole nine yards.

When I finally came to, three days later, I was cleaned out. And United Stellar Systems was missing one courier ship.