"Hey! Hey, Babs, hear me out!"
"Hear what? How you two kissed right in front of me?"
Barbara's voice was as flat as stagnant water. Dick knew her too well-the calmer she was, the hotter the lava burned underneath.
"Uh... technically, she kissed me first. Hey, wait!"
Dick jogged a couple of steps to catch up and grabbed Barbara's arm. "I didn't expect it either..."
"Ha. Technically, huh?"
Barbara sneered. "So because you didn't expect it, you just enjoyed yourself?"
"No, I didn't." Dick felt his spine freezing over, inch by inch. He hurried ahead of Barbara and turned to face her, walking backward as he explained, "Babs, she'd just come out of the spaceship. She was hurt all over and could barely stand. I only wanted to steady her, and then she suddenly..."
"Suddenly kissed you?"
"Yes."
"And then you got into it?"
"Yes-uh, no!" Dick cried. "You know you're the only one in my heart. And she explained it was just how she learned our language. You have to believe me!"
He glanced up at the bewildered alien woman in the distance, his voice dropping involuntarily. "I'm the victim here."
"Sure, sure."
The wind off the docks blew between them, lifting Barbara's red hair before letting it fall again. She reached the SUV and nodded with a sneer. "I had no idea a passionate kiss required us to distinguish between active and passive responsibility. If she learned our language by sleeping with you, would you claim she raped you?"
Bang!
Barbara climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the door. The window swiftly rolled up.
"Hey! Hey!"
Dick pounded on the window. "Babs, let me explain."
"No." Barbara shook her head. "We'd better both cool off."
She hit the gas. The SUV's tires spun backward, kicking up dust