by Kat Stiles
We talked a bit about projects we were working on, and it felt like we were back to normal. He said he was about to leave, and then his eyes grew large, looking past me. He muttered, “Whoa,” before hurriedly turning his face away. I looked behind me to see what caused such a reaction.
“Good morning!” Vi said, as she toweled off her hair. Problem was, that was the only towel, and she hadn’t dressed yet. She looked a little surprised to see Jay there, but took no action whatsoever to cover herself up.
I wanted to look away too, but it’s like I was mesmerized. Her body was breathtaking – muscles in all the right places, and her breasts…they were magnificent. Two perfect orbs with nipples just the right size, perky and everything. Of course her petite bush was shaped like a heart. I was surprised it wasn’t dyed pink. I’d never seen such a naturally perfect body in my entire life.
Then the fact that she was strutting around naked in my apartment finally made it to my brain. “Vi, what the hell? Put some clothes on!”
“What? I like to air dry,” she said, as if I were an asshole for suggesting otherwise.
“Go!” I yelled, motioning for her to get out. Jay was rattled – to say he was uncomfortable would be a gross understatement. He looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack.
“I’m sorry,” I said to him. “She stayed here last night because she was worried about me, and…”
“No, it’s fine, like I said, I should be going,” he said with an awkward chuckle, and in two seconds he was gone. I wondered if he’d ever dare return. Great, just when I thought it was cool between us.
Vi had finished toweling off her hair, and the towel now rested in her hair in the format of a turban. She must’ve seen me staring because she struck a pose. “Like what you see?” Her evil smile surfaced once more.
I folded my arms against my chest. “I think we need to set some ground rules.”
Vi stuck her tongue out at me. “You’re no fun anymore.” Then she turned and left, and I got a view of her stunning backside. I looked at my own butt and frowned. Being a personal trainer, you would expect she would have a nicer ass than mine, but still…wow. I’d never been attracted to a girl before, but even the most hetero woman would have had a hard time seeing Vi naked.
My reaction had to do with the ridiculous dry spell I was on more than anything else, I reasoned. I shook my head to clear it, and glanced at the clock. It was getting late. Going to have to save that awkward conversation with her for later. I left Vi a note and was out the door.
Chapter 4
On the way to work, I hit a ton of traffic. Three accidents, two of them multi-car. It’s like the universe was telling me to blow off work. I rested my head against the steering wheel in sheer exhaustion.
“We haven’t got much time.”
I looked up and saw Steve sitting right next to me, in the passenger seat. He’s so much better at this teleportation thing, I thought.
“Vi said I shouldn’t trust you, and she’s got a point,” I said. “I mean, you were the one who did this to me.”
His brow wrinkled. “Did what? What did she tell you?”
“Made me into a freak!” I didn’t mean to raise my voice, it just happened. Since all this shit went down, I hardly had 15 minutes to process it. To even consider the ramifications of such a “gift.”
“What can you do?” he asked, his eyes looking straight into mine. It was hard to stay mad at him. I wanted so much to tell him everything, but moreso to just hear him say that everything would be all right. That he would take care of me, however ridiculous and stupid that sounds. I blame it on all the old timey romances I watched, from the twentieth century. Back when women had an option of staying at home and tending the house. Not that I would ever be okay with that situation, it just somehow seemed romantic in a twisted, fucked up kinda way.
He touched my hand, and it was cold and electric, like a static shock but with less intensity, more of a comforting, cooling sensation. His gorgeous blue eyes stared into mine, and more than anything I wanted to bury my fingers in his long blond hair. For a moment, it was as if time stopped all together. He leaned in close to me, his eyes focusing on my lips. His thoughts were in sync with his actions – he really was just thinking about kissing me.
Of course the shithead behind me laid on the horn, because I neglected to move the 10 feet ahead fast enough. I lowered my window, gave him the finger, and yelled “ASSCLOWN!” but still pulled up anyway.
“Where were we?” I asked.
Steve wore this charming kind of smile, as if he were amused by me. “You are quite something.”
Even the most mundane phrases sounded so fucking sexy with that accent. From that mouth. I sighed, figuring that was the end of it. But then he leaned over and kissed me anyway.
It was an epic kiss, the kind of kiss you see in those romance movies I was thinking about, where it starts slow, but then erupts in glorious tonguing, outpouring raw emotion and passion. I was breathless when it ended.
“Better keep moving,” he said, motioning to the gap that had formed between my car and the one in front of me. “Assclown may disapprove again.”
“Fuck him,” I said, as I inched forward.
“Tell me what you can do,” he said in an intoxicating purr of a voice. It was hard to deny him when I wanted to fuck him so very much.
“You first,” I said.
He looked away. “It’s not important.”
“You know what? You’re right. Why don’t we forget about all this super power bullshit and just go back to my place?” I smiled. The flirtatious phase of a relationship was always the most fun. “On second thought, maybe we should go to your place, Vi could pop in on us.”
He took my right hand in his, and massaged it gently. There was an unnatural coolness to his hands, so much so that it radiated down my arm.
“Do you feel that?” he whispered.
I nodded, wondering if he seduced all his victims. If I were just another notch in his belt. Honestly, it had been so long, I didn’t really care.
“That’s my power,” he said. “Cold.”
“Wow, like Iceman? That’s pretty cool,” I said, and laughed at the unintentional pun.
“It is,” he said, a somber smile on his face. “But it comes at a price.”
“Recruiting others?”
His smile faded. “I told you mine, tell me yours.”
I wasn’t about to show my hand, not when I didn’t trust him. But what better way to get at the truth than to look inside his mind? A lot of images I didn’t understand—some rich dude that looked vaguely familiar, an indoor waterfall, a little girl crying—until I came upon that night, when he kidnapped me. I watched the scene unfold, his power rendering me unconscious, the lab, the injection, then him returning me to my car. It was so simple I almost laughed. Like an outpatient procedure that alters your entire life afterwards. When his nose began to bleed, I backed off.
“Are you okay?” I asked, handing him a tissue from my purse.
He seemed like he was caught off guard at first, confused. And then he rubbed his forehead.
“Just got a really bad headache,” he said, with a twinge of embarrassment in his voice. “I don’t usually get nosebleeds.”
“But you’re okay?” I hoped he didn’t hear the nervousness in my voice.
He nodded. “I’m fine.”
I was disappointed with the amount of answers I’d uncovered, but at least I found out what happened to me that night. I didn’t want to push too far, knowing what happened to Chad. I had to be careful, I didn’t want to poof his brain. Seeing him massage his temples made me feel a little guilty, but at the same time I figured he had it coming.
I felt his hand squeeze mine as I lurched the car forward. And then his hand was gone. I turned my head and realized so was he.
Not even a goodbye kiss. That was weird. I wonder if he’s on to me?
The traffic finally cleared. As I drove, I knew I had to think about m
y story for the police, at work. They would likely visit me today, and I had to tell them something plausible.
And then I remembered my underwear. The ones from last night, that Chad had ripped off. They were still at the office. The police must have discovered them by now.
Shitballs.
Chapter 5
At work, my co-workers were all abuzz about what had happened - gossip travels ridiculously fast in office circles. And then they noticed me. I even heard someone gasp.
I looked down at my blouse to make sure I wasn’t wearing a huge “A” on my chest. But then I remembered I still looked a little screwed up from last night. Naturally, I wanted to tell them all to fuck off. But I needed the job.
My director was talking to one of the other managers, when his eyes met mine. He excused himself and joined me.
“Are you all right?” he asked, motioning to my black eye.
“I’m fine,” I said. “What’s going on?”
I asked the question with the sort of dread normally reserved for my annual, hoping beyond hope that he didn’t know the truth. But how could he? He wasn’t there.
“Can we talk in my office?”
I gulped, feeling like I did back in grade school when I was sent to the principal’s office. Which yes, did happen a few times. “Of course.” I managed a nervous and totally fake smile, which he reciprocated.
In his office, instead of sitting in his desk chair, he chose to sit next to me, in one of the two chairs positioned in front of his desk.
“I don’t know if you’re aware of what happened here last night.” He scratched the back of his neck, looking down as though he were reluctant to make eye contact.
“What happened?”
“Chad died.”
His bluntness was unexpected yet welcomed. And I knew it already, but it didn’t sting any less. It still knocked the wind out of me.
“Dead? How?”
“We think it may have been a heart attack.” He paused, and I could tell he wanted to say something else. “We were hoping you might know something.”
“Why? Because I work with him?” I found myself gripping the handles of my chair, and had to tell myself to relax. If they knew anything, I’d already be arrested, I reasoned.
“Because you were the last person to see him alive.”
Oh shit, they do know something. Did they find my underwear? I felt my heart rate quicken. And then the nausea came. I knew if I didn’t calm down soon, my breakfast would be all over the director.
“We can’t seem to find the footage from that time frame,” he said.
Footage? Holy shit, we’re being recorded? I was indignant for a second, but then I realized what it meant. If there’s video footage, I’m screwed.
I took a deep breath and exhaled. At least they don’t have it, I thought.
“Did he look ill?” he asked.
Should I tell the truth, that he tried to rape me? It would explain the underwear.
“Kate?”
“What? I’m sorry, just drifted off there for a second.”
“Did he look ill, when you left?”
“I don’t know, maybe. I try to keep to myself, you know?”
His half-smile conveyed that he did understand. He must’ve seen Chad touching me before, and I wondered if he ever had an awkward HR-type conversation with him. If he had, it certainly wasn’t effective.
“Of course the police will want to talk to you,” he said.
I nodded. That was not a conversation I was looking forward to. I was probably the shittiest liar on the face of the earth. I would just have to not offer information, and give carefully worded responses that could technically be true. It was my only hope.
“If you need to talk, my door is always open. I know you weren’t very close with Chad, but this kinda thing is difficult to process nonetheless.”
I smiled, genuinely glad he was now my immediate boss. “Thank you.”
***
Back at my desk, I was surprised to see Jay there.
“Kate, are you all right?” he asked, and gave me a hug. It was a condolences hug to anyone who watched, but both Jay and I knew it was more supportive in nature. The warmth that seemed to surround me in that embrace was surreal, and it had a very welcomed calming effect.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” I whispered in his ear.
I felt his body shudder in the embrace.
He nodded, and followed me out of the office.
I knew the cafeteria would be sparsely populated, as it was after the normal breakfast rush. We sat at a vacant table on the far side of the room, out of earshot of anyone there.
Recalling what the director said about footage, I thought it best to play it safe and write down my question. I pulled a piece of scrap paper and pen out of my purse and wrote, “Did you know that they videotape us?”
“Yes,” Jay responded. “But there’s no audio.”
“Really?”
“I’ve seen some of the footage,” he explained. “For an older project I was working on.”
I figured it would be safe to talk with no audio, but I still thought it might be prudent to discreetly cover my mouth when saying anything incriminating, just to be sure someone wouldn’t read lips. It was crazy, I felt like I was in a scene out of 1984.
“I’m a little worried,” I said, and placed a few fingers over my lips in a pensive kind of way. “I don’t know what to say to the police officer.”
“Are you going to tell them about the…rape?” he said, mirroring what I was doing to conceal his lip movements.
“I didn’t plan to, if I can avoid it. I just don’t know how much they know. Like, do they have my underwear?”
“That could be a problem.”
I was struck by how familiar he seemed to be with what happened. I know I didn’t mention that detail when I relayed the story last night.
“Plus the whole footage thing,” I whispered, “My boss says they haven’t found it, but who knows if it’ll show up?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Jay said. “It’s taken care of.”
With his skills, there was no doubt in my mind he could erase any piece of data from any machine in the building. But I had to be sure I wasn’t misinterpreting him. “What do you mean?”
He reached across the table and held my free hand in his. “It’s gone.”
I felt a surge of heat come from his hand, a perfect, comforting warmth. It explained why he knew about my underwear. I couldn’t believe he would go out on a limb for me like that.
I wanted so much to kiss him at that moment.
His mouth dropped open, like he heard something totally unexpected. Problem was, I didn’t say anything.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said. “Thank you.”
“I wanted to do it. You have no idea how much I’ve wanted—”
My cell phone rang. He motioned for me to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Katherine Godfrey? This is Detective Paxton.”
“Detective Paxton,” I repeated, for Jay’s sake. “Hi. I was told you wanted to talk to me.”
“I’m at your desk, is now convenient for you?”
“Yes, please give me five minutes.” I hung up the phone and wanted to scream.
Jay squeezed my hand. “You’re going to do fine. Give him short answers, yes or no. Don’t elaborate.”
“Right.” I took a deep breath and stood. “It’s going to be okay, isn’t it?”
I was pleasantly surprised with another hug, this one as warm as the first. “Everything will be all right,” he said, as he stroked my hair.
It was exactly what I needed to hear, though I wasn’t entirely sure I believed it. I loved that he knew that, he knew just what to say to me. Of all the geeks in the world, why did this one already have to be married?
“Thanks again,” I said, as I pulled away from him.
“Do you want me to go back with you?”
“No, it’s fine.
I’ll call you if I need you.”
“Please do,” he said with a sincerity that took my breath away. “I’m here for you.”
I smiled in response and we parted ways, his office the opposite direction of mine from the cafeteria.
The closer I got to my office, the more nervous I became. What if I totally fuck up the interview? I could get arrested for murder. I hid behind the large ficus across the hall from my office door. How I wish I had some of Viola’s confidence to get me through this. Just seeing her, talking to her would be… I closed my eyes for only a second, and opened them to find myself stumbling on to my couch in my apartment.
Chapter 6
What. The. Fuck.
Viola was channel surfing on the couch. “Hey, nice of you to pop in.”
“What… But I was just… How did that happen?”
“Pretty sure we can all teleport. Comes with the flies,” she sang, and then popped a kernel of popcorn into her mouth. “You all right? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
“Yes, yes I am.” I took a deep breath and resolved to deal with the revelation of teleportation abilities later. “I was thinking about you…”
“You were?” She grinned playfully.
“There’s a detective that wants to talk to me. Like now, actually.” I held my arms against my chest. “And I’m kinda freaking out here.”
“Why? They’ve got nothing on you.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” I said. “This morning on the drive in, I remembered my underwear. It was torn off in the struggle.”
Vi dug into her purse and produced the mangled panties. “You mean these?”
I gasped. “How did you get them?”
“Well when I went back to get your car, I remembered how that dick was, with his pants down and everything. Doesn’t exactly jive with the whole heart attack scenario. So I dressed him, which was totally gross by the way, and looked around to make sure nothing else was out of place. That’s when I found your underwear.”
I did a little happy dance and gave Vi a great big hug. “You’re a lifesaver! What did I do to deserve your friendship?”
“I got your back, babe,” she said.