Buck

by Tasha Black

  “How can I possibly promise something like that?” Bea asked.

  “You need to tie this film in with something bigger, something way bigger,” he said.

  “Like what?”

  “Set your sights on the stars,” Dirk said significantly, then leaned back in his chair to watch her reaction.

  Beatrix’s mouth fell open slightly as she tried to figure out how he’d put it together that Buck was an alien.

  They had been so careful.

  “I mean me, of course,” Dirk added, winking at her.

  Oh.

  Oh.

  “Y-you would be willing to be in this movie?” Bea stammered. “Despite what Carson is doing?”

  “I’d be delighted,” Dirk said. “Like I said, I love the book.”

  “Thank you so much,” Beatrix said. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me.

  “It’s my pleasure, Beatrix,” he said. “If I don’t use my star power for good, what’s the point of having it?”

  “It’s amazing to meet someone whose work I’ve admired on screen for such a long time,” Bea said. “And it’s truly amazing to realize that you are an even bigger hero off the screen than you are on it.”

  “God, I wish you would write that down so I could put it on my blog,” Dirk said. “Now let’s eat before that kid comes back and asks us how the food is.”

  As they dug into their meal, Bea was starting to feel like she could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

  15

  Buck

  Buck sat beside the other gladiators in the gymnasium in the wing next to the main hall of the convention center. He drank water out of a plastic mug that said Intergalactic Gladiators ROCK and tried to soothe his jangled nerves.

  In spite of a powerful lunchtime workout, he was still filled with restless energy at the thought of Beatrix being out for a private meal with Dirk Malcolm.

  “Let’s hit it again,” Adam said.

  They all got up and grabbed their weapons.

  “Simple swordplay - thrust and block, you guys know what to do,” Adam shouted.

  This exercise was among Buck’s favorites. It was a precision drill, not a stamina exercise, so the gladiators often gossiped during it since they weren’t winded.

  “So, how’s Tiffany?” Angel asked Adam, waggling her eyebrows as she thrust her staff at him.

  Angel was one of the largest gladiators. She was even taller than Buck and her muscles rippled as she worked, sending her long pink hair back over the cherub wing tattoos on her shoulders.

  “Meh,” Adam replied, blocking her with a grunt.

  “What happened?” Angel asked.

  “I don’t really know, but I saw her hanging out with Jason Washington,” Adam said.

  “The guy from that TV show?” Angel asked.

  Adam nodded.

  “Damn,” Alex said as he thrust his guitar sword at Buck. “It’s nice to be beefcake, but it’s the scrawny big-time actors who get all the girls.”

  Buck blocked Alex’s sword and thrust his own.

  “Is Dirk Malcolm a big-time actor?” he asked as casually as he knew how.

  “Oh, he’s the worst,” Angel said immediately.

  “He is like the worst one,” Adam agreed. “Lock up your girlfriend when he comes around, for sure.”

  “Not to change the subject, but you guys are coming to my party, right?” Alex asked, thrusting at Buck.

  Buck nearly missed the block, still thinking about Dirk Malcolm being the worst.

  “You okay, dude?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah, fine,” Buck replied. “What party?”

  “Oh-ho, just you wait, it’s going to be epic,” Alex said. “And you’re totally coming.”

  The last thing Buck wanted to think about was a party.

  “I don’t even have a car or anything,” he said.

  “I’ll give you a ride,” Angel offered. “You don’t want to miss this. There’s always a party the night before the tournament. And Alex makes parfait jello shots.”

  The others made noises of excitement.

  But Buck had a sudden thought.

  The movies had taught him something about women. He had already shared his wisdom with his brother, Kirk, with excellent results. The wisdom boiled down to this:

  There were three ways to make a woman realize how much she liked you.

  The first was with flowers.

  The second was giving her space - that was what Kirk had done to win over Kate.

  The third thing was to make her jealous by letting her see you with another woman.

  Buck stole an appraising gaze at Angel.

  She was truly a magnificent woman - strong, enthusiastic, with glossy pink hair and intricate tattoos. She was even large enough that Buck felt being seen with her might be almost as good as being seen with several smaller women.

  So long as there was no misunderstanding on Angel’s part about his intentions, Buck felt that Angel was the perfect woman to make Beatrix experience a wave of jealousy that would bring her to her senses.

  “I’d love a ride as long as it doesn’t cause you trouble,” he told Angel. “My girlfriend is busy tonight so she can’t come.”

  He hoped that mentioning a girlfriend would make his intentions clear.

  “No problem,” Angel said, thrusting mightily at Adam. “Just write down your address for me before you go. And if your girlfriend’s plans change we’ll bring her along. She’ll love Alex’s party - everyone does.”

  “Thank you,” Buck said.

  “Don’t mention it,” Angel replied, blocking Adam so hard that he nearly fell over.

  “Nice one,” Adam said.

  Angel really was an incredible woman.

  He hoped Beatrix wouldn’t be too jealous.

  16

  Buck

  Buck stood between his two brothers in the bedroom he and Solo shared. Kirk was now spending his nights in Kate’s room, which made Buck both happy and envious.

  The view over Baltimore’s Inner Harbor was stunning, but he could hardly enjoy it when his brothers were unhappy with him.

  “Why would you do this?” Kirk asked.

  “It’s only a ride to a party,” Buck said. “I’m not getting married.”

  “But it seems unsporting to attend a party with another woman when you and Bea have been growing closer,” Solo said with a frown.

  “She went to lunch with Dirk Malcolm alone,” Buck pointed out for the third time.

  “You keep saying that,” Kirk said. “But how do you know it was romantic?”

  “He wanted to have lunch with her privately,” Buck said. “Why would he need to be alone with her if it’s not romantic?”

  “That is not good,” Kirk agreed.

  “What about her movie?” Solo asked.

  “If he wanted to talk about the movie, would he have cared if I was there?” Buck asked. “He said he wanted to talk shop alone with her, but his eyes said he wanted something different.”

  “Beatrix is a woman of character,” Solo declared. “No matter what he wanted, you can be sure she did not give it to him.”

  Buck felt the truth of this. But he also remembered the look on her face that night they had all watched that Dirk Malcolm movie in the car.

  He paced alongside the big window of their room, clenching his fists.

  “He’s thinking of Bea’s crush,” Kirk told Solo quietly.

  “What are you talking about?” Solo asked.

  “What if it’s not just a crush?” Buck asked.

  “When we were in the car, watching the movie, do you remember how the women were teasing Bea about the alien in the movie?” Kirk asked Solo.

  “Is that what they meant?” Solo sounded surprised.

  Buck felt momentarily sorry for his brother, Solo, who understood so few of the humans’ subtleties. He hoped that more time among them would ease his transition.

  “Buck, a teenaged crush and the love of a mate are two ve
ry different things,” Kirk pointed out. “If you are concerned that Bea has feelings for this man, the best thing to do is to talk to her about it.”

  “I’m afraid of what she will say,” Buck admitted. “But if I let her feelings tell her what she wants then she will know she is meant to be mine.”

  “Is this your three-things-about-women business again?” Solo asked. “Why don’t you just buy her some flowers?”

  “Or give her a little space?” Kirk suggested.

  “No,” Buck said. “I have felt this jealousy emotion and I know it will bring her to her senses. Besides, I promised the gladiators that I would attend their party.”

  “I hope it works,” Solo said thoughtfully.

  “Why? Are you thinking of trying it on Cecily?” Kirk asked, looking unhappy.

  “No,” Solo said with a dreamy expression. “Cecily will require no tricks. She already loves me. She just hasn’t noticed yet.”

  In spite of his predicament, Buck found himself laughing.

  He was happy when Kirk and even Solo joined in.

  They were doing their best. Surely Bea and Cecily would realize that he and Solo would be loyal and protective - the perfect mates.

  Bea just needed a little nudge.

  “So what is a person supposed to wear to a party?” he asked his brothers.

  “Your finest clothes,” Solo said immediately.

  “What kind of party?” Kirk asked.

  Buck considered. “There will be parfait jello shots,” he offered.

  “What are those?” Kirk asked.

  “I have no idea,” Buck admitted.

  “They sound fancy,” Kirk worried.

  “We don’t have fancy clothes,” Buck said.

  “Well, Dr. Bhimani did give us that money for an emergency,” Solo said. “Maybe we can use some of it for your clothing.”

  “Good thinking,” Kirk agreed.

  The other two watched as he slipped an envelope with Dr. Bhimani’s looping handwriting on it out of his duffel and slid it into his pocket.

  “Let’s do this,” he said, pleased by his effortless use of the Earth expression.

  They slipped out of the room and through the common living room.

  “Where are you guys going?” Kate asked from her place on the sofa next to Cecily.

  “Oh, just a little shopping,” Kirk told her. “Can we bring anything back for you?”

  “I’m fine,” Kate replied.

  “I’m fine, too,” Cecily said. “Bea’s in the shower, I’ll let her know where you went when she gets out.”

  Buck felt a momentary pang, but held fast.

  He was doing what he had to do to get into her heart forever.

  17

  Beatrix

  Bea sat on the sofa, drawing butterflies again.

  She’d been drawing them absentmindedly ever since having that crazy dream. This batch was in colored pencil, and she was getting good enough they looked like they could practically float off the page.

  Cecily sat beside her, stitching more scales onto the costume she’d been working on.

  Katie was curled up with her laptop reading the gossip columns out loud to them. So far there was no mention of Carson.

  What they were all really doing was trying to pass the time with the boys out of the house.

  As far as Bea could remember, they had never gone anywhere without one of the women since their arrival. She hadn’t even known they had money to shop with.

  “Rumor has it a certain comic book author and her child star ingénue are running into money troubles with their pet project,” Kate read. “They say funding is in the works. But word on the street is that a big guy with a big grudge has pulled his support. Better pinch your pennies, girls, money’s gonna be tight.”

  “Well, there’s your answer,” Cecily said.

  “It doesn’t say he’s actively blackballing me,” Bea pointed out.

  “It can’t say that,” Kate said. “Even in this vague form they can’t risk being sued for libel.”

  Bea’s heart sank. Kate was right, of course. And Dirk had no reason to lie to her anyway.

  The sound of the guys at the door made her smile in spite of herself.

  It was funny how just knowing Buck was near made it easier to deal with the roadblocks to her career.

  The guys came in, Kirk followed by Solo.

  Then Buck.

  He wore his usual jeans but with a white Oxford shirt and tie and a navy-blue blazer. His too-long hair was slicked back with gel.

  “Wow,” Bea said. “You look great.”

  Buck grinned, then he straightened his face into a more serious expression. “I am going to a party,” he said.

  “Oh,” Bea said. “What party?”

  “The Intergalactic Gladiators invited me,” he said. “There will be parfait jello shots. I’m going with Angel. She’s going to pick me up in a few minutes.”

  Bea felt a pang of hurt. Why would he go to a party without her? She hadn’t even had the chance to tell him about her lunch with Dirk.

  And she didn’t like the sound of this woman, Angel. When had Buck had a chance to meet another woman? And hadn’t he told Bea that he loved her?

  Maybe love meant something different to an alien.

  To Bea it meant forever.

  She stared at him, unable to respond.

  Cecily put a hand on her knee.

  “Hey, Bea didn’t get to tell you what happened at lunch today,” Kate said brightly.

  “That’s true,” Buck said. “But Dirk Malcolm wanted to speak to her privately, so she may not want to share what was said.”

  “Oh, no, it’s fine,” Bea said. “It’s great news, actually. He agreed to be in the movie.”

  She only wished her voice didn’t sound so small and sad.

  To her surprise, Buck didn’t even congratulate her. He merely nodded, his mouth a narrow line.

  The doorbell rang before anything more could be said.

  Solo turned and opened it.

  An enormous woman stood on the other side.

  “Hey,” she called out. “Is Buck here?”

  “Yes, I’m here, Angel, please come in,” Buck said.

  Bea swore the woman had to duck to get in the door.

  “Hi guys,” Angel said, looking around with a big smile. “Nice place.”

  “Thanks,” Kate told her. “We hear you guys are going to a party.”

  “Yeah, Buck’s going to have the night of his life, right, big guy?” Angel asked Buck, tossing her silky pink mane over her shoulder.

  He grinned back at her.

  Beatrix balled her hands into fists and managed not to scream.

  “Anyone else want to join us?” Angel asked, looking around.

  “No, we’re fine,” Bea managed.

  “Well, we’ve gotta fly then,” Angel said. “Nice seeing you all.”

  When Angel turned around, Bea could see the wings tattooed on her shoulder blades peeking out of the tiny tank top she wore.

  “Good-bye,” Buck said.

  Bea couldn’t even look at him.

  The door shut behind him and the five remaining friends sat in utter silence for a moment.

  “I think we need a girls’ night,” Cecily said suddenly.

  “Which type?” Solo asked.

  Everyone looked at him.

  “The type where you go out and drink wine and yell?” he asked. “Or the type where you put your hair in curlers and talk about boys?”

  “The eighties were kind of a rough time for women in movies,” Cecily observed. “But if we have to choose, I think we’ll have the drinking kind.”

  “Tell you what,” Kirk said. “Why don’t you order in? There’s wine in the kitchen. I think I’m going to catch up to those guys and take Angel up on her offer to bring us along. I want to keep an eye on Buck. What do you say, Solo?”

  “This is a wise plan,” Solo declared. “Enjoy your girls’ night.”

  The
two took off in hot pursuit of Buck.

  “You heard him, there’s wine in the kitchen,” Kate said, hopping up and heading for the refreshments.

  “I’ll order a pizza on my phone,” Cecily said. “Does that sound okay?”

  “Sure,” Bea said, thankful that her friends were there to keep her company on this long and confusing night.

  Kate returned from the kitchen with three wine glasses and a bottle just as Cecily put her phone down.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Kate asked Bea gently.

  “I’ll be fine,” Bea said. “It’s just freaking typical.”

  Kate looked to Cecily and back to Bea again.

  “Um, nothing about what just happened was typical,” she replied.

  Cecily giggled and Kate giggled too.

  “Well, it might not have been typical,” Bea allowed. “But it was awful.”

  “Have you ever seen such an enormous woman?” Cecily said wonderingly. “I wonder how many scales I’d need if I wanted to make a costume for her.”

  “You know, not everyone is hung up on traditional body types,” Bea said. “I happen to think she was gorgeous.”

  “Yes, she is, and she’s twice the woman you are,” Kate said, bursting into giggles.

  Cecily laughed too.

  “I’m with you on the body type thing, Bea,” Cecily giggled. “But you have to admit that’s a good joke. You know? Because you’re so tiny, and she’s so tall.”

  Cecily melted into helpless laughter.

  “Besides, I don’t even think she’s into him like that,” Kate said. “Seriously, did you see the way she was eyeing up Cecily?”

  “Oh, no,” Cecily said immediately. “That’s just my shoulders. She was probably only checking me out for gladiator purposes. I spent all of college fending off a roller derby team. Apparently, I have wide fighting shoulders.”

  Beatrix began to laugh in spite of herself.

  “Oh, that made you laugh, huh, Miss Body Issues?” Cecily pretended to be offended but she was grinning.

  “Thank you,” Bea said. “Really, I don’t know what I would do without you guys.”