by J. Judkins
No more showers! I am done!
Kim veered off into her bedroom and simply stood there, her mind in turmoil. She stared at the towel in her hand, frowning at it as if she’d never seen one before.
Angel walked in, drying herself off with her own towel. "What’s wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing. Nothing at all. Everything is just peachy.” Kim tossed the towel aside.
"You’re wet," observed Angel.
Kim spun to face her. "What?"
Angel was looking at the growing puddle of water collecting at Kim’s feet. "I said, you’re wet. You’re dripping water everywhere."
"Really?” retorted Kim. “That’s hardly my fault. If I’m wet, it’s only because we were--" she began, then stopped. There was no way for her to finish that sentence that wouldn’t involve a loss of sanity. Kim’s brain locked up and skidded off the tracks. There was a lot of internal screaming only she could hear. There were no survivors.
She abruptly sat down. Fortunately, she hit the bed. Unfortunately, she promptly slid off the bed and hit the floor. Hard.
“Ouch,” said Kim.
"I’ll dry you off," said Angel.
When Kim didn’t object, agree, or even respond, Angel proceeded to follow through on her threat. Starting with her breasts, Kim noticed. Or tried not to notice.
Angel dried her methodically, never hesitating, not embarrassed in the slightest, and once again Kim was subjected to a quasi-sexual experience she felt ill-equipped to handle.
As it progressed, Kim kept thinking Angel would back off and wouldn’t go that far and attempt to dry her everywhere. When it became unmistakably clear Angel had no intention of stopping and was about to do exactly that, Kim finally came alive and took the towel away from her.
Kim bunched Angel’s towel in front of her, trying to salvage her dignity while at the same time wondering if there was any left to salvage. “Thank you,” she murmured.
"You’re welcome."
Mercifully, Angel went away. Kim remained seated on the floor clutching her towel, her back resting against the bed. As Angel’s footsteps receded, Kim groaned, wondering what was wrong with her.
Chapter Six
Kim rose from her bed early in the morning with all the grace and poise of a freshly risen zombie. She stumbled into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and then shambled her way down the hall, her only purpose to consume a life-sustaining draught of caffeine.
As she reached the living room, Kim once again paused at the sight of the blondish alien lying on her couch. As before, Angel had decided not to wear anything to bed and had kicked off the covers.
Now fully awake and flush with embarrassment, Kim hurried on to the kitchen. She threw herself into her own unique version of cooking, reheating leftover bacon in the microwave and preparing toast with a choice of strawberry or grape jelly. Considering breakfast usually consisted of whatever remained of dinner the night before, this was variety.
When Angel walked in a few minutes later, Kim realized she’d been half expecting her to walk in naked and was relieved that she hadn’t. Her presence caused the memories of last night to jump to the forefront of her mind.
She grimaced, trying to come up with something else to think about. Mornings were supposed to be a time to relax, not a time for dwelling on the mistakes of the previous day.
Angel took her now customary place at the table. “Why did you take me home with you that first night?”
Kim placed Angel’s food before her and sat down opposite her with her own plate. “That’s a bit complex.”
“You don’t wish to explain, because you’re shy?”
Kim hesitated. The truth was, she didn’t have a clue what she could say that Angel would accept. The night she first met her, she’d been caught up in the novelty of meeting someone extraordinary and invited her home almost on impulse. Given time, Kim didn’t doubt she could think of a good reason that Angel would accept, but not on the spur of the moment. Especially not an early-in-the-morning spur of the moment. She wasn’t at her best in the morning.
“Isn’t there something else you’d rather talk about?” Kim asked, avoiding the question.
“Our date?”
Kim winced. “Something else?”
“Where do you go to work, and what do you do there?”
Kim wasn’t particularly fond of that subject, either, but it was better than the alternative. Her job was boring, dull, and soul-draining, but also easy. A bit of a curse, actually. Because she had so much free time to read books between assignments, she could never muster the willpower to find a better job on her days off.
Kim relayed this to Angel in bits and pieces, responding to direct questions and trying to suppress how uncomfortable she felt talking about herself. Even discussing a subject as mundane as work, she didn’t like sharing information. It went against her antisocial and self-centered nature.
“They let you bring books and read?”
“There’s a lot of downtime between scrambling to finish things, so yeah. I’m one of three people that likes to read in our office. Everyone else would rather socialize.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I started reading some of yours.”
Kim perked up without realizing it. “I saw that yesterday. What were you reading?”
As they talked, Kim began to realize she was enjoying the conversation. This was something extraordinary for her, as other people typically bored her. It wasn’t simply because the subject matter was books, but instead it was Angel herself. She sounded genuinely interested in Kim’s opinions and what she had to say.
If it had been anyone else besides Angel, a woman Kim suspected of being an alien, she wouldn’t have cared.
Kim wanted to shift the conversation to Angel’s history, but couldn’t find a way to do it. How do you ask someone about the details of their life when they claim to have forgotten everything? She couldn’t ask about Angel’s tourist job because it was obviously fake, and didn’t want to talk about their date. She definitely didn’t want to mention the shower or anything that happened afterwards.
Angel paused to fold her bacon and toast into a sandwich. Kim burst into laughter.
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m sorry. No one eats bacon and toast that way. I deliberately did it wrong the other morning just to tease you.”
Angel gave a passable imitation of Kim’s own irritated glower. “I’m not used to your culture,” she said, sounding defensive.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I’m not offended.”
Kim relaxed. She raised her glass and took another sip.
“Occasional teasing is normal amongst couples living together,” Angel said, then watched in curiosity as Kim tried not to choke to death on her orange juice.
“I need to go to work,” Kim rasped, once she could breathe again.
That pretty much ended the conversation. Angel escorted Kim to the front door and sent her on her way.
Kim still had questions she wanted to ask as she walked to her garage, but now all of them consisted of variants of “what the hell?”
This wasn’t how aliens were supposed to act. She expected Angel to be sneaking around doing alien things, building alien devices, hatching alien plots meant to pave the way for alien invasion for an ever-expanding evil alien empire. Certainly not this. Did Angel think they were dating, that Kim wanted a girlfriend that night and now they were a couple?
What! The! Hell!
Chapter Seven
It was just after lunchtime and Kim was in the zone, as it were, sorting data from this pile to that, when she detected a subtle shift in the constant, ambient, workplace noise. She glanced over to see what was different, and there was Angel, easily recognizable with her stunning, light-blonde hair, looking about as if searching the room.
Kim ducked away behind the shelter of the cubicle wall, her heart in her throat.
What is Angel doing here? Is she here to see me?
; Kim’s mind flashed back to earlier that morning. She now recalled telling Angel everything she needed to know about her at breakfast. Where she worked, what she did, all of it. And now, for some reason, Angel had decided on her own to come visit her!
Kim considered laying low and never coming out until Angel went away.
If she can’t find me, she’ll give up, right?
She risked another glance. Angel was making a beeline to Marsha, the self-important receptionist and queen of office gossip. Kim could imagine nothing worse. The only way to spread personal information faster would be to make an announcement on the intercom system.
Kim tried to gather what determination she could. If she could call out, or make herself stand up, she could stop Angel before it was too late. There were only seconds left to act. It had to be now, or all was lost.
But she couldn’t. It was beyond her. Marsha’s desk was two cubicle spaces away, barely ten seconds at a crawl, but it might as well be on the other side of the world for all she could do about it. Kim had lived her entire life below the radar, and it wasn’t in her nature to call attention to herself. If she said something or called out, people would see.
Despair gripped her. It clenched her heart and wouldn’t let go.
So this is it. My life is effectively over. Somebody should just push me over and bury me.
“Are you a personal friend of Kim’s?” Angel was asking.
“Yes, I’m her friend,” Marsha lied. “I’ve known her for years. Did you have a question?”
“I’m her friend, too, but I’m curious. What does she like to do?”
If Angel had asked any other person, that person might have hesitated before divulging personal, private information. But this was Marsha, and there was no hesitation. Not for an instant. “Anything geek related, I’d say. Movies, video games, but mostly books.”
Kim growled inaudibly. That settled it! She had finally reached her limit! With fiery resolve she rose to her feet determined to stop them, then sat back down again in abject misery.
“I don’t read very much myself,” Marsha continued unmercifully. “Is there a reason you want to know?”
“Yes, there is. What other hobbies does she enjoy?”
Marsha glanced over at Kim. Their eyes met. Rather than stop the conversation in embarrassment from having been caught, Marsha instead leaned forward to give her answer to Angel in a confidential whisper.
This couldn’t be tolerated. Kim reached her limit again. She stood, bracing herself against the cubicle wall. The entire structure shifted and sagged, then collapsed against her weight.
Angel turned at the sound. “Kim!” she called, “I was looking for you. You were supposed to meet me for lunch today. I waited for you at the house, and when you didn’t arrive, I grew concerned.”
Marsha perked up at once. "Oh? Are you staying with Kim?"
“Yes,” answered Angel.
“Ah, she’s my roommate. Marsha, this is Angel. Angel, Marsha. She’s only staying for a little while,” Kim lied.
This had a profound effect on Angel. Her eyes widened. “You don’t want me to stay?”
“No, I do want you to stay. It was just a figure of speech. I want you to stay as long as you like.”
“Thank you.”
“How long have the two of you been together?” asked Marsha. She grinned evilly, smelling blood in the water.
Kim tried to laugh it off. “Oh, quite a while now,” she replied, not thinking it through. She’d chosen that particular answer because it was literally the opposite of the truth.
Marsha ignored Kim’s answer. "Angel? You wanted to say something?" she pressed.
Angel looked hopelessly confused. She looked to Marsha then back to Kim and back again before answering. “This is true. We’ve been together quite a while now.”
“Really? Together, as in, living together?”
“Just living. In the same house. Nothing unusual!” cried Kim, and then realized with a start she’d been all but yelling at Marsha from her cubicle. Through an effort of will, she forced her legs to obey her and hurried to Marsha’s desk. She didn’t dare look to see how many co-workers were watching the show. If she knew the truth, she’d freeze up in an instant.
“Yes. It is nothing unusual,” Angel answered Marsha.
Marsha’s grin became wide enough to swallow and devour a whole rabbit. “This is unlike you, Kimmie, bringing someone home. You know I’d never dream of prying into your personal life, but I don’t understand. Why does it embarrass you so much, if she’s only staying with you?”
Kim seized up once again. She still didn’t have a lie prepared, and she couldn’t tell Marsha the truth about Angel’s hidden origins.
Marsha turned to Angel. “Are the two of you dating?”
“We’ve only been on one date.”
Kim snapped out of her paralysis with a jolt. "Angel! Don’t tell her that!"
“Anything juicy?” continued Marsha.
“I don’t understand.”
“Did anything happen on your date?”
“We had dinner. There was ice cream. Afterwards, we took a shower--"
“Separately!” Kim shrieked quietly.
“We went to sleep--”
“Separately!”
“--on the couch,” Angel finished. “Alone, as Kim has said. I know it is not customary to shower together until after a relationship has been established.”
That statement would have thrown Kim completely off her stride if she weren’t already completely off her stride to begin with. One hand reached out to steady herself against Marsha’s desk as she stared at Angel in horror and astonishment.
The implications staggered her mentally and physically. Angel knew? Angel had known all this time, and had been playing along?
“It is nothing unusual,” continued Angel. “I am merely staying at her house.”
“But aren’t those Kimmie’s clothes you’re wearing?”
The inner Kim freaked. Don’t say anything!
“These clothes are mine,” said Angel.
Kim relaxed.
"I am wearing her panties, though."
"Ahh, what?" Kim cried.
Marsha turned her eyes to Kim’s, smirking. "Is she, now?” she stated, drawing out the words in a sibilant whisper.
"Angel means she didn’t have any of her own," Kim explained badly.
"And why wouldn’t she have panties of her own?"
"On the night we first met, I--" began Angel.
"This conversation is over. We’re leaving."
"Oh? That’s too bad. It was nice meeting you, Angel. What did you say your last name was?"
“She didn’t,” Kim told her. “Stop being so nosy. You should mind your own business.”
“But you’re my friend, Kimmie,” Marsha pouted, her voice dripping with false sincerity. “I’m only looking out for you.”
“There is nothing unusual about me,” said Angel. “Your fears are unjustified.”
Marsha blinked. “Fears?”
“We’re leaving now,” Kim told Angel. She seized her hand and all but dragged her out of the room, fully aware of the looks she was getting and doing her best to ignore them.
Chapter Eight
The rest of the work day had been hell.
No one said anything to her. They didn’t have to. Within the hour, everyone at work had heard Marsha’s embellished work of fiction. By the end of the day, everyone knew everything there was to know about Kim’s hot, new girlfriend. Kim didn’t doubt this included all the workers with the day off and those currently on vacation and likely their friends and family.
She didn’t have to hear the rumors herself to know they were being told. No one asked her for any sort of clarification or went looking for her side of the story. No, the reality of what happened was far worse. One by one, they came by to look in on her and smile at her!
‘Looks like Kim finally found someone’, Kim knew they were saying, ‘good for her!’<
br />
Not that she had a good counter argument to defend herself, but no one even bothered to ask her for one.
With no way to stop them, Kim sat in her cubicle and fumed. While it could be argued they’d been on one date, that didn’t mean they were actively dating each other. The word dating implied more than one.
Kim thought the shower thing meant literally nothing to Angel. As for the date, she knew for a fact Angel knew nothing about it until Stacy suggested it and Kim didn’t deny it. Angel’s behavior changed from indifferent to girlfriend-ish in an instant.
Surely Angel only acted that way because she believed Kim expected her to act that way.
As for the second shower, Kim thought Angel was indifferent to that one, as well. Turns out she’d been wrong about that one, too. Angel had been fully aware people didn’t normally take showers together without being involved with each other. She knew, but went along with it anyway.
But why? Did Angel want to do it? Was she still indifferent, but doing it because she didn’t see a reason to change her behavior? Kim never would have taken a shower with her if she had a clue Angel knew what it could mean.
What if Angel were only acting romantically interested as a way to blend in? That would make more sense. Angel thought the best way to avoid detection was to shack up with the first local she found, male or female. Nothing personal about it. She needed a place to stay, and the best way to do so was by forming a relationship of sorts. Kim was simply the first one she’d met.
Lucky her.
Okay, technically Kim was the second one Angel met. The first was a jerk in desperate need of a pummeling, apparently.
As for Angel herself, either she was playing the role of a girlfriend that wanted her body or she actually did lust after her body. In either case, Kim needed more information. She had to prepare for anything.
Four-thirty took a small eternity to arrive. When it did, Kim couldn’t clock out fast enough. She practically sprinted to her car to make her escape. Everyone probably thought she couldn’t wait to get home to her hot, sexy girlfriend, but she didn’t care. She was beyond caring. Let them think what they wanted.