by Magan Vernon
“Uh, Ace was just telling me," I stammered, my eyes darting around like my excuse would be somewhere in the room.
Ace put his glove back on, not even saying a word. He just grinned from ear to ear.
“Yeah, yeah, from what I saw it didn’t look like talking." She looked from Ace to me, before looping her arm through mine.
“So, I guess Alex asked if you and your friends wanted to stop by the bowling alley near the reservation?" Jen stared at Ace and he tried everything not to look at us.
“Well, no, I didn’t actually ask him." I looked at Ace and felt that same electricity running through me without even touching him. “But if you’re not doing anything, the interns are going out to the bowling alley. If you have nothing better to do tonight. Which I’m sure you do.”
“Yeah." Ace sat down in his chair, acting like he was looking up something on the screen. “I might stop by if I’m not too busy here. Have fun though.”
His words stung me more than I wanted. I thought I saw something in his eyes that said he wanted to be with me as much as I had longed to be with him. But as soon as Jen walked in the room he acted as if nothing happened, as if nothing that was said between us was real.
Following Jen into the hall, I tried to hide my longing, but I couldn't stop myself from peeking back through the closing door. The door was like a metaphor for our relationship, each of us tried to open it, but every time we got close, it just closed again. I wished that Jen would have just waited a few moments before interrupting us, because I wasn't even sure if I would be able to open Ace's door again.
Chapter 11
“Those humans have been here a few weeks and they get clearance to take out a Jeep, but I’ve been here for centuries and never once got to take out so much as a riding lawn mower," a small orange alien with long inky black hair and a face like a pug whined.
The bored-looking guy sitting behind the desk in the hangar rolled his eyes. “Snurf, you know why you don’t have clearance.”
“That was the Middle Ages! And come on, you know everyone agreed Earth needed some sort of a plague!" It stomped its pig-like feet.
I leaned over toward Jen and whispered, “did it really do that?”
Jen shrugged and whispered back, “Wouldn’t put it past a girl from Venus. They aren’t known for their class.”
“Alright, Mr. James, it looks like you are all set. Just make sure to have the vehicle back by midnight." The desk guy handed a set of keys to Malcolm, ignoring the steam that was rising from Snurf’s overly teased hair.
Gavin came up behind me and pressed his lips to my ear. "We'd better go before she explodes."
Obviously Gavin had forgotten, or had chosen to ignore our interaction only a few nights ago, and was still trying his hardest to make an impact on me. As we approached the big green vehicle we heard the clunking of heels behind us. I was afraid that it was Snurf coming after us, but when I turned around, I saw she was the least of my worries.
“Hey, sorry, I got sidetracked reading an article, but I'm here now!" The last person I expected or wanted to see was coming toward the vehicle. Riley. She climbed in the front seat like it was some sort of throne and didn't even look at the rest of us.
“Uh, are there enough seats for all of us?" I looked up to the small backseat then back down to Gavin, Jen, and Justin.
“Well, I'm not sitting in the back," Riley quipped and buckled her seat belt. "And it looks like we are all—" she stopped to smirk in my direction. "—well, most of us are twenty-one and should be able to get in without a problem. If anyone needs to stay back, it should be the underagers."
I was about to turn around and head back to my room when I felt Gavin’s hand on my shoulder. “It’s fine. We can squeeze in.” He looked down at me, smiling. “The girls can sit on our laps if they need to."
Gavin’s arms slipped around me as Malcolm started up the Jeep and headed out of the hangar. I wished that it had been Ace’s arms around me instead, and I couldn’t help let my mind wander back to our second almost-kiss in the security office. I really hoped that he would be waiting for me at our destination.
The bowling alley was about thirty miles from the base in some small town with a population of 200 and one stop sign. Each house looked more worn down than the next and in the middle of town sat the bowling alley. It looked more like someone had thrown up a rickety shack in the middle of a few houses. The only light came from some candy-colored signs in the windows. I tried to ignore the moldy smell in the air as we walked past the mixture of locals in cowboy hats leaning against the wood-paneled bar or teetering on snakeskin-upholstered stools.
“Alright, I need a drink." Riley sauntered over to the bartender, an overweight redhead who was missing so many teeth I wondered how she was able to talk.
“So, do you want to bowl?" Gavin looked over at me.
“Of course she wants to bowl." Jen nudged me. “She needs some good ol’ human activities.”
Gavin forced a smile, gritting through his teeth like he was struggling to speak. “Great, I’ll go get us some shoes if you girls go pick out a lane.” He didn't even paying attention to Jen, just stared at me. “What size are you?”
“Seven,” I blurted, staring down at the sticky floor.
“Same,” Jen said before Gavin turned toward the shag carpet-lined shoe counter.
“I thought you had obnoxiously large feet,” Jen whispered. We walked over to the six lane bowling area, complete with seventies Coca-Cola ads and orange carpet that felt like sandpaper.
“I do, but I didn’t want him to know that," I whispered back, not looking at Jen as I searched the lanes, hoping to see Ace or at least someone else from Circe, but there wasn’t anyone I recognized except for the people I rode in with.
“What are you looking for, brown eyes?" Justin asked as he and Malcolm approached, handing Jen a drink.
“I think she’s hoping to see someone of a different race here, and I’m not talking about Malcolm." Jen winked before taking a sip of her drink.
“You’re not talking about that alien you work with, are you?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.
“Hey, what’s up? You all aren’t talking about me, are you?" Gavin asked as he and Riley walked down to the bowling area.
“I guess only if you’re tall, dark, and not from this planet." Justin laughed, slamming the rest of his drink.
Riley rolled her eyes. “Can we just spend one night not talking about those things? It’s bad enough we have to spend all day working with them. I thought by taking this internship I would get some great research for my thesis on Mars' plant life, but having to work alongside those bugs has made me really wish I had just taken an internship back in Philly.” She shivered, shaking her head as she knocked around a few ice cubes in her drink with a tiny red straw.
Then she looked directly at me, a smug smile crossing her face. “But I don’t think Alex minds working with the bugs. Do you, Alex?”
I could feel the heat of everyone’s eyes on me. I tried to focus on the wood-paneled walls and ignoring them.
“Oh, come on, guys. We aren’t here to talk about work. Let’s bowl." Jen nudged me before heading toward the rusted metal ball rack.
Everyone else followed, but Gavin slinked in next to me. “Were you really looking around for one of those aliens?" he whispered.
I tried to ignore the pointedness of the question and knew the answer that he wanted wasn't the one that he was going to get.
“Well, I kind of invited Ace.”
Gavin’s eyes widen as his hands closed into a tight fist around his plastic cup.
“But it was just to be nice,” I blurted, trying to cover my tracks. “He was asking me why I was all dressed up, so I told him that we were going out and he could come if he wanted.”
Gavin shook his head, crushing the glass in his white-knuckled fist with a loud pop. “I can’t believe you have to work with that thing all day. You shouldn’t have even brought it up to him. I don’t think h
e even has clearance to leave base,” he spat.
“Why wouldn't he have permission?”
Everyone went silent and I heard a low growl escape Gavin's lips. He leaned in closer. “You really don’t know the kind of guy you’re working with? What that bug has done?”
“Come on, Gavin. Let’s just have some fun. Let's not talk about aliens tonight." Justin swooped in at Gavin's side and put his hand on his shoulder, but Gavin flicked it away. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead as he wiped back his bangs.
“No, if she wants to know, I'll tell her. We don't want her to have another incident like with the Cephlapod." Gavin leaned in even closer. His breath smelled just as sour as the words that were coming out of his mouth.
“That little alien friend of yours isn’t as innocent as he makes himself out to be. Trying to act like he's your guardian when really there should be someone guarding you from him. He’s classified as dangerous and potentially hazardous to humans and other aliens." Gavin’s eyes narrowed.
“That can’t be true." I crossed my arms firmly over my chest. “Why would my dad let me work with him if he was dangerous? Why wasn't I told about this before?”
“They kind of had to let the two of you work together after he killed that Cephalopod who attacked you. Plus, he threatened to take down a whole unit if they didn’t let the two of you work together,” Riley chimed in from behind Gavin. "We only just found out about it ourselves."
I shook my head, turning my back to everyone and looked down at the ball rack. “No, you’re wrong. He was trained in the Air Force; that’s why he’s considered dangerous and potentially hazardous."
Riley pushed her way past Gavin and I looked up at her. "It's funny how soon you forget that an alien attacked you on your first day here and yet you still feel like you need to protect them."
Gavin nodded in Riley's direction and threw his cup in a nearby trashcan. He mumbled something under his breath as he made his way back to the bar. Justin fell in line beside him and whispered something, trying not to look my way.
Riley flipped a stray strand of hair behind her ear, glancing back at the other interns who were pretending not to listen. She locked her eyes back on me and leaned in to whisper, "Look, I didn't realize what I was getting into either when I applied for this internship. But I know one thing is for sure, if you don't stay away from that Ace guy as much as you can, it could end really badly."
"That doesn't make any sense. Why would a whole unit bow down to him like that?" I questioned.
She shrugged. "He's either got some sort of alien mind control or he's just more powerful than either of us realize."
I shook my head. "Riley why are you telling me this? You don't even really like me."
She smirked, wrinkling her little nose. "Of course I like you, Alex. And I don't want anything bad to happen to you or any of the other interns. After all, you are the girl that got attacked for giving a thumbs up on the first day. Wouldn't want something like that to happen again."
"Well, I guess I can understand that."
"Good." Her smirk turned into a weak attempt at a smile "I'm glad we have an understanding. Now let's bowl."
I followed Riley back toward the rest of the group, but couldn't help glancing over my shoulder at the door, still hoping that there was someone else waiting for me. No matter how he was classified.
Chapter 12
The rest of the night went by in a blur. Gavin wouldn't speak to me, and I would catch him glaring at me whenever he got the chance. I didn't understand why he seemed to have so much contempt for aliens, but accepted an internship at an alien operations center.
Jen kept assuring me that it was nothing and he was just jealous and a little buzzed, so I should ignore him and have some fun. But how could I have any fun when I spent the whole night either worried about what Riley and Gavin were whispering or constantly looking toward the door to see if Ace would walk through it?
I tried to ask Malcolm and Justin if what Riley and Gavin said about Ace was true, but they acted just as confused as I was. Justin kept throwing around ideas that were really nothing more than gossip, but I knew that wasn't the answer. No one knew any more about Ace's classification or why he was so persistent to have us work together, but once I got back to Circe I knew exactly where to get my answers.
“We’re going to hang out in the boys' room for awhile and watch some TV. Do you want to come?" Jen asked as we slid out of the Jeep. She and Malcolm probably had the least to drink, but she was still wobbly on her heels. Why a girl as tall as her felt the need to wear heels to a bowling alley was beyond me.
“No, it’s fine. I’m just going to the security office to check my e-mail and then I'll probably head to bed. It’s been a long day." I yawned and stretched my arms over my head, hoping that she wouldn’t catch me in my lie.
“Yeah, I guess it’s been a pretty interesting night for you with all that Ace stuff." She looked over her shoulder at the group of interns talking, and then back at me. “Look, I know what they’re saying about Ace is true, but I don’t think he’d ever hurt you. I think Gavin is just being a jealous boy or whatever.”
I shrugged. “Yeah I’m not too worried about it.”
Really, I was a nervous wreck and wanted to get to the bottom of it. I was hoping that by confronting Ace he wouldn’t try and kill me right then and there, but that was a chance I was willing to take. I knew if I didn't then, it would just mull in my head for the rest of the night and possibly the rest of the week until I got to the bottom of it. If I was really falling for this alien, I needed to know if he was dangerous.
I watched as everyone walked down the hall to the boys' room and waited a few minutes so I knew that they wouldn’t follow me. I had looked in the computer system for where Ace’s room was and knew it might take me awhile to get to the other side of the building.
I walked down blinding white hallway after blinding white hallway, squinting my eyes as I searched for his room. Finally, the temperature dropped so low that I could see my breath, and I knew I was close. I turned to face a metal door that looked like something that would be on a meat locker, a stream of ice billowing from underneath. I knew it was Ace’s room.
I knocked as quietly as I could, hoping with as late as it was I wouldn’t wake up any other aliens. By the third knock he opened the door, rubbing his eyes from sleep as he adjusted to the bright lights of the hallway. My eyes widened like saucers when I saw that he was dressed in nothing more than a pair of black boxer shorts and his gloves, with the rest of his white skin exposed and glowing in the fluorescent light. I tried not to let my eyes wander, but I couldn't help letting them linger along his abdominal line as a warm electric cloud feeling simmered in my belly button. My eyes stopped wandering as they reached the V line where his boxers met his skin, and the electric cloud feeling started traveling down my stomach.
“Alex, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?" He ran a gloved hand through his hair and scanned the hallway.
I tried not to stare at the way the muscles in his arms moved as his fingers grazed his scalp. When did he find time to work out? Or were the muscles from killing people with his bare hands? I shook away my lustful gaze from his hip bones and looked back up to his face. "We need to talk."
He moved out of the doorway and motioned for me to come inside.
I wished I had on my suit. The inside of his room made me feel like I was encased in ice. Temperature aside, it looked like a normal boy’s dorm room with the regulation twin-sized bed and dresser. A dark glow fell over the room as if it were only lit by black lights that glittered against his pale skin. I started to wonder if there was something else hiding in his room besides the regulation furniture and laptop. I stared at the blank walls. Nothing stood out. No pictures or even some kind of a band poster. It was as if he was trying to hide who he was. Or maybe that was just how he wanted to remain, a mystery.
He closed the door behind him “So what do we need to—" He turned toward me
, stopping abruptly. Quickly he crossed the room to stand less than a foot from me.“Alex, you’re freezing. You shouldn’t have come here without your jumpsuit on!"
He reached over and grabbed the black comforter from his bed, wrapping it around my shaking body. He rubbed his hands against my shoulders. My body warmed beneath his touch, but I shook off that sense of comfort and tried to push back my body's urge to follow that feeling the electric cloud left in my stomach.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked.
“Well, you were cold, so I got you a blanket.”
“I don’t mean that." I shoved his arms aside, wrapping the blanket closer around me. I might have been mad, but I wasn’t about to be freezing and mad. “I mean, why are you nice to me all the time? Why do you care so much what I think and go out of your way to save me like you’re my knight in shining armor or something?”
He stepped back, shaking his head as he lifted his palms out in front of him. “Alex, where is this coming from? I thought we were friends?”
“Yeah, well, friends shouldn’t lie to each other or keep big secrets from each other.”
He took a step closer. “Is this about me not going to the bowling alley? I really didn’t think you wanted me to go. Your intern friends hate me.”
“Or did you not go because you don’t have clearance and you're considered dangerous?"
He winced as soon as the words left my mouth. “When you came to my room I certainly wasn’t expecting you to say that." He sighed. “But I guess I should have expected it sooner or later.”
“That really didn’t answer anything." I stepped closer, cautiously, hoping I wouldn’t push the wrong buttons that would make him do something that really was dangerous.
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Alex." His eyes couldn’t meet mine as he leaned from one side to the other.
“Just tell me the truth, Ace. What is your real interest in me? Why did you kill that alien who attacked me? Why did you save me from the aliens in the lunchroom? Why do you look at me the way that you do? Are you going to try and kill me, too?”
