Lily murmured in a low seductive tone, “…and when I’m done licking your toes, I’m going to work my way up your legs, slowly, inch by inch. I’m going to have you groaning and begging…” Lily listened for a second. “Oh yes. I can’t help spanking naughty men. They always deserve abuse!”
She’s saying what? Alex thought. What the hell? She pressed harder against the door, lost her footing and fell headfirst into the room. Alex landed in a crumpled heap at her mother’s feet. She stifled the giggles with her hand, pinching the skin between her teeth to shock them away.
Lily turned her back on Alex and growled sexily, “Joe, someone just walked in, and they deserve the beating of a lifetime. Ring me back soon, and maybe I’ll tell you how hard I whipped their little pink bum.” Lily hung up the phone, red-cheeked with embarrassment. “That call wasn’t what it sounded like!”
Alex gazed at her mother for a moment, the corners of her mouth twitching skywards until she couldn’t contain her amusement anymore, and let out a loud sharp laugh. “What were you doing?” Alex giggled. “Please tell me you have a new boyfriend.” Clive made rude hand-pumping gesticulations by his nether regions, and Alex angled her head so she couldn’t see him.
“Yes, that was Joe. We were having telephone sex,” Lily stated this as if it were perfectly obvious, before stomping out of the room trailing little ‘humphing’ noises. Seconds later the front door slammed, hard enough to rattle the china and trinkets in the cabinet.
“Oh my God. Do you think that’s her new job?” Alex made a gagging noise before climbing up off the floor. “That’s disgusting.”
“And at long last, she starts catching onto this brave new world. Oh, my dear Alex.” Clive winked dark curly lashes at her.
Unable to help herself, Alex cast a casual glance at Clive. The red fabric of the demon’s cat suit flowed over his body, bulging over a large appendage below the waist. Alex forced her eyes away, to the ceiling, to anywhere. She returned to Clive’s face, with his broodingly dark good looks, and… Her eyes wandered south again to his well-endowed manhood. Her crotch tingled in return. No, she thought. This wasn’t right. Alex sauntered over to the dresser and pulled out the letter from the council. Did Clive sense the electricity in the air? She hoped not.
“The money!” Alex said. How could she forget? All those thoughts of an ill-disguised manhood had muddled up her brain. She reached under her waistband and grabbed the wad of cash. Clive appeared at her shoulder, breathing intoxicating hot air onto her neck as she sorted the bills. Little electrical storms coursed over her skin. She tried to shift sideways but her feet wouldn’t move. “Please don’t do that,” she whispered. “It’s…” She meant to say uncomfortable, but instead said, “Oh, so good.” She closed her eyes, imagining his hands on her back, slipping around her waist… “I can’t concentrate.”
“Sure thing, sugarplum. Didn’t realize I was doing anything.”
Like hell! Alex thought. “Oh, my goodness!” Alex gasped. “I’ve got £295 here!”
“And how much does your mother owe?” Clive moved to her front, and gazed down at her with soft dreamy eyes. Blue, like the water in a warm sea.
“Oh, loads more than this. But if I divide the cash between the gas, electric and the rent, well at least the wolves aren’t at the door anymore.” Alex smiled, trying desperately to ignore Clive’s bedroom eyes. After all, things had to go right sometimes. She grabbed the phone and coughed, preparing to imitate her mother’s voice. She needn’t have bothered. They wanted money, and they didn’t care who paid. Alex arranged for payments to be made the next morning at the post office.
“How much more does she owe?” Clive asked again.
“No more money talk.” Alex shoved all the paperwork away, and shooed at the demon. “I’m done talking business for today. And I need some time off.” She wanted to call Jeremy and go out with him. She wanted to leave Clive and the strange sexual effect he had on her behind, and return to being normal. For as long as possible, anyway.
“You want me to go away?” he asked.
“Please Clive.” She touched his arm, the heat tingling her fingertips. Would he be cross, try and hurt her? “Give me a little time on my own.” She waited for an answer, her eyes wide. For a second she thought it was a wave of fear shortening her breath. But then Clive stepped up to her, so close his warmth caressed her skin from her head to her toes. No, she decided, it was definitely lust.
Clive took her hands in his and rubbed them gently. His burning touch seemed to drug her. He could have taken her, there, in the living room, and she wouldn’t have the willpower to say no.
“Sure thing, babydoll. I’ll see you later.” Clive let her fingers fall through his as he stepped away. Then he cocked his hand into a gun and pretended to fire before disappearing in a theatrical puff of red smoke.
“Ohhh,” Alex groaned in a small voice, a dreamy look in her half opened eyes. As if in a trance, she floated over to the phone and dialed Jeremy’s number. “Hi babe,” she said as he answered at the other end. “Whatcha doing tonight?” She listened for a second. “A movie? Sounds fabulous. When’ll you pick me up?” She curled her fingers around the telephone cord. “I’ll be ready and waiting,” she teased in a sexy voice before hanging up. That demon best stay away, she thought.
Alone for the first time in seemingly ages, Alex pampered and preened her body within an inch of perfection. Eventually, she took herself down to the living room, surrounded by a haze of Sunflowers perfume, and waited for Jeremy. Lily was noticeable in her absence. Alex didn’t waste time worrying about her. The drunk, as Clive so kindly described her mother, was able to take care of herself—most of the time.
Alex cleared her mind, but her thoughts kept creeping back to Clive. He really was dishy. Oh my God, Alex thought. I’ve got a crush on a fantasy demon. For a second, a dark cloud hovered over her as she attempted to unravel the possibility of her insanity, and the fact that Clive probably didn’t exist. Saved by the bell, or the loud knocking in this case, Alex leapt off the sofa and answered the door, half expecting to find Clive on the other side.
“Aren’t you the vision of loveliness this evening,” Jeremy said. He pulled her into his arms and Alex stretched up to give him a long loving kiss. This was what love was all about, she told herself. With Clive relegated to the back of her mind, Alex succumbed to Jeremy’s embrace. “Let’s go then.” He took her by the hand and led her out of the house.
The War of the Worlds was coming to the end of its run, and they arrived to an almost empty theatre. With a nod and wink that Alex only just noticed in the dark room, Jeremy led her to a row of empty seats, in a spot pretty much as far from anyone else as possible.
They did try and watch the movie, and they did actually get to the lightening scenes when the first machine erupted out of the ground. Alex jumped and squealed as the aliens started firing, and Jeremy raised the armrest in between to put an arm around her as she let out a shriek. His cuddle soon degraded into kissing and fondling. Finally, about an hour into the movie, he raised a couple more of the armrests and gently laid her down..
Chapter Four
“Becky, guess what!” The morning sun shone around the edges of the curtains as Alex lay in her bed, phone pressed up against one ear. “Guess what Jeremy and I did last night?”
“You had sex,” came a vague reply.
“No, no. I mean yes,” Alex said. “But that wouldn’t be so unusual.” She suppressed a giggle. “There’s more.” She rolled over and pulled at the hem of the curtains with her toes. Sunlight flooded into the room for a second. She dropped the fabric, and in a hushed voice, said, “We did it in the cinema.” Alex paused for effect. “In the back row.” She waited for Becky to respond. Impatiently, she emphasized still further, “Some other people were sat a few seats up.” Alex giggled. “Can you believe it? Me? Doing that, there?”
“That’s certainly a weird place to have sex, Alex.” Bec paused then said, “What with you being on
a heavy period and all. Must have made quite a mess.”
Alex felt a blush rise, she’d forgotten all about her lie from yesterday. “Yes, but at least the seats in the theatre are covered in red velvet.”
Becky laughed and Alex felt relief spread. She sat up in her bed and arranged the covers around her legs. “What’s really odd is you know I’d normally never do anything like that. I felt like I was almost somebody else.”
“Yeah, that’s bloody fantastic.” But Becky didn’t sound happy. “I hate to rain on your parade, but I’ve got to talk to you about something serious.” A heavy sigh filtered through the phone line.
“What could possibly be wrong? The sun is shining. I have the day off work, and—”
“Yeah, and you had great sex last night.” Becky cut Alex off. “I understand already.”
Silence coursed the airways for a couple of seconds while Alex replayed their conversation in her head. What on earth had she managed to say that might offend Becky? She thought Bec would be impressed by her cinema antics, and it was still mild compared to the stories she’d been told. “Um… Are you okay, Becs?” Alex asked. Then she banged a fist against her forehead as she realized something had been wrong, from the moment the phone lines connected. How did she miss Becky’s tone? Oh my God, she thought and clapped a hand to her mouth.
“Aren’t you wondering why I’m not at work today?” Becky almost shouted down the line. She sounded close to tears. “That woman fired me yesterday. After you left, the police finally arrived in force to drag away the preacher. Then Aggie took me into her office and yelled at me for ages.” Becky’s voice broke. “She fired me!” The tears were flowing now. “She said some horrible things, Alex. She said I was…” Becky sniffed. “…depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.” She paused for a second and blew her nose loudly.
“Oh shit.” Alex gulped in her guilt.
“I know,” Becky replied. “She told me I was a thief, and apparently she’d been watching me for weeks, and how money only disappeared when I had a shift.”
Becky sounded surprised, and a cold dread filled Alex’s stomach.
“I’ve never stolen in my life! You know that!” Becky waited for confirmation.
“I… I can’t believe Aggie’s fired you!” Alex tried to think what she’d be expected to say as Becky honked her nose on the other side of the phone line again. “How much did she say you’d stolen?”
“£295! Can you believe she thought I took £295?” Becky appeared more composed now, more angry than upset.
“My God. That’s a lot of money!” The cold dread in Alex’s stomach overflowed and began filling her head as well. She felt surreal and wobbly.
What had she done?
“You stole all the money from the shop.” Clive materialized in front of the doorway. The demon smiled as he watched the color drain out of Alex’s face. He’s enjoying this, Alex thought.
“How could you?” Alex said between clenched teeth. Her view of the bedroom turned a shade of red. The demon stood in the center of the hue, as if the room burned around him.
“How could I what?” Becky asked.
“Um… You know, accept such a horrible telling off?” Alex fumbled with her words. Clive grinned, his teeth Hollywood white, his black hair flopped across his forehead in a neat foppish wave. She wanted to rip his head off and smash those sparkling ivories one-by-one. “Aggie yelling at you. I’d have taken a swing at her.”
Clive sauntered up and sat at the end of her bed. “I didn’t take the money, you did,” he said, his face a bland attempt at honesty.
“I don’t know. I guess the shock of being yelled at and fired made me speechless,” Becky said. “You try and do better when it’s your turn.”
“Look, Bec, can we meet up? You sound like you need a friend.” Alex needed time. Her thoughts muddled between murder of invisible entities and collapsing under the guilt of getting her best mate fired. “I’ve got to go into town later and pay some bills. We could meet up at the post office.”
“Will you buy me an ice-cream at the Häagen Dazs cafe?” Becky asked. “Sweeten the day?”
“Sure, Bec. Sounds fine, I’ll meet you in…” Alex checked the clock beside the bed. “Give me an hour and a half. I’m still in bed.”
“Oh I forgot. You went home early yesterday. Are you feeling better?”
“Much. Just needed some time to recover.”
“And a little bit of theatre sex?” Becky laughed, her voice still croaky and emotionally charged. “Look, I’ll catch you later, lazy bones.”
Alex hung up the phone and sat motionless for a moment, silent as she examined Clive. He had a magnetic attraction, something that drew her to him, despite all his manipulating. His eyes, they were the worst. The blue appeared multifaceted, light at the surface, but expansive the deeper she peered. She didn’t want to fall in.
“Will you tell me what’s going on?” she asked.
Clive laughed, got up from Alex’s bed and headed for her wardrobe. He opened the doors and fumbled about at the back of the top shelf. Alex stared open-mouthed as he pulled out an old wooden box. When she was little, Alex called it her magic box. On the front was a secret panel, when pushed to the side the lid opened. Alex had kept what she’d considered important things, mostly trinkets, inside. As Clive placed it on her dressing table, Alex tried to remember the last time she’d seen the box. Stumped, she shook her head, and craned her neck to see what the demon was up to.
“What are you doing?” she asked. Clive grappled with the box, searching for the secret panel. He was holding the box wrong, and Alex opened her mouth to say so when the top popped open and a pile of cash poured out.
“Huh. Look at that. You’ve got lots and lots of money hidden away.” He put the magic box back on the desk.
“No! I didn’t steal anything. You did this. You’re evil!” Alex felt her face heat up as she lost her temper. “Hell, you’re a demon. What else would you be?” She spat the words at him. “You’re the worst thing ever to happen to my life. Do you hear me?” she shrieked, and jumped out of bed, aiming a kick in the demon’s direction. Clive dodged easily, laughing at her anger.
“Hey, don’t blame me. You were stealing from The Closet long before I showed up, babydoll. Becky didn’t steal a penny.” He leaned forward and pointed at her. “It was all you.”
She grabbed three Stephen King books, and chucked them at him. Clive leapt around the room as she threatened another handful. His cat suit seemed to make him more agile. He moved like a dancer, flowing with ease past the missiles. “Mmm. There’s hate pouring from you. Tasty.” He licked his lips.
“I’ll give you tasty!” Alex snarled, and grabbed the duvet off the bed and tried to throw it over Clive. She figured if she caught him, she’d pummel him properly, like he deserved.
BANG, BANG, BANG.
Alex released the duvet and froze.
“What in holy fuck is going on in there?” The door flew open. Lily staggered in from the hallway, blonde hair frizzed in an unruly halo surrounding her head, and what looked like a killer hangover. The enormous t-shirt she’d slept in hung off one shoulder, the bottom of the opposite side tucked into her undies. Dark circles surrounded her eyes, and she had a green pallor that suggested she might pay a visit to the porcelain god after she finished shouting.
Alex gazed around her bedroom, cataloguing the chaos and destruction. The books at the back of her desk were mostly gone, they were now scattered all over the floor, some open, the spines broken. Her duvet had fallen off Clive and lay at her feet, fortunately covering most of the cash. A couple of bills poked out next to the bed. Lily squinted into the room. Hopefully she wasn’t able to focus yet.
“I…” Alex couldn’t think of what to say. Her mouth opened and closed, fishlike, as she tried to invent a suitable lie.
Clive crept up next to Alex. “Tell her someone broke in,” he whispered. “Tell her,” he said, louder this time, and grabbed her arm, his hand burn
ing her flesh.
Alex shrugged off his grip and stamped her heel hard on the floor, connecting with Clive’s toes. His cat suit had soft built-in feet, with no apparent seams. As she had hoped, the fabric offered scarce protection.
“Fuck me!” Clive swore, jumping onto his other foot. “You stomped on me! You little bitch!” Even now, the stupid grin remained on his face.
Alex stared coldly at the demon, and waited for him to hop close enough. Seconds later, she leapt at him and landed on his other foot.
“You bastard!” Alex shrieked. She forgot about her mother and jumped hard on whichever foot he put down. Clive hopped past her bed, and limped towards the corner of the bedroom. The demon pressed up against the wall and searched for an escape route.
Alex followed him, a murderous sneer across her features. Clive suddenly smacked his forehead. “Duh! How stupid am I? I don’t have to take this.” Clive backed through the wall and in an instant was gone.
“What’s wrong with you?” Lily asked.
Alex closed her eyes as the wallpaper solidified around the demon. Shit, she thought. Forgot about her. Her mother’s voice was low, cautious. Even in a brain as alcohol-riddled as Lily’s, her behavior must appear odd.
“I’ve got pins and needles, Mum. That’s all.” Alex sat heavily on the edge of her bed. If she shouted her mother might go away. “I woke with killer pins and needles. Hurts like a bastard.”
Lily nodded, although the frown remained.
“I’m sorry for all the noise, Mum.”
Lily leaned against the doorjamb. She rubbed the sides of her head, and then squeezed the temples between her palms. “But Alexandra,” Her mother struggled, her voice thick, her speech sluggish. “You were jumping all around the room. It looked like you were trying to squish bugs or something.”
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