He reached out to touch her hair. Nearly snarling, she smacked his hand away. He stood upright, his hands balling into fists, as his friends teased him about getting schooled by a girl.
But the blond wasn't amused.
"You little bitch—"
Everyone jumped when a loud bang shook the store from the far end of the counter. Lily glanced over to see Brady, an unassuming smile on his face. He came into the store with jeans and a shirt, but now wore a security uniform. Her eyes narrowed with curiosity. Where did he go? Where did he get the clothes?
"Hey, guys!" he said cheerfully. He still carried his movie with him. His eyes met Lily's as he gestured to the back. "I couldn't find any other movies that grabbed me. So, I'll take you up on that next time. Listen, I know it's a lot to ask, but could you give me a ride home?"
The blond looked him up and down.
"You work here? Didn't even see you."
"That's the mark of a good security guard. You never see me. And yeah, I work here. Just normal shit, you know. Kids trying to steal vibrators. Luckily, I haven't had to beat the fuck out of anyone yet."
Lily held in a chuckle. Brady's attitude betrayed his appearance. He seemed like the kind of guy that had never thrown a punch in his life, but had a confidence to him.
The blond stood tall over him.
"You don't look like you could beat your own dick."
Brady only laughed.
"I work in a place with sex toys. You know that's not a problem."
It was Lily's turn to laugh.
"Anyway, we have to close up," Brady said. "So, do you guys mind? We open again tomorrow at…." He looked at Lily for help.
"Eight o'clock."
"Yeah, that's it. Eight o'clock. We're having a special on lube. You might want to stop by and stock up."
The group all looked at each other, eventually turning to the blond for guidance. He decided his aggressive flirting wasn't worth continuing with security around.
They filed out of the store, with Lily following. She locked the door behind them and closed her eyes with relief.
"Jesus," she said. "I fucking hate assholes like that."
She faced Brady, who leaned against the counter. Her gaze traveled along his clothes.
"Does that kind of thing happen a lot?" he asked.
"Every now and then, but not usually in a pack that big. I get the oddball coming through who says they want to try out their new purchase on me. But I can handle that. That—" She pointed outside. "Was a little scary."
Brady smiled. "They're idiots."
"Do you ever have to whip someone's ass in the mall?"
"Oh, every day." He held up his fists. "They're lucky I didn't have to pull these out. You don't see the blood still on them?"
Lily returned his smile as she finished at the counter. Shaking her head, she deposited the lingerie they left behind in the lost and found box. She'd put them back later. With a few clicks of a mouse, summary reports of the evening's business printed.
"How the hell did you sneak your uniform in here?" she asked.
"I didn't. I found this on the rack, figured it would help scare them off. I'll be right back. I left my clothes in the dressing room."
She acknowledged him with a wave. Frowning, she watched him as he walked away. Not just to admire his shape, but to study the clothes. She thought she was familiar with every kinky outfit they had. Nurse costumes, maid outfits, even police and firemen uniforms. But security guard didn't exactly get her motor running.
The reports had finished printing when Brady emerged from behind the curtain. She left the paperwork in the corner bin, where Bill would review it in the morning. Brady grabbed his movie from the counter.
"Thanks for helping me out," Lily said.
"Sure. And don't forget," he said, smiling. "I get a free movie next week. You want to lock the door behind me?"
"Wait a sec. Didn't you say you needed a ride?"
"I was just saying that. Just trying to make it look like I worked here."
"Well, do you really need one? I always see you walking over here. Never see you driving."
He seemed taken aback by the admission.
"I always walk," he said. "I live close."
"Let me give you a ride. It's no big deal. Just give me five minutes."
Brady struggled with a decision. He finally nodded slowly, his tone strained. She realized he was nervous.
"Uh, sure. Thanks."
She laughed. He was cute when he was nervous.
"Relax. It's just a ride."
Ten minutes later, they were in Lily's Ford Focus, winding through the empty streets. She always enjoyed the late-night drive home from work. It was quiet, peaceful, but then as soon as she got home she would leave once again with her roommate to find the fun in their town. She didn't anticipate getting home until at least three in the morning. Drinking, dancing, partying, she looked forward to it.
Brady certainly didn't do much to disturb the quiet portion of the drive.
He only spoke when he needed to give her directions. The transformation surprised her. In the store, he was confident, full of humor. Now he was quiet and withdrawn.
From the corner of her eye she could see him staring at her. She let it slide for a minute. She tried to remember that as annoying as it was, it wasn't exactly an insult for a guy to stare at her. Her shirt also didn't leave much to the imagination. Still, even though she didn't know Brady at all, she wanted to think he wasn't like the group of men from the store.
But after several minutes passed, she couldn't take any more.
"Do you like what you see over there?"
"Yeah, very much."
Rage took over. Her head spun so fast she thought it would fly off. The emotion quickly vanished when she realized what he was staring at. His eyes weren't fixated on her breasts, but her tattoo.
"Are you into dragons?" he asked.
Lily felt a lump in her throat. It dawned on her that she hadn't told anyone the story behind the tattoo.
No one had asked.
"I am," she said. "But my cousin was, more than me. This is for her, to honor her."
"Ah. What happened?"
"She died."
Brady waited for more, but Lily wasn't in a sharing mood. She was suddenly angry at him for asking, or at least angry that emotions she thought she had under control came bubbling back. When she was ready to talk about her cousin, it definitely wouldn't be with a porn-addicted security guard.
To his credit, Brady didn't push, didn't question further. He simply continued with directions.
Five minutes later, a simple truth popped in Lily's head.
"Uh, Brady?" she said. "Where the hell are we going? We're not really close to the mall."
"Just up here. Hang a right into this complex. My apartment's in the back."
It took another three minutes to reach his building. Lily regarded him as he gathered his movie from in front of the seat.
"You don't drive?" she asked, not believing it. "You walk this every day? It took twenty minutes just to drive here."
He said nothing. Whether he didn't hear her, or was ignoring her, she didn't know. He opened the door before turning to face her.
"Thanks for the ride."
"No problem."
"Do you want to come up?" he asked, catching her completely by surprise. "Maybe watch a movie?"
Lily couldn't stop the frown of disgust. She tried not to feel insulted, but did she give off the vibe that she was the type of woman who frolicked into a stranger's apartment? A stranger armed with a pornographic movie? She thought Brady was normal at first, but now she had her doubts. Perhaps she was wrong, and he was one of the typical perverts her job attracted. He either thought he had a chance with her, or was socially clueless.
"I'll pass," she said, her tone dangerous. "I'm not going up to your apartment."
Brady shrugged, and in that simple gesture, she realized immediately that she misjudged him. He was
n't making a move, or trying to flirt. If he caught her attitude, or it hurt him in any way, he didn't let on.
"Okay." He stepped out and smiled at her as he peered inside the car. "I'll see you next Friday."
He shut the door and left without another word. He didn't look back, not even to wave as he stepped foot into his building. Lily suddenly felt terrible. Her job had corrupted her thinking. Not every man was out to chase a woman. She had to constantly remind herself of that. It didn't help that her own boss, a married man, eyed her up every chance he got.
She didn't like how they ended things, and almost called out to him. She was supposed to go out with her roommate. Maybe Brady would like to join them.
The chance passed her by. He was already gone before she worked up the nerve.
Frustrated, she put the car in drive and left the apartment complex. Assuming she worked the upcoming Friday, and she always did, she could apologize to him then.
Lily heard the music before she even opened the door to her apartment. Her roommate, Emma, was waiting for her. Several of their friends, and three she didn't know, laughed and shouted in the living room. Emma sat on her boyfriend-of-the-month's lap, swiveling her hips back and forth. The walls shook from the music, and she knew another complaint was probably on its way. The apartment reeked of marijuana, which always reminded her of her cousin. Hopefully marijuana would become marijuana again, and not serve as a link to her terrible past.
"Lily!" Emma shouted. "You're finally home! What took you so long?"
"Had to give a ride to somebody."
"How's life at the smut shop?"
She sighed. "Exactly how you'd think."
"Screw that place," she said, then quickly introduced the new arrivals. One or two of them would be back next week, while the others would vanish forever. Their party circle was always changing, always in flux. "Get changed, and let's go."
She glanced at her clothes, feeling a twinge of hurt. She wasn't dressed for an evening at the museum, but thought she looked good. Her sleek curves, something she was always proud of, had no trouble turning heads. She was the complete opposite of Emma, who spent as much time as she could at the beach and in the sun. Lily was always more comfortable in the back of the crowd, partying on the edge, not in the center. She didn't spend thirty minutes picking out her clothes when a pair of jeans and a tank top would do just fine.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
Emma held up her palms. "Hey, nothing. Looks good to me. You ready?"
She wasn't sure why, but now that she stood in her living room, all Lily wanted to do was exactly what she lied to those men about in the store. She wanted to curl up in bed and go to sleep. Was it her crappy day? Her boss's constant comments? The group of sexual harassers certainly didn't help.
"I don't know," she said. "I'm a little tired. Maybe you should head out without me."
The guilt trip started. Emma nearly leapt from her boyfriend's lap to give Lily a hug.
"Aww, no way! We waited for you! C'mon, Lily you have to come."
The rest joined in, gently pressuring for Lily's company. Emma leaned in to whisper with a closing argument that nearly had Lily rolling her eyes.
"Look, Steve is single," she said. Steve was one of the new arrivals. Emma gestured with her eyes in his direction. "I think you'll really like him."
Lily tried not to laugh. Emma was always trying to set her up, and always failing. Steve was only barely cute. She put him on the same level with Brady, except without the amazing smile.
"Okay, okay," she said, finally relenting. "I'll go."
Her friends cheered and gathered their gear. Before long they were all stuffed into multiple cars and heading to the closest nightclubs. Lily shoved her worries aside with a night of light drinking and dancing. No more terrible customers, or bosses hitting on her. She pushed them from her thoughts. She only allowed Brady to stay, her unconventional knight in shining armor. Armed with a security uniform and a pornographic Blu-ray.
With his weekly purchase, she had a pretty good idea of what he was doing.
CHAPTER 6
Brady's shoulders relaxed as he shut the front door behind him, finally happy to be home. With the delay at the store, and then the car ride, he was an hour late. He would have been better off rejecting the ride and turning into a hawk to fly home. He wouldn't possess the bird's keen vision, but the larger form would have no trouble carrying a movie, and was his typical choice for travel on a Friday night.
But he wanted to talk to Lily. It was the first time they even acknowledged one another, much less talked. He knew they wouldn't become friends. He simply didn't make friends. But a quick word over the counter, a smile and a how was your day, seemed fine to him. That wasn't asking too much, or pushing things too far.
Judging from the look of disgust on her face in the car, the idea of watching a movie was too far.
He tossed his Friday-night-tradition on the couch and went to the fridge. Taking a drink of soda, he wondered what he'd done. He replayed the night in his mind. In just twenty minutes he'd managed to earn a look that could kill. He didn't say anything rude. He barely said anything at all. Compared to those men harassing her, he was a gentleman. All he did was invite her up to watch a movie. It was late, certainly, but a simple no would have done, not a reaction like he'd shot her dog.
Turning on the TV, he grabbed the remote for the Roku player and browsed through his latest YouTube subscriptions. Brady was always an odd one, a strange mix of old and new. He never once watched a cable channel, using the Internet for his entertainment. But he also never owned a mobile phone.
He yawned and stretched as he settled in front of the computer in the corner of the living room. Sleep was calling out to him, but he had some more time before slumber took hold.
Brady let out a deep sigh, mixed with hope and defeat, as he engaged in his nightly ritual.
He browsed through online forum after forum, searching for answers. A long time ago he managed to convince himself that his habits were strictly for entertainment, that it was no different than the otherwise normal guy who binge-watched bad science fiction. In all other respects, the binge-watcher was just like anyone else. But he simply couldn't get enough of the mechanically-enhanced shark battling the ghost ninja.
Somewhere over the years, the entertainment turned into research.
Brady had searched all corners of the Internet, watched video after video. He used to laugh and smile. But those laughs changed to sarcastic irritation. The thought that he would never find what he was looking for crossed his mind every night.
There were some interesting discussions out there, as well as the documentary playing on TV behind him. Several members of one forum discussed the footage of the alien known as Skinny Bob. Another forum batted around theories on the identity of the mysterious Victor, a supposed whistle-blower from the famously invisible Area 51. Rendlesham Forest, The Battle in Los Angeles in 1942, Stephen Michalak's amazing story. The Internet was busy. Brady read for an hour, with an occasional streaming clip to give his eyes a rest. Some of the reading was fascinating, while some of it utterly ridiculous.
But like always, Brady's obsession with alien conspiracy led to nothing. There wasn't a single case, video, report, not even a grainy Polaroid, that showed a being changing shape at will.
He pushed his chair back and glanced up to the ceiling, as if looking to the Heavens above.
"You come down here and probe people's asses," he said. "You should at least stop by to say hello."
He tried to push aside the feeling of helplessness. If nothing else, the obviously-faked videos of alien autopsies made him smile. He'd seen better effects in low-budget films.
After powering off the computer he grabbed his movie from the couch. He was in the middle of another ritual, carefully pulling away the plastic wrapping, when it all finally clicked into place.
Brady had asked Lily up to his apartment to watch a movie. He held a pornographic movie in
his hand. Not only did he hold a pornographic movie, but he bought one every single Friday. As far as he could remember, Lily was there every time. He wasn't sure if he could have given a more perverted, or just plain weird, impression.
"You stupid bastard," he told himself. "Why don't you just ask to see her thong next time?"
Despite being irritated at himself, he managed a chuckle. A long-winded explanation probably wouldn't do, but a simple apology was in order for next Friday.
He crossed the living room and dropped to one knee in front of the TV stand. Hidden in the cabinet below were his movies. Not a single one was ever removed from its case. They were all neatly lined up, in alphabetical order. He tucked away his latest purchase, knowing he'd never watch it, making sure to keep his system intact. It was probably not the best thing to show a date after dinner, but his collection soothed him, brought him peace.
Brady kicked his feet up on the coffee table and was five minutes into a special on alien moon bases when he heard a crash from the apartment below. His heart skipped a beat as he jumped up and stiffened on the couch. The crash was followed by loud arguing, a man and woman yelling over each other.
John and Sharon were at it again.
He sighed loudly as he looked down at the floor. The hour was late, and he wondered which of his neighbors would call the police this time. Sometimes they let it slide, but Mrs. Eady on the first floor was one who didn't like her sleep interrupted, and Brady didn't blame her.
There was the sound of a door slamming, and Brady knew exactly what was happening. John and Sharon had a young boy. Whenever their arguments turned too serious Sharon would drop the boy off at the Ridleys' place, at the apartment across from him.
His thoughts were confirmed when he heard footsteps in the stairwell outside. A moment later, there was knocking in the hall. Brady checked the time. He didn't know what kind of relationship John and Sharon had with the Ridleys, but they must have been close to not mind the drama at such a late hour.
The knocking continued as Brady resumed watching TV. A smile crossed his face when Sharon hit the door for a fourth time. She was persistent.
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