Natural Consequences (18 page)

“Seriously,” he agreed, and kissed her again. “Lots of points?”

“Tons.”

“Do I get a free level?”

“You one-upped the last player—um,” she stopped herself, and blushed. “Sorry. Not bringing that up.”

“Too late,” Jason said, unperturbed. “Now I know you’ve made out with other guys. I’m gonna have to blog about that.” Amber rolled her eyes and accepted his next kiss without objection. “That’s all that stuff nobody’s supposed to talk about on a first or second date but you know everyone actually does, right?”

“Pretty much,” Amber said. Her fingers played with the collar of his shirt. “I’m not… ugh!” she grumbled and grinned in spite of herself. It was dangerous territory, but she was already here. The best she could do was run with it.
Use what you know
, Colleen had advised.
Use the truth when you can. It’s easier to remember.

“I’ve
dated mostly Type-A overachiever guys,” she explained. “Figured, ‘Hey, I’m running with this crowd, no reason for me to settle for an average guy.’ Shoe-ins for six-figure incomes, smart, good-looking… trouble is, they all know it. And they get used to it. Used to winning. The last guy… well, I don’t wanna talk about the last guy, but the guy
before
him was his prep school valedictorian. And a star athlete. The whole deal.

“Pretty soon you realize there isn’t a whole lot of room for you in the car when you’ve gotta squeeze into the shotgun seat with your boyfriend’s ego,” she mused. “Trophy girlfriends aren’t always just smiles and a nice figure. Sometimes they’re like me. Doesn’t mean they’re aren’t trophies.”

She looked up at Jason, still enjoying the fingers in her hair. “You didn’t let me win at all those games. But you didn’t freak out when I beat you.”

“Uh… they’re just games,” Jason shrugged.

“You’d be surprised. It’s not like that ever ended a relationship for me, but I can tell when it bothers a guy. You weren’t bothered.”

“I’ve got things I’m good at. You’ve got things you’re good at. Maybe you’re better than me at some of my talents. Maybe not. What’s the big deal?”

“That’s not something I’m used to. Not in anyone I find attractive.”

“See, I knew there was a reason you wanted to hang out with me.”

“Yes. Dork. I wouldn’t be here on your futon otherwise. You aren’t
average
,” she said. “I’ve seen plenty of evidence to indicate otherwise.”

“You’re incredible.”

“Don’t—don’t rush into anything,” Amber cautioned him, placing her hand upon his chest without pushing him away. “I mean it.”

“I’m trying to go slow,” he assured her, and leaned in to kiss her again.

Once more, she allowed it. She kept allowing things. Kept justifying it all to herself. She had a job here, and things to be suspicious about… but he also seemed like such a genuinely great guy. Young for her, but special. Real. His easy smile, his lips, and his pressure-free way of drawing down her defenses muted the alarm bells that rang in her head.

She felt things click with Jason from the beginning. It was why she tried to take up the conversation with her boss this morning. She expected to be told to stick to the usual restrictions, and that would help her cool it. Conversely, had Hauser explicitly told her to take this approach, she’d have told him to go to hell, task force be damned… yet he gave only ambiguous bullshit, and left her to her own judgment.

Amber wouldn’t make out with a guy on a couch unless she wanted to make out with him. Nothing else could justify this, and she knew it.

Her hand on Jason’s chest fell away, hanging over the edge of the futon. For no reason at all, it swept underneath the frame and thunked into flat metal. “Hm.”

“What?” he murmured.

It was hard to talk while they chewed on one another’s lips, but she managed. “What’s this?” she grinned.

“Um. Shoot. So I don’t want to freak you out, but that’s a gun case.”

Her interest rose immediately. “Why would that freak me out?”

“Oh, you know. Some people just don’t ever wanna be in a house with guns.”

“Why do you have so many guns you need a case?”

“One’s enough to need a case,” he shrugged. “I’m safe. They’re not loaded.”

She grinned a little. “Show me.”

“I wanna point out that I’m the guy and you’re the girl and yet you’re the one who wants to stop with the romantic make-out so you can look at my guns.”

“I’m curious!” she protested. “Show me. What, you don’t trust me?” She regretted it as soon as she said it. She felt even guiltier when it worked.

“Nah, it’s cool, we’re good,” he said, rolling off her to slide the case out. “This stupid case didn’t fit on any of the closet shelves, so it had to go out here.”

Amber watched Jason roll in the combination and pop the locks. He opened up the lid to reveal a shotgun and pistol, along with a couple of boxes of bullets. A small cut-out space in the foam lining held some other loose bullets.

“So that’s a 12-gauge, and that’s a Beretta.”

“Ninety-two, yeah,” Amber murmured.

Jason blinked. “Uh. You know guns?”

She realized her flub and looked up at him with a bit of a shrug. She thought fast. “Dad liked guns. I liked knowing boy stuff. I’ve gone to the range a few times.”

“Huh.”

“Hey, why do some of your bullets have these red rings on them?” she asked, picking one up from the small compartment.

“Uh,” Jason blinked, “no reason? Not that I know.”

She let the lie slide. “I’m keeping your bullet,” she announced, forcing a smile as she stuffed it in her pocket.

“That’s… okay?” Jason frowned.

She matched his expression. “Something to bring back next time.
The clock over there says I gotta get going,” she said, gesturing over his shoulder. “Stuff to do before school tomorrow.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry, didn’t mean to keep you here too long.”

She smiled at him. “I don’t mind. I’d stay longer if I could. Like I said, I’ll be back. I have to return things now.”

His head twitched slightly. “You realize that’s a live bullet, right?”

“I’ll be careful with it,” she nodded.

He shrugged and closed up his gun case. “Lemme grab my jacket
.”

Amber kept her hand in her pocket, reminding herself that the bullet didn’t match either gun in the case… and that Jason, for all his good vibes and warm, easy manner, clearly had a lot to hide.

Then again, Amber had just let her undercover behavior with a person of interest get romantic. She couldn’t even begin to come up with a way to tell her team about that. Jason and his friends knew things they simply couldn’t begin to explain to others. Amber knew the feeling.

Everything aligned with his careful research. The boots fit. The black pants worked. The navy blue v-neck t-shirt matched several episodes. Most importantly, the leather coat was
perfect
—not cheap by his personal standards, but perfect. He’d get plenty of use out of it after tonight, though. He could wear that jacket every day and feel like a cheerful, goofy bad ass. It was pretty much all he’d ever wanted to be when he grew up.

Alex stood in his faded blue bathrobe looking over his costume pieces on the bed—
all of it ordinary street clothes, but anyone who dug good sci-fi would recognize the ensemble immediately—and couldn’t get the smile off his face. As a small child, Halloween bothered him. He didn’t care for skeletons and ghosts and spiders. He didn’t like being scared by monsters. He certainly didn’t like demons.

Then he grew up and found
a demon that he liked more than just about anyone else in the world.

“You’re sure about this?” asked Lorelei, leaning on the doorframe in a
purple silk robe. She could make even the hair clippers in her hand work as an accessory. “I cannot make your hair grow back if you change your mind. My magic has limits.”

“I think it’ll be fine,” Alex nodded. “
You have a number four on there, right?”

“Yes, love,” she smiled coolly, “just like the fan club website said.”

He paused. This costume plan pre-dated their relationship. The coat had hung in his closet since summer. “You find this amusing, don’t you?” he chuckled.

Lorelei shrugged. “Only a little. The clothes look good on you. And no, I’m not saying that to make you feel better. At least I don’t have to talk you out of wearing a bow tie
or a suit with sneakers like the other versions.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“For what?”

“Helping. Being with me. Everything.”

His lover’s smile turned sinister. She stepped forward, taking him by the collar of his bathrobe and buzzing the clippers under his neck menacingly. “Happy birthday, lover.”

“Okay, let’s get this over with,” he
laughed. “I’ll need a shower and you need to get ready and whatever.”

“
Don’t worry about me. I’ll change once we’re there,” Lorelei assured him.

His phone buzzed before they got to the kitchen, where
a barstool, towel and scissors awaited. Alex pulled the phone from his pocket to look at the message.

“Costume
fail,” it read. “Gonna b l8 if I’m lucky. Date will b here in less than 60. So fucked.”

“What is it?” Lorelei asked, noting the concern on Alex’s face.

“It’s Jason,” he mumbled, hitting the speed dial. “Something’s wrong with his costume, I guess.” He waited. “Jason, what’s up?”

“Holy shit, dude,” Jason answered breathlessly. “There was fucking bleach in the washing machine and I didn’t even know.”

“What?”

“No, seriously. Some other stupid tenant in the building was halfway set to do her wash and then walked out of the laundry room when she heard her kid cryin’ and left the machine loaded with bleach. I didn’t even know ‘til like just now.”

“You were washing your costume just now?” Alex frowned.

“No, like an hour ago! I’ve been freakin’ out trying to think of something since then! Dude, I am so screwed. Amber’s comin’ over in like an hour, and—“

“Jason. Chill. It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t, Alex!” Jason snapped. “I finally got something real going on with a girl and I’ve fucked up the first real date before it’s even on! What the hell am I gonna do to find a costume now? It’s Halloween
and the sun’s down already. The only thing I’m gonna find at a store now is whatever stupid gorilla suit nobody else wanted.”

Alex hardly even heard the last words. His mind raced for a solution.
Though generally quite bright, Jason had clearly placed too much pressure on himself to think through his options.

His eyes went to the bedroom. “Jason. Chill. I got this,” he said. “Sit tight. I’m comin’ over. I’ve got a costume
for you.”

Lorelei stood beside him,
understanding his intent instantly. Her expression softened with a slight shake of her head.

“What, you’ve just got spare costumes layin’ around in your fucking apartment?”

“Well, yeah,” Alex replied. “You know my girlfriends are into some freaky shit. Hope you like wearing leather. I’m on my way.” With that, he cut out the phone and turned his eyes to Lorelei. “I gotta go.”

She nodded. “
It’s good that he called when he did, I suppose,” she said, putting the clippers down on the counter.

“Yeah,” Alex agreed. He headed to the bedroom, stopped, turned and grabbed the clippers. “I’ve got an hour,” he declared.

*   *   *

“This is the girliest shit we have ever done,” frowned Jason. “Ever.”

Alex stood behind him in the cramped kitchen, his brow knit in concentration. He pressed the clippers to Jason’s neck, shaving off more hair and hoping to God that this would turn out looking okay. “I don’t remember us ever doing much girly shit,” he muttered.

“I’m just sayin’. You don’t breathe a word of this to Drew or Wade,” said the skinny, shirtless young man in the cheap Ikea chair.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Alex assured him. “Last thing I wanna do is take responsibility for this fucked-up haircut.”

Jason’s eyes went wide. “Oh shit, you—“

“I’m kidding! I’m just kidding. It’s fine.”

“Taking you long enough.”

“Yeah, well, now I understand why people go to school to learn to do this. You could be a little more patient.”

Jason let out a tense breath. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry. I know you dropped everything to come help me out on your birthday. I’m just nervous about Amber.”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Alex said. “Nobody wants to dress up as the Bleached Lantern. Anyway, Rachel and Lorelei get me spun up all the time, too. I know how it is. Anyway, I only got to meet her for like two minutes after I had a flashback. I kinda don’t know a lot yet. How serious have you gotten?”

“I dunno. I’m serious about liking her. Hung out with her
almost every day since we met. I mean, she says she doesn’t want to jump into anything serious right now ‘cause she’s still burnt from her last relationship, but then she initiates the make-outs just as much as I do.”

Alex stepped in front of Jason to check his sideburns one more time. “So you’re at the making out stage just a few days in? That sounds like progress.”

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you,” Jason said. Then he blinked, and his eyes focused on his friend’s. “Dude!”

“What?”

“
Seriously
girly shit! What, aren’t we supposed to share some ice cream now? Rent a fuckin’ Sandra Bullock movie or something?”

Alex laughed. “Hey, you’re the one with a wardrobe crisis. Anyway, I’m done. We’re good. Brush all that hair
off yourself and get dressed.”

Jason nearly shot out of the chair. “Thank you,” he grunted, his gratitude still overwhelmed by his tension. Alex paid it no mind.

His helmet and saddlebags sat on Jason’s living room futon. Alex pulled off his shirt and stuffed it into the empty bag with a sigh, then bent over to remove his shoes. “Hey, you’re gonna give me a ride, right?” he called to Jason. “I mean I don’t want to be a fifth wheel for you two, but I don’t want to have to get to the party and change there.”

“Yeah, it’s no big deal,” Jason said. “At first I thought you were
coming over with Lorelei, but it’s cool. You can ride with us. We’ll have room. Long as you don’t mind leaving your bike here.”

“No worries,” Alex said. “I think Lorelei wants to wait on Rachel, anyway.”

“Rachel’s gonna be there? I figured she’d be out saving the city from freaky cultists or some bullshit tonight.”

“She just said she wouldn’t miss my birthday party for the world.”

He was mostly dressed in the pajamas he’d bought on the way over when he heard the knock on the door. “I’ve got it,” he called for Jason’s benefit. Thinking little of his state of dress, Alex reached for the door and threw it open.

He’d never seen green fatigues and black web
gear look so good. “Wow,” he blinked. “I. Um. Wow.”

Amber cocked her head. It was encased in a green helmet, complete with dents, scarred paint and black microphone piece. “Hi,” she said. “Hey, you’re Alex, right? We only met in passing the other night. I’m Amber.” She slung her huge black sci-fi machinegun and offered her gloved hand.

“Right. Yeah, I’m Alex. Hi.”

She grinned. He grinned back. Neither realized at first that they were staring.

Then Alex blinked away his reverie. “Wow, that’s an awesome costume. Even the patches look cool. ‘course now you’re gonna have people quoting
Aliens
at you all night.”

“Yeah. If it gets annoying, I’ll just shoot ‘em.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Alex chuckled. He looked back toward the apartment’s bedroom. “Hey, Jason, your infantry support is here!”

Amber laughed as she slipped inside, coming closer to him than she needed. “I’m sorry, was this supposed to be a sleepover? I totally forgot my pajamas at home.”

“No, no sleepover here. Not for me, anyway. Sorry,” Alex replied, stepping back to allow her inside as he buttoned up his pajama shirt the rest of the way. He wasn’t sure if Amber was staring or not, and gave it as little thought as he could.
Woah, boy. Jason’s date. So off-limits
. “Just a sudden change of plans.”

“Should I let you and Jason be alone?” she asked suggestively.

“Nah. He likes you better than me. I had a last-minute catastrophe and came rushing over.” Alex pulled his bathrobe out of his saddlebags and threw it on. “I never really did get the hang of Thursdays.”

“Hah! Now I get it,” Amber smiled. “
Nice literary choice. It just took me a second. Where’s your towel?”

“Shit, I knew I forgot something important.”

“Hey!” Jason said, walking in on the two. He had intended to show off, knowing he looked good, but stopped dead in his tracks. “Holy shit, Amber, that costume kicks ass!”

“Aw, thanks.
Turns out I had a few things safely stored away after all. And look at you! Number Nine,” Amber said immediately, her smile only brightening as she looked him over. “Very nice. Gosh, that leather coat is perfect. If I’d known you were both going so British, I’d have tried to come up with something to match.”

“I like what you’ve got on now,” Jason told her.

“Uh. Hey, Jason, I need you to rescue my costume one more time,” Alex said as much for Amber’s benefit as anything else. “You got a towel I can borrow?”

*   *   *

“You can’t just slap a bunch of gears on your old cowboy outfit and say it’s steampunk,” asserted Wade’s critic. He had to shout to be heard over the music and the crowd, but that seemed reasonable to him. This was important.

“Oh, but buyin’ BDUs an’ a toy raygun makes you a space ranger or whatever y’all are?”
laughed Wade. “Besides,” he said, tugging on the bit of black leather and glass around his neck, “ah got mah goggles. Don’t that make me legit?”

“Those are welder’s goggles!”

“Yeah? And?” Wade shrugged. He couldn’t be bothered to get upset about this. He also couldn’t be bothered to be tactful. Spinning up nerds was far too funny.

“So those don’t count!”

“They don’t? That’s not what the internet said.” Wade took another sip of his drink. He’d have preferred it stronger, but at least they accepted his handstamp and his wristband as proof that he was over twenty-one, instead of checking his driver’s license—which said, explicitly, that he wasn’t legal just yet.

The space ranger’s eyes lit up behind his thick glasses as if he’d hit paydirt. He raised his gloved finger to drive home his point. “So you went online to research but didn’t notice that just gluing gears on it wasn’t good enough?”

“Meh,” Wade smiled. “Ah jus’ didn’t
care
. Anyway, if flyin’ the steampunk flag correctly is so important to you, why aren’t you doin’ it?”

“I’m here with friends,” answered the space
trooper. “We’ve got a theme. We all come from the same legion of the Imperial Guard!”

“Aw, that’s cool. Mah buddies an’ ah got us a theme, too!”

Sensing a bad joke but unwilling to cede the issue yet, the other man asked, “Like what?”

“People who ain’t gettin’ spun up about unimportant shit,” Wade said as if it were a great joke his debate partner would actually appreciate.

The bearded space trooper sputtered. “It’s people like you that ruin sci-fi fandom!” he said before he turned and dove back into the dark crowd of costumes.

“The hell was that about?” asked a voice behind Wade. Drew appeared behind him dressed in a sharp black suit
and sunglasses.