Page 18 of Haunted By the Alien
“It’s acostume.”
“Then you go talk to him.”
“I’m not looking for a guy. You are.”
Her eyes run over him and she shakes her head. “First, he’s gotta remove the mask. I ain’t dating no spider.”
“I saidtalk, not jump into the sack with him.” Although that’s all I’ve been thinking about with Kobrik. I’d like to see the man without all the paint and those horns strapped to his head.
“Fuck, Spider King is coming this way.” Rayna ducks behind me.
The guy snags two bottles of beer off the beverage table as he saunters toward us.
“See you later,” Rayna whispers before fleeing.
“I’m glad your friend left,” Spider King says in a husky voice as he corners me.
“Sorry, I already have a boyfriend.” I’m being presumptuous referring to Kobrik as my boyfriend, and yet it feels right.
“And I have a girlfriend. Trisha. But she’s late and I’m stuck trying to kill time until she arrives. These are her friends, not mine. I’m only hoping to talk instead of stand in a corner like a fool.”
I shrug. “No harm in talking.”
As he hands me a glass, I swear I hear a hissing sound, like when Kobrik had been following me. Except the sound is distant, muffled. I look outside the window, but there’s nothing there.
Spider King snaps his fingers in front of me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m a little distracted. Sorry. What did you ask?”
“When your boyfriend’s getting here. I’ll need to disappear before then, so he doesn’t get the wrong idea. Josh told me the guy’s possessive.”
His comment rubs me the wrong way, as if he’s judging Kobrik. “The word you’re looking for is protective. And he’ll be here any minute.”
Spider King lifts his left hand to look at his watch. The lower arms of his costume don’t move. The strings must be busted but I swear the middle arm moves a second later. In here, there are no lighting issues like there were outside when I thought I saw Kobrik’s horns move.
These longer E/R shifts are starting to get to me. I sip the beer he handed me, trying to relax.
“Trisha’s always late,” he says so naturally that I doubt myself. Though I shouldn’t. I’ve worked in the E/R since I was nineteen. That’s eight years of observing body language in stressful situations. Long enough to become an expert in knowing when someone’s lying. This guy is the king of liars.
“I guess she got caught stuck at work over at County Medical.”
My ears perk up. “She’s a nurse?” I’ll catch him in a lie soon enough.
“Lab tech.”
“Ah.”
“And your boyfriend, does he work nearby?” Spider King asks.
“What’s your name again and how did you meet Josh?”
“I’m Nelson. Trisha’s friends with him. Not me.”
The hairs stand up on the back of my neck. “Take off the mask, Nelson.”
“If I do, you’ll have to kiss me.”
I knew it! The guy’s been hitting on me the entire time. He doesn’t have a girlfriend. Or maybe he does, which makes him even more of a scumbag.
