Horsehead Day 01: Pt. 02

I caressed her cheek. I was glad it wasn't streaked with tears. The sight of her crying would have probably broken my already fractured heart. "Truth is truth, good is good. Hey, pizza is good pizza, and good pizza is great pizza."

"What the fuck?" she laughed into my shoulder. "We have had our little pizza, but there will be more pizzas, correct?"

I nodded. "Correct. Pizzas take time to cook, too."

She had enough of the pizza metaphors and extricated herself from me, groaning. She looked herself again; unflappable, confident, powerful. She was about to say something when she looked to the sun like it was an app that sounded a notification. "Oh, I have to go." She looked around, and started toward the row of businesses the parking lot served.

"Oh, uh, where, Audrey?" She didn't answer but started running. She reached one of the pillars holding up the long roof above them all and picked up a bike that was leaning against it. I made it over to her before she could pedal away. "Wait! Hey, this isn't your bike, is it? What's going on?"

She smiled and said, "The last one was not either! I have to go, Roman. There are things I must take care of before I see you again, but I will see you soon! Thank you for the pizza!" She pedaled away, out of the parking lot and down the sidewalk past the businesses.

I just stood there, lost once again.

***************

The landlady was waiting for me when I got back. By that I mean she happened to be outside when I came home, but her keeping her eyes peeled wasn't subtle. She kept glancing at me, betraying her minimal discipline to act aloof before I was able to be confronted. I sighed and readied myself to bear whatever she approached me with. I got out of the car and shuffled my feet to my door, knowing there was no true escape from her.

"Roman! Roman," she called, ambling toward me. I stopped. "I need to talk to you about the uh... person, you had over."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, uh, okay... I don't mind but uh... next time, please, tell me when you want to uh, bring someone over. Okay?"

"Yeah, I know. I will."

She made to turn away but turned back to level her next barrage. "Oh!" She leaned closer as if what she was about to say was scandalous. "Your friend... she is a smoker?"

"Yeah, she is." My tone always conveyed a sense of finality when I dealt with her, but I really fried my words in it then.

"Oh, alright. Okay. Thank you," she said, walking away, looking like she hadn't gotten what she wanted out of the engagement. I did not care.

I went inside and washed my hands and got on to figuring out what I was going to do until I saw Audrey again. I sat down and tried to read, but Arabian Nights weren't gonna be able to satisfy my night alone. I opened up my laptop and started writing, but all I wanted to write about was her, and I wasn't sure if it was safe to have a record of what she told me. I laid down, intending to watch the next episode of Twin Peaks, but it felt wrong to watch it without her. My ringing phone saved me from having to figure something out.

"How you doing, Reese?"

"Ah, same as usual, man: fucked up. I just wanted to squeeze in a little fireside chat tonight, if you're available."

"I am, man, I am. Very."

"I'm glad to hear it, man. Let's get into it. Anything to report on your end?"

"Nah, not really," I started to say, but then I remembered, I did have news! "Oh, wait! I've got incredible news, Reese!"

"Lay it on me, man. I'm ready for it. This is wonderful."

I lay back in my chair and I had to laugh. I could still smell her! Sure the scent was mostly of the sea, but I could smell that indiscernible, pretty girl smell within it. "I... I got fucking laid, Reese."

"What! Are you serious? Man, what did I tell you? It was going to happen." He really did sound like he knew it would happen.

"It's... ah, man! It didn't happen like you think. These are some special-ass circumstances."

"Tell me the tale, man. This is incredible! I'm proud of you, however it happened."

"I met her at the beach, man. It just happened. It really just happened. Actually, I saw her months ago on the street. I almost ran her over with my car."

Reese laughed and said, "What? You almost hit her?" incredulously.

"Almost, almost. That didn't come up but she really honed in on me. I was fucking... sneaking peeks at her, and she confronted me!" I laughed just as incredulously. "But she didn't beat my ass like I thought she would. We swam together and then I took her home and... yeah, man."

"This is... unbelievable, man. You're a hero. Oh, but, I know your place is weird, how did that go?"

I looked around the place and wondered myself how she went along with it despite the beyond odd atmosphere. "She was fine with it, somehow. We actually did it in the chair I'm sitting in right now."

"I'm... awestruck, Roman. You've been blessed by the gods or something. Man, I really want to know what you said to her. I need your intel, and God knows I need to get laid."

"It was more than just that, man. You know me, and we're the same in this, but I'm already obsessed with her."

Reese sighed. "You don't need to tell me twice, with me and my unfortunate situation with my female friend."

"I know, man, I know. All I told her was that she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. I don't know why or how it worked, but it did. That doesn't really help you, though. Your girl doesn't care about stuff like that."

"She really doesn't. Fuck. But, wow, is that true, man? She the prettiest girl you've ever seen?"

I scoffed. "It... it is! That's one of the things about this. It's just the truth between us. This girl, Reese. She's out of this world. I've never known someone so self secure. She's so free, too. She was smoking on the beach and didn't give a fuck. I've never fucked like that before, either."

Reese laughed heartily and said, "Aw, man, she's a smoker?"

"I don't give a fuck, man. She can do whatever she wants and I'll still be her slave."

"Hey, that's fantastic, man. I congratulate you, really. So when do you see her again?"

I looked through my patio doors. "I don't know. Soon, hopefully." I shook my head. "Enough about me, man. What's going on with you in the desert?"

Reese blew out his breath. "Nothin' compared to your adventures, man."

***************

Reese and I had our fireside chat and I was glad for the vehicle to the nighttime hours. I didn't usually turn in so early, but the day's excitement had tired me out wonderfully. I caught her scent again when I went to shower and literally swooned. I discovered she had left her backpack and cardigan behind when I was ready to crawl onto my cot. I hoped she had her phone and money and whatever she needed with her. I set her things aside and realized she may not use money, going off of her theft of bikes. I kicked myself for letting her steal that bike. What if she got arrested? Or worse? I'd never know what happened to her; I didn't get her number. I wouldn't hear any news of a captured alien either, if all those coverup stories were true.

I had to place my hopes in hope, and trust she could take care of herself out there. I ran all we had done together through my head until I fell asleep, finding no reason to entertain those fantasies about girls I'd never know any longer. Even my dreams were occupied by her. By her, I mean Audrey, and by Audrey, I mean both of them. The one from Twin Peaks and the one from the beach. In the dream, I took the place of Agent Cooper in the red room. I sat in the chair and looked around ponderously, like I was underwater. The little dancing man didn't appear, but Audrey Horne, wearing this sleek black dress and that winning smile of hers. She slipped past the curtains, silently, and came over to me, sashaying seductively all the way in that place where gravity was a mere suggestion. She took her place by my side, placing a hand on my shoulder. She became as still as a statue, then, facing the curtain she had come through.

The alien Audrey parted the crimson drapes and stepped into the red room. Her dress was far more revealing and the same lime green as her swimsuit. She smirked at me, like she was well aware that I wanted her. I couldn't feel any such want, or anything else for that matter, but I supposed it was true. She drifted over to my side, her hips leading the way. She smiled down at me imperiously and froze like the first Audrey had, facing the way they had come. The curtains shifted, but noone else entered.

There was a crash, and I was in a room of black, instead of red. My own 'room.' I heard a clattering from the bathroom. It sounded like someone had upset the toiletries I had set in the window. I freed myself from my sleeping bag and rolled off of my cot. I heard the door handle being fumbled. I got to my feet and was reminded of when the upstairs neighbor was shooting off his gun. I wondered if he was back for revenge. As I approached the door, I felt the whoosh of air follow the opening of the door.

"Roman!" a distinctly composed voice whispered.

"Audrey? Turn on the light."

"Oh." The switch was flicked and Audrey was revealed to me, standing in the doorway with a leather jacket over her top and whole jeans instead of the shorts I had last seen her wearing. "I am back."

I blinked at her and the light. "I... yeah, you are. How did you get here?" I squeezed past her and examined my busted window lock. Maybe the old lady wouldn't even notice and I could hold onto my deposit.

"I have my ways," she said mysteriously, either unaware or uncaring about such things as security deposits.

"I didn't expect to see you soon. Uh, come in, come in." I groped my way to my phone and used the flashlight to find the light switch in the kitchen. I indicated the chair for her to sit in and only then did I realize I was clad in only my boxers. I looked down at my bare body and asked her, "You don't mind, do you?"

She waved her hand and smiled. "Not at all, Roman. I am sure you can assume I am interested in joining you in your undressed state tonight."

I blushed and choked out a laugh. "I'd never assume such a thing from a lady."

She laughed back at me and said, "Oh, come. Only the truth between us, as always." She eyed me like I was a pizza.

I leaned on the counter, unconsciously obscuring my nakedness. "Are you hungry?"

She shook her head. "I ate before I came. I knew you would be asleep." She nodded her head at the bathroom, by way of explanation.

I just nodded like it was normal to break into your friend's place to spare them a little sleep. "You seem better. What happened? Where did you go?"

She crossed her arms and shook her head. "I am afraid I cannot tell you about my business, but I am better, thanks to you, Roman." She gestured for me to come near and she gave me a kiss that said "thank you, I missed you, it's nice to see you."

I said the same back to her in the kiss. "T-thank you, Audrey." I shuddered, awoken by her warm lips. "Well, uh, that's fine. Oh, I didn't notice, but you left all your stuff here. I hope you had your phone and everything."

"I knew my things would be safe here. I did not need anything. I do not have a phone, either."

I gawked at her. "You don't? Why not? Wouldn't an alien be all about our tech?"

She giggled. "Not this one, apparently. I have had no need of one yet." She shrugged. "I am not wholly opposed to having one."

I squeezed her hand and let go of it. "Well, maybe you should get one. So I can keep in touch with you while you're out doing whatever."

She saw through my flimsy shield of nonchalance but clearly appreciated the sentiment. "Maybe I will. That is a good idea." She grabbed my hand again and I helped her from the chair. "Now, what should we do?"

I looked back at the chair but it was clearly not time for that yet. "Uhm, how about Twin Peaks?"

Her face lit up at that. "Ah! Yes. I miss Audrey." I led her back to my cot and she sat on it, stroking the smooth material of the sleeping bag. "What did you do since we last saw each other?"

"Oh, nothing," I said, bending to turn on the TV.

"Not the truth," she chimed from behind me.

I turned back to her neutral face and confessed, "My thoughts were all about you so I just messed around until it was time for bed."

She nodded happily and said, "Better." She watched me turn on the Playstation and made a sound when it beeped and its light turned on. "'What is that?" she asked.

"A Playstation. It's how I can get Netflix on the screen."

She cocked her head at me.

I chuckled and said, "Netflix has movies and stuff and Playstation lets you play video games."

"Video games?"

"Yeah, uh, it's a game you can play on the screen," I said, pointing at the TV.

She looked fascinated. "Show me, Roman."

I saw that Twin Peaks no longer held her interest so I agreed to show her. "I don't have games on Playstation, so hold on while I start the Switch." She watched me get it all set up and took the controller I offered her wordlessly. She examined it thoroughly while I selected a game we could play together. "This game has a bunch of little games in it. We can play on the same team or against each other."

Mario Party started and the colors and style dazzled her. "I understand now. My people have things like this. Nowhere near as... fun, of course."

I sat down in my chair and set up our game. "That reminds me, you never told me if they would like pizza."

She only blinked at me but then she remembered too. "That is right," she said, laughing. "Suffice to say, no, they would not. Their preference is order and organization in all things. They would not appreciate the medley of perfection that is pizza."

"Huh. Wouldn't know it going off of the way you carry yourself."

"Coming to Earth has given me an opportunity to leave the ways of The Garden behind. It has resulted in a liberating change in outlook for me. Your world offers freedoms I could never dream of on my own."

I turned to her, deaf to the playful music of the game. "Wow. That sounds like a good turn to your course of events. But... do you miss your world at all? Would you go back and change what happened?"

She looked like she regretted bringing it up and that made me regret asking her that in turn. But she answered. "I... I do miss it. But, no, I would not alter my choices. Please, show me this game."

"I understand. Both good and bad. But, yeah, oh. For this one..." And I explained to her the controls for that particular minigame and I told her what the buttons were and everything. It took her awhile to get the hang of it, and she lost a bunch of games despite my primary focus on helping her get the hang of it over my own victory. She got really into it, and demonstrated an intense competitive streak I knew had to be a holdover from her take-no-prisoners home planet mindset. She jumped up after her first victory and it took all I could do to remind her the old lady was sleeping upstairs.

"Oh! I am sorry, Roman. I am just so... invigorated!" She laughed hungrily, albeit more quietly than usual, for which I was grateful. It turned out to be a close competition for the most minigame wins, and when it came down to it, she actually won. I was only taking it a little easy on her so I was surprised but pleasantly so; she was so cute when she was all excited. It almost made me forget all about Bernardine. "I have won, Roman! I have beaten you! Ah! I have won!" She jumped up and threw her hands into the sky. I giggled along with her, refreshed again by how alive living could be. I showed her the recap screen that showed us all the stats of the competition and she studied all the details avidly, like it was going straight to her memory banks for a future match. She got the win out of her system and plopped down onto the cot. "I need a cigarette. How about you, Roman? Will you join me in a triumphant smoke?" she said, offering me a cig.

I looked from it to her. "Uh, I'm not exactly allowed to smoke inside. It was in the lease and everything. I don't really smoke, either."

She rolled her eyes. "Join me, Roman! This calls for celebration! It is only two cigarettes, and only one for you. Surely they cannot do much harm." Her proffered hand dipped toward me again, and I took the cigarette. She beamed at me and lit us up. I had only attempted to smoke a couple times in the past, just off of curious whims hanging out with smoker friends. I thought it was funny how easily the smoke made me cough my lungs out, but I didn't want to heave in front of her. I took little puffs and wasn't even sure if I was inhaling the smoke. Audrey, meanwhile, lay back on my cot, taking indulgent drags and seemingly savoring the stuff within her lungs before blasting it out upward. I followed her example and tried to hold in a mouthful but it overwhelmed me and my lungs expelled the vile stuff violently, urgently. Audrey laughed, but without any malice. I started laughing through my choking too, until the high pitch keen of the fire alarm couldn't help but join us.

"Oh, fuck!" I exclaimed, throwing down my cigarette. "Oh, shit!"

Audrey, wide eyed, finished her last pull and looked around for the source of the incessant, piercing chirping. "Roman, what is happening?" she said, barely audible over the din of alarm tone.

The stomping above soon joined the cacophony of noise. Why the fuck did I join her? I don't even smoke! I screamed at myself in my mind. "Fire alarm. It detected the fucking smoke," I said, trying to climb onto the shelves. Audrey got up and held the chair under me steady. I pulled myself onto the great wooden structure and stretched, stretched, stretched up to hit the button on the detector. The tone deaf thing died and, not to be outdone, my phone started buzzing furiously down below. "Hand that to me, please," I bid Audrey. She handed it up and I saw who was calling. Bernardine.

"Roman! What is happening?" she demanded.

"Nothing, Bernardine. The smoke detector just went off."

"Is there fire?" she asked, ignoring me.

"No, no fire. I have no idea why it went off."

"There is no fire?"

Audrey smiled up at me sheepishly. "No, no fire, Bernardine. Everything's fine."

I didn't hear whatever else she said and hung up. I climbed down and sank into the chair. I sighed whatever smoke I imagined remained within me and remembered the cigarette I threw on the floor. I rolled over to it and policed it. Audrey took it from me and went and threw the culprits of the alarm's fury away.

"I am sorry, Roman. I neglected your hesitance and roused the house," she said, coming over and picking up my hand.

I wasn't mad at her, because I had allowed her to smoke in the first place and even went ahead and joined her. But if I was mad, I would say that I couldn't stay mad at her. How could you be mad at a thieving, smoking goddess? "Ah, it's fine. I don't give a fuck about her sleeping but it's gonna be annoying when she comes to me about it tomorrow." I shrugged, noticing Mario Party was still on. "It was worth it, like you said, it was a moment to celebrate."

She bent down and kissed my cheek. "I have won, so now you must too," she whispered sensually into my ear. She moved back so I could see that predatorial look in her eyes.

"Oh," I said thickly. She giggled and murmured more seduction into my skin as she kissed down my neck.

"I must make it up to you, Roman."

"Oh, oh. No, you don't have to, Audrey." We were whispering now, as if it would make up for triggering the horrible shrieking that had just assaulted the house.

"Oh, but I do, Roman." She slipped onto my lap and took my face in her hands. She kissed both of my cheeks before planting her lips on mine.

It was like a model of lovemaking. We eased into each other gently, mingling together until our rhythm was set. Lips grew hungry and tongues were sent for. We sought succor in each other's mouths, but what we got was never enough, it could never be, as long as our mouths were only as big as they were and our tongues as long and dexterous as they were. The rhythm jumped up high like the first beat of an oscilloscope. But it did not plateau, but rise, rise, higher and higher, and our lips and tongues and hands did their best to follow our passion. The only sound in the air was our furious nostrils gathering as much air to fuel our oral lovemaking as they could, and the smacking of our lips. I felt like a spirit, devoid of body but full of ethereal feeling sourced from the conjoined chamber of our mouths. My cock was straining within my boxers against Audrey like it was going to bend too far and snap like the arm of a catapult. I knew Audrey felt it, but all she could do was rise up a little as not to smash it between our legs.