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WE BOTH CRACKED UP. “Yeah, I feel so illicit.” I put my arm around his waist. “Too true. So, where’re we headed?”
“Oh, show me the shop with that top in it. You never know, maybe I’ll have the guts to wear it.”
“Will do.” He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “Great bridal shops here.”
“Yeah. And yeah. Help me.”
Reader flashed his cover-boy grin. “Of course, what are friends for? I’ve been giving it thought already.”
“You have?”
“I knew you weren’t. Not enough, anyway.”
“Teach me, oh very wise one.” We arrived at lobby level and walked out of the elevator. I examined everyone we went past, but no one looked familiar or wrong, not that I had a lot of faith in how I’d determine wrong anyway.
“I don’t want you in some billowy tent.”
“What are you, my mother suddenly?”
“Nope. I’m your Fashion Adviser. And trust me, with your figure, we’re looking for something that doesn’t hide the fact you’ve got curves.”
“I don’t want to look fat.”
“You’re not fat. You’re also not a stick. You look like a woman. We want to enhance that. Besides, you’d be amazed at what’s out there. We do want a low neckline, of course.”
“We do? I’m going to be in some sort of a church.”
We were in the casino now. It was loud and flashy, bells were ringing, people were making noise, the hustle and bustle was at a decent hum. I smelled smoke and booze and money. It was only Reader’s grip on my shoulders that kept me from wandering to an active craps table. The two guys who’d checked me out earlier were at one and seemed to be wi
Reader sighed. “Focus, girlfriend, focus. We have a goal. Gambling later. Wardrobe now. Flirting with guys not in our expanded circle never.”
“Okay. So, low neckline why?”
He laughed. “Because you have a great rack. And this is the best time to show it off. Besides, it’ll make Jeff happy.”
“It will?”
“Trust me.”
As we headed toward the side of the casino that co
“I told you to stop flirting with strangers.”
“I’m not. I felt someone watching me. Us, probably,” I added. After all, of the two of us, the one more likely to get stared at was the former top male model. I looked around again to see if someone was staring at Reader and just including me in the eyeballing. But again, no one stood out.
“You’ve just got pre-wedding jitters,” Reader said as we got to the escalators that took you out of the casino and to the mall that co
We got off the escalator, and the reason for my feeling we were being watched appeared. “Nice to see you folks again,” Mister Joel Oliver said cheerfully as he snapped a few shots of us.
I wasn’t quite sure what to do. Reader was. He stopped, still holding onto me, and flashed the cover-boy grin. “Smile, girlfriend.”
“Why?” I asked as I did as I was told.
Oliver sighed and lowered the camera. “Because happy, smiling, and clearly posing people aren’t interesting shots.” He gave Reader an impressed look. “I understand why you ‘retired,’ but really, the fashion magazines of the world are missing you.”
“I’m flattered,” Reader said, still smiling the smile that put everyone else’s to shame. “But leave us alone or I’ll call Security on you. No cameras in the casinos.”
Oliver shrugged. “We’re not in the casino. Besides, you being here is go
I was glad Reader had a firm grasp on me, because I wanted to tackle this guy to the ground. “You’re high.”
Oliver shook his head. “Nope. Keep fighting the good fight, though.”
“What fight would that be?”
“Protecting the weak and the helpless from the evil from outer space. I mean, that’s your group’s stated mission, isn’t it?”
I wondered where Chuckie, or my mother, might be and whether I could get them to arrest this man. Then again, I’d had a lot of training in how to treat someone who sounded like a loon. Just talk to him the way most of the people we’d gone to school with talked to Chuckie.
I laughed. “Dude, you’re crazy. No wonder you work for the world’s worst tabloid. You probably still live with your mother. In her basement.” I nudged Reader. “Let’s leave the conspiracy loon alone with his theories.”
“Sounds good.” Reader stopped smiling and hailed someone. Someone in a uniform that had Security in big yellow letters on it. “This man’s accosting us, sir, I think to take pictures of your slot machines.”
The security guard moved in, and Oliver moved on. “Good one,” he called after us. “I’ll see the two of you again. Soon.”
“Well, that was fun. Maybe this was a bad idea.”
“Nope. Tim gave us all the intel on that guy before you and Jeff got to the briefing. Reynolds is researching him. He’ll be neutralized or defanged soon, I’m sure.”
“Neutralized? As in killed?” My voice squeaked.
“I doubt it. Stop worrying. Let’s shop and get your mind onto relaxing things, like spending Jeff’s money.”
I decided Reader was right and spent the walk to the shop he’d spotted trying to relax. I did this mostly by window-shopping, which Reader was happy to let me do. We strolled along, looking at all the glittery things that insinuated I should save them from a life of boredom in the shops and take them home to a life of adventure in my closet. Considering what seemed to go on in my closet, maybe I had an obligation to bring the Elves something from Vegas.
The only time I’d ever shopped in these stores was when I’d been here with Chuckie. Not all of them were high priced, but most were. However, I had tons of Martini’s cash with me, and his charge cards, and by the time we’d wandered past about a third of the mall I was getting kind of excited.
Reader spent most of this slow walk discussing body types and why he wanted me to look at either cocktail length or mermaid-style dresses that were more on the minimalist side than poofy and overly adorned. I couldn’t really argue. I wasn’t tall, so something with a long train would look ridiculous. Something with too much foof on it was going to make me look like a doll. I had my doubts about mermaid, but I was willing to try anything at this point.
We finally reached the shop with the top in it. It was a really sexy top in a store full of really sexy clothing. “What were you doing in here?” I asked him while we looked for my size.
“Browsing.” He gri
“Yeah. You know it’s bad when I’m in jeans and an Aerosmith T-shirt and I feel exotically dressed.”
“Exactly. You wouldn’t believe the whining I got from Paul when I bought what I’m wearing now.”
“He’s not cheap, is he?”
“Hardly. He just doesn’t understand why I’m not thrilled to be in the suit twenty-four/seven. I’m not joking, it’s cultural.”
I found my size and thought about this. “James, do you think it’s just them, just ‘our’ A-Cs, or do you think all of them on the home world are that way, too?”
“No idea. I’ve never given it any thought.” He was quiet for a few moments while we looked for a skirt to go with this top and something to go under it—he hadn’t been kidding, it was sexy, glittery, and extremely sheer. “You’re thinking we could spot the enemy agents by how they don’t alter what they wear?”