The Masquerade Ch. 06

"Promise?" She asked.

"Promise." He replied.

Alex told him the story, from the moment she saw the truck, up until the moment she got into the car with Brian. Mark was silent throughout, except for the occasional grunt or hiss.

"You sure you're okay?" He asked. "You need anything?"

"I am, or at least I will be. I just think it will take a day or two to not be as freaked out. Brian and Chris are here." Alex sighed. "I'm sorry I missed our phone date."

He chuckled. "It's not as if it wasn't without reason, darlin'. Is there anything I can do?"

She smiled into the phone. "No, but thanks."

"I can't believe it was the guy from the Masquerade. Talk about seriously creepy." Mark said

"No kidding. Listen I don't want to talk about that anymore." Alex said, tired of repeating the story and thinking about the whole damn thing. And she would have to tell Brian and Chris tonight too. She sighed.

"What do you want to talk about?" He asked in his low sinful voice. She shivered happily.

"Whatever you want to talk about as long as you talk to me like that." She replied.

"Okay, when should we get together again and what do you want to do?" He asked, his voice still bass.

"We could watch a movie?" She said

"Your place or mine?" He asked, a slight suggestion in his voice. Alex giggled.

"How about yours? But this time I'll drive."

"I don't mind driving you, but I also won't say no. Four is way too early in the morning." Mark said, humor in his voice.

"Lazy. So I'd be spending the night?" Alex asked, her voice low.

"I hope so." He replied, his voice even deeper.

"Mm." She returned. "Okay. When?"

"Tomorrow?"

Alex smiled. It was good to be wanted by someone. By a good someone, she corrected herself. "Okay, but I have karate class until eight. I won't be able to get there until eight-thirty at the earliest.

"We can do it another day if that's better." Mark said.

"It's okay. If you don't mind, I'd like to see you tomorrow." She said.

"Good." He said emphatically enough that Alex giggled. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Goodnight." Alex said, her spirits raised.

"Goodnight, my sweet Alexandria," Mark said as he hung up. Alex smiled, looking at her ceiling. She thought about Mark for a few minutes, the horrible evening not crossing her mind.

"That's a smile." Brian said from her doorway. Alex squeaked and jumped out of the bed. She ran at him when he laughed, and he ran away from her down her hall, catching himself on the hallway corner, spinning himself into the kitchen.

"Quit it you, too!" Chris said, putting the tea down on the table.

"Yes, mom!" Alex and Brian chorused. Brian held up his hands when Chris glared up at them. He slipped forward, his walk slow and slinky. Chris' eyes lit up and Brian leaned down and kissed him quickly. Then Brian turned to Alex. She looked at them with a smile. He looked at her quizzically for a moment and then broke out into a grin.

"You got some!" He said gleefully.

"What?" Alex exclaimed, cursing her face as she felt it flush.

"You did! Look at you, you're blushing!" Chris pointed at her face and Alex glared. He dropped his hand. He shrugged. "You were blushing," he said almost sullenly. Alex shook her head.

"How did you know?" She asked Brian.

"Every time I kiss Chris in front of you, you complain how celibate you are. You smiled instead."

"Which story do you want first?" She said with a sigh as she sat down. Brian took the chair next to hers and Chris sat across from her. They looked at each other.

"Start with the stalker guy, then you get to spill your guts on your new man!" Brian said.

Alex laughed, then became serious. She talked them through Shelly's message, the green truck at the dojo, and going to the store and the confrontation. She told them about Officer Rold and giving the report. She told them how Officer Brown had walked beside her and asked if she was going to get home alright. Brian raised his eyebrow as he grinned at her. He told Chris about the young officer at the car. Chris grinned at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.

Alex finished the story about the time she finished her tea. It was slightly easier telling it this time, either the repetition or the company made it better. Brian pulled her out of her chair, standing up to hug her, her face in his chest. Chris walked around and wrapped her into his arms also. She let herself feel warm, safe and loved for a moment. Then, "Uhh, guys? I can't quite breathe with you lugs hanging onto me."

Brian and Chris both chuckled, and then squeezed harder. Alex elbowed Chris in the stomach and he grunted, loosening his hold. Then she dropped to her knees between then and wormed out of the way. She took a quick step and then launched herself with a practiced flair over the back of her sofa and cuddled back into it.

"That's it, neither of you get any sofa. And I'm not going to tell you about Mark." Alex grabbed the afghan and pulled it over herself. She heard them come around each end of the sofa. She peaked out from under the blanket as Chris sat on her legs and Brian attacked her ribs, tickling mercilessly.

Alex laughed pushing at his hands and squirming to get out from under Chris. He grabbed her legs in his hands and held her. She pulled her legs quickly to her chest and pushed them back at Chris.

"Damn! Every time!" Chris said. Alex rolled off the couch, trying to avoid Brian's tickling hands. They laughed and rough housed making a mess of her couch. Finally they landed in a heap on the floor, gasping for breath and laughing. Chris rolled over and looked Alex in the eyes.

"Girl, you stink!" He said, his eyes sparkling.

"Well, I guess that means it's shower time. I'll tell you guys about Mark later." Alex rolled to her feet as they sputtered.

"We want details!" They chorused.

"I want a ten minute shower. Make out on my couch for a few minutes, I'll be back." Alex said over her shoulder as she disappeared down the hall.

She walked into her room, looking around first. She grabbed her pajamas and headed to the bathroom. Alex took her time. She wanted to feel clean. Talking to Mark had helped, and talking to Brian and Chris helped. She could still feel green man's hands on her occasionally. It only served to piss her off. As she finished her shower, she breathed deeply. She closed her eyes, and tried to let it go.

She thought about what he had done. She thought about how she had been able to push him away. She had sized him up at the time unconsciously. She took herself back and she thought about it. Alex got out of the shower, still thinking. She could take him, if she had to. She'd probably get hurt some, but she could take him. But what if it had been someone who couldn't. Who knew if he had done this before?

Alex thought about the last time she had been attacked. It had been during college. An attempted rape, the police had guessed. She had protected herself. She had pressed charges. It had been a whole rigamarole and in the end, there wasn't enough evidence to convict him. She had been pissed. Not as pissed as Brian, who had, against her wishes, thoroughly beat the guy.

But this time, there were security cameras, and the store itself was pressing charges. What if he tried this against someone who couldn't protect herself? Alex made up her mind. She knew she was relatively safe. But someone else might not be. She'd go to the police station in the morning and formally press charges.

With her mind made up, Alex felt the knot in her stomach release. She still was slightly edgy, and she certainly didn't want to be alone tonight, but she was better, and would get better all the time. She slipped into her pajamas, towel dried her hair and then padded down the hallway to the living room. She watched for a moment, smiling. Brian and Chris were in their favorite position on her couch. Chris was sitting at one end, Brian stretched along the couch, his head in Chris's lap and his feet hanging over the end. Chris was playing with Brian's hair and they were whispering to each other.

Alex wanted that. Chris and Brian had been together for the last four years and they were still madly in love with each other. She remembered when they met for the first time. Alex and Brian had been at a party and Brian had been bored out of his mind. He was a handsome guy, built and tall. He had to fend off advances from women all night long. She had been standing next to him when he stilled and she had followed his gaze to this short, stocky blonde who was avidly talking football with someone. Chris had met his gaze, and paused in his conversation. Then he smiled and winked before returning to his conversation. Alex had leaned up to Brian, pulling his shoulder so he stooped. "Really?" She had asked. She hadn't thought short and stocky would be his type.

"God yes," Brian had said. Over the night, Chris and Brian had met glances and the room seemed to revolve around them. Brian had been too nervous to go up to him. He had all sorts of reactions when he tried to pick up a guy, and some of them had been really hateful. He really hadn't wanted to give Chris the chance to be that kind of guy. Finally, near the end of the night, Chris had walked to Brian, handed him his number and winked. He turned and walked away. Brian hadn't waited two minutes before calling. And that had been it. Brian and Chris were why Alex believed in love at first sight.

She watched them for a moment more. Chris looked up and saw her watching them. He winked and waved her over. Alex slipped to the floor, her back against the couch and Brian's chest, her arm over Chris's knees. They had spent many a night like this.

"So, you finally got some?" Brian asked gleefully. Alex whacked his side with the back of her hand. She sighed.

"So, the night of the Masquerade?" Alex started.

"You met him at the Masquerade? Damn, I wish I could have been there." Brian said. Chris winced, and Brian cupped his cheek for a moment. "Sorry love, you know what I mean." They had been out of town for Chris's uncle's funeral.

"Yeah, he actually had saved me from the stalker guy who tried to assault me today." Alex said.

"No way!" They chorused.

Alex told them the story of the Masquerade, meeting Mark, and then telling them how she found him the next day and that they had spent Sunday together. They tried to pry the intimate details, and Alex had a hard time keeping any details to herself. Seriously, they were like FBI interrogators. They laughed into the night, Alex relaxing with them there.

Eventually, she got tired out and they slipped into her bedroom. They had often shared the bed when they had talked late into the night. Alex's spare room only had a twin bed, and she had indulged in a king size bed for her room. They all fit, Alex on one end, Brian in the middle and Chris on the other side. Alex slept with the familiar snore of Brian and Chris's wheeze calming her.

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Alex came out of the police station, after formally pressing charges and getting a restraining order. She had been told the green man's name was Jack Raimes, but she could really only call him 'the green man' in her mind. She walked out of the police station calmer. She had taken action and she felt it was the right one.

She looked at her watch. It was only nine. Even on days when she slept in she didn't sleep in much more than six; that's what waking up at four for so long did to you she guessed. Alex got into her car and started driving towards Deep Blue. She thought she'd stop in and tell John everything. Brian and Chris would be at work by now. She'd woken them up before leaving for the police station.

As Alex drove, she turned on her music and started singing along, determined to make today as normal a day as possible. Of course, it wasn't going to be normal. She hadn't had a date in over a year, and now this would be a second one already. Alex sighed happily. Nope, not quite a normal day.

When she got to Deep Blue, she walked into the door only to have Ralph and Marco rush up to her. Ralph was a tall, thin man who walked with a slight limp, but still looked like he could give a good talking to anyone. Marco was a tiny, little man with a bit of a stoop and walked with a cane.

"You alright, girl?" They asked over one another, glared at each other and started at the same time again.

"Who was the git?" Ralph said.

"Did you put him in his place, dear?" Marco asked.

They looked at Alex expectantly as she glared at John around Ralph's head. John lifted his hand up in surrender, but with a grin on his face. She looked back at the two friends and sighed. She turned them around, taking their arms and leading them back to their usual chessboard table.

"I'm fine. I don't even really know who he was, but there's a restraining order now," Alex paused as Ralph snorted into his coffee cup, "And the store pressed charges as well. I don't 'put people into their place', Marco, but I certainly protect myself." Alex pushed them into their seats and stood over them. "Now forget this all happened and go back to arguing over who's the better chess player."

She kissed them both on the cheek as they immediately started arguing with each other. Marco patted her cheek and Alex made her way to John. Tiffany, one of the other baristas, was also behind the counter and must have come in early to help. John motioned Alex behind the counter and into the back, telling Tiffany he would be back in awhile. Tiffany nodded, making a couple of orders.

"Mrs. Taniger says if you aren't feeling up to working tomorrow, I shouldn't make you and that she's going to make you a lasagna and bring it by for you. Andy says he's happy you seem okay, but if you need anything to let him and Alice know. Alice says that she's so glad you know karate and can put a man in his place. Ralph, Marco and a few others want to know his name so they can take him out." John laughed as he put an arm around Alex's shoulders. She poked him in the side.

"Why'd you tell everyone what happened?" She asked.

"Well, I opened for the first time in over six months. They asked where you were."

"You could have told them I was sick or something." She whined at him. God, she was going to get so much attention the next few days.

He shook his head. "You weren't, and besides, they should all know how kick ass you are. You were attacked, you didn't get hurt and you scared him away. You're awesome, and you should be spoiled for it." John said sternly.

"I wasn't awesome John. I kept his hands off of me, and he was on a security cam. The camera is what finally scared him away." She said, shaking her head.

"Tell me what happened." John said, sitting in one of the chairs.

Alex sat across from him. She thought for a moment and then started with the Masquerade, telling him about the man in green, meeting Mark. Then she skipped to the truck in the neighbor hood and Shelly's message and then telling him about last night. She also told him about the restraining order and pressing charges

He leaned forward in his chair and squeezed her thigh comfortingly. "See? Awesome." He said with a smile. She shook her head. Then she saw his eyes, and the mischief in them. "So, tell me about Mark. I can't believe that you two got together. I haven't seen in him years!"

She smiled, "Maybe you should tell me about Mark!"

"Nuh-uh. You two need to get to know each other before I'll tell you stories." John tilted his head as he studied her a moment. "He's a good guy though, even in college he was a good guy."

"Figured that one out." Alex said with a smile. She took a deep breath and told him about meeting Mark and spending Sunday with him. Thankfully, John wasn't nearly as good at interrogating as Brian and Chris. She was able to keep away from certain details. Though she supposed that was partially due to the fact that when she went there, even a little bit, John tended to cover his ears and say, "I don't want to know, I don't want to know!"

Alex really loved her friends, but sometimes they really were just, well, Nosy Parkers. She wasn't quite yet ready to share everything about Mark with people in general. Though really, Brian and Chris would have heard sooner rather than later anyway. But she wanted to keep Mark to herself for a little bit longer. Besides, her friends were a bit of a handful. She smiled. She wouldn't have them any other way.

Alex and John walked out of the office to see Tiffany talking avidly with Mark, her hand on his arm. Alex watched for a moment, and smiled when Mark swayed a bit away from Tiffany, who then dropped her hand from his arm. John went over to check on a few of the regulars and Alex hitched her hip onto the counter, watching Tiffany and Mark interact. Alex could definitely see Tiffany was interested. Mark was responding politely and seemed to be enjoying the conversation. Then he happened to look up and see Alex. When she met his eyes, they lit up and he paused in conversation. Tiffany swirled her head around to see Alex leaning against the counter. Mark walked around Tiffany and up to Alex. He leaned down and kissed her quickly on the lips.

"Hey Gorgeous." He said, his hands rubbing down her arms to catch her hands.

Alex giggled and smiled up at him. "Hey Handsome. What are you doing here?"

"Hoping to find you, of course. I thought you might stop in and see John, so I took a chance. I thought if you were here, I could steal you away for a little bit, and if you weren't, I could catch up a bit with John." Mark's eyes held hers and Alex felt a hitch in her chest.

She smiled back at him. "Well, I'm here. And I think John has had enough gossip with everything he made me tell him. So how about you steal me away?" Alex said, a twinkle in her eye.

Mark intertwined his fingers with hers and started tugging her towards the door. He looked over his shoulder and said, "It was nice to meet you, Tiffany. I'll probably see you around." Alex swiveled her head around to look at Tiffany, who pouted her lips at her and then gave her a thumbs up. Alex grinned back at her.

Mark took her to her car, and then leaning down, he whispered right before his lips touched hers. "Now, a proper hello." His arms swept around her, his lips brushing hers softly, questioning. He groaned softly when Alex met his lips with hers, sliding her tongue over them. He leaned into her, his body plastered to hers, his kiss taking her breath away.

They finally parted and she said, somewhat breathlessly, "Hello!"

He chuckled, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand, "Hello." He brushed his lips over her forehead, "So, I have awhile before office hours, what would you like to do?"

"Well, you never did get any tea last time. Do you want to try again?" Alex asked.

"If I go home with you, I'm not sure how much tea I'd actually drink, darlin'." Mark said, his voice deep.

"Good. Let's go drink tea." Alex pushed Mark towards his car as he laughed lowly. She got into her car and led Mark back to her house. He was right, they didn't drink any tea. It was a delightful morning.