Penny

 

For the first time in ages, Penny was warm. Actually warm, not just “not freezing” or chilly, but properly warm from the tip of her nose down to her toes. Winter arrived swiftly in the Midwest. One day a storm front rolled through and washed away the inhumane heat of summer and left the bitterness of a winter white sky and a cold wind that sliced to the bone, skipping autumn entirely.

She shouldn’t be surprised. Everything changed quickly nowadays. One day Earth was, well, boring old Earth, and the next it was invaded by aliens. One day she was a college student, the next she scavenged in ruins. One morning she had a house. By the evening, she had rubble. What was the sudden drop in temperature compared to everything else that vanished within a day?

The salty aroma of split pea soup tickled her nose.

A hard finger poked her shoulder.

Penny rolled over, burying her face in the mattress. For a brief moment she was just a college girl sleeping in and everything was normal. Ordinary. Boring. Split-pea-soup-for-breakfast boring.

Ugh. Her ability to find a silver lining didn’t go that far.

“Go away.”

Another poke. Her alien was awake and wanted her attention. At least he was recovered enough to be a pain in the butt.

Looky there, she found a silver lining after all.

Penny sat up and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, “I don’t know if you can understand me but you don’t wake a sleeping Penny. That’s no good for anyone.”

Big Red crouched at the edge of the mattress, holding a can of split pea soup and a spoon. Naked as the day he was born. Of course.

She averted her eyes. “You want to wear some clothes, maybe?”

He rumbled a reply, voice deep and smooth, and offered the can of soup again. The words escaped her, but the meaning was obvious. No pants until she ate.

She took the spoon and choked down a bite of the salty, congealed soup. “No offense,” she said around a cough, “but this is disgusting. I’ll get my own and you can have this.” Clutching the blanket, she went to her makeshift pantry. In the last month, she’d stocked the metal utility shelf with all the canned goods she could scrounge. She grabbed a can and popped the top. “Beef raviolis. Satisfied.”

He raised a hand into a fist and bent it at twice at the wrist.

“Is that sign language?”

He made the same motion but that could have meant anything. He could be telling her off for refusing his soup or taking his pants.

“If you’re looking for your pants,” she said, pointing to the far wall, “they’re over there drying.”

Penny returned to the mattress and arranged the blanket around her. The basement was too large for the candle heater to warm effectively. She’d done her best to winterize the basement by blacking out the windows with heavy paper, then covering them with bubble wrap for insulation. She’d repurposed the least damaged rugs from upstairs and covered the concrete floor but the basement remained a concrete hole in the frozen ground. There was only so much bubble wrap and carpets could do.

She dug into the raviolis, ignoring the bland taste of cold pasta. The basement was protected from the elements and not drafty. The ceiling leaked in the rain but it hadn’t rained in weeks. Snow and melting ice were her concerns now.

She inspected the ceiling, searching for signs of drifting snow. Nothing yet. If the wind picked up as the radio promised, it would drive the snow right into the house through the missing wall and eventually that snow would fall down on her head through the gaps in the floorboards. Not good.

A tent would work. She could move some of the shelves and use the tarp to make a covering.

Satisfied with her plan, she finished off the raviolis.

Big Red held up his armor and frowned. The pants did not meet his satisfaction and he rehung them to continue drip drying. The shirt he examined carefully, sticking his fingers through the rips.

“I got a needle and thread,” Penny said.

All his fingers closed together in a pinch.

“That a no?”

He responded with a “yes” sign.

Needle and thread wasn’t good enough for his space pants, it seemed. Penny pressed her lips together to keep her snark to herself. She was stuck in the basement with the alien until the storm finished and she knew nothing about him beyond the basics. Smart girls kept it friendly. Smart girls didn’t antagonize the mountain of muscle alien who could rip her apart with his bare hands.

Not that she believed he would. Big Red didn’t seem the type. If he wanted to hurt her, he would have let the lizard get her, back by the river. Or done something to her while she slept.

He returned to the mattress and crouched down. Penny backed up as a reflex. Her eyes glanced down to the bulge between his legs in case there was any tripod action going on. Still smooth, thankfully.

He reached for her, lifting up the hem of her shirt. She batted away his hand. “What are you doing? Stop!”

He stopped immediately. So he did understand English.

Frowning, he gestured to the angry slashes across his abdomen, then pointed to her.

His wounds… they should be deeper. Fascinated, Penny moved towards him. Her fingers skated across his stomach, probing the area around his wound. The gashes needed stitches, but she’d decided that warming him up was more important. That was before she fell asleep and, unless she’d slept for days, only hours had passed. Now his wound looked no more serious than some scratches.

Grumbling, he pushed her back gently. His strength was undeniable but he moved her carefully. He motioned to her stomach again.

“Oh, you want to know if I’m hurt. I’m fine. See.” Penny lifted up her shirt.

Grunting, Big Red grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to inspect her back. She waited patiently with minimal eye rolling while he pushed back her sleeves to inspect her arms and hands.

“See. Fine.”

Another grunt. His large hand slipped under her waistband, sliding against her skin. Penny slapped it away with a speed that surprised her. “No! Bad Big Red!”

He sat back on his heels. “Bg’rhed?”

“Yeah, that’s you, Mister No Manners.” Penny wrapped the blanket around her. “You don’t just stick your hand down a girl’s pants. Honestly. What did your mama teach you?”

He thumped his chest. “Kol.”

“Coal?”

“Kol.” Another thump. “No Bg’rhed.”

His name.

“I’m Penny.” She tapped her chest.

“Pen-knee.”

“What? No. You don’t say it like that.” She repeated her name again, stressing the first syllable.

“Pen-knee.” A look of satisfaction settled on Big Red’s—Kol’s—face.

“Close enough.”

He tapped his chest again, over his heart, or where his heart would be if he were human. The black tattoos on his arms glowed faintly with a silvery light.“Pen-knee.”

Penny narrowed her eyes. She did not like the direction of this conversation. “Yeah, look, we need to figure out a way to talk to each other because there are some things we need to clear up.”

“Pen-knee yes?” He moved closer, leaning over her, and planted an arm on either side. His heavy-browed face leaned down, less than an inch from hers, his eyes hooded.

Penny held her breath, unsure what he planned.

He lowered his face to her neck and breathed in as if she smelled amazing and not like she’d been living in a basement for months without running water. Something warm and wet brushed the length of her neck and she stiffened. Through her shock, she realized he had licked her.

He licked her.

Before she could process whether it was nice or gross or if she even wanted him licking her girly parts, his hot mouth pressed to her ear and murmured, “Penny yes?”

“Penny no!” She pushed him away. Fortunately, he let her. She had no illusions about her ability to fight him off if he wanted…

She gulped, reluctant to finish the thought. If Big Red—Kol—wanted sex there wasn’t much she would be able to do about it.

“Penny no,” he repeated, keeping his distance.

“Thank you.” She adjusted the blanket around herself. “I don’t know what it’s like where you’re from, but on Earth you don’t shove your hand down a girl’s pants and lick her on the first date. I’m not that kind of girl.” She fiddled with the blanket again to hide her blush. “Not that I think this is a date. This is so far from a date—”

“Pen-knee...” The gentle tone in his voice made her look up. His grin almost made him handsome, in a demonic, ogrish sort of way. The lantern light shadowed the rolling dips of muscles of his chest and abdomen, down to his narrow hips and thick thighs. His face might be an acquired taste, but there was nothing wrong with his body. 

“I should get you something to wear.” She jumped up from the mattress. “I don’t have anything to fit you, but I have an idea.”

Her selection of sheets and blankets wasn’t endless, but she had more than enough for two people. Folding the fabric in half, she made a quick semi circle with a pair of scissors. In triumph, she held up a blue plaid flannel sheet. “Ta-dah!”

Kol’s features remained expressionless.

“It’s a poncho.”

Penny worked the poncho over Kol’s head and fussed with the fabric until it covered all the vital bits. He flapped his arms, frowning at the billowing fabric. His tail curled up and thrashed at the hem. He was not a happy camper.

“So it’s not ideal, but it beats walking around naked.”

“No.”

“No you don’t like it or no, you’d rather be naked?” Please don’t pick walking around naked.

“Yes.”

Penny sank down on the mattress. “That’s as clear as mud. We have to work on communication.”

Kol went to his armor and fished out a device. Shaped like a bracelet, he put the device on his wrist and poked at the screen. He growled in frustration before ripping off the device.

“Is it broken?”

“Yes,” he huffed. He cursed at the device clenched in one meaty fist, shaking it at the ceiling. She didn’t need to speak his language to know he was upset.

“I bet water voided the warranty.”

His eyes narrowed at her.

“Not funny? Sorry. I’ve only had myself to talk to for so long and I think I’m hilarious.”

He growled, actually growled, low and menacing. His patience was beyond worn.

“Calm down, Big Red. Can you fix it?”

“No Bg’rhed. Kol.” He thumped his chest again and repeated his name slower.

“Is that your phone or something? Can you call your people to come and get us?” She moved to get a better look at the device. It looked like a clear acrylic band, not like a piece of alien technology. “Maybe I got something to fix it?”

She cleared a spot and set up a folding table, chair and a lantern. “Tools. Tools,” she muttered before fishing around in a bag to produce a black vinyl case. “It’s not much but I used it when I built my PC.”

Kol held up a tiny screwdriver and examined his phone before grunting in satisfaction. He sat down at the table and disassembled the device. Language barrier or not, that was progress.