I Heart Geeks (15 page)

“I know so.” Lisa plopped onto the bed, ready to go in her Harmony costume, which basically consisted of dressing up like a somewhat slutty bombshell and pretending to be vapid. Lisa had also ditched her glasses and added a fake trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. “So get dressed already,” she instructed with a smile.

It didn’t take long to pull on all the pieces. Mira glanced back at the mirror before slipping on her shoes. She actually looked okay, though goodness knew how long that would last. They’d already cleared the temporary displays from the front of the store, to replace them with tables, but they still needed to set up the refreshments, prizes, and contest supplies. And she’d be running around like crazy most of the night, which also meant having to forego heels. Then again, it wasn’t like people would be there to look at her. Still, it was too bad the outfit wouldn’t endow her with Inara’s confidence and poise.

Chatter from the bookstore encased him the moment Jordan opened the door, entirely at odds with the near silence of his last visit. A couple dozen strangers in a bizarre array of costumes were clumped in smaller groups around tables that had replaced the previous book displays. Animated conversations and bursts of laughter put the point on just how far out of his element Jordan was. He’d almost turned around to leave when a familiar face came into view.

“Jordan!” Mira’s friend, Kelsey, instantly handed him one of the Captain Hammer buttons they’d made. “Glad you’re here. There’s a coat rack in the back if you’d like, and the various activities will start up pretty soon. Oh, there’s no need for that.” She waved away the ten-dollar bill he’d dug out of his pocket. “You’re on the list,” she added with a wink.

“Thanks,” Jordan managed to get out as she ushered him toward the back. He made a mental note to buy a few more books, too, to make up for it.

The back of the store was much quieter, with the books buffering the bustle of the front. Jordan shrugged off his jacket and added it to the sparsely populated coatrack, reminding himself that this was just a party, not an interview or a test.

After a few deep breaths, he headed back toward the refreshment table—as safe a place to start as any—then slowed when one of the groups split up, exposing Mira. She had her hair down today and wore a sexy purple dress, and the smile she shot the couple walking away was beautiful. “You look great,” he told her, stepping up toward the table where she was resettling the platters.

Her smile dropped as she turned toward him, then her lips shifted into a shyer curve. “Thanks.” Her eyes dipped down his torso before she met his gaze again, with a more distant, if brighter, smile. “And you, you make a great Doctor Tam.”

Temporarily confused, Jordan glanced down at the vest he wore over a simple white shirt. “Oh, yeah. Well, I actually just wore what your friends told me to,” he admitted.

“Right, of course. So then, they made a great choice.”

“Well, I can’t take any credit. But you really do look fantastic.”

Her smile slipped back to the cute, shy version for half a second before her chin ducked, and she refocused on fidgeting with the table, moving a dish of crackers a millimeter to the left and a bowl of chips half an inch closer to the edge. Jordan searched for something else to say, but they had yet to talk much about anything other than Joss Whedon and the fate of independent bookstores. Asking how their sales were doing seemed a little inappropriate.

For better or worse, they were joined by a couple of others at the table. One guy wore a long, brown coat, and the other looked like he was pretty much wearing normal clothes except for an eye patch. Like Jordan’s own “costume,” they could easily have passed for absolutely normal on the street. For that matter, maybe they weren’t actually wearing costumes.

“Nice Simon Tam, dude,” the guy with the eye patch said by way of greeting.

“And you got your girlfriend to dress up, too,” the brown-coated guy said, giving Mira the onceover. “That’s awesome, man. My girl wouldn’t even consider coming to one of these, forget dressing like a companion.”

“That’s unfortunate. Maybe if you introduced her to some more characters in the Whedonverse, she’d change her mind,” Mira suggested.

Brown coat scoffed. “Nah, she has more in her life than pleasing her man. She doesn’t need to beg for attention by pretending she understands the stuff I’m into. Unlike
some
,” he added with a smirk.

Eye patch sniggered.

“Hey, enough.” Jordan stepped slightly between them and Mira.

“C’mon, man,” brown coat said, gesturing dismissively with a cube of cheese. “She’s the one dressed as a companion.”

“Oh, geeze, I know,” eye patch chimed in, turning to Mira. “Do you even know the name of the character you’re dressed as?”

“Amazingly, you seem to have misunderstood pretty much every point Whedon was trying to make with Inara, and with companions,” Mira said calmly. “Which is really rather impressive, in a way, having such an impenetrable skull protecting the unused mass that serves as your brain.”

Jordan bit back a laugh, but the two guys merely exchanged confused looks as the insult sailed past them.

“You’re dressed like a whore,” brown coat eventually said.

“And you’re not even pretty enough to be one,” eye patch instantly added.

“Don’t talk to her like that.” Jordan said, turning squarely toward the two other men. “Apologize to her. And then you should leave.”

Brown coat scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “We don’t have to go anywhere, or apologize. To anyone. The character she’s dressed as
is
a whore.”

“Actually,” Mira said, drawing all of their attention, “Whedonverse misconceptions aside, this is a private establishment, and as such, we have exclusive control over the attendees of our private events. So you do have to leave.”

“Whatever. You know what, if you work here, we want to talk to your manager,” eye patch said, mimicking brown coat’s pose. “And our money back.”

“I am the manager,” Mira said, still amazingly calm. “But I’ll gladly refund your money on your way out.” She gestured for them to precede her to the door.

The two idiots looked disbelievingly at Jordan, as if it was still his word that mattered.

“Was I unclear?” Mira said firmly.

The guys exchanged glances then, still huffing, turned toward the door.

“Hey, Mira, I’m sorry. That wasn’t okay,” Jordan said when they were out of earshot.

Mira glanced at him over her shoulder. “Don’t be. None of that was your fault.” Her expression softened with a small smile. “Thanks, for standing up to them.”

“Yeah. Sure,” he said to her back. He watched her walk to the store’s entrance then turned to the refreshment table to occupy his hands, though maybe he should have followed them out, so he didn’t cause her to lose any more business.

“Look who I found,” he heard a few seconds later.

“Hi, Lisa.” Should he tell her about the red stain by her mouth? Then again it might be intentional, like the other weird details he’d noticed in people’s outfits.

“Don’t you look dapper, if a bit confused.” She swiped a small cluster of grapes from the table. “Don’t worry, the trivia challenge will start up soon, and then you’ll see that most of us in this room don’t know as much about Joss Whedon as we like to pretend we do, especially now that his work includes both the Marvel universe and Shakespeare.”

“Well, there were like ten things there I didn’t understand, so we’re right on track,” Jordan teased.

Lisa laughed comfortably, glancing around them at the store. “So what’s new?” she asked, looking back to him.

“Well, actually, since it’s just us. You’re studying EE, right?”

She hummed her confirmation, eyes widening curiously.

This might be a horrible idea, but she could always turn him down. There was no harm in asking, right? “I was hoping, well, maybe I could get your help with something, a little project I’m working on.”

“Okay, last song guys,” Mira called to the group of college kids singing “I’ve Got a Theory” from
Once More With Feeling.

A chorus of halfhearted boos met the statement.

“How ’bout a ten-dollar solo?” one guy dressed as an Initiative soldier called, waving the named bill.

“Yeah, c’mon, just a couple more,” pleaded the girl hanging off of him, who was dressed in a much sexier bunny suit than Anya’s had ever been.

“Okay, all right,” Mira relented. They were having fun, and she had plenty of cleaning up to do. “A couple more.”

The small group cheered, and Mira smiled, dumping a bowl of leftover chips into a plastic bag.

Overall, it seemed the night could be called a success, though she had yet to tally the receipts. The trivia competition had had decent participation, with Kelsey’s oldest son surprising everyone with his knowledge. Of course, the harder questions had knocked him out of the running, but that was true for almost all of the participants, as was the point. People had started leaving soon after the costume contest’s results had been announced, with first place going to a truly impressive cosplay of Lorne. Now there were only the college kids, a few lingerers enjoying their off-key serenades, plus a couple more people browsing the shelves.

As the guy jumped in on his girlfriend’s “ten-dollar solo,” Mira brought the leftovers to her office, then headed for the register to cash out. Maybe their next Whedon event should involve a live performance of
Doctor Horrible
, backed by the movie, sort of in the vein of
Rocky Horror
shows. That would only take four major performers, and the rest could be sung by the audience, really making it a sing-along. She’d have to run the idea past her friends, to see if it was completely nuts, but it could be fun.

“Trifecta, huh?” Jordan asked, coming up to the register.

Mira’s gaze jumped to his face. They hadn’t interacted much since she’d kicked out the two jerks from earlier, though she’d kept getting distracted by glimpses of him among the other guests. Things had gotten so hectic toward the end, she hadn’t realized he had stuck around.

“Is it really that good?” he asked, nodding to their
Much Ado About Nothing
display.

“The play?” Mira asked stupidly. She’d decided to offer bundle pricing on copies of the original play, the 1993 movie, and of course, Joss Whedon’s recent take. A few bundles had even sold.

“Well yeah, and the movies.” His lips lengthened into a smile. “Let me guess,” he said, tapping a DVD of Whedon’s movie, “this one’s your favorite.”

Mira chuckled, straightening their bookmark display to avoid getting pulled in by Jordan’s friendly gaze. “Um, no. I don’t know, actually,” she finally answered. “The Kenneth Branagh version is pretty fantastic, traditional. Of course Whedon’s version is entirely different, his interpretation and the modern setting, even though he kept Shakespeare’s language. And the actors in each are undeniably talented. I don’t know that I’d say either version is better than the other. Sorry.”

“This is just a sales ploy isn’t it?” He leaned his elbows on the counter in front of her, bringing the two of them closer to eye-level. “Make me have to compare them myself.”

“Depends, is it working?”

His smile grew, spreading slowly to reveal teeth, before he straightened. “Looks like. Guess I’ll take a bundle. Unless you’ve already closed out the register?”

“You’re in luck.” Or maybe she was. “Did you just want the movies?” She’d offered special pricing whether people wanted any two or all three, in the hopes that that would drive up sales.

“Well, I should probably get all three — pretend I understand Shakespeare.” He slid a book and a copy of each movie over to her.

“It’s a comedy, without even any nonhuman creatures, so you should be okay,” Mira assured, running his card. “Just remember not to read into Dogberry’s lines too much.”

“Noted.”

Their fingers brushed when he took the bag with his purchase, which probably happened with almost every customer Mira had ever served, but absurdly, this time the bit of contact felt different, significant. Bizarrely apropos, the final line of the college kids’ overly dramatic rendition of “Where Do We Go From Here?” floated toward them.

It was followed closely by, “So, drinks at my place?” and a round of agreement.

Mira hesitated a second, watching Jordan.

“Thanks,” he said.

“My pleasure. Enjoy.” She shot him a hopefully nonchalant smile and made her way over to the karaoke station. The college kids chimed a giddy wave of thank yous as they got their coats on and left the store. Mira shut off the laptop they’d been using for karaoke, then offered a “have a good rest of your night” to a couple wearing Evil League of Evil tee shirts as they made their way out.

When she came back out from putting the computer in her office, Jordan was the only other person left in the store.

“Did you want to get something else? Buffy comics, maybe?” Mira asked lamely.

“Well, I was just thinking, it’s late. You probably shouldn’t walk home alone, and”—he smiled—“I have a feeling we’re going in the same direction.”

She hadn’t seen this coming, being alone with him. They’d had a good time chatting the other day, when he’d come to the store, but being alone ramped up the awkwardness to its previous levels. It was a very gentlemanly offer, though. “There’s still a lot to do before I can close up,” she said apologetically.

“Oh, well, I could help,” he offered almost predictably. “Or stay out of your way, whichever you prefer.”

She couldn’t figure him out, but weird as being alone with him might turn out, declining the offer seemed rude. Still, Mira felt obliged to point out, “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know,” Jordan answered instantly, entirely unperturbed.

“Okay, thanks,” she said inanely, suddenly feeling self-conscious crossing the store in front of him, dressed as a companion.

“Thanks again for hanging around,” Mira said as she locked up the store.

“My pleasure. Really,” Jordan assured, his breath fogging by his mouth. It hadn’t even taken her long to finish up. Still, the street around them was dark and a little icy with freshly frozen puddles. Staying to walk her home had definitely been the right call.