In Stride

Sky texted Randall to meet her at a coffee shop a few blocks away. As soon as Randall had gone to the lower floors of the building, he tried to be more presently aware of women that would otherwise strike him as odd, if not entirely from a fantasy world. At ground level, though, he didn't see anything of the kind.

He could have caught a quick cab right to the place, as the traffic on this one way was headed in the same direction he was, but he wanted to people-watch. She hadn't mentioned a time, and Randall said he was on his way, so he paced himself at a stroll. He tried to pick up on any uncanny detail in the bowels of the city that might recall the strange women he met earlier that day, but nothing seemed out of place.

Traffic was flowing. People were busy. And they were people he could see — typical people, absorbed their phones, the best-dressed of them laser-guided through the city as if they were on their way to some important appointment. The casual-dressed ones, like always, were looking everywhere or pointing their phone cameras to the sky to take snapshots of a tall building or themselves standing in front of some iconic storefront that Randall took as an ordinary fixture, having been down this avenue literally thousands of times over the past ten years.

Carol, Teresa… Sky… If there were women like them out and about on this busy street, Randall couldn't see them. He thought about Carol — or more appropriately, the shape of Carol's clothing — and laughed quietly to himself. If they were like her, he wouldn't see them anyway.

A couple blocks from his destination, Randall remembered what Linden told him before the merger meeting was over: "They won't let it go public yet." What did he mean? How did he know that? Hidden emails or not, Randall felt just as out of the loop as he did before and during the meeting. Everyone seemed to know more about this strange new development than he did. Not that he was completely disappointed, he realized, looking at his texts from Sky to confirm the address of the coffee shop.

She might have been strange, unique to any consideration of 'attractive' that he'd considered in the past, but she was still beautiful. Stunning, maybe. He was stunned, after all. Where everyone else had seemed so clandestine about all these details, or almost conceited about their special knowledge — like Jill and Rebecca — Sky seemed to immediately cut to the chase in offering to get Randall up to speed. That offer alone was worth it, let alone spending the afternoon getting to know this exotic, almost supernaturally gorgeous woman.

When Randall went into the coffee shop, he didn't see her anywhere. For a moment, he wondered if she had some kind of public-facing look, something that would logically follow with Linden's claim that people like Sky wouldn't show themselves conspicuously. Thinking that she might have changed out of her business attire after the meeting, he looked for her perfectly coiffed bob haircut, but didn't seem to find anyone who matched her shape.

"Name?" A perky barista said from behind the counter.

"Oh, I'm not ready to make an order yet. I was actually just looking for someone I was supposed to--"

"Name?" The redheaded barista said again, winking at Randall this time. He was stopped in his tracks, unsure what to say. The weirdness had filled the atmosphere around him once more, and he was trying to work out what to expect next. All the space that thought took up left him grasping for his own name. He stuttered and looked back up at the barista again. She simply raised her eyebrows and gave him a little nod.

"Uh, Randall," He finally said to her. She leaned forward.

"Behind the curtain, past the bathrooms," She said at a discreet volume. "The door right in front of you at the end of the hall. 1-6-2-9." She smiled, and it was that same knowing smile that Randall caught on Rebecca's face in the meeting earlier that day.

"Ah. Um, thanks," Randall said back to her, matching her quiet tone. She barely nodded as he headed for the back.

Just like the barista described, he found four doors. The two on his left were bathrooms. One on the right said "employees only", and he was pretty sure he could see that it went to the space behind the counter before he got to the curtain. The door in front of him had no label, but sure enough, there was a twelve-key pad atop the door handle. He punched 1-6-2-9, and opened it.

Inside was...another coffee shop? There were only a few people in there, and it didn't take Randall long to notice that these were exactly the type of people he was looking for on his walk. There was a striking woman with black hair. Her skin had a sheen like Teresa's, except lighter in color. Sitting across from her was a glossy faceless form in bright red. It was wearing a tight graphic tee and holding a coffee cup, but Randall didn't see a face or hair. He studied her red arms and fingers and realized that he was looking at a mannequin.

"Um, sir?" Randall turned to a hollow apron that seemed to be tied around a curvaceous shape. There were tightly-fitting khakis under it, but no footwear he could see. On either side of the apron, two clear latex serving gloves that were apparently resting against the hips of the apron. "In or out, please. Our patrons value their discretion." It was something of a survival instinct for Randall to step inside and let the door close behind him.

"Oh, I'm--I'm sorry," he said to the partial outfit, looking back down to where the feet would be again and wondering how or why an invisible woman would go shoeless in a place of work. "I'm, uh--"

"Something wrong down there?" The voice asked, chuckling a little.

"Uh, no! No, I'm just..."

"New." Randall could hear an audible sigh. "You're new. Relax, it's okay. As long as you were invited..."

"Yeah, I'm here to meet a colleague. She's um...clear, I guess? But, not like you. I mean, not that your clear is b--"

"Wow. Just...relax," the latex hands put their palms down, moving slowly up and down in a gesture telling Randall to chill out. "You know, in unfamiliar territory, sometimes saying less and just looking stupid garners a little more sympathy." Randall could feel himself sweating. For a second he felt like he was back in Sabine's office, being grilled by god knows what. "Just follow me, we'll find you some supervision," she laughed. Randall laughed back, unsure of what else to do. "If you're together enough to tell me what you're having, I'll send it over to your table." Randall followed the outfit, not missing the very nice curves on the back of the khakis as he tried to make sense of the hollow inside of the apron. Was she shirtless too?

"Um, just black coffee, thanks," Randall managed.

"Nothing to eat?" The voice asked. Out of the corner of his eye, Randall spotted Sky, who was waving to him. "Fresh chocolate chip cookies..." The annoyed tone in her voice had disappeared. At least the tension seemed to lift a bit.

"Uh, no, I'm set on those. Thanks, though." His eyes were set on the lower hems of the khakis. Carol had been wearing high heels, and even if this woman were invisible, if she was shoeless, wouldn't dirt eventually show up on--

"Your guest?" The attending outfit asked Sky, turning back to Randall and motioning to him with a hovering latex glove.

"Yes, thank you!" Sky smiled. It was hauntingly beautiful — strikingly bizarre and terribly wonderful at the same time. She had changed, too. She was wearing a light, slinky pink top and a pair of denim shorts. His heart thumped as he realized he could see down into the wide opening the shirt. He could see into her. He could tell what color bra she was wearing from the strap he saw through her back. If they left together, he'd see her glasslike legs from the thighs, all the way down. Randall stared at her clear lips and wondered if they were even softer than her hands. "Glad you made it, Randall. Did you order something?" She asked him.

"Yeah, uh--just coffee." Randall sat, looking back up at the outfit. "Thanks for the help. Sorry about--"

"Shh," one of the latex gloves held a single finger above the collar of the apron, where he expected her head to be. "Trust me, guy, taking things in stride here will earn you friends here very quickly. The stuttering, tripping-over-yourself thing, though?" Sky laughed.

"It's cute like the first two hundred times," Sky finished for her.

"Ex-ACT-ly," the outfit laughed. "Anything else for either of you?" She asked.

"Oh, um--I changed my mind on a cookie," Sky said. She reached across the table and grasped Randall's forearm, leaning in toward him and raising an eyebrow. "Randall, split a cookie with me. They're huge."

"Sure," he answered, smiling back at her. Her expressions, her reactions...he couldn't have been imagining things when he worked out that Sky was coming on to him.

"I'll send that and your coffee right out," the outfit said. "And, listen, I'm not offended--but because I'm legitimately feeling generous," she pointed to Randall, "I'm not 'clear', guy. This, and this?" She grabbed a bit of fabric from her khakis and her apron with each glove. "These?" She let go of her clothes and wiggled the latex fingers in her gloves. "That's me." The outfit turned to Sky. "I'm sorry. Not to impinge on your guest, I just figured he could benefit from--"

"Not at all! It's fine, hon." Sky said, laughing and waving a hand at her. "He's here for an education anyway."

"Ah ha! See, we need more volunteer outreach," the outfit laughed. "Your stuff will be right over." As she walked away, Randall took a deep breath.

"Long day?" Sky asked.

"Seems that way, yeah," Randall chuckled. "And it's early yet."

"Well, just let me know when you can't keep up anymore," Sky said. "The rest of my day's open if you've got the stamina," She said, sipping her coffee, "But I don't want to fry your brain or anything." Her tone was 100% flirt. Randall watched the steaming liquid disappear into her. He swore he could tell she was swallowing, but there was no sign of it trailing down her throat.

"I'm...just grateful to make a new friend who seems to be in the know," Randall said. "Because I'm very obviously wayyyy outside it." He did his best not to stare at his new friend, but she was so intriguing. Absolutely outside of his experience. So many things today were exactly that, of course, but Sky was the warmest part of what was otherwise a cold barrage of experiences that made him feel like he was going crazy.

"You really didn't know we were buying Vivitex, did you?" Sky asked. "Aren't you practically a founding member?"

"Paul and I," Randall said. "He started the company, but I got us our first ten million in sales," he added. "From there, sales, sales, sales, and eventually operations chair. But I backed away for a while for personal reasons. " Randall took a deep breath. "Sky, I don't mean to get personal like, right off the bat...but--my mind can't explain you. Or Carol. And there's something about Teresa I can't place, either. And...I mean, this coffee shop?!" Sky grinned before she sipped her coffee again.

"You've really never seen anyone like us before today?" She asked. Randall shook his head. "Well, I'm impressed...to say the least. You were pretty charming in that meeting."

"I was kind of on autopilot, but given the circumstances, everyone was pretty reassuring," Randall said. "How is it that you can show yourselves to so many people, and yet, it doesn't seem to be common knowledge out there?" Sky had a pensive look on her face. She seemed to bite her lip a for a second before answering.

"There's only so much I can say," Sky said audibly, but she added here and now silently. Randall read her lips and the hand signals that accompanied the here and now. "But we can talk about you. If you were essentially the company's number two on our acquisition, how is it that you didn't know about us? Don't you still have a board position?" Randall considered the phone in his pocket. Were Sabine's friends really listening in to this conversation?

"It's almost like it was obscured from me," Randall said, "but by who and for what reason…I don't even know. Based on the sentiments today, even if I had assented, I would have been overruled." He played it safe on blaming anyone there, just in case. "Not that I would've tried to stop the merger. That's actually what I don't get."

"Well, part of me is glad you're staying with the company...but the other part..." Sky narrowed her eyes and shrugged.

"The other part?" Randall asked. As a shadow loomed over him, he looked up to see his coffee and a saucer floating over to the table, along with one of the biggest cookies he'd ever seen on a small plate with a couple of paper napkins. "Uh, thanks," he said, not sure who he was saying it to. The apron and khaki outfit was over behind the counter, taking another order from...Randall wasn't sure. Another woman and another empty outfit?

"Well," Sky said, reaching toward the cookie and breaking off a segment. "The other part wonders how appropriate this will be should we end up in the same command chain." Randall tried to hold back from gasping when he felt something against his ankle, lifting at his pant leg. He looked back up at Sky. The way she looked back at him was unmistakable, and by now certain parts of him were reacting to the attention. "Come on, Randall," Sky said, motioning to the cookie. "Indulge."

He took hold of it and broke off a modest piece, pulling his coffee cup closer and dunking it in.

"Guess I'm glad I didn't put any sugar in it," He said, biting into the cookie.

"Not a big fan of sugar?" Sky said, working her toes up under his pantleg before she took her own bite. He watched her, and it was the same as the coffee. Once it passed her lips, it was gone. There was no sign that she was chewing on something from the outside, even though he could see through her to the rest of the coffee shop, distorted only by her external curvature.

"I, uh..." Randall took a deep breath. "I just have to pace myself." Sky nodded.

"I'll have to remember that," She said. By now, her toes were halfway up his shin, intent on pulling the cuff of his dress sock down. "Can you explain me yet, Randall?"

"Light – it bends around you," Randall said. "Not so much that you can't be seen…but enough that it makes you look like...glass. Or water? A nymph is all I can think of." She smirked, teasing around his leg and sliding her toes up and down his calf.

"Well, that's not extremely far off," she said. "And my boss?"

"Either she's invisible, or — and like our server here, this doesn't make any sense to me, but — she's...the suit I saw?"

"Again, not totally wrong, but things aren't so easily one or the other in that sense...but you'll get used to that. How about Teresa?"

"She's..." Randall swallowed. "I'm hoping you won't take this the wrong way, but she seemed like...a human doll. Not like, something to be played with, but I mean, something built to specification. Something perfectly constructed." Sky grinned wide for a moment, then chomped away at her section of cookie before breaking off another piece.

"That's pretty astute," she finally said. "Did you notice that, other than Paul, you were the only man in the room that wasn't practically drooling over her?" Randall's brow furrowed. He shook his head. "Well, that's exactly what she's made for," Sky said. "And yet, you kept watching me." Randall felt the heat come over him.

"You're...gorgeous," he said, sipping his coffee and trying to hide his blush. Sky licked her lips and sipped from her own cup.

"And what if I were built to specification too?" Sky asked. "Would that change things?" Randall looked her in the eyes. For the moment, he forgot the possibility that he might be monitored. The game of footsie he was engaged in and the fantasy woman across from him made it hard to think about anything but her attention and the reaction from his own body.

"If you're capable of feeling anything like the way I'm feeling right now?" Randall said, "No. It doesn't change a thing." He shook his head. "And I don't think I was made for...for anything specific," He said, "but I did notice you were probably the only woman in that meeting looking at me in a way that went beyond professional decorum...and, uh..." Randall laughed, and Sky laughed right after him, holding a hand to her mouth to stop herself from spitting cookie.

"Very astute," Sky said, still laughing. He could feel her foot bouncing from the motion. "So you're not involved?" Randall shook his head. "Because there are a lot of us who don't really care about social propriety in that regard, but...I do. Much as I like having fun, I don't want to become the tinder that burns down another woman's bridge."

"I've been uninvolved for — a while now," Randall said. Sky folded an arm under her chest and sipped her coffee again.

"Well...if you're still keeping pace with me, what you think of extending this date to somewhere a little more private?" Sky asked. Randall nodded, staring at her with wonder as he absently chewed on another bite of cookie.

"Then let's finish our drinks and blow this place," Sky said.