Shelley switched the radio off as he turned into Sabin's street. "I love what we do and all, but sometimes it's such a relief to be back home."
"Even if it is a dump," Sabin agreed. He fished around in the glove compartment for the various things he'd stowed there during the drive, pulling them out and shoving them into his pockets. Several other things got dumped on the floor in the process, but he couldn't be bothered to pick them up. "Are you hanging out for a while?"
"No, I got some stuff to do before I go home." Shelley kept his eyes on the road and his voice nonchalant, although he knew he couldn't get anything past his best friend.
Sabin raised an eyebrow. "Stuff to do, or 'stuff to do'?" he asked, complete with airquotes.
"Does it matter?" Shelley pulled into Sabin's driveway and came to a halt.
"Man, you gotta cut that shit out." Sabin couldn't look at Shelley when this topic came up, so he looked out of the window at his neighbour's house. "I'm not coming to visit you in jail."
Shelley rolled his eyes. "Stop worrying, dude."
Sabin sighed. "Easy for you to say. Look, if you decide to do something more wholesome and less illegal, just come on over, okay?" It was insufficient, but they'd been over this ground before.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Shelley said with a smile. "We're still on for practise, yeah?"
"Yep. Petey's meeting us at the studio at ten, Chris and Adam should already be there." Sabin reached into the back seat and grabbed his bag.
"Alright, man. Have fun."
"I'd say the same, but I don't think I want you to." Sabin opened the door and clambered out, digging in the side pocket of his bag for his keys. He kicked the car door shut behind him, raising a hand in farewell as Shelley put the car into reverse and began to back slowly out of the driveway.
Shelley didn't turn the radio back on. As a rule, he didn't care for things to be too quiet; there were only certain specific circumstances where he liked silence, or near silence. However, going to work meant days of constant noise, and sometimes when he got home he needed those few quiet moments to centre himself.
This trip hadn't been too bad; the loop had consisted of three shows close enough to home that he and Sabin could drive instead of having to fly (although admittedly that meant travelling took up virtually every minute that they weren't either working or sleeping), and it was nice to be able to leave the hotel in the morning, drive home, and be back in time to indulge his obsession. It had been a pleasant - if exhausting - throwback to the earlier days of his career, but not one he'd want to repeat every week. Especially not with Sabin and Lethal bickering in his back seat for two days.
He shook his head in amusement as he considered Sabin's misgivings. He was always touched by his friend's concern, regardless of the fact that it wasn't solely for him. Shelley was well aware of how lucky he was to have someone like Sabin to rely on; they'd clicked immediately when they'd first met, and their friendship had grown continually over the years. Somehow, the thing with Christy had made the bond between them stronger still.
He smiled unconsciously when he thought of Christy. He didn't relate to people in the same way others did, but he knew that if he did, he'd have quite the unrequited crush on her by now.
He pulled into the small parking lot and found himself a suitable spot, one that provided the view he was looking for. He knew he had at least a few minutes to spare, so he took his time as he reached into the back seat to rummage in his bag. Retrieving his phone and his video camera, he checked his phone for messages and then tossed it down on the passenger seat. He turned his attention to his camera, getting everything set before he slipped his fingers through the strap and rested his hand on the steering wheel, so that if someone looked through his window, it would look like he was distracted, and not filming anything at all. And then he waited.
She appeared at almost exactly the same time she always did, shoulder-length black hair blown around her face by the wind. Shelley had never seen anyone with a routine so regimented (and he'd seen Petey), but he understood enough psychology to know that it was her way of maintaining a tiny bit of control over her life. Unless something exceptional had happened, she would leave the store within a three or four minute range of 4pm every weekday, and she would loiter or bustle depending on the time so that she ended up driving away at exactly five past.
Shelley glanced down his nose at the camera, shifting his hand slightly to keep her in shot as she pushed her shopping cart to the trunk of her car. He worked hard to retain the appearance of a distracted shopper staring into space, while inside he was flooded with warmth and serenity. He watched discreetly as she opened the trunk and started packing her shopping away at a leisurely pace, having exited the store today at 3:59pm, tucking her hair behind her ears to keep it out of her face. The gesture made Shelley sigh in contentment, and he knew if Sabin was still sitting beside him, he'd have been shaking his head in disapproval. Shelley had never brought Sabin along on one of these little excursions, of course, and Sabin would probably have punched him if he'd even suggested it. It suited Shelley just fine, because he had no desire to share this.
Shelley rarely felt as close to a woman as he did in moments like this. She was unguarded, free of all pretension, because she had no idea there was anyone there to see her. He could see her as she really was, not as she wanted to be seen, and it was beautiful and honest. She wasn't anything particularly special; she was unremarkable in pretty much every way, but women didn't need to be remarkable to be stunning. Shelley rarely watched the exceptionally beautiful women. While they were equally worthy of the attention, they were watched by so many, they never took off their masks, so for him there was no point.
Shelley watched as she paused, pulling her phone from her pocket and apparently reading an incoming text. She frowned, smiled, and frowned again, and he knew it was from her unappreciative asshole husband. Shelley had seen them out together many times, and that guy needed a swift kick in the nuts. He paid virtually no attention at all to the amazing creature who doted on him, hungry for any scrap of interest he threw her way. He barely even looked at her, and Shelley simply couldn't comprehend that. She deserved better. Not Shelley, because Shelley couldn't provide her with the emotional comfort she needed, but somebody better than the jackass she'd married.
She put her phone away and finished packing her shopping into the trunk much more quickly, and Shelley knew the text had been to tell her to pick something else up from the store. He also knew she hated it when her husband did that and threw off her timing. She slammed the trunk closed and hurried back into the store, taking the cart with her. Shelley settled back to wait for her to return.
Shelley was aware that he'd probably only have a few more weeks with this particular woman before it was time to move on. The longer he watched the same one, the greater the risk became that he would be caught, and that was the last thing he wanted. Not for his own sake, but for that of his women - he wasn't eager to wind up in jail, but he considered the potential effects it could have on the objects of his study to be far more important. He only wanted to see them, he had no desire to unnerve them or worry them, or make them feel unsafe, or to intrude on their lives in any way. The one time a woman he was watching had momentarily peered his way, looking suspicious and uneasy, Shelley had turned his back and had never watched her again. As he had tried to explain to Sabin time and again, power was sexy; the abuse of power was not.
A brief, unobtrusive alarm from his phone informed Shelley he'd received a text message, and he reached into the passenger seat to retrieve it, keeping one eye on the front of the store.
Hi aLx, busy now? Christy
Shelley smiled. He loved it when she thought of him. Still watching the store, he sent Christy a corny reply to tell her he was never too busy for her, and he meant every word. She was so trusting and candid with him; she gave him things he could never have asked for, and he adored her for it.
His smile widened to a grin as he recalled the gift Sabin had given him for his last birthday. They were supposed to be meeting at Sabin's house, so he'd driven over and let himself in - he and Sabin had had keys to each other's places for years, ever since the 'heterosexual life mates' joke had started (insofar as it was a joke at all). Sabin had been conspicuously absent, but a note on the kitchen table had informed Shelley that his gift was in Sabin's bedroom, and he should just go on up and take it. On entering Sabin's room, he'd found Christy tied spreadeagled to Sabin's bed with vibrators in her pussy and ass. Shelley had no idea how long Sabin had left her there like that, but there was a sheen of sweat over most of her body, and she was already so aroused and desperate that she was largely incoherent; Sabin knew exactly how Shelley liked his women. The second Shelley had walked in Christy had started pleading with him to fuck her, and the next four hours had been a blur of skin and lips and Christy writhing and panting and begging. Sabin gave the best presents.
As he came out of his reverie, Shelley realised with some surprise that his quarry was already out of the store and was opening the trunk of her car again, another bag in her arms. He mentally berated himself for not giving either her or Christy the undivided attention they deserved, and he was about to put his phone away until he went home when another message notification arrived, and he couldn't resist the temptation to read it.
In Detroit, checking out people mover. At MI Ave stn. Gee hope i dont end up nxt 2 some pervert
Shelley shifted in his seat, feeling himself begin to harden immediately. Christy's implicit suggestion was crystal clear, and there was no way Shelley was going to refuse her. That woman, he told himself for the millionth time, was something very special.
Glancing guiltily at the woman still packing away her shopping, Shelley switched off his camera and put it, along with his phone, on the passenger seat. He'd pay better attention next time, he swore to himself. He cast one last lingering look at the current object of his affection before turning the key in the ignition, but he couldn't feel too bad about leaving her when he knew he was going to Christy. When the engine revved into life, Shelley wasted no time in heading for home to drop off his car, leaving his obsession behind - for a day or two, at least.