Chapter Twenty-Two #2
My chest squeezes while thinking of Ria, and I wince slightly.
Alex notices, places her hand on my knee, gives it a little squeeze, then takes the bottle from me and takes a sip. She looks at me and sighs. “Look, I know things with you and Ria are… strained—”
“I think strained is not the word I’d be looking for, Alex. Over is more like it.”
She frowns. “Well, in any case, I want you to try to have fun. I know breakups are hard. Trust me, I know. But Ria would still want you to live, not wallow your life away in the studio, pining for her.”
“Has she moved on?” I ask.
Alex furrows her brows, shaking her head slightly. “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, she wants you to be happy, Nate. So, be happy. Live, paint, percussion-ate?” She scrunches up her face. “Is that even a word? I don’t think that’s a word—”
“Yeah, that’s not a word.” I laugh.
“It should be. It’s a freaking cool word.”
I laugh with a bright smile, and she grins back.
“There it is. That’s the smile I’ve been missing.
I know this is hard. You and she had a great thing going on.
Things are complicated and messy, but if you’re meant to find your way back together, you will.
I have faith in that. It’s written in the wind… ”
Furrowing my brows at her words that sound eerily like something Whisper would say, I slump with a sigh as I take another long sip of the tequila.
The effects of the alcohol swirling through my system make my body tingle and my head fuzzy.
The buzz has kicked in, and I have no idea if Alex is feeling tipsy, but I know that if I drink any more, I probably won’t be able to walk in a straight line to wherever we’re going.
The car pulls to a stop, and I furrow my brows. We’ve only been driving for a maximum of five minutes, maybe not even that. Alex bounces up and down in her seat and claps her hands together excitedly as she looks out the window to the right. I follow her gaze and look at a building.
I let out a small, bemused laugh. “You gotta be kidding me?” I murmur, and she turns to face me, her eyes sparkling bright, almost twinkling with utter jubilation that bubbles over in excitement like a fricking kid.
“Nope, not kidding. I’m very, very serious. I take Inflatable Land with one hundred percent seriousness, Nate. So lock and load, my friend. Shit’s about to get crazy!”
I burst out laughing at the completely deadpan look on her face. Pursing my lips as she takes another swig from the tequila bottle, I shake my head. “Isn’t this place for kids?”
She furrows her brows and curls up her lip. “Are you calling me, me a child, Nate?”
I’m not sure if she’s playing around or being serious right now, so I decide to err on the side of caution. “Um… no? Just, I thought only children could play in there?”
“Ha! Shows what you know. Now get out of the car and get ready for total annihilation!” she says the last part slowly and in a low voice, like it’s from a video game or something.
This side of Alex is even weirder than usual, but also quite funny.
She seems competitive, but I think this will be a whole heap of fun, which is just what I need.
Alex opens the car door and goes to get out.
“Looks like you’re in for an entertaining night, sir,” my security detail says.
“You’re telling me,” I reply.
He nods while Alex rushes forward. “I’ll keep out of the way. You won’t even know I’m here.”
“Thanks, buddy,” I say and slide out of the car with my bottle of tequila. Alex is jumping from foot to foot like a six-year-old. It’s cute how excited she is.
It makes me almost forget why we’re here.
To make me forget…
Taking another drink of the yellow liquid, I approach Alex and shake my head at the flashing signs and the giant inflatable clown in front of the building. “This is a bad idea. You know that, right?”
She smirks, grabbing the bottle from me. “Why? Scared I’m gonna beat you at everything?”
“What is there to beat me at? There’s just blow-up slides and shit in there.”
She grins mischievously and shakes her head. “Oh, Nate, so innocent for a hardcore rocker. Come, enter my domain.”
I smirk. “Weird… that’s the only word I have for you.”
“It’s a badge I wear with pride.”
While walking with her to the door, I let out a quiet laugh.
When she opens it, we step through to the sounds of children laughing and screaming, and I wonder how we’re even going to be allowed in here.
She walks us up to the counter, and a large guy with tufts of red hair on either side of his face, reminding me of a somewhat larger version of Side Show Bob, smiles a little too wide when he sees Alex.
“Alexandria, how lovely it is to see you again,” he utters somewhat nerdy.
I try to hide my smile and watch her grin at him like he’s a long-time friend.
“Hey, Augie! I’m glad you’re back. Didn’t like your fill-in. What was her name?” Alex asks, and I furrow my brows, wondering how often Alex comes in here.
Augie sighs, rolling his eyes. “Oh, yes, Tamika. She came from a recruitment agency and was only here to fill the required hours for benefits…” He rolls his eyes. “Lousy person. Terrible with the kids. We got rid of her as soon as my back came good, and I could return to work.”
Alex nods. “I heard about your back. That happened when you were playing with the kids, right?”
“Yeah, I know I’m not supposed to bounce on the inflatables with them, but they just wanted to have fun. You know me, they think I’m a clown and love to crawl all over me. I should’ve known better. That’s why I’m relegated to the booth now. No inflatable time for me.”
Alex winces. “Oooh, sorry, Augie, I know you love it out there with the kids.”
“Yeah, but you know, I’m getting older. Gotta look after my health and all that…” He smiles. “No Whisper today?” he asks.
My ears prick up, and I raise my brow in question.
“No, he’s on a Korean Fung Shui retreat or something,” she says, and my mouth drops open wide.
“I love that guy!” Augie says, and Alex turns to me.
“What?” she asks.
“You know Whisper?”
She giggles. “You know Whisper?”
I nod and grin, lowering my voice. “He is kinda Matt and mine’s Fung Shui master at home.”
She bursts out laughing and slaps my arm. “Oh. My. God. Don’t tell me you guys are the sexy boy twins he always talks about?”
I nod. “Yep, pretty sure that would be us. How do you know him?”
She smirks. “Oh, didn’t you know? As well as Fung Shui, he’s also an art critic at the local institute… a part-time chef at a Japanese Teppanyaki bar… a dog groomer, trainer, and apparently whisperer. He has his hand in a lot of… baskets.”
Shaking my head, I let out a shocked laugh. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope. Serious as mad cow disease.”
“The guy’s a living legend. He has mad skills,” Augie says, breaking my head trip. “Anyway, I’m guessing you wanna go to the adult section today?”
My interest is now piqued… adult section? I never knew this place had an adult section. But then again, I’ve never set foot in here, so how would I know?
“Yes, please, Augie. Is there anyone in there?” Alex asks.
He nods. “Yeah, group of college kids, but they’re mainly keeping to themselves. You guys should be free to move the inflatables around as you like. But, Alex, play nice, okay?” Augie says, and I half-smile at the seriousness of his face.
She chuckles and nods. “Yes, sir.” She salutes and leans inside the window, kissing his cheek. The flush in his face is instant, and he smiles broadly. Then she turns and grabs my hand, leading me off toward a black door across the other side from the entrance.
“It’s good to see you again,” Augie calls out.
I tilt my head toward Alex while Augie pushes a button. A buzzer sounds, opening the door, and I glance over to Alex as if to say, “What the fuck,” and she tries to hold in her laugh.
Alex shakes her head, leans in, and raises her brow. “Never mind, let’s go,” she exclaims, and we walk through the opening. It’s not pitch black, just dark enough to make you squint as you pass through.
I’m confused as hell and disoriented from the dim lighting as we walk inside. “Alex, what was that about?”
“He thought you were Matt.”
I jolt back a little as she continues to drag me in further. “Augie knows Matt?”
“He met him the other night. I took him to a thing, no biggie. C’mon, let’s go through here,” she says, trying to distract me.
She’s been here with Matt?
I thought the day of the gallery was the only time they met.
But no, Alex has been here with Matt, hanging out with Augie.
Flickers of him walking into my studio and meeting her cross my mind.
But they didn’t just meet. Not to mention the fact that she knows Whisper.
That’s a whole other level of mind fuckery, the tequila now clouding things.
I can’t seem to focus on one particular detail, no matter how hard I concentrate.
“Alex, what the hell?” I ask instead, and she giggles, tightening her grip on my hand and yanking me so I can’t ask any more questions.
“C’mon,” she says, dragging me through a hallway into a larger room where thousands of glow sticks light the walls.
Neon light fills the room, and its ambiance reminds me of music, like being at one of our concerts when the crowd holds up their phones, creating euphoric energy.
This room is impressive, and I love the feeling of being in here washing over me.
Suddenly, all thoughts of Matt hanging out with Alex and knowing Augie are dropped, and the room leaves me in a state of awe.
Music fills the air. It’s not loud, and it’s not a beat I know, but it has a dance rhythm.
One that makes you want to move. I’m not much of a dancer, but I like this song, whatever it is, and I find myself giving in and moving to the beat.
I look over at Alex, and she smiles. Well, what I can see of her with the glow sticks lighting her face.
She’s not just someone who works for me.
Alex has become a good friend, and I’m glad she’s trying to distract me.
But as I glance at her, it reminds me that she knows Ria, and I only know her because of Ria.
It only makes me want to be in this fantastic place with Ria.
A familiar ache develops in my chest as I frown and pull in a deep breath, then take another swig of the tequila.
The happy buzz I had is wearing into a depressing sadness, causing me to sigh a little too loudly. Alex seems to catch on quickly, though.
“Right, we can either shoot hoops in here or go through to the inflatables?”
It’s only now, when I look around, that I notice hoops all along the walls and red balls scattered on the floor everywhere.
Alex picks up a squishy rubber ball and throws it to a hoop.
It circles the hoop but falls to the side and cascades to the floor.
When the ball hits the floor with a thud, the ground beneath it lights up with flashing lights like a wave across the floor in a pattern that looks like a droplet of water plunging into the ocean.
For a moment, I forget my woes and half-smile at the astounding technology on display in this room. It’s incredible.
Alex bumps her shoulder into mine and giggles. “Cool, huh?”
I nod as she grabs the bottle and takes a drink.
“How come we were able to bring the tequila in with us?” I ask.
Alex chuckles. “Because you were holding it. Augie was too distracted with me to notice that you had it. He would’ve noticed if I’d been holding it, and it would have been confiscated.” She grins like the Cheshire cat. “Like I said, I’m crazy irresistible to all man and fairy kind.”
“And Simpson characters, apparently,” I tease.
She scoffs out a laugh, slapping the back of my head, and hands me back the bottle. “Be nice. But yes, he does resemble a certain evil clown. But don’t tell him that. He gets antsy about it.”
I half-laugh, pick up a rubbery, weighted red ball, and throw it toward a hoop. It circles the hoop, falling straight through the center. The goal lights up, the back of the board explodes in firework lighting, and the ball falls to the ground, sending another cascade of water ripples.
Smiling, I shake my head as Alex grabs my hand and pulls me toward a wall where a green exit sign is lit. I smile, knowing there’s more cool shit beyond the door, and I can’t wait to see what else Alex has in store to help me forget about Ria, if only for now.
My chest tightens just a little as Alex pulls me through the doorway into a giant open expanse.
Taking in the sight before me, my eyes open wide.
Holy fucking shit!