Alive

by Janice L Wick

  Fountains in the lake began shooting, causing the once still lake to ripple creating a soothing noise. They walked towards the lake with their helmets in hand. “You up for a swim,” he said smiling . . . “I didn’t bring a towel though.” He looked at her noticing every inch of her beauty. Blue jean shorts with her red iPhone case poking out her back pocket, with a black and white striped hoodie on with white string hanging loosely off her. She ran her fingers through her messy black hair, as she noted that he was admiring her. Her prominent cheekbones, glowing in the light, she looked over to him with her glowing crystal green eyes, smiling. Her face could easily be on magazines and billboards across the world, if she had chosen that route.

  “But look,” he pointed across the lake, “That place has the best burgers.” They began walking toward the restaurant, across the illuminated bridge she walked by his side. They thought, “Should we hold hands?” then both came up with several of reasons as not to. She went into her back pocket on her phone and began to reply to some messages; he looked over and noticed then leaned back placing his hands folded behind his head, walking with his head tilted up. They took the first step onto the bridge, the ground changing from concrete to brown and dark-brown checkered brick. When they get about to the center he reached out and caught her arm, and held her there for a moment he said, “Do you want to come with me?”

  “Where to?” she said, with a blank expression.

  “To Thailand.” He said looking into her eyes as he leaned against the railing.

  Mara looked over the side of the bridge, waiting a while before responding and, spied a turtle poking his head out, then ducking again at the sound of her voice.

  “I don’t know you should talk to Lise first,” she said with the single purpose to remind him of earlier that day, when they were together.

  “She’ll forgive me it was just sex,” he said, as casually as he looked into the distance, reading names from the buildings around them, and then instantly discarding them.

  “Well Seto every one doesn’t see it like that,” she said.

  “But you do,” he said with a squaring voice.

  “I don’t know how I see it.”

  “Well it’s just a thought,” he said as he gestured towards the restaurant and they began walking again.

  “Hey,” he said with a warmer voice. She looked at him, intently listening to his boots as they thud against the cement with each footstep.

  “I kind of like you,” he said, smirking tilting his head towards her. “So if you wanted to, just let me know and don’t worry about expenses. . . I think it’ll be fun.”

  He looked across the horizon and just underneath he could see there where they were headed, then glanced back up to the sky.

  She deflected by pulling out her phone and going to film a video of them walking,

  “Don’t do that,” he said laughing, waving his hand in front of the camera.

  “It’s nice getting out, seeing this city for a while, perhaps I will miss it,” he said.

  11:00 p.m.

  Lise looked down at her computer she had just watched her fingers hit the keys; sending a request for time off. An email to her boss: The Dean of Medicine. She stopped before pressing send. She sat there in a green small arm chair that didn’t fit with the rest of the furniture in the room. She sat the computer aside onto the ottoman and leaned back not lazily, but stretched out under the heaviness.

  Buzz! The apartment rung cutting through her thoughts.

  “Hey it’s us open up,” a static voice interrupted. She stared at the intercom, then walked over to it and buzzed them in.

  She walked over too and unlocked the door and began walking over to the kitchen counter, and pulled out the drawer a plate with green herbs on it and, rolling paper. A habit that she had picked up within the last two months before her wedding.

  Her friends burst in with a new excitement of the weekend on their backs, they first noticed her frazzled hair hanging in front of her face while her attention was still on rolling.

  Her friend Sarah, the more obnoxious of the bunch stared at her then dropped her bag on the couch and sat down. “Guess who we just saw?” Sarah said, hoping to get a response.

  Her eyes rolled up to Sarah looking through the kitchen and resting onto Sarah’s pretty green eyes, then her new lip piercing. “Who? with who?” where was he,” these thoughts racing through Lises head.

  “Who?” said Lise, without managing to break character of- I’m busy rolling here.

  Toni the slim fit friend came over to Lise, without touching her at first, standing very close hovering next to her, and playfully rubbed her nose into Lise’s cheek.

  Lise finished rolling and twist the end of the joint and checked her pockets, and kitchen drawers nearby for a lighter, ignoring Toni, trying her hardest not to smile.

  Sarah started again, “We saw him,” she said, with an undertone of her having caught her red-handed.

  “What?” . . . screamed Lise silently, dropping the finished joint to the floor in shock, her body completely frozen for a second. She looked down and seen where it was lying on the floor lifeless, next to her polished black toes but she couldn’t move.

  She blinked her eyes twice, bringing her back into the world of the living, then bended down to pick it up hoping Toni didn’t notice anything. She turned toward Toni and before she could ask do you have a lighter, she was in her arms.

  Toni gives the best hugs she thought; this was a hug of a person who really loved. A hug from a person who didn’t think she was good enough to be loved earlier in life and, was now just coming to terms with it. Lise hugged her back, then they walked over to the couch with Sarah. Lise sat down plopping her feet onto Sarah’s lap, grabbing the lighter off the table and leaned back and smoked the joint.

  “We seen that cat that you said has been running in and out of your building,” Sarah said lazily. Lise stopped for a moment and realized Toni was asking for a puff, who was now sitting on the coffee table.

  “Oh,” Lise scoffed, and she quickly turned to what she wanted to talk about.

  “I thought you were talking about Seto,” she said, in a warm yet insecure voice, moving the hair from in front of her face, with the same hand holding the cigarette.

  “Why what happened with him?” Sarah asked.

  Sarah looked toward Toni grabbing the joint from her, completing the rotation.

  “Let me guess he cheated on you. That’s what a lot all these guys are doing nowadays,” Toni said, not directed towards Lise but more into space.

  Lise bloodshot eyes were casted up towards the ceiling, she shed one tear, and her gray eyes dashed to the side, and then she noticed she was crying. Tears came down her face.

  “He is leaving going to Thailand,” Lise said.

  “Are you going with him?” the girls asked. Toni was now sitting next to her holding her. The joint had lost it, flame in Sarah’s hand, and she sat it on the table and watched tears drip down Lise face then sat back and crossed her legs.

  “He says he wants to leave this country.”

  “Did he rob a bank?”

  “No.”

  “He’s leaving in 2 days, he was here this morning.”

  “And you?”

  “What about me?”

  “Are you going with him?”

  “No. . . . I don’t know.”

  “He says let’s try it out for 2 weeks.”

  “Sounds like a vacation, why are you sad?”

  “She’s getting married in a month and you are a bride’s maid. . .” Toni scoffed

  “You got to pick between your man toy and your fiancé. I know which one I would pick.” Sarah said openly.

  Lise had a thought- Seto being with all those women.

  “Of course she’s not going,” Toni said, the sound of her voice challenging.

  “I’ll go but not for two weeks . . . maybe one . . . it will be fun.”

  “Well I’m not going with you . . . but let’s t
o deans tonight that’ll help take your mind off of your man toy.” Toni voiced.

  Lise stood up and walked towards the bar, glaring at Toni, “You can stop calling him that.”

  “The best part, is the milkshakes, yea the burgers are great but the milkshakes,” he said assuredly with a hint of humor. “Are you serious?” Mara asked.

  “2 large milkshakes.”

  He handed a 10 dollar bill to the man with dark eyes and a black cap behind the counter, and turned back toward Mara, “So are you coming?”

  She went from looking at the menu to him and said, “Where?”

  “Like . . . what you did for me in the bed earlier,” he said leaning into her whispering towards her ear.

  She had a thought- Why is he cornering me like this?

  “I don’t know, I told you I need some time.”

  “Fine . . . fine,” he said interrupting. “I’ll come back to you of course but I’m leaving soon.”

  He grabbed the 2 milkshakes from the counter and didn’t even look at the change and handed one to Mara.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “I should be thanking you I would probably still be in my apartment chain smoking joints right about now. . . come on let’s go,” as he realized the accuracy of the statement.

  He walked out the door and held it for her. “No this way,” he said.

  “Hey have you ever been to this places called Deans?”

  He stopped her, “No why?”

  “Lise has been telling me about it for a while now.”

  “Oh, you want to go?”

  “No, not really . . . I don’t really care for it.”

  “Are you going to try to drag me there?”

  “No, she says it’s.” He noticed a troubling look on her face, he furled his brow and stopped walking. “What?”

  “No it’s just,” she trailed off.

  “What?”

  “This is the third time you have mentioned her today,”

  “Yes and her the same to you . . . perks of being my best friend I suppose,” he said casually, glancing at the ground for a second.

  “Oh,”

  “This is the place.”

  She slowed down and looked up past the golden awning, as her eyes climbed to the top of the Tower with endless stories. “Are you staying here?”

  “Maybe,” he said.

  “Let’s go.”

  They walked in to the hotel lobby which held brown granite floors, the sound of people walking and their heels and boots clicking against it.

  “Come on this way.”

  They walked over to the steel elevators, waited for a while and then watched as an elevator opened up.

  “You ever been here,” she asked.

  “No, I always see it though,” he answered, pressing the top floor number 19 and up they went.

  “Come on,” as the elevators door slid open.

  The sign on the wall said: Roof, with an engraved red arrow pointing left.

  “Come on,” they began running and laughing through the quiet hotel halls, all you could hear was there footsteps echo shallowly through the hall. The design of the carpet that looked like brown and orange diamonds.

  “Let’s hope it’s open.”

  She twisted the golden doorknob that looked like it led to a bedroom and walked into a room with a 5 foot long corridor, and a small flight of stairs at the end.

  “Wait,” he said placing his jacket to keep the door open.

  “That’s smart.” she said.

  He looked at her and led her up the stairs. She walked over to the side quickly staring far over the city, lifting her hands above the lights.

  He walked over toward her consciously slow, “Beautiful,” she said. She could feel him behind her and as she turned around his hands were on her body and he kissed her, then kissed her again onthe chin. She had a thought- I’m in love with him. Then his thought- her lips are so pink this can’t be real, and soft, and moist. She kissed him, rattling her tongue inside his mouth clattering against his teeth he leaned in and bither lip.Then went down towards her neck. To them it was their penthouse on top of New York.

  11:35 p.m.

  “Its 20 to skip the line.” The club promoter in uniform said.

  You could hear and feel the bass from outside of the club. He walked over to him, handed him a 20 and said, “I hate waiting.”

  “Alright come on in.”

  “Ladies first,” Seto said, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the club. “We’ll stay for a little.”

  They entered into the club and walked up a ramp and Mara reached into her pocket, handing another 20 to a girl behind a cashier booth. They walked pass a bouncer with the standard black shirt, and blue jeans on, he nodded them into the club.

  Seto noticed but didn’t respond.

  “Are you drinking?” she said.

  “Not when I ride, no . . . Well I’m driving so yea help yourself.”

  They walked over to the bar and ordered a long island iced tea, then walked over to a couch in a lounge area and sat.

  She sipped the drink and played with the straw in her mouth as they watched the crowd dancing. Blue and green lights patrolled the club as the crowd moved to the music. The black and white spiked disco ball spun above their heads.

  Dancers in the cages, moved their bodies, and stomped their fur boots in sync with the music. The DJs’ smiled and danced, pulling from the crowd the most energetic.

  Arms flailed and the bass moved through the air like the heartbeat of the club.

  All attention was on the Dj and mixers, and dancers in the cages.

  Seto went to a place in his mind, where he was walking on a beach not a care in the world and was interrupted by her standing up and saying, “I want to dance.”

  “Now? “You haven’t finished your drink,” he said as he leaned forward and took a sip from her straw, and realized why she was already ready.

  “Okay, let’s go,” they slowly walked through the crowd trying to get to the center of the crowd. Everyone was dancing and moving to the music as one.

  The track stopped and faded into a new one. His thought was- I know this one. He closed his eyes as the beat dropped, and began bouncing to the music everyone around was also flowing to his energy. He realized he’s having fun and looked towards Maria and she stared back as they both smiled, jumped, and flailed their arms. The song ended and he’s said, “Let’s go,” leading her out the club.

  “This place isn’t so bad,” Mara said erratically. They hold hands as they migrate through the crowds of guest. As they walked pass the bar he thought- this girl looks familiar. There’s a fit girl in a purple or blue dress it was hard to tell because of the flashing lights, she had on black heels that wrapped around her ankles and curly brown hair. He could only see her back but her demeanor seemed familiar. This girl in the dress, had a friend with her, and her friend noticed him staring, then looking into her friends eyes she followed her eyes to Seto.

  She turned around and he noticed it was Lises friend Toni. At that moment he knew that the other girl was Sarah. He walked up to Toni first saying, “You guys must’ve followed me,” and hugged her. He then looked at Sarah and shook her hand then pulled her in for a hug,

  Sarah smiled then looked down and then towards the figure standing beside him.

  “Yea we followed the pony tail,” Toni said gaily. He looked back at Toni and said, “This is Maria.”

  They didn’t touch, just their eyes, and an unresolved waves. “Well we will be going. . . Maria,”

  He grabbed her hand and led her pass.

  “Wait Lise is here.” His boots stopped and one turned back towards her.

  “I’m not sure she wants to see me,” he said facing Toni, his voice clear.

  She leaned over in his ear and said, “Yea right, she’s over at the bar you should talk to her.”

  “Yea . . . a moment,” he said to Maria.

  He went to Lise, she turned around with 2 drinks i
n her hand.

  “Hey I thought you hated this place,” she said ambiguously.

  “It’s not so bad.”

  As they walked back to her friends. He followed and said,

  “Hey let’s talk,”

  “Okay.”

  “Outside.”

  “I'll be right back looking back.” he said looking back at Mara. She nodded in approval.

  When they walked back into the club, Maria and Toni were chatting while some guy was hitting on Sarah. Seto walked in first and approached the group, Lise followed and took a seat and begins sipping her drink contently.

  “Mara are you ready to take me home,” he said, grabbing her hand helping her stand up. He kissed Toni and then Lise on the cheek and left.

  Chapter 5

  Music

  They walked in silence for a moment, glancing up at the full orange moon every few steps.

  “What was that about?” asked Mara.

  “Nothing.” He could now see his bike. “What?” he said.

  “You. . . Never mind.”

  “Mara if there's something you wish to say.” He handed her the helmet and crank the bike. They hop on the horse. “Hang on,”

  The engine ignited in a smooth violent burst. She didn’t know when they started moving she, just held on tight in the assurance of a man who knew where he was headed. She closed her eyes, just listened and felt the movements, like she was being carried effortlessly by the current of the morning tide towards the shore.

  “Oh yea,”

  “I know what you’re thinking.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re thinking I'm drunk or you’re thinking your drunk.”

  “No that's not it.” Mara said sternly.

  “You’re thinking about getting me home all to yourself.” He said slowing down in traffic.

  “No,” she said, stretching out the word, forcing herself not to smile.

  “I wasn't done, or you’re thinking about Lise and me.” She hung on tighter.

  “Well.”

  “Well, you should know what I'm going to ask you.”

  “Yes.”

  “Is she coming, does she need more time, or. “

  “Stop it.”