Gazelle (18 page)

              She giggles and showers him with parting kisses.  She pulls away and looks him in the eyes, her hands still caressing him, smiling the same tilted smile she wore the night before.
 “
I had a lot of fun last night
.
”
“
Did you?  I think I did, too
.
”
“
You were really wasted
.
”
“
I know.  It happens
,
” he whispers into her neck, kissing her.

“
I
t’
s pretty incredible that you were as good as you were, that wasted
,
” she whispers, her eyes fluttering shut as he turns her mouth into his.  They kiss one another for a long time, their hands moving over one another, squeezing and pushing against one another.  She pulls away and studies his eyes, running her fingers over his lips.
“
What time do you leave
?
”
“
2
.
”
“
Tha
t’
s so earl
y…
ca
n’
t you stay a little later
?
”
“
I ca
n’
t.  I have to be back.  I wish I coul
d
…”
“
Do you
?
” she says, her hand trailing down his chest to his stomach, feeling the tight, hard muscles before moving between his legs again.

“
Yes, yes I do
.
”
“
I do, too
.
”

              She lets him go and slowly rises off of him, bringing her stomach up against his face.  He grabs her hips and kisses it, his hands moving down between her legs. She moans and moves against his thumbs that slide beneath her shorts, pulling her back towards him.

“
Nope
,
” she says, moving quickly off of him and turning.
 “
No condom
.
”

“
There are other things that we could do without one
,
” he says, catching her by the waist and drawing her back against him, kissing her throat and breathing in her hair.

              She wraps her arms up around his neck as he idly runs his fingers against her hard nipples and remembers the night before, feeling the desire rising in him.

“
What
are
we doing
?
” she whispers.
 “
What is this?  Are we jus
t…
hooking up
?
”
              He stops kissing her and blinks.
 “
Is it
?
”
“
I do
n’
t mind if it is.  Tha
t’
s fine.  But
-
”

“
Yeah
.
”
“
Mike was pretty clear about the situation
.
”
“
Professional relationship
.”
             

              She leans up and kisses him, studying his electric eyes, scratching herself against his dark stubble.
 “
This is
n’
t very professional, I think
.
”
“
N
o…
no, i
t’
s not, bu
t
…”
“
I know
.
”
              He caresses her cheek with his fingers.
 “
When do you get back to L.A.
?
”
“
In three days
.
”
“
When you get back, I think regardless of our situation, I want to see you.  I-I do
n’
t want this to be just a hook up, you know
?
”
“
I do
n’
t either
.
”
 
She turns herself around, into his arms and kisses him deeply, passionately, pushing him backwards onto the bed as she moves her long, elegant body against him.  He wraps his arms around her back and presses her against him, breathing in her scent, listening to her quickening breath, tasting the expensive lotion all over her skin.  She moans and pulls away, looking into his eyes, the sober, controlled eyes that betray nothing.  She smiles at the challenge.
 “
Tell me about the other things we can do
.
”

              Alice pulls the slice of pizza from the pie, pulling up until the cheese breaks and releases her prize. 

“
My god, I ca
n’
t remember the last time I ate pizza
,
” she whispers, her eyes rolling back as she bites into the slice.

“
You look really good
,
” Trina says as she chugs her beer and plops down beside Alice on the floor of her apartment.
 “
Are you working out and eating healthy and junk, too
?
”
“
Naw.  I mean, I try, sort of.  But mostly,
I’
m just constantly running around and shit.  I do
n’
t have time to eat
,
” Alice answers.

“
You need to eat, girl
,
” Will calls from the kitchen.
 “
Tha
t’
s how you get anemic.  It happened to my sister that way.  She was trying to lose weight after her last one and she just drank smoothies and ate energy bars.  After a month, the doctor told her she had anemia.  She had to start taking iron supplements
.
”
“
Did she lose weight
?
” Trina asks.

“
Oh, fuck yeah!  Like 30 pounds!  Bitch looks amazing
!
”
              Will comes into his tiny living room with cutlery and plates.  He is a large, meticulously maintained man in his 4
0’
s with a short beard and small, round glasses that perpetually slide down his long nose.  He and his boyfriend, Chris, live in a small, one bedroom in a complex of four others, one of which Trina rents. 

“
Go get hot sauce,
I’
m all out
,
” he tells her.

“
Did
n’
t they bring peppers
?
”
“
Girl, it is not the same!  Go get it
!
”

              She rolls her eyes and drags herself up, stomping to her apartment next door.  Will scrunches himself down between Alice and Chris, who fiddles with the remote, trying to get the movie to play.

“
Did she tell you Anthony was coming
?
” Will asks casually.

              Alice nods and gives Willa look.
 “
Wh
o’
s idea was that
?
”
“
His.  Well, sort of.  He asked me if we wanted to go to the pool hall tonight and I told him we were having movie night
.
”
“
He did
n’
t know you would be here
,
” Chris mumbles as he scrolls through the DV
D’
s menu.

“
He did
n’
t
not
know, either
,
” Alice retorts.
 “
I
t’
s fine.  W
e’
re okay
.
”
“
As in, back togethe
r‘
oka
y
’ o
r‘
not gonnakill each other toda
y
’
‘
oka
y’?
” Will asks innocently.

“
The latter.  But the nigh
t’
s still young
!
”

“
Ho
w’
s your job?  Trina says yo
u’
re living large
.
”
“
Why, because of the car
?
”
“
And the flat screen.  And the new furniture.  And clothes.  And your complete and sudden absence from our lives
,
” Will sighs as he bites into the pizza.

“C’
mon!  You make it sound like
I’
ve been M.I.A. for the past two months
!
”
“
Pretty much.  More or less
.
”
“
I
t’
s hard, okay?  The new job is hard, way harder than I thought it would be
.
”
“
Is he a dick?  He is, is
n’
t he?
!
” Will asks, his eyes lighting up, both he and Chris leaning eagerly towards her.

“
Not in the least.  H
e’
s the nicest guy ever
.
”
“
They make you say shit like that, right?  Like, you had to sign some sort of contract or something when they hired you, that you could
n’
t talk shit or the
y’
d sue you for character defamation
.
”
“
No, they did
n’
t.  Tha
t’
s ridiculous.  I would
n’
t lie about that.  And I would
n’
t stick around if he wasa dick, either.  Give me some credit
.
”
“
S
o…
then, wh
y’
s it hard
?
” Chris asks, leaning his skinny frame against Will.

“
I do
n’
t kno
w…
i
t’
s a totally different world.  I do
n’
t really feel like
I’
m his employee, to be honest.  I feel like
I’
m his friend just doing shit for him
.
”
“
But he pays you.  H
e’
s not your friend, he
is
your employer
.
”
“
No, I know.  But i
t’
s not really like that with us.  Like, he does
n’
t make me feel like
I’
m a servant or whatever.  But I know what
I’
m doing is important to him.  Like, i
t’
s a series of seemingly meaningless activities that I perform all day and it drives me crazy because it seems so small and pointless.  But they are
n’
t, you know?  If I did
n’
t do them, h
e’
d have to worry about it and not do
his
job
.
”
“
It sounds like the best ever.  That man is the definition of booty beauty, I ca
n’
t understand how you can be so close to him without going blind.  And, on top of that, Trina says you go out to parties and clubs and shit with him!  With
him
, girl!  Are you serious right now
!
”
“
Uh, first off, I
did
, back when I started.  But he does
n’
t really do that anymore,h
e’
s getting ready to shoot.  And second, i
t’
s not like what you imagine.  Like, i
t’
s not a party full of friends or even people you want to make friends with.  And i
t’
s not clubs full of people you know.  I
t’
s al
l
…”
“
Phony
?
” Chris asks.

“
Yeah.  Something like that
,
” she shrugs.

“
Well, I do
n’
t care how phony baloney those bitches are, it still beats stocking fucking fruit all day.  Did I tell you about that lady?  That fucking old, bent bitch
?
” Will asks.

“
No, what?  Which one
?
”
“
The bent bitch, the one tha
t’
s all hunched over?  The one that threw the bagel at you
!
”
“
Oh my god!  No, now wha
t’
d she do
?
”
“
I was stocking pears and the bitch slapped me
!
”
“
What the fuck, are you kidding
?
”
“
Nope!  She kept asking me about Italian plums and I kept trying to tell her we did
n’
t have them in.  And she kept insisting they were in season.  I tried telling her that even if they were in season, which I was
n’
t even arguing, we did
n’
t have them to stock.  And she slapped me in the mouth
!
”
“
No she did
n’
t
!
”
“
She slaps me and says
,‘
Youshut up!  I know what
I’
m talking about.  I know when the
y’
re in season and they are in season now
!
’ and walks away
!
”
“
What did you do
?
”
“
Ah, nothing.  It did
n’
t hurt, it was like a
,
” he slaps her lightly on the cheek
,“
like a fly on a co
w’
s butt. 
I’
m sure she hurt her wrist worse than my face with those twisted, old bird bones
.
”
“
Yeah, when she threw the bagel at me, it barely made it to the counter.  I wonder what she was like in her youth.  Like, you think she just went around, plowing into people to get whatever she wanted
?
”
“
Naw.  She probably had a PA to get everything for her.  Now she thinks the world is her PA
,
” Chris grunts.

              Will chuckles through his pizza and nods.
 “
Seriously
.
”
              Alice is quiet, contemplating the bent, old woman in her gold jewelry and expensive clothes, reeking of perfume and mothballs, slapping her friend.  How degraded he must have felt, how insignificant.
 “I’
m sorry I missed your show, Will
.
”
“
Oh, do
n’
t worry about it
,
” Will sighs, unconvincingly.
 “
I understand.  It was a small show
.
”
“
It was a brilliant show
,
” Chris chimes in, hugging him.
 “
He sold eight pieces
.
”
“
Tha
t’
s really good. 
I’
m proud of you
,
” she smiles sadly.

“I’
m having another one in Koreatownnext month.  Maybe you can come to that
?
”
“
I will, I promise.  I swear, I will
,
” Alice answers.

“
Are you still working?  Like, real working
?
”
“
I try.  I
t’s…
hard.  Anthony asked me to paint a picture of his niece to give to his sister.  It felt good to be creating again,honestl
y…
it had been a long time.  But when I was doing it, I sort of felt lik
e…
it was pointless.  Not that painting, because Anthony was taking it.  But everything else piled up in my place, collecting dust and waiting
.
”
“
I know what you mean.  I feel that way too.  Sometimes I just want to give up and never make anything again.  And then I realize thatif I did, I would just have my endless job of stocking fruit and getting slapped, and it makes me want to hang myself instantly.  So I move faster.  You move faster, start marketing yourself.  Yo
u’
re in all these new circles now, i
t’
s a great place to network, even if they are balonies
.
”