“You know Whisper?”
She giggles. “Youknow 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 herbecauseof 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.
