Page 16 of Crystal Iris
“I needed some… air,” I manage to say, my voice weak.
“First time?” he asks.
“It feels like it, but no. Yours?” I ask, trying to keep myself together.
“I have to do this sort of thing frequently.”
How could this be happening?
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I try to continue the conversation.
He snorts, letting out a laugh.
Waiters are coming our way, and I shorten the distance and pick up another glass. I don’t know how to handle my feelings. There he is, so…real.
“I’m Hoyt,” he introduces himself, and I shake his hand. As soon as our hands touch, we both pull back immediately, gasping. The heat almost burns our hands. I’m still holding my fingers when I look up and see that he, too, has felt it.
“What was… that?” he asks me.
“I don’t… know.” I can feel my prism pulsing, and I start to wonder if it’s going to light up even without water.
I need to walk away before I make a scene. I’m looking for somewhere else to go when Aaron finds me. I could swear he knows when another man is near me.
“There you are,” he says, glancing over at the guy.
Hoyt looks at me, winks, and says, “Good luck in there,” before walking away.
I can see Aaron’s hand curl into a fist. “Was he… bothering you?”
I take a deep breath. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
To my surprise, he says, “Let’s get out of here.”
“Oh… Don’t you have more… negotiating to do?”
“Everyone’s drunk. They don’t really want to do business. It’s already the second part of the evening, when people are only thinking about their drugs in the bathroom.”
For the first time, I’m the one who wants tostay longer.
Seven
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso
How am I supposed to sleep after last night?I toss and turn until the clock tells me it’s reasonable to get up. I want to text Akira, but I don’t want to distract her from her family. She would only worry about my mental state. To her, I’m a fragile creature, just moments away from breaking.
I pack my bags, well aware that I’m not bringing enough. I’m probably forgetting something, yet my brain isn’t cooperating. I zip the bag up after checking that I have at least enough underwear, my phone charger, and my wallet.
The flight is busy with families, and I let myself doze off and on. Aaron is still replying to emails. There are bags under his eyes. I worry that he’s working too much. He needs this break more than I do.
New York is buzzing with all the holiday lights. Aaron has picked a beautiful hotel for us to stay at, right across from the Rockefeller tree. It’s hard to remember our childhood. It feels like a different life compared to all of this. The room is large, with a separate living area. A beautiful view of the city stretches across the glass walls.
I’m lost watching the people below when he walks over.
“Do you like it?” he asks, holding my hand.
“I do.”
“Who would have thought we’d ever stand together in a place like this?” His words describe exactly what I feel.
