The Nightlife: New York - Chapter 9

Aaron had mentally prepared himself for a quick in-and-out meeting with Kyle. He felt confident he could explain away having disappeared for almost a week.

“Let’s go. Is time to close the door to your previous life. We must see this friend of yours.” Michelle blew his carefully constructed plans all to hell.

He knew there was a good chance they might run into Delia and her friends. This was gonna be a disaster. Like watching the cars pile up one by one in a train wreck; he saw it coming from a mile away.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to bring you along. Things might get complicated. My ex-girlfriend could be there. Maybe it would be better if I do this alone.” He gave it his best shot at diplomacy, but he already knew from his connection to her thoughts and feelings, Michelle would not be deterred.

“I will make very clear to your friends that you are mine.”

It felt good to hear her declare something so intimate, but her manner made him uneasy.

“You will take us now to meet your friends.” Spoken in the unmistakable timbre of command, Michelle ceased all debate on the matter.

* * * *

“Hey, guys, how’s it going? I just stopped by for a few minutes to say hi. I’m in a hurry. Gotta run.” Aaron edged in the front door to Kyle’s apartment, hoping to avoid too much attention. He prayed he could get in and out quickly.

Kyle popped his head out the bedroom door near Aaron with a surprised look. Delia and her two friends stood at the far side of the room, deep in conversation. The girls were debating the usual meaningless drivel of he-said-she-said. They hadn’t noticed Aaron yet, but Kyle was quick on the draw.

“Whoa dude, where the hell you been? I called your cell like thirty times. I was beginning to think you were dead!” Kyle was all over him with a suspicious look on his face. Aaron read his thoughts, which were even more suspicious. “Where has he been? What the fuck was he thinking? How are we gonna pay the rent if he lost his job? Why didn’t he answer any of my calls? Oh shit, who is this magnificent piece of ass wrapped around him? OH. My. God! She’s a fuckin’ knockout!”

Michelle truly fit the description of a fuckin’ knock out. She wore a tight-fitted pink top with dark blue jeans molded to every delicious curve of her body. Painted on.

Aaron had to check himself. He almost answered questions Kyle hadn’t spoken aloud.

He caught himself at the last second. “This is my … friend … Michelle. Michelle, this is my roommate, Kyle.” He hadn’t known how to describe his relationship with Michelle. Referring to her as his Vampire Master probably wouldn’t work out so well.

As he spoke, Aaron looked at Michelle several times. Her demeanor had magically transformed into the sexy-girl-next-door. She clung to his arm as if they’d known each other all their lives. Nothing short of miraculous. She could be quite the actress when she wanted. She held his eyes for a moment. He caught a mischievous twinkle in her emerald gaze. The real Michelle was still lurking, waiting to pounce.

“Bonsoir, everyone, is nice to meet you. And you too, Kyle. Aaron has told me so much about you. I feel as though I already know you.” Aaron followed Kyle’s mind as he spun off in speculation of what Aaron might have said about him.

He had to placate Kyle’s unanswered questions quietly before the rest of the room got involved in the conversation. Delia and crew started in their direction.

“Listen man, I’ve been staying with Michelle the past week. I’m really sorry I didn’t call you.” Aaron leaned into Kyle, a quiet conspiracy of two men appreciating the obvious good fortune of spending a week in Michelle’s bed.

“Really, I’m sorry. I lost my cell phone, and then I met Michelle, and it’s been totally crazy. But it’s all good, you know.” Reading his mind, Kyle tried to envision Aaron on a bender, partying it up with Michelle. Didn’t make sense to Kyle, Aaron wasn’t that reckless.

Delia and company closed in from across the room. He tried to be fast and discrete. “Seriously, Michelle is so awesome. She has this fantastic apartment and I got a new job that pays way better than Bemichis. I’m moving in with Michelle.”

Kyle popped in surprise. Aaron realized from the course of Kyle’s thoughts that he’d neglected to address the primary concern, the rent.

Kyle started in on him. “Hey, man, you’re moving pretty fast here. I mean we have rent coming due in a couple of days and … you two barely met!” Kyle started to panic. Aaron could see from Kyle’s thoughts he didn’t have enough to pay the rent on his own.

Delia and gang surrounded Aaron. They had gathered the basic concept that he was moving out of Kyle’s apartment and in with the blonde goddess caressing his arm. Aaron glanced at Delia briefly. She looked different now. He didn’t see all those adorable features that had once fascinated him. Delia’s shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair didn’t shine like before. Her cute, sassy look now appeared spiteful and catty. Seeing her now was like looking at an old photograph, remembering something long forgotten. Delia seemed diminished, less than.

As Delia and her two friends moved into flanking positions, blocking off avenues of retreat, Michelle intervened. She reached out with a reassuring touch to Kyle’s arm. “Oui. Is true, we only met a few days ago. But what can I say? Is très magnifique! We are together all the time. Is like I don’t want to let him escape!”

Aaron snickered. If only they knew.

With this, Michelle reached around and squeezed his ass, planting a loud smooch on his cheek. He was now marked territory with a big sign hanging from his rear that said, Property of Michelle––NO TRESPASSING.

Delia looked both Aaron and Michelle up and down with a scowl painted on her face. He read how Delia puzzled over what qualities he had that could attract Michelle and keep her occupied for an entire week. Delia wondered if she’d missed something. Maybe she should’ve let Aaron have his way with her. Was he really all that in bed? She thought perhaps he was like that guy from the movie Fight Club––a scrawny weasel who suddenly transforms into a badass alter-ego, a screw-your-brains-out-all-night Brad Pitt.

Waves of overlapping thoughts crashed into Aaron. All three girls and Kyle hit his mind in a tumbled mess of irritated confusion. “What is she saying? Are they sleeping together? Is he living with her now? God, I wish I had her hair. What a slut! I bet she has him totally pussy-whipped. That’s so typical of Aaron to fall in love with the first girl who grabs his ass. Look at her eyes. That color is freakish, that’s gotta be contacts. Those are nine hundred dollar Gucci shoes! I bet he paid her to do this. She can’t be for real. What could she possibly see in him? Delia must be dying with jealousy by now!”

Michelle tugged on Aaron’s arm, drawing him out of his confusing internal mess.

“Is only fair to Kyle we pay this month’s rent. Is so sudden.” With a single look, Michelle entranced Kyle. He was putty in her hands as she held him with her wicked soul-snatching stare. The woman could charm the skin off a king cobra. Her distraction provided Aaron a chance to erect a mental block and ward off the tangled assault of thoughts aimed at him.

He enjoyed a couple seconds of mental silence. “Yeah … I guess you’re right.” He turned to Kyle and offered a wad of bills that Michelle had given him the night before. “Here’s six hundred. That should cover you through the next month.”

Kyle nodded in agreement with a dreamy, idiotic expression. He barely managed an answer, “Okay.”

As Kyle shoved the cash into his pants pocket in a crumpled ball, Michelle finalized the transaction. “Viola!”

The foreign sound elicited frowns from all three girls. Kyle remained bewitched with his idiot smile pasted on. Amber, the girl to the right of Delia, leaned in, looking back and forth at Aaron and Michelle. “Wow, that’s really cool. So like … you guys are moving in together?”

As she spoke, Amber nudged Delia with her elbow. Delia barely noticed. She stared at Aaron nonstop.

He made the mistake of catching Delia directly in the eyes with the full force of his gaze. He forgot how easily he could ensnare a woman. He broke away from her stare after a few seconds, but the damage was done. He followed her thoughts as Delia picked up on the subtle but distinct differences in her ex-boyfriend. She felt an irresistible attraction to him, far stronger than ever before. She wanted to run her hands all over him, under his shirt, down his pants. There was something disturbing about him, strange, almost unnatural. She regretted having dumped him two weeks ago. This situation wasn’t right at all. Aaron had always been hers, wrapped around her little finger.

Delia began to realize she might have been wrong. Aaron was a real catch after all. What had she been thinking when she broke up with him? Aaron wasn’t supposed to go off dating European models. He was supposed to be jealous, begging her to take him back.

He frowned as he recalled doing just that. Delia had him groveling, calling her several times a day, leaving syrupy voicemails and text messages on her cell. Right up to the moment he met Michelle.

Listening to Delia’s thoughts gave him inspiration. “Michelle, this is Delia. She’s a friend of mine. Delia, meet my girlfriend, Michelle.” Delia flinched as though physically stung by the intensity of Michelle’s scrutiny as she looked her up and down.

“Why don’t you get your things while I gossip about you with your friends?” Michelle gave him the opening he needed.

What goes around comes around, Delia. Off the hook, he headed for his bedroom mumbling, “Good idea.”

* * * *

Delia moved toward Aaron to follow him, but Michelle snagged her arm and reeled her back in. Non. This petite désastre would not trouble Aaron any further. Delia turned on Michelle with a blatant sneer, and was immediately captured in an intense staring contest.

“I know you were together before, with Aaron, but I hope we can be friends. These things can sometimes be a problème, non?” She held an iron grip on Delia’s arm, ensuring to leave bruises, a mark to be remembered.

The spell finally broke. Delia shook her head and stammered, “No … I mean … no problem. I … we broke it off weeks ago. It’s cool. He’s … we’re just friends now. Are you guys, like … dating?” Delia winced, looked down at her arm, and Michelle softened her grip.

Delia’s gibberish hadn’t fooled anyone. Her tension was obvious despite her attempts to appear calm. She pulled a stray hair behind her ear nervously, and avoided further eye contact with Michelle. Delia looked to her friends for support.

The dark-haired one called Amber jumped to her aid. “Oh yeah, it’s alright. They broke up two weeks ago. It’s all good.”

Delia bobbed her head. Amber joined in, both nodding emphatically, a united front declaring Aaron a free man. They wouldn’t dare think of laying their hands on him. Michelle could have him all to herself, no problem at all. Michelle knew no one in the room believed the lies, least of all her.

Kyle cleared his throat and broke the uncomfortable silence. He pulled Michelle’s hand away from Delia and did his best to divert her intensity from the fidgeting girls. “So, you live here in New York? How long have you been here?”

The conversation delved into the safe platonic zones of weather, traffic, and the rudeness of New York taxi drivers.

* * * *

Aaron made sure to stay busy in his room, away from all the stares and pointed thoughts. As he assessed his possessions and stuffed them into a couple trash bags he realized just how much his world had changed in the span of one week. He no longer felt any attachment to this place, these people, or his stuff. His meager clothing appeared drab and unsuited to his new personality and life style. His books and music no longer interested him. His friends in the other room, ensorcelled by his vampire master, no longer held any emotional significance for him. By comparison to the radiant Michelle, Delia was a self-absorbed, frumpy, awkward little girl––uninteresting and frankly irritating. He couldn’t remember why he’d ever liked Delia.

He recalled his life in this bedroom as it had revolved around Delia and Kyle. The memory seemed a lifetime ago. A different Aaron. He recalled passing his days between work, partying with Kyle, and the foolish pursuit of Delia’s meager affections. His life had reached a significant fork in the road. The instant he aligned paths with Michelle there was no turning back. Every night traveled down this new path took him that much farther away from humanity.

He quickly finished gathering his junk and prepared to leave. He overheard Michelle dropping the “E” bomb as he walked out of his room.

“Aaron is working with me now in the Escort Service. Here is my card with my cellular. Aaron’s cards will be ready in a few days. You can reach him at my cell.”

Thoughts exploded left and right, front, side, and back. The mental shrapnel hit Aaron every which way. He took deep, calming breaths as he scrunched his eyes in concentration to block out the pummeling assault focused on him. “She’s an Escort! She’s a prostitute! She’s pimping Aaron out! They must be junkies! She’s got him strung out on meth! He’s lost his mind! I knew she wasn’t with him for real. It’s a business transaction! I wonder how much she charges per hour? Could I afford a half-hour, catch a friendly discount? Maybe just a blow job?”

He did his best to get a grip, slowly and methodically shielding himself against the waspish buzz of thoughts directed at him. Michelle grabbed his hand, lending him her calming influence and strength.

She setup a fast exit. “Ah … you are ready? Sorry to run, but we have things to do and people to see. Very nice to meet you all. Adieu!”

He took full advantage of the moment. “Bye, guys. Talk to you later. I’ll see you around. Take care.” They were all staring, jaws agape from shock. None of them dared to say what they were thinking. Kyle couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like to get a half-hour freebie from Michelle. He kept picturing her going down on him, her blonde hair bobbing back and forth as she sucked him off.

Aaron jetted for the door. There was nothing to be gained by spending another second in the presence of these humans.

As he turned his back on his former life, Michelle couldn’t resist one last jab. “Your friends were so nice to me. I’m glad we met.” She snatched a handful of Aaron’s ass and nailed everyone in the room with a backward glance over her shoulder. Territory marked, message delivered loud and clear.

They closed the door behind them with Kyle yelling, “Don’t be a stranger!” But Aaron knew things would never be the same again, because he was already a stranger.

On the taxi ride back to Michelle’s apartment he pondered if Michelle’s overt possessiveness was simply an attempt to help navigate the situation with Kyle and Delia, or if there might be a hint of real affection.