Aberrant: 2011 - Screaming Infidelities

[TroyCampbell]

The room had no lights, but it wasn’t very dark. The lights from outside cast many shadows from the room, and made visibility easy enough to walk without tripping. Troy stood up, a silhouette against the window. He turned towards the balcony sliding door, and stood inches from it. Las Vegas is my kind of town. He was silent for several more minutes. He was naked to Las Vegas, standing in front of the glass door without clothes. He didn’t shy away. He just stood.

Troy was in town for a small press conference on behalf of Project Utopia. It was his first time at one of these things alone, but he’d spent the past month and a half at these things almost daily. He’d been tagging along with a Utopian diplomat, learning the ins and out of diplomacy and the biz. It’d been fairly eventful, as he was seeing a lot of this western hemisphere, and meeting a lot of new people. He’d felt free ever since his meeting with Summer. She broke several ideas into his head about living today, and doing what you like. She didn’t teach this stuff, but he picked it up through the night.

He’d hardly thought about Catalyst anymore. When he found something he thought she would like, he picked it up and brought it with him on his travels. I will go and see her when I have some free time he thought to himself. He never tried to make time, but was just waiting for it to come along.

There was a stir behind him, some patter of feet. Troy didn’t look back, or even bother to try and see a reflection in the glass. A woman’s voice perked up. “Wow, you really aren’t tired, are you?” Troy felt her hands run across his bare chest. He wasn’t particularly muscular, but nor was he a twig. He was nearly average. He felt her kiss his upper back, than a little bit further. “Do you want to order some room service or something? What time do you have to be awake in the morning?”

“I have to be at the meeting at about 10.” He said quickly, still watching out the window. She hates this. She slid in front of him, and Troy looked down at her. The girl seemed to be in her late teens, and was pretty for a baseline. Her hair was a very, very dark green in this light, and her body seemed well toned due to a high metabolism. She was incredibly skinny, and just seemed to have no definition. She pressed her body against his, and he bent his head down to his her hair. “Let’s get dressed and find some place.”

A few minutes later they were out on the June Vegas sidewalks. It was very early in the morning, but there was no shortage of people. Troy and the girl walked next to each other, with nearly a foot between them. It was obvious they were together, but no one would draw that they had anything more than a friendship. “When are you leaving Vegas?” She said to him. He shrugged, and she looked over at him. “Am I staying with you until you do.. ?” Again he shrugged. They were silent for a few more steps. “Because I would like too. I like this new us. The last time you were here you were cool, but way too uptight. What happened?”

“I met a girl.” He said simply.

“Oh, you mean that California girl all the papers say you’re dating?” She said to him, smiling.

”I am dating her. But no, not her. A girl named Summer from New York.”

The girl looked confused for a minute. “You mean Solstice from Team Tomorrow?” Troy nodded, and the girl didn’t say anything for another minute.

“We had dinner. She’s nice, and free. She seemed free of other people’s opinions, and other people’s expectations. I learned a lot from that one night.”

The girl was quiet for a few more seconds, than she looked over at him. “Did you sleep with her?” Troy shrugged, and the girl looked a little sad. “I suppose it wouldn’t matter if you hadn’t. So you are dating the California girl?” She was still looking at him, and people seemed to be moving around Troy and the girl.

“Uh huh.”

“Than what am I?” She said meekly. After a few seconds, she looked away and they kept walking. It was silence for a few minutes, and the girl seemed to become more and more distant. Troy looked bored, but in thought.

“You’re the girl I am going to be spending the next few days with.” Troy said, and the girl seemed not to hear it for a minute. “Listen, I am not this ‘Knight in Shinning Armor’ here to take you away from your Casino job. I came to Vegas because of my job. I came here looking forward to seeing you, because I do like you. I did not plan on this happening. It was not my intention to come here and have sex with you.” He looked at her, and she looked over at him. Her face was blank. “I did not plan on coming to Vegas and start liking you more than I already did. Things are.. complicated.” He said, and he looked back away from her.

“I’ll say.” She said, looking back at where they were. Troy began veering into an all-night deli, and she followed him in. They ordered sandwiches, and they both sat down. “I am going to break up with Charlie.” She said to him.

“That’s good. No reason you should hurt him. He’s a good guy.” Troy said, and they went back to being quiet.

“Are you going to be staying with California Girl?”

“She’s a good girl. No reason I should hurt her by doing that. She would be devastated to lose me.” He said, smiling.

“Would you if I asked you to break up with her and start dating me?”

“I’d think twice about saying no.”

“That’s not an answer.”

He smiled at her. “The answer you are looking for doesn’t exist, but the answer you fear doesn’t either. This isn’t quite that black and white.” She yawned, and his smile faded. “We should’ve just gotten room service, that way you could have just gone back to bed.”

“No, I’ll be okay.” She said before biting into her sandwich. “So what you’re saying is that you’re not going to break up with California Girl, but you’re not going to dump me. What if I said that I wouldn’t be with you unless you did break up with her?”

“Than I’d say I’m sorry that you’re looking at it with such a close-minded view, but I know that you’re smarter than that.” She smiled at him. “And oh, so pretty.” She rolled her eyes and took another bite into the sandwich. Troy seemed relieved that the conversation was turning away from what it was. She’ll be here for me, even if I married California Girl. He took a bite of his sandwich. I mean Catalyst. She leaned across the table and kissed him slowly on the lips right after he swallowed. He smiled at her, than took another bite. I mean Perry.