Aaron fell back onto his hotel bed, exhausted. His lean torso stretched out with an inked arm folded beneath his head for comfort; a tan canvas of tattoo's and inspirations that once meant so much to him and now serve as a constant reminder that things often change, but some don't-- like the black scorpion that had crawled to a resting stop on his neck for eternity, right above a rough babygirl-mouthed bite mark on his skin. There was a comfort in that gray area. Knowing not everything was up for debate, that sometimes losing was a part of life. Aaron lit himself a cigarette, angling his head and staring at the television set. Infomercial sales reflecting in his lethargic blue eyes-- $$ FOR FIVE EASY PAYMENTS-- that is, until the blinking alert light on his cell caught his attention.
He had a decent idea who it might be.
At first, listening to Charlie's voice flood into his ear through the phone kept his thoughts circling back to Lia-- the unexpected, dainty silhouette that he bumped into on the balcony of a house-party. Puffy-pink lips, naked thighs, pristine white fabric -- surrender, innocence-- both fell off the ledge, and all he had time to grab was her. She looked so much like Charlie, he was convinced it was a ghost at first. A delirious manifestation brought on by drugs and an avid imagination, but the more details that were uncovered about Lia, the less imaginary she became. And by the end of it all, as highly inebriated guests stumbled off the residence to collect their DUI's-- and she paused by the bathroom door to look back at him one last time, she became about the realest thing he'd experienced in quite some time.
But... as for Charlie. It was time to switch tactics, if any ground was going to be made. When his voice came on the line, it came dressed in a patient, flat-toned sarcasm-- playfully pretentious, just because.
"My apologies, Charlie Darling. The last thing I'd wanna do is interrupt your in-between-jobs.. job, you're right. I guess I didn't consider that as a possibility, seeing that I view women of all walks of profession in the same respectful light, so it would never have occurred to me to look down on you or any of your co-in-between-job workers. So if you feel -- your words, not mine-- that it's too degrading of an atmosphere, then fine.. Public. Alone. I can't promise well lit, but modestly lit might work..--"
She might even be able to hear him smiling a little through the words at the end, which carried over.
"But yeah.. it is a pretty real matter to discuss and you need to hear about it. I know your ego might not be able to process it, but I wouldn't have come this far unless it was important. I'd just rather not talk about it over the phone. And you've got my word-- 'sex' won't even leave my mouth. Promise... and, as a show of good faith, you can consider yourself un-tailed for the time being. I'll contact you later with details on where we can meet."
Presumably that was the end of the call but it didn't end immediately. Aaron felt some guilt. On her leaving NYC, on her being in this spot now, on their short past. There was a brief silence, then eventually the sound of his voice came back-- although this time it sounded almost like it belonged to another person. Lighter.. and alarmingly genuine. ".. For what it's worth, Charlie..... I'm sorry.."
The line went dead.
