Unlimited

ONE

                                                                                   James Rivera

The first thing I hear is a loud buzzing right next to my ear. I slowly start to open my eyes and peek at the still blaring alarm next to me. I think about throwing it but then I remember the crack I had left the last time I did that and settle for just hitting it extra hard to turn it off. I sigh and sit up looking around my large room but making no attempt to actually move away from my soft pillows or comfortable mattress.

 I look outside my window and see the sun just peeking over the horizon and my alarm clock says it's 6:05 am. I look up at the large circular light jeweled with different diamonds that hangs above my bed studying it for a while before turning away due to the light. My room is big with it's own large bathroom and walk-in closet attached to it. Right now I'm resting on my King size bed and looking around my modern decorated black and white room, a bit too fancy for my taste but I can manage. 

 I reach over to my night stand and grab a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and decide to sit there and smoke for a while. I should be getting ready for work but if I did everything I was supposed to do I wouldn't live on the flower side of the wall now would I? I burn half of my cigarette in one breath as I try to keep my mind from flashing back to the trauma that brought me here. Eventually I put out the cigarette and slide out of bed seeing the sun starting to raise higher into the sky. If even the sun is getting out of bed I suppose I should too.

I take a fast shower and and get ready before heading over to my closet not bothering to cover up. Who's gonna see me, my ghost mother? I take out my usual black dress shirt, black pants and black suit jacket with tennis shoes that are, you guessed it, black before unplugging my phone, grabbing my keys and heading to work. Once I arrive I park and step out of my car putting another pack of cigarettes in my back pocket and checking my phone to see where I'm supposed to head. As I unlock the screen I'm met with a flood of notifications from the girl I was with last night. I purposefully didn't sleep with this one so she wouldn't take it seriously and yet here we are. As I look at the text from my boss I head over to the studio she told me to enter and skim through the texts from the girl. (Kim maybe?) There's a few threats of violence the usual "ANSWER ME YOU DUMBASS!" but nothing too exciting. I just hope she doesn't try to break in like the last one did. As I enter the building I'm met by a frantic scene of people cleaning moving boxes around and decorating. What the hell is going on? I scan the room and stop when I see a woman in a long strapless red dress and long dark brown wavy hair frantically waving her arms in my direction. I sigh before heading over. She calms down as I get closer and her features become more prominent. Her long hair cascades effortlessly down her shoulder and her light blue eyes sparkle with excitement. Her nails and lips are just as bold of a red as her lips along with her simple but formal heels. Her name is Jess, she's my boss. 

"James," she begins smiling, "I have good news and I have bad news... well you're gonna think it's bad but personally I think it's great." Uh oh. I sigh and nod in response, signaling her to continue. "Good news is you don't have to work today." I squint in confusion. "And what's the bad news?" I ask the question warily not sure if I want to know the answer. Her smile widens as she says, "Later tonight we're holding a party for the studio and I want you to be there. My only response is a groan. I think about asking if I have to go but the look in her eye says that'll only make things worse for me. I stand up straight and turn around. "Just text me all the info, I'm going home." She doesn't seem to mind, probably happy that I'm coming at all, as I walk away from the studio. I hop into my truck and smoke another cigarette as I head home. By the time I get there Jess has already texted me the time of the party and what's to be expected which makes me wonder why she didn't just text me in the first place. I sleep the majority of the day deciding to skip lunch simply because I don't feel like eating. I go to the gym for a while and once I've come home and showered it's already 6:30 and I need to leave at 7:30. I allow myself to relax for a while longer before getting ready. I wear a simple suit and nice dress shoes. It's supposed to be worn with a tie but I don't do ties. I leave about 4 buttons of my shirt undone because I really don't care and style my hair as nice as possible. I have to hide my cigarettes in one of the pockets within my suit jacket so Jess doesn't throw a hissy fit about me smoking in front of the guests. As I head over I decide to park away from the studio and walk the rest of the way not really caring if I'm late. I think about smoking on the way but decide not to risk it. As I start to get closer, about a block away, I hear clicking coming from behind me if a fast steady pattern. Click, click, click, click. I stop and turn around to see what it is before seeing a woman slightly younger than me speedily walk past. I get a glimpse of her long curly brown hair and perfect dark skin before she turns the corner and is out of sight. As the clicks fade away I stand there a bit star struck and curious who it was. As a matter of fact I almost curse myself when I realize I'm going the same way and just missed my opportunity to catch up to her. I continue walking trying to shove this mystery girl out of my mind but for some reason can't even as I approach the door. The people standing watch allow me to enter without even looking at the list most likely knowing who I am. I mean, I am famous so that's not too surprising. I work at this studio filming videos in which I dance. Salsa dance to be specific. I started at the request of my mother, who is from Argentinian like me, and basically just never stopped. That reminded me, they were supposedly hiring a new dance partner for me. The last one quit when I rejected her. I at least apologized. I enter the room and am almost caught off guard by the flashing lights and the dancing. I head straight over to the bar to my left against the wall. I'm 18 to technically I'm allowed to drink since I'm one of the petals. I still think that name is so goddamn stupid. I sit down and begin to sip when I see my boss waving at me and ushering me over. At least she doesn't look like a psychopath like she did this morning. I refill my glass and head over seeing that she's now in a floor length slightly flowy black dress. She looks excited and before I'm even all the way in front of her she begins to speak.