Life In Frames

Chapter 2 - Sneak Peek

Untethered. The bustling noises of busy street below her didn't help much with this confining silence around her. Sitting on the window bay, Payton was transfixed by the sight of people on the streets, going on with their lives. She loved to observe people, wondering about their story. Sometimes she was curious, what would others see in her. Would they see through her, straight to restlessness that had been sitting around for some time now? She hated this strange feeling. Like something was missing, even when everything was in place. It made her thought that there was something more out there, beyond the safe space of complacency. She had read all about it. The change of the center of gravity, the clicking sound of finding the perfect fit. The feeling of finally belong. Untethered, no more.

***

Alexandra read her opening paragraph and let out an astounded whistle. If she didn't knew better, she would have thought that it was a part of her journal. Unconsciously, she reflected herself into her main character, not that it was uncommon thing to do for a writer. She had bared herself a little too much on it and shocked herself with the amount of truth within the words. Untethered. Alexa repeated the word again in her mind. It was ridiculous of her to feel this way. She hated commitments and the ties of a relationship. Untethered was the perfect situation for her. Yet she couldn't shake this uneasy feeling in her stomach.

"Okaaay," she pushed back her laptop and cranked her stiff neck. "Enough work and depressive thoughts for tonight."

Thor's ears perked up when he heard Alexa shifted on her desk. He had waited patiently at her feet while she was working. Thor bumped his wet nose against Alexa's leg, demanding her attention now. Alexa's hand instinctively reached down to pet her companion's head, eliciting a satisfied whine from him.

"Time for dinner, buddy," she said as she got up from her seat.

Thor immediately jumped and followed her into the kitchen. Her Siberian Husky sat obediently in front of his bowl, his tail thumping noisily against the kitchen tiles. She put a generous amount of food into his bowl and refilled his water bowl. As Thor munched happily on his food, Alexa thought about her own dinner. Not in a mood for cooking, she decided to order pizza instead. As she waited for her dinner, Alexa moved in front of her laptop again, closing her work and opened the browser. She had some time to kill, so she figured that she'd get more information about this LGBTQ+ in Media event. From its well designed website, she found out that the event would be held in Palm Springs, the perfect place to be for summer.

There were a lot of lesbians in the guest list, just like what Meghan said. She looked up the YouTubers section of the guest list and clicked her tongue in appreciation. They are really, really hot indeed. She looked at the names, making a mental note to look up for their videos later. Ally Hills and Stevie Boebi, Shannon and Cammie, Bria and Chrissy, Rose and Rosie. It was a shame that most of the girls were already in pairs. She scrolled down to take a look at the author section and found some familiar names on it. Her other best friend, fellow author, Jacklyn, was also on the guest list. A wave of relief went over her as she knew that she wouldn't be completely alone in the middle of attractive couples out there. At least, she would have her partner in crime along. The itinerary was interesting enough, mostly consisted of meet and greets, pool party, visitations to famous spots in Palm Springs and so on.

She minimized the browser to send an email to Meghan. She asked her to send the complete itinerary for the event and inquired whether she would come along with her to the event. She clicked send, then leaned back into her chair. Not long after she sent the email, her phone rang. Alexa glanced at the screen and found her best friend's face staring back at her.

"Wow, your fast response is both appreciated and discouraging," she quipped. "Let's try to act like you actually have a life some other times, okay?"