“I’m here enjoying myself. Is there something wrong with that?” he asked.
“No, but this isn’t the place for a person like you. This is for people who are trying to let go, to forget about their life for a little bit. Someone who needs a break from the bullshit of reality,” I said.
Not like I was trying to project or anything, but that was my reason for being here. However, he then turned around, and I saw the expression on his face. There was a tinge of sadness.
“Maybe that’s what I’m trying to do. It’s a nice distraction from the paperwork. Plus, I get to see how humans have fun,” he said.
“Well, you need to be careful. Someone was about to offer you drugs. You need to watch out,” I told him.
“You don’t have to boss me around. You’re not my mother,” he told me coldly.
Why this little—
“I’m not trying to. I’m just trying to protect you so you won’t get hurt,” I told him.
“I didn’t expect you, of all people, to care so much,” he told me dryly.
“I don’t. I just don’t like seeing people being taken advantage of.”
I mean, I didn’t, even though at this point I felt like I was fitting that description far more than I cared to admit.
He looked at me and I could see that his mind was filled with questions.
“I understand. Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome. Do you want to maybe go talk somewhere? I came here to let loose, but I still can’t. I mean, I’m in a place where people lose themselves in their thoughts, and I just… I can’t do that right now. I’m too hung up on some things,” I told him.
He looked at me, and I expected him to laugh at me, but then he nodded.
“Fine by me. Let’s talk. It’s not like I know anyone here,” he said.
“Yeah. I figured,” I replied.
I walked over to one of the rooms off to the side. I locked the door, ordering a drink from the little computer there. It soon popped up, and I passed it over to him.
“Try this. It’s good,” I said.
He looked at me with a funny expression, but then he took it from me and drank it.
“Not bad.”
“Yeah. It’s nice to come here for the drinks sometimes. And to forget about things,” I said to him.
“What kinds of things?” he asked.
“Just… life things,” I said.
Did I really want to tell this mysterious man everything? Did I want to tell him the agony I’d been feeling because of my boyfriend?
“I see. Well, I am curious about the problems of human beings. And you seem to have a lot,” he said pointedly.
“Don’t have to be so rude about it,” I muttered.
“Relax. I was teasing. Anyway, what is the matter?” he asked.
I finally sighed, looking at him and feeling the weight of the world almost drop forward.
“First of all, before I tell you what’s going on, before I pour my goddamn heart out to a stranger, I need to know your name,” I said.
“Jives. I’m surprised you didn’t know that,” he said.
“Well, you never told me,” I replied. He was acting like he was supposedly famous or something.
“Sorry. Anyway, continue, Tracey.”
“It’s just… okay, so I’m with this guy currently. His name is Brad. I don’t know if you knew this, but I am in a relationship. However, I hate it,” I said.
“I’m surprised that you are, especially since you’re talking to me so much,” he said with a teasing smile.
“You’re the only one listening right now. I mean, my best friend isn’t even picking up. She told me she’d be here for me, but I haven’t heard a peep. Kind of really depresses you, you know,” I told him. I didn’t mean to get so emotional, but this had been building up inside of me for such a long time that when I could finally tell him the truth, it’s almost relieving.
“I get that. I mean, I’ve been struggling to contact Remi for administration reasons. It seems like they’re working on a lot. I don’t really check up on him except in written reports,” he said.
“I see. So, it’s not just me. Honestly, because of that I’ve felt more alone than ever. See, my boyfriend, he’s really not that great of a guy. He’s rich, I’ll give him that, but he’s kind of an asshole. I mean, we have a lot of girls here, and most of the top-tier girls in the hierarchy get the guys. I got lucky. At first, our relationship was based on love, on emotions like that, all that mushy-gushy crap, but now, now I don’t know. I don’t even feel for him like I did before, and a part of me is scared. He doesn’t really call me or check up on me. He’s an artist, just like me, but unlike me who’s third rate and just barely making it, he’s famous and getting commissions out the ass. It’s a bit of jealousy, but also some sadness. I don’t like being left alone like this,” I told him.
“I understand. Normally I don’t get involved with this kind of thing, and frankly, I hate emotions, but you seem really torn up about it,” he told me.
“Yeah, that’s putting it nicely, Jives,” I replied.
“Well, what I would say is do what you feel is right. I mean, I’m no expert on the way humans interact with one another. I really am not. But I can tell that this is hurting you. Do you really like the guy?” he asked me.
Did I? I mean, I thought I did, mostly because he was my boyfriend for so long.
“We’ve been together for over a year. Of course I like him,” I replied.
“Well, do people that like one another normally treat their partner like that? I never saw Remi do that, nor did I see Tracey act like that. Seems childish,” he said.
I wasn’t a child. I was 24 years old. But he was 21, fresh out of the art academy. Maybe that was it. Maybe he was kind of young.
“Normally, no. But I don’t want to break up. I’m scared of it,” I said to him. I didn’t like showing vulnerability to people I didn’t know, but there was something about Jives. He was older than me, I knew it, but he also acted as if I could trust him, that he wouldn’t judge me or hate me because of this whole mess.
“You shouldn’t be in this relationship if you don’t like it. I’m not the boss of you, Tracey, but you look to be hurting. I’ve seen this in some videos of humans. I think they’re called ‘movies.’ When they hurt, they look like that. You should do what is right for you,” he said.
What was right for me? What was right for me?
“You know a lot about human relationships and what to say, even though you don’t care about them,” I told him.
“Just because I refuse to get involved doesn’t mean I don’t have knowledge. I want to help, mostly because you’re a member of the human race, and you are a part of my job. Even though I’m not working with the president on intergalactic affairs, this is still work for me,” he said.
I felt a bit hurt that he considered this nothing more than work.
“Could you at least consider it friendship? I mean, I don’t like being seen as just another body to help,” I said.
He looked at me with confusion. Wait, did he never have friends?
“You’ve never had friends, have you?” I asked.
“Of course I have. I took care of Remi for so long,” he said.
“Yeah, but that’s because of duty. Not because you wanted to help him. You were an advisor. You had an ulterior motive to helping the guy. But with friendship, you do it because you want to. You want to be their friend. There isn’t some sort of other compensation there when you’re helping a friend,” I told him.
He looked to me, and I could see he was curious. I mean, did he want to be my friend? It’s not like I’d be against it, but it still surprised me.
“You really want me to be your friend?” he asked.
“If you want. I don’t really have any right now, so it wouldn’t hurt,” I said.
“Then that settles it. I’ll be your friend. I don’t really know how to be one, but I’ll try,” he said.
> “Thanks, Jives. You know, you listen way better than Audrey does. I love her, and she is one of my closest friends, but there’s just something different about you. Something that feels right,” I said.
I didn’t know what it was, but when I talked to him, I could feel my heart start to beat a tiny bit faster. He seemed confused, but at the same time, he also seemed happy to hear what I said.
“I’m glad I can assist you. You’re a very interesting human, you know,” he told me.
I blushed. Why did those words affect me like that? I shrugged, trying to play it off.
“I mean, you’re pretty interesting yourself as well,” I said.
He chuckled. “You’ve got that right. But I promise, I will try to help you out as much as possible, Tracey. Be a ‘friend’ to you if that’s the correct word,” he replied.
“Thanks, Jives,” I told him. I meant it. He actually was kind of cool when he wasn’t trying to be all about duty and stuff.
“You’re welcome, Tracey. Hope it works out. I appreciate you talking to me as well. I never realized how nice it was to talk about something other than administration with someone,” he replied.
I laughed. “You know, you take yourself way too seriously. But I do like talking to you as well. By the way, here’s my number,” I said. I gave it to him, and after that we parted ways. In truth, I liked Jives a lot. Sure, he was almost obsessive about his job, to the point where I don’t think the bastard even knew how to have fun, but I liked that about him. In a strange way, seeing that come apart over time was riveting, and I liked seeing just how different things could be once the masks finally came off.
I spent the rest of the night wandering about the club but, frankly, I felt like I knew the answer to the questions I had. I needed to talk to Brad, to hopefully find out the truth. Maybe then he’d tell me what’s really going on, and everything would be okay.
Chapter 3
~Jives~
After I saw her leave, I sat there finishing off the strange, yet palatable drink that she gave me. It was nice, being alone and actually not feeling as out of place. However, I did feel something inside me.
Finding out that Tracey had a boyfriend, and one that didn’t treat her nicely, bothered me. Was I jealous? I don’t believe so. I don’t personally understand the mechanics of human emotions, but the fact that she was being hurt like that did rub me the wrong way. I wanted to go over there, to tell him to stop, but I didn’t do so. It wasn’t because I was afraid. No, I’d dealt with far worse criminals and such in the past. It was because I didn’t want to fight that battle. I was still trying to understand humans better, in a more emotional sense, and I wanted to see if she would take my advice.
Still, she did look beautiful, that’s for sure. The way the dress hung to her body, the lithe, curvy figure, the gorgeous manner in which she put her hair up, all of that made me blush. I didn’t want to like her though.
She was a human, and I was but an alien. I had a job to do, a manner to uphold. But there was that part of me that wanted to have a little bit of fun, to see just where this might lead.
No. I wouldn’t step in unless she wanted me to. I refused. I didn’t want to worry about dating a human, hurting them, and all of that. I had my own work, my own place, and that was what I knew. After I downed the rest of the drink, I went home, still determined to keep my thoughts in the same manner as I’d left them.
I noticed that there was a red light on the telefaxer. That meant that someone finally got back to me. Was it Remi? I doubted it. The young king seemed to care about anything other than talking to his advisor. But, when I looked at the message, I was pleasantly surprised.
“Hello, Jives. I want to talk to you. It’s been too long. Please call me right away,” I read to myself.
I sat on the bed, looking at what time it would be on Klanden. It was about seven in the morning. Not too late, but also not too early. I decided to just try calling him to see if this would work.
After two rings Remi answered. He spoke with a happiness, a youthfulness I did miss.
“Hello there, Jives,” he told me.
“Hello, Remi. How are things?” I asked him.
“Oh, great! So, you got my message then? The one about the surprise?” he told me.
Surprise? I didn’t recall any sort of surprise.
“What the devil are you talking about?” I asked him.
“Oh, so you haven’t heard. Well, I’ll brief you then,” he said.
“Tell me.”
“Okay, so things here have been amazing Jives. In fact, I don’t regret telling Audrey ‘I do.’ I really don’t. The second we got back to Klanden, she got right to work. She’s helped me out so much, and I honestly don’t know what I would do with without her,” he said to me.
“That’s great, Remi. I’m glad that you two are able to have a successful relationship,” I told him.
“For real. Anyway, I haven’t heard anything from Lavvy since the whole mess, however I did hear word of a bit of agitation in the galaxy. I have the people of Klanden currently looking into that. Hopefully we can smite any sort of unwanted revolution that might be there,” he explained.
“Good. There hasn’t been anything on my end either. Negotiations and work with the people of Earth are going well,” I told him.
“Great. I imagined so. I heard from the reports Audrey sent to me that the president had a lot of demands for you, but it seems like it’s working out well,” he said.
“It is going quite well. We take it day-by-day,” I told him.
“I figured. I’m sorry that Audrey hasn’t reached out to Tracey. She’s been quite worried about a few things,” he told me.
I paused. Tracey again. What happened though?
“What do you mean? Is everything okay?” I asked him.
“Oh, it’s nothing really. It’s just… I don’t know if I should be the one to tell her, or if I should just let Audrey spill it,” he said.
“What is it?” I asked.
Remi paused, and I prepared for the worst. Just what could be happening there? Did she get hurt?
“What is it?” I asked again.
“She’s pregnant,” Remi finally said.
Oh. I didn’t know that it was possible. I then immediately stopped, trying to process this.
“Really? How?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I mean, I was told by the nurses that she would need fertility drugs before anything could happen, but then I found out the other day that she’s been vomiting. After that she went to take a test, and it was confirmed to be positive,” he told me.
Wow. I couldn’t believe that. I began to feel surprise in my veins, a bit of happiness, but also another strange feeling.
“That’s amazing. I’m happy for you,” I said.
“Really? Wow. I am surprised really. I thought you’d be upset,” he said.
“Why would I be?” I asked. I didn’t feel upset at all. In all honesty, maybe jealous, but definitely not upset. I don’t understand why, but maybe it was because Remi was happy, and he managed to find some sort of happiness with a human.
“Okay, good. Well, I’ll let you know how things go. I do need her to tell Tracey though. I don’t want to be the one to spill it to her. That’s Audrey’s job,” he said to me.
“Yeah. I won’t say a word,” I said.
“Okay. That’s honestly the reason why she’s been avoiding Tracey. She’s been worried about her. She told me that her and Brad haven’t had the best relationship, and she needs someone better. Someone who has control over their life, but also cares about her. She fears that Brad doesn’t do that,” he told me.
“I’ve heard,” I said.
“Oh, so you know. Well, that’s not my mess, but I hope she makes the right decision,” he replied.
The two of us talked for a bit longer, and I told Remi that I hoped her pregnancy was a safe one. There haven’t been too many human and alien pregnancies, but I knew that they could be quite hard
on the mother. After we said our goodbyes, I sat there, feeling almost empty.
Why did I feel like this? Was I really jealous of the guy? I mean, I had everything going for me here, and while I didn’t have friends besides Tracey, I felt happy in a sense. So why did my heart ache for something like that to happen? I didn’t get it.
I pushed those thoughts away. I gave up emotions the day she passed. I didn’t have time for that. I went back to my paperwork, trying to clear those thoughts out of my head. I was sure it’ll go away soon.
At least, that’s what I thought.
~Tracey~
I thought about what Jives told me. He said I needed to stand my ground, or ask Brad what the hell was going on, and to do what’s right for me.
I wanted to know the truth. Was he cheating on me? Did he really have as much business as he claimed? I needed to know.
I tried to call him again and again, but still no answer. I then went over to his studio, and that’s when I saw it.
He was there with her. She was in a perfectly pressed suit, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a curvy figure. She was talking to him, and I could practically see the cleavage bursting from her chest. He seemed to be noticing it too, because I saw that Brad didn’t look anywhere else. I grimaced, annoyed by this.
“So, do you have a date for the art show tonight?” she asked him.
“No, but you could be,” he told me with a smile on his face.
“Oh, really? I’m surprised you chose me. I mean, don’t you have that girlfriend of yours,” she said.
“You kidding? She probably won’t want to go to something like this. She hasn’t called or texted me in days. At this point, I don’t even see the point of dragging this on,” he said to her.
The two of them laughed, and I was fuming. How dare he treat me like I’m nothing! That fucking bastard. I looked at the way she sauntered her hips, and soon she was right next to him.
“Well, tell you what, why don’t the two of us have our own little fun then,” she said.
He then turned to her, their lips immediately up against one another. I felt like I was going to be sick. “I like the sound of that,” he replied.
The Artistry of Love Page 3
