The drink slides over to me and I take a giant sip. My finger scrolls down through the information on the screen, the online world opening brand new possibilities. I have never looked up another person before, and I wouldn’t have done so if she hadn’t mentioned it first. Now though, I can feel myself becoming obsessed.
Tia has a lot of pictures of LA, clearly she’s enjoying living here. But when I get to the point before she moved I can see a new side to her. Friends posting to her, nights out with other people, it’s more social. I wouldn’t have realized it had it not been for the Internet, but it seems like she’s much lonelier since she arrived here.
That’s intriguing. I can’t help myself, I want to delve in even deeper, to get to know her even more.
By the time my second drink comes, I’m deep into her past, looking at pictures and information from a long time ago. I’ve become like an out of control stalker, a drug addict who needs another hit. I barely even notice what’s going on around me, I’m not even aware of the rest of the bar, I’m zoned in completely. Each picture, everything that she’s typed, it’s all a little part of her that I want to hold and keep.
I don’t know if I would want to have an online presence even if I could. Sharing this much information with the rest of the world that can be accessed at the click of a button is crazy. I wonder if Tia even knows I can find out this much about her. I wonder what she would say if she knew. Knowing her mood at the moment, I’m sure she would be absolutely furious about it. I can just imagine that red anger coloring the tips of her ears right now…
God, she is seriously sexy when she’s angry. It’s so much fun seeing that in her.
“You know that it’s anti-social to be glued to your phone screen, don’t you?”
I snap my eyes up to see a sultry redhead winking at me. In her skin tight body con dress with her cleavage hanging over the top, she’s designed to be a sexual being, a goddess from a porno, but my body doesn’t react.
“Oh yeah well, I don’t know that I’m in the mood to be sociable.”
The woman makes a lurch for my phone but I snatch it away. No way I’m going to let her touch this.
“Oh.” She pouts out her bottom lip. “I thought you were going to be fun.”
I want to roll my eyes but I just about manage to resist it. “I’m not in the mood for any fun.”
She rests her hands on my knees, trying to spark a reaction that isn’t there. “I can make it fun.”
Maybe this would be a good idea after all. I’m sure it would be much more fun than scrolling through the Internet at a million miles an hour, searching out information about Tia. I might not be the sort of person who goes from one woman to another every night, but that might be exactly what I need tonight. I slide my phone away and focus my whole attention on her, trying to push Tia away.
“Okay then, maybe you’re right. Perhaps I do need some fun.”
Okay, I’m in now. For the time being anyway. Let’s see where this leads us. The only other option is contacting Stephen or one of my other work colleagues but I can’t exactly have an honest conversation with them either.
Perhaps Tia isn’t the only one who’s lonely. But her situation is easier to fix than my own.
She holds out her hand to me. “My name is Avery.”
“Hello, Avery. Would you like me to buy you a drink?”
She nods and I call the bartender over to place an order. As I do I try to get my head in the game, to focus on what Avery could offer me for the evening, but it’s hard. I don’t know if it’s going to be possible. Right now, she’s consuming me, and as good looking as Avery is, I don’t know if it’s enough.
She hasn’t got the spark. That inexplicable thing. That’s my main issue. But I will try.
“So, Avery…” I hold out her glass towards her. “Please, tell me about yourself.”
She talks, but I don’t listen. I can barely focus on her. Instead, I find myself wondering about Tia and her loneliness. Is she struggling with that? Is she having a hard time and missing home? Is that why she’s so desperate to find out more about me? Does she need a connection? And why do I care?
“Why don’t you tell me about you?” Avery finally asks, dragging me back into the present moment.
I open my mouth, about to tell her that I don’t want to be honest, but I’m too emotionally exhausted to even say all of that, so instead a lie falls out of my mouth. I create a little life that I suppose could be mine, but isn’t. I barely even pay attention to what I’m saying, the words just fall out of my mouth. I talk about fake parents, a fake normal childhood, a job that I don’t even know anything about. Avery laps it all up. I don’t know how much she actually believes and how much she’s just humoring me, but it makes her easy to talk to.