Time is, Time is Not

3

Alex looked amazing in the red thing. At the party every man, and nearly all the women, complimented her so she brought out her most charming smile. It nearly dropped however when an older man leaned in and kissed her on the cheek as a greeting, this was mostly acceptable, what wasn't acceptable was when he also grabbed her ass. She kept her composure but memorized his face, burning it into her mind.

Brian stood next to her all the while, oblivious, and beamed at all the other men because he knew that he'd be hitting that when they got home later or possibly in an empty closet if he couldn't wait. Looking at how high that slit came up on Alex's leg he was leaning more toward the closet.

She looked really amazing in the red thing.

Brian's work parties were never too unbearable for Alex, his company liked to enjoy themselves. They'd rent out a balcony or a restaurant or his boss would have everyone over to his house for a night of dancing or a casual barbecue, but there was always booze involved. This particular party was more formal than the last she'd attended with him. Everyone wore suits and cocktail dresses, a live band played in the corner and the company that was catering the event walked around with champagne flutes and horderves. There were other people there that were not from Brian's company, so Alex assumed it was some sort of investment deal or fundraiser or something, which would explain all the fuss.

Alex managed to snag a flute of champagne from a passing tray, she didn't offer her age and the server didn't bother to ask because by the time he noticed her taking one half of liquid was gone already. He also didn't want to insult a girl who looked that good in a red thing, so he said nothing.

"I'll be back, I've got to make the rounds." Brian pinched her butt in a loving sort of way and wandered off to make niceties. Alex drained her glass and then found another to work on from another tray. She was pleased by the lack of age related inquiries.

She milled around the room. People were clustered in their private groups, laughing, fake smiling, being polite, talking about the news or what they heard about someone's divorce. The venue had a nice view, one wall was nothing but glass windows and they were about thirty stories up overlooking the river. Alex finished her second glass of champagne while she stared out the window.

God she was bored.

She tipped her head back and let out an aggravated sigh. Her fingers felt fuzzy. Alex smiled and turned to find a room full of mannequins. At least that's what they looked like now. Frozen smiles, frozen frowns, frozen in time like dressed up dolls. It was eerie to be in a room full of people and yet not even feel a whisper of breath. Humans were noisy even when they were trying not to be, breathing, heartbeats, sneezes, farts, scratching a bug bite, all of it made a sound. But when nothing moved, it was true silence. Like being alone in space.

Still smiling to herself, Alex slipped out of her high heels and skirted through the crowd of people. "Are you trying to apologize for earlier?" she asked time conversationally. Time didn't respond, but she felt solid in this state and knew that it would remain frozen for as long as she wanted it to.

Unlike earlier when it was being unstable.

Alex twirled between guests. She stopped and plucked a diamond necklace from off a woman's neck and dropped it into the champagne glass the woman was holding. She didn't want the necklace for herself, she just wanted to see how the woman would react. Alex examined the champagne a little closer, fascinated by the fact that the small carbonation bubbles remained frozen as well. Like air bubbles trapped inside a piece of glass.

She approached her boyfriend, who had been in the middle of speaking to his boss and a few of his coworkers who she recognized from other parties. He was in the middle of a smile and Alex paused to kiss his lips, they didn't move, but they felt soft and warm underneath hers. She wondered when time unfroze itself if he would feel a ghost of that kiss or if he'd feel nothing at all.