Free Suite 269 by Christine Zolendz

Because neither my father nor I will bed Alex Kavon for this dying magazine. It had a great life, once. Now it's over," I seethed.
    My fingers hovered over my phone the entire conversation, until I finally couldn't hold back any longer. I put my cell to my ear and waited to hear my father's greeting, then walked away from Evan, leaving him standing alone in the coffee shop with clenched fists.
    "Hey, son."
    "Pull the magazine. It's not worth it," I said.
    "Jameson," he sighed into the phone. "I want to save it, son. It was your mother's pride and joy. She'd roll over in her grave if she knew. I have a consulting firm coming in this week. We'll make plans after," he huffed.
    "That's a bullshit reason. The people that work here need to know it's dying," I urged, walking farther down the block.
    "Your mother's memory and how she felt about this magazine is not a bullshit reason. I want to give it a few more months, son. So I at least know I tried."
    I grumbled my oppositions and we said our goodbyes quickly. Why did I care more about what Lexa was going through than what the magazine was going through? I took my phone out again, took a deep breath, and punched out a text.

8
    Lexa
    “Men and women were not created equal. Example: Consecutive orgasms. Really ladies? Yes. I’d like to walk in your vagina for a day.” @Kavon #VaginaLuggage
    I stood in front of the mirror staring into the eyes of a complete stranger. She was dressed in white silk and lace, a veil hung from her wild hair, and she looked ready to jump right out of a window. My mother and so-called future mother-in-law stood behind me, proud tears in their eyes.
    I'm gonna hurl .
    The wedding gown was suffocating me. It took me about two seconds. Two seconds of seeing myself in that idiotic dress to realize my wedding was still happening; like storm clouds hovering on the horizon and thunder rolling in. There were fifteen more days.
    The organza and lace choked me, smothered me with its Vera Wang claws, and had me hyperventilating on the floor. "Off. Off," I panted, hands fumbling at the tiny pearl buttons that held me captive in the silky coffin. "Get this stupid thing off of me!"
    Mandy was next to me instantly, her fingers hitting precise strings and buttons to get the fabric off my skin. "Okay, sweetie, okay. I'm taking it off," she whispered into my ear.
    "Don't be so silly, Lexa. You look lovely, dear. If you're that worried about how you look, we could get you on one of those detox diets until the wedding. I bet you could lose all those extra pounds before you step one foot down the aisle."
    Mandy and I both stiffened at the same time. Her hands up the back of my gown, me bent over; we must have looked the sight. "Hold me back, Mandy. I'm going to throttle her," I snapped.
    "No. No. No, you won't." Mandy grabbed me by the waist and dropped the gown, which fell off me in one quick puff of fabric. "Calm down. Breathe. Just breathe." She stepped directly in front of me and cupped my face in her hands. "Look at me, Lex. What are you thinking?" Somewhere outside the walls of the store, a loud group of kids walked past, their voices happy and screeching, yet almost muted from so far away.
    "I can't do this. I don't even know why I'm here. I can't marry someone who cheated on me, Mandy." I tilted my head to look past her. My mother stood with her hands covering her mouth, tears filling her eyes. Mrs. Trager next to her, eyes wide with shock. "I'm sorry. I need air," I said, grabbing my clothes and bolting out of the dressing room.
    Yes, I ran through the front of the store yanking my shirt over my head (inside out and backwards), with my jeans and shoes in hand. No, I didn't think about it, it wasn't really a priority. All I wanted was air and to be out of that wedding gown.
    By the time I reached the front door, I was hopping into my pants and stumbling out into the street, zipping up my zipper and gulping for air. The small crowd of teenagers I heard stood staring