Текст книги "Seeing You "
Автор книги: Michelle Lynn
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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 16 страниц)
Cam took me one time and shuffled me out when his friends piled in. I shake my head at how stupid I was. I sat in that taxi cab while his friends kept trying to peek their heads in to see who was sitting next to him. In hindsight, I should have just popped my head out and introduced myself. Damn him.
“Me, too. Let’s share the mushroom bruschetta.” He smiles.
A tingling zings in my stomach.
“You feeling okay?” He places his hand on my arm to stop us on the desolate street.
“Yeah. It’s nothing.”
“Are you sure?” His brows are furrow.
I wish I could tell him how my body responds to him.
“Yes. Let’s go. This is your big chance.” I motion my head in the right direction and walk backward until he catches up. “So, on a scale of one to ten, how excited are you?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know.”
His footsteps drag a little, and I slow my pace.
“What’s wrong?” I twist around and my footsteps step in line with his.
“The whole point of getting out was so I could be my own boss. If Edith and Karla are my investors, they’ll ultimately be in control.”
My happiness wanes, knowing he has a point.
“I didn’t think of that. But you know what? Davis had investors when he started.” I entwine my fingers with Todd’s and give him a tight squeeze.
“It’s different. He was already someone. They trusted him.”
I swing our arms together.
“And Edith and Karla trust you. Just hear what they have to say. You never know.” I tighten our hands again. “Okay?”
I knock shoulders with him, and he glances over.
“Okay.” He nods, but I can see the anxiety on his face. He’s not convinced this is where he wants to go.
We enter Bentle’s after the doorman checks Todd’s name on the list.
“Have you ever been here before?” I whisper to Todd as we trudge up the carpeted steps.
His hand brushes along the mahogany banister. “A few times with Davis.” He eyes me. “A long time ago, though.”
There’s something in his facial expression that isn’t right, and I assume he’s just nervous for this meeting. It came about so suddenly.
We reach the top of the stairs, and Edith and Kayla wave their hands to us. Todd grabs my hand and leads us over to them. Edith moves to stand, but Todd shoos her down and leans over the back of the chair to give her a half-hug. He shifts over to Karla and does the same.
“I assume you are Amelia?” Edith asks, holding her hand out for me to shake.
“I am. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” I shake her frail hand.
She smiles. “We’ve noticed you the past few weeks at CHOPs, but we usually have no reason to sit around the bar.”
“Until tonight,” Karla chimes in.
Todd sits down next to me on the brown leather loungers and grabs my hand again. I stop the urge to look his way in confusion as he plays with my fingers. What the hell is he doing?
“You guys are adorable. How long have you been dating?” Karla asks.
I shift in my chair and grab the glass of water in front of me, wondering if Todd will take the lead in correcting her.
“A little over a year,” Todd answers.
I choke on my water.
“Are you okay, dear?” Edith asks.
I nod until I can regain oxygen into my lungs. I sneak a look at Todd, who leans over and pats my back.
“Yes. Sorry. Just went down the wrong way.” My hand flies up to my chest and I lean back, clasping my hands in my lap.
“No ring yet?” Karla asks.
I’m curious as to why she wants to know so much about my private life.
Todd’s fake laugh rings out, and I force a smile.
“I know, right?” I lift my left hand in the air. “You’d better put a ring on it if you want it,” I joke, using something similar to Beyoncé’s line.
Todd’s face doesn’t flicker as he looks right into my eyes. “I don’t make a habit of losing what’s mine.” He laughs it off again.
My stomach somersaults five times before calming down.
“I like a man who knows what he wants and goes for it,” Edith says.
My eyes flicker to her to keep from losing myself in Todd’s heartwarming ones.
“My late husband was a guy who couldn’t be messed with. He stole me from right under his best friend’s nose.”
“Oh.” I’m taken aback that she said it so casually.
“I know it sounds bad, but he was the right one for me. He sacrificed more than me. He lost his friend to have me, but he always reminded me that he’d won so much by having me on his arm.”
Her eyes light up with love, and envy grows in me.
“My dad was quite the romantic,” Karla adds, patting her mom’s arm.
“He sounds like it.” I bring my water glass back to my lips.
“He was a lot like Todd.” Edith nods his way.
He smiles from ear to ear.
“It’s one of the reasons I’ve asked you here tonight,” she adds.
“Excuse me.” I stand before they begin discussing work things. “I’m just going to the restroom.”
Todd stands like a proper gentleman, and the two ladies smile, waiting for me to leave.
I’m sliding out past Todd when his hand wraps around my waist, and he pulls me in for a hug.
“Hurry up. I’ll miss you.” His lips brush along mine.
I draw back, studying his eyes. “I will . . . baby.”
I raise my eyebrows at him, but his face never changes course from the loving and doting boyfriend.
An hour later, I’m leaning against the brick wall, waving my hand, as Todd escorts Edith and Karla into a taxicab.
Once their cab fades down the street, Todd approaches me.
“So, baby, when do we say, ‘I do’?” I question.
He laughs. Breaking the distance, his body locks mine against the brick wall. “They want someone who’s mature, someone they feel they can depend on.” His eyes ping all around my head, but he never looks straight into my eyes.
“Someone who is already dating someone else?”
“I should have told you.”
“Yes, so why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know. It was fun, though, wasn’t it?” His hand grazes down my arm until my hand is tucked in his.
“Depends on what kind of ring I get out of this whole act,” I joke.
He releases my hand, swinging his arm over my shoulder. “Anything you want, baby. Anything you want,” he mumbles.
I nuzzle into his chest as his hand tightens around my shoulder, and I’m sure to some we look like a couple.
I feel our relationship evolving into . . . I have no idea . . . a fake engagement? No, that’s not it. Something more, and I need to smash it before I ruin my friendship with him.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Todd
This is nice, being next to someone who gives a shit about me.
What Noodle did for me tonight speaks volumes over anything she could tell me. All my life, people have spouted off things I should believe, telling me I could trust them or someone else, but I couldn’t. Each and every time, they failed me. The blame isn’t solely on them. I’m to blame, too. Look at Noodle. I’ve lived next door to her for six months, and not once have I taken the time to discover the amazing person she is. Due to my own selfishness, I pushed her into the arms of another man.
“Hey, you want to watch a movie?” I ask, unable to be apart from her.
She glances up to me, her eyes widening in surprise. “Sure.”
“Is Tati home?”
Please say no.
“I think so. I’m sure she wouldn’t care. Nowadays, her head is in her computer.”
“Let’s go to my place then.” My heart beats faster, wondering if she’ll see through my act to lure her to my apartment so we can be alone.
“Okay.” She shrugs and continues walking.
Phew.
She looks beat by the time we make it to my apartment, and I figure this might not happen. But she follows me to my door and plops down on my couch.
Grabbing us two beers, I bring them over and sit down closer than normal to her. I hand her the remote to pick a movie.
“You’re letting me choose? Usually, I fall asleep during a military or action movie.” She doesn’t hesitate to take charge and goes right to a romantic comedy.
“Maybe I’ll fall asleep tonight.”
She elbows me, and I grab my ribs, as though she hurt me.
“I think the movies I make you watch show you how to fight,” I say, rubbing my side.
“Maybe my movies will help you learn how to love only one person.” She raises her eyebrows.
I shake my head.
If she only knew . . .
“Have you talked to Davis?” I have to know if he’s keeping in contact with her.
“He’s busy out there.”
She clicks on the movie but quickly pauses it. “Is this okay?”
I read the blurb of what the movie is about. A girl gets in an accident, loses her memory, and forgets her fiancée. Classic chick flick.
“It’s great.” I grab the remote and press Play.
The movie surprisingly captures my interest. Lia begins cracking her neck half an hour in, so I turn her back to me to massage her shoulders.
Moans and heavy breathing leak out of her mouth as my fingers work on the knots in her muscles. She has no idea the effect she’s having on me right now.
“That feels so good.” Her head dips down, and her long hair cascades down the sides.
I stop myself from kissing the spot right on the back of her neck. Having her in this position, my mind races with the million different things I could do to show her how beautiful she is. But I stay back because it wouldn’t be right to put her in that position. I have to remind myself that she’s with Davis right now.
“I can do you now?” she asks after I’ve loosened her up a little.
“Nah, I’m okay.”
I guarantee, if her hands relax me, I’ll be sure to get excited. Then, I’m not so sure I could withhold myself from taking her. With her permission, of course.
She leans back against my chest, and that smell of strawberries from her hair is there each time I inhale. Almost immediately, her body weighs heavier against me, and her head falls to the side.
She’s asleep.
Her cell phone buzzes on the coffee table, and Davis’s name flashes on the screen. I laugh inside because little does he know, I have his girl in my arms. She stirs and nuzzles into my body more with the sound. She must be exhausted.
I figure that if I move her, she’ll leave, so I situate my own body because I want her to be closer to me, if only for tonight.
Soon, the drowsiness from the day hits me, and my eyelids drop. I fight myself, so I can watch her sleep. I might never be in this position again, so I want to take full advantage of it in this moment.
The next morning, the light streams in through my windows, and I squint from the beam hitting me square in my eyes. Noodle is still asleep on my chest, so I slide out and place her head on a pillow.
I take the time to stare at the woman who is challenging my beliefs in love. Sharing a future with someone is not something I thought was possible for my life. But Noodle has shown me a flicker of light I thought was buried deep in the earth.
Her hair is sprawled over the pillow, and her hands are tucked under her cheek. I should call her Angel instead of Noodle. My Angel.
Doing what I do best, I tiptoe over to the kitchen. I grab the ingredients I need to make the cinnamon rolls I made for her a few months ago. She loved them so much. They won’t be as good as the diner down the street, but if Noodle likes them, that’s all I care about.
I’m washing my hands while they cook in the oven when I spot a mop of brown hair moving on the couch. I chuckle, watching her find her surroundings. It doesn’t take her long before she stands and finds me in the kitchen.
“Good morning.” Her voice is groggy.
She reaches up her arms and stretches, giving me a view of her stomach. It’s a bad idea on her part because my imagination just flashed to my lips trailing on her bare skin.
“Good morning. I have something in the oven for you.”
Her chest rises and falls. “It smells delicious. I swear, if I lived with you, I’d unnecessarily gain about twenty pounds.” She clears the distance and takes a seat on my barstool.
I pour her a cup of coffee and slide it to her. “You’d love to live with me.”
“My ass wouldn’t.” She sips her coffee and concentrates on the table before her.
“You have a great ass.”
Her head flies up, and she studies me for a second. “My head hurts. I’m going back to the couch.”
I pull the cinnamon rolls out and let them cool, and then I grab my coffee to join her. “Do you want some Aleve?”
“No, I’ll be okay after this.” She raises the mug in the air and sips the coffee. “Seriously, how do you know how to make coffee so good? You should open a coffee shop.”
I laugh. “You’d be one of my only customers.”
“Please. Girls would come just to stare at you.”
So, she thinks I’m attractive. That’s a start.
“Let’s hope Edith and Karla think I’m worth investing in as much as you think so.” I change the subject because I don’t care what other girls want. I only care about what she wants.
“They will. I think we were believable last night.”
“Yeah.”
Last night flows through my brain again, how I deceived the ones who would be doing me a favor. Is it deceitful if it’s something you might want in the future?
“Can I ask you a question?” She twists in her seat to face me directly.
“What’s up?” I mimic the motion, and my arm extends along the back of the couch.
We’ve been in this position once, and I almost kissed her then. That was when I only wanted to sleep with her. Now, it would be for more than one night—but not until Davis is out of her life.
“If you were really into someone, wouldn’t you always be thinking of that person? Wouldn’t you text or call them every day?” Her teeth nibble on her lip.
I wish I could tell her ‘I’ve been thinking of you every minute of every day lately’.
“Isn’t that the whole love thing? So, Davis isn’t calling?”
“He’s called a few times. It’s me that I’m worried about.” She waves her hand in the air. “Forget it. Just forget I said anything.”
“No. Why are you worried about yourself?”
I nudge a little closer to her, and she doesn’t back away.
Is she saying what I think she is? Maybe I should just kiss her and see her reaction.
“It’s just that he’s not—”
A knock hits the door, and my head falls.
“Continue,” I say. I’m not going to answer the door.
“I know you’re in there!” Tatiana screams from outside the door. “I smell the yummies. Let me in!”
Noodle laughs and moves to stand. I grab her wrist, and she turns around. She tilts her head, and I almost feel like she’s telling me something, that her head is a jumble of emotions. Maybe, just maybe, I’m in there somewhere, fighting for a spot.
“She’ll only get louder.”
I release my grip and watch her amazing ass swing as she makes her way to the door.
“You guys are holding out on me.” Tatiana strolls in and makes herself a plate.
“Help yourself,” I mumble.
Her eyes ping as she chomps down on a piece of bread. She figures out she’s interrupted something, but there’s no going back now. Even if I could ask Noodle again, she’d dodge it. The moment is lost.
“You surprise me all the time.” She ignores the oddity when she walked in. “Amazing cook.”
“Chef,” Noodle corrects her.
My smile isn’t worth fighting. This girl would go to bat for me over and over again.
“Sorry.” Tatiana places her palm in the air to Noodle. “I didn’t mean to disrespect him.”
Her eyes ping between us again then rest on Noodle. They have a nonverbal conversation, and I pray it’s about me.
Noodle is clearly confused on what to do with Davis. I refuse to win by being second choice, so I hope she makes the right decision and breaks up with him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Amelia
My shoes skid to a stop on the hardwood floor of Art on Wells. Bette is sitting at my desk, frantically shifting through papers.
“What’s going on?” I lean over the counter.
“Thank goodness. You really need to work on your time management, Amelia.” She never looks up as her fingers shuffle through the stack of invoices.
I hold my phone up and see I’m actually five minutes before scheduled. “I’m early.”
I wish I could pat myself on the back, but Bette glances up over the rim of her reading glasses, clearly not going to congratulate me on being timely.
“What are you looking for?” I round my desk and peer over her shoulder.
“Victor Treddle’s invoice. You’ll never believe it. He canceled his showing in two weeks.” She leans back in my chair and crosses her legs.
I take the stack of papers to search myself.
“Something about his art brushes aren’t talking to him.” She flails her hand in the air.
“Well, he is an artist. It’s better to cancel than to have crappy pieces,” I mumble softly because Bette isn’t fond of people speaking their minds, especially when it goes against hers.
“Nothing Victor has ever done is crappy, Amelia.” She rises to her feet and places her hands on her hips. “I’m putting you in his spot, so be prepared.”
She clicks away to her office.
“Are you serious?” I call out.
“Yes, but I want new photos. Only of Todd Hamilton,” she yells over her shoulder. “Find me Victor’s last invoice.”
“Thanks, Bet—”
Her door slams shut.
I pull out my phone and search for my group text between Tatiana and Todd. They should both know at the same time.
Me: I got a show. Two weeks.
I tap my shoe, waiting for those three dots, and then Tati’s response comes up first.
Tatiana: Woohoo! Congratulations! I’m taking you to lunch today.
Then, it’s like a bombardment of texts.
Todd: Me, too. I’ll beat Tatiana there. I get the first hug.
Tatiana: Screw you. I’m leaving now.
Todd: I’m already on my way.
Tatiana: I’m on Wells.
Me: Guys, I have to work. Dinner at the apartment tonight. I have to get more pictures of Todd. You up for it?
Todd: You can have me whenever you want me.
My stomach flutters.
Tatiana: So unfair. I can’t offer Lia my naked body.
Todd: See? I’m the better friend. I’ll even let you touch if you want, Noodle.
Tatiana: Seriously, just screw each other, please.
No one responds for a few seconds, and I’m too busy trying to gain my composure after the touch comment.
Tatiana: Ha-ha! I’ve stunned you both to silence. I am the queen.
Tatiana: Hello?
Todd: Gotta go. See you all tonight. Congratulations.
Me: Thank you, guys.
Tatiana: How did this convo get so polite?
I click on a private text to Tatiana.
Me: Nice, Tati.
Tatiana: What? If you weren’t convinced before, you should be now. The boy wants you.
Me: I don’t know.
Tatiana: Yes, you do.
Me: Tati, what am I supposed to do?
Tatiana: Follow your heart.
I don’t respond to her. I can’t. I’m still grasping on to this different Todd who keeps emerging ever since Davis left town.
Shit. Davis.
I haven’t told him.
I flick to my calendar on my phone and see the heart in that box on that Friday.
His premiere. My plane ticket. Crap.
Not wanting to mention the conflicting date to him just yet, I place my phone down to think.
“Amelia!” Bette’s voice comes over the speakerphone.
I quickly press the Talk button. “Yes?”
“Come in here to discuss exactly what I want.”
My nerves spin out of control. I grab my notebook and pen, leaving my phone on the desk.
* * *
I insert my key into the lock, and the scent of garlic floats out of my apartment. Tatiana and Todd are dancing around the kitchen and singing.
The music is too loud for them to hear me enter, so I stay against the door, watching them laughing and goofing off. Without them, I’m not sure where I’d be. They believe in me more than I do.
Tatiana spots me first. “She’s here!” She runs into me with such force that I stumble back. “I’m so happy for you.” She holds me tight and jumps up and down.
Todd’s arms wrap around both of us, and he kisses my temple. “Congratulations. You deserve this and more,” he whispers.
My shoulders fall while I’m in the arms of my two friends. “Thank you, guys.”
They grip me tighter.
“I made your favorite tonight.” Todd disappears back to the kitchen.
I follow. “With Tatiana’s help?” I cock my eyebrow.
“She’s good for those menial tasks.”
Tatiana pushes his arm and he fake-stumbles backward, laughing the entire time.
I hop up onto a barstool at our kitchen counter. Todd poises a spoon right at the tip of my lips. I slurp the garlic sauce into my mouth and can’t help but notice Todd’s eyes on me. His intense stare confuses me, but I crave more of it.
His eyes dart to my cleavage as I’m leaned across the counter, and then he looks back to my eyes. Last, they fixate on my tongue as I lick the sauce from my lips. My breathing stutters, and I slowly back up from his closeness.
My phone chirps, and I jump in my seat. Todd’s eyes glance at it, and a sour look crosses his face. He ventures back to the stove, and I grab my phone.
Davis.
I haven’t talked to him since he left. He must be crazy busy.
“Hello?” I practically whisper from the guilt. Sometimes I feel because Davis and Todd’s relationship is so strained, I’m somehow wronging the other.
“Hey, beautiful.” Davis’s sweet voice fills my phone.
Instead of the calmness that usually overcomes my body, I’m on high alert.
“Hold on, okay?” I hold my phone to my stomach. “I’ll be right back,” I say. I turn around before having to see Todd’s face.
Neither Todd nor Tatiana makes a crude joke or even acknowledges that Davis is calling me. Both of their actions speak volumes about what has changed in only three days since Davis has been gone.
I shut my bedroom door and sit on the bed. “How’s LA?”
“It’s great, but they’ve had me running everywhere. I’m sorry I haven’t called.” He sounds sympathetic about not being able to talk at all lately.
I shouldn’t doubt him just from what Heather told me.
“It’s okay. I missed you.” I lie down, throwing my free arm over my eyes.
“Why the past tense? Do you not still miss me?”
“Oh, no! I still—”
“Relax, Amelia. I was just kidding.”
I suck in a deep breath.
“I miss you, too.”
“Still a month?”
“Unfortunately, yes, but only two weeks until the premiere.”
“Oh, shit, Davis.” I jolt up in bed, and suddenly, those nerves overtake me again.
“What? Are you okay, Lia?” His voice is frantic.
I realize I just scared him for no reason. “Yeah. Oh, I’m fine, but I have some bad news.” My teeth nibble on my bottom lip. “Bette gave me my own show.”
“What’s bad about that? Congratulations.”
“It’s the same weekend as the premiere.”
“Oh.” His voice lowers, and guilt racks me. “That’s the only date she can give you?”
“It was from a cancellation by another artist. That’s the only reason I got it. I’m sorry, Davis. I’ll reimburse you for the ticket,” I ramble, with the hope that my excuse is enough to throw away the cost of the first-class plane ticket to LA he already purchased for me.
“Oh.” It’s a simple word that speaks more.
“I’m truly sorry, Davis, but this is it for me. I’ve worked hard, and I’ve been waiting for this day. I hope you understand I cannot pass this up.”
Fear sets inside of me as I think this is it for us. He’ll give me an ultimatum, but I’m through with pushing my needs aside to please a man.
“Amelia, what do you take me for? A jerk who wouldn’t be happy for you?” His voice is even-keeled.
That scares me more than if he were yelling obscenities into the phone.
“No.” I release a breath into the receiver. “I’m just sorry. I feel bad.”
“It’s only a few hundred dollars for the airline ticket. I have been looking forward to it, but I understand.”
I finally relax, happy he isn’t giving me an ultimatum. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
The receiver muffles, and I hear him saying something.
“I have to get going. It’s time to judge my contestants’ foods. Hopefully, I won’t end up in the emergency room.” He laughs, and the carefree, relaxing tone reflects back.
“I’ll cross my fingers. I’m at the hands of Todd for my celebratory dinner tonight.”
“Todd’s there?”
“Yeah.”
“Man, Lia, I wish I were there to cook you dinner for your celebration. This distance thing sucks.”
“I know. It’s a month, right?” I allow the negative thoughts that a month is too long to enter my brain.
After such a short time, my feelings for Todd are resurfacing at a pace I’m not comfortable with, a pace that can surely finish Davis and me before we truly ever started.
“Yeah. Okay, I have to go. I’ll call you in a few days.”
“A few days?” The question leaves my mouth before I realize I’ve spoken it out loud. The last thing I want to be is a needy girlfriend.
“My schedule is insane. I’ll try sooner, but I don’t want to promise anything I can’t keep.”
“Okay. Miss you.”
“Miss you. Bye.”
“Bye,” I murmur to a dial tone.
I fall into my plush mattress in complete distress of what my life is turning into. I need to focus on my career and not worry about two guys who might just toss me aside for their own careers.
* * *
The next day, I’m happily sitting at my desk before Bette arrives for the day. I came in a whole half an hour early to complete the piles of work so I can get some pictures of Todd tonight. Coincidentally, we both have the night off from CHOPs, and I need to get these done.
I want to talk to Bette about stepping outside of my box and have a few of Todd by the lake, but I’m not sure how she’ll respond to it. Her friend was in yesterday afternoon, raving about the nude photographer she saw in Chicago. Bette showed her my work, and she hemmed and hawed about my pictures. I thought for sure Bette was going to cut my show from this lady’s opinion. Then, she saw one of Todd with his hands against the wall. His back is flexed, and the light shows the tension rolling off his skin. She said she was buying that one, hands down. Bette told her she’d better be willing to pay because it was going to be the showcase of the event.
“Amelia!” Bette calls out as she enters.
I stand from the authority in her voice.
“Good morning, Bette. I brought you a coffee.”
“We need to talk. You do realize how blessed you are that I’m giving you this show, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
Her heels click across the floor at a fast pace, and as I follow, I watch the small hole in her coffee lid, making sure the brown liquid doesn’t spill over.
“Then, why is your boyfriend calling me, asking for a different date?” She retreats into her office.
I stop in my tracks.
She glances back. “Don’t act like you don’t know exactly what he did. Like Davis Morgan is going to run my business.”
I recover fast and step into her modern office without a speck of dust. “I swear, Bette, I had no idea he was going to do that. I told him last night. He had given me a ticket to see a premiere with him in LA that same weekend.”
“Would you rather go to that?” She holds up the mirror to her face and puts on her red lipstick, puckering her lips.
“No!” I screech.
She pins her eyes directly on me.
“Bette, I’m grateful for this opportunity, and I’m not about to ruin my chances.” I panic, and right about now, I’m so spitting mad at Davis that I’d haul off and hit him, if he were in front of me.
“Good, because I have the morning show for the local station coming in for a segment on you.” She smiles.
Although it goes against everything I believe in, I want to fall to my knees and endlessly thank her.
“Thank you, Bette. That’s amazing.”
“Don’t thank me yet. There’s a catch.”
“Anything.”
“Todd has to be with you. I only want pictures of him, naked, to be on display.” She clasps her hands in front of her.
I guess my whole plan on having Todd dressed in a few would be a no-go, especially after the stunt Davis pulled.
“I’ll call him right now. Actually, is there any way I can get off a little early today? I’m working on Hender’s showcase invoice right now.”
“Is this for more pictures?”
“Yes. Todd and I both have the afternoon off.”
“Of course. Bring me what you have. I have sole decision-making on what will be hanging for the show, Amelia.”
“Of course, Bette. Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome. You know me. I like to help the starving artists. Please tell your boyfriend that I run Art on Wells, and I don’t care who he is.”
“I promise. I’ll call him now.”
“After Todd, I presume.”
“Yes. Todd first.” The irony of those words leaving my mouth makes my heart rate speed up because, lately, he’s been first.
Me: Hey. Can you come on Friday morning to Art on Wells for some publicity? The local morning show will be here.
Todd: Of course. Just let me know whatever you need. I’ll always be here for you.
Me: Thank you. Friday morning, and do your push-ups, big boy. Those Facebook likes will go through the roof.
Todd: The ladies love my pics, but I fear that if you’re with me, they’ll figure out they can’t have me.
Me: Funny. See you at one.
Todd: Meet you at the park.
Me: :)
After I get Todd handled, I call Davis. What he did completely overstepped any bounds. Like usual, I get his voicemail. Just hearing his voice aggravates me.
“Hey, Davis. It’s Lia. Um . . . Bette just came in. Er . . . give me a call, okay?”
Weak, Lia.
I should have been meaner. I should have gotten to the point and shown him that I don’t appreciate him nosing his way into my business.
I flip through the book of CDs containing all my pictures. There’s a picture of Todd etched in my memory from four months ago. I search out the approximate time I remember snapping the photo and insert the CD into my laptop. I grab a Diet Coke from the fridge and begin sorting through two thousand photos. I forgot how much I’ve photographed Todd over the past few months.
That day, Tati was gone, and our apartment was quiet. I was fumbling through every step, having to fix the lighting the whole time. I felt like it was my first shoot, and my hands trembled so badly. My camera wasn’t properly in focus.
Then, in one moment, everything came together, as though someone else were controlling my hands and vision. Todd sat in the middle of my floor, staring off into space, with a gray backdrop. I snapped the shot and instantly knew how profound the picture would become, even if it were only me who saw the handsome man looking lost but found all at the same time. As though he were in a world of chaos, but he was calm, like he had found exactly what he’d wanted.
I come across the sequence that’s been jogging my memory. Double-clicking on the picture, it pops up across my screen, and I’m not sure why I never noticed it before. Todd isn’t looking into space. His head is turned in the opposite direction of the camera, but he’s staring at the camera from the corner of his eyes.
How did I miss this?
His eyes are clear, bearing truth, as though he’s attempting to tell the camera his secret. My mouth drops open with the realization that it’s not the camera he’s staring at. It’s me.
My stomach flutters the more I intently dig into every aspect of the picture. The thought that Todd has been yearning for me all these months brings an excitement to me I didn’t know existed for him until recently.