I rolled out of bed, grabbed my clothes and headed to the bathroom to deal with the condom.
When I came out of the bathroom, she lay in the bed, resting back on her elbows with one brow arched. “You got out of bed so fast it was like you’re scared of your own shadow.”
She was closer to the truth than I liked.
“Sorry. I just remembered I have a…” Fuck… what could I say that wasn’t clearly a lie.
She waved a hand. “You can go. We both got what we came for.” She rolled over onto her side like she was going to take a nap. As her boss, I could tell her to get back to work, but the idea of her staying here, and not going back to the office, appealed to me. I needed time and space away from her.
I nodded and headed to the door, still feeling like a heel. We both got what we came for. It was annoying and terrifying that I was disappointed that she hadn’t wanted more.
16
Natalie
One thing about my upcoming gallery showing, was that it distracted me from all the crazy feelings I was having about seeing Hunter, especially after he ran off like his hair was on fire the afternoon I’d worn a special teddy for him.
Now that the night of the showing was here, I was a nervous wreck. I felt like my entire career was riding on how things went tonight. What if nobody came? What if everybody came and decided that I was a fraud? What if the critics panned my work? I sank down on my bed unable to get dressed as the nerves overwhelmed me. The pinging notification on my phone, brought me out of my misery. It was a text from Hunter.
I'm picking you up in 30 minutes. Be ready.
I couldn't decide if it was better or worse to have Hunter with me at the gallery opening. He had set this up so of course he'd want to be there. At the same time, he was another one who might be critical of my work. I couldn't get the image out of my head of a gallery full of people, led by Hunter laughing at my work. The scared little girl inside me wanted to cancel the whole thing. Fortunately, the fierce feisty woman inside me told that little girl to shut the fuck up, get dressed, and go be awesome.
The need to be taken seriously and to fit in had me wearing a standard little black dress. But my creative side added flair with colorful jewelry and hot pink strappy heels. My hair was still lavender, so there was no changing that, but pulled the short curls back into a couple of clips and put my makeup on to look sophisticated. As I studied myself in the full-length mirror taking in my ensemble, I felt pretty good about it. I still worried that others would think I was an imposter, or trying too hard, or not trying hard enough. Ack! Why was this so hard?
I headed downstairs to meet Hunter and was surprised when a limousine pulled up in front of my apartment building and Hunter stepped out.
"Oh my God, a limo?"
He held out his hand to help me inside the luxury vehicle. "This is your big night; we need to do it up right."
I wondered what it said about me that I hoped that doing it up right meant ending the night with him touching me. The good thing about having that thought was that it distracted me from the thought of the showing. But it wasn't long before the limo pulled up in front of the gallery and Hunter was helping me out of the car.
"I think I'm going to be sick." I stopped in front of the gallery unable to step through the doors.
"I have it on good authority that it's going to be great. But if not, we have enough booze to make people forget."
At first, I glared up at him, not feeling amused, and then all of a sudden I was really amused. I laughed. "Are you broke now? Because that would take a lot of booze."
His lips twitched upward like he was glad that I took his comment for what it was; a way to help me relax.
We stepped inside and immediately a slight middle-aged man dressed to the T's in a dark suit stepped up to us.
"Mr. Strong." Then he looked at me. "Ms. Nichols. Everything is ready for this evening. In a little while we’ll have time where you can have a talk with the guests, but in the meantime, there is champagne and other forms of drinks. I encourage you to enjoy yourself and relax."
It was easier said than done.
"Thank you, Giles," Hunter said. Hunter placed his hand low on my back and urged me further into the gallery. But then, as if he realized we were in public, he dropped his hand. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I'm just going to go check on a few things, but you
enjoy yourself."
I felt completely abandoned by him, which then in turn ticked me off. I didn't need him. I didn't need his support. I scanned the room and saw Gavin standing in front of my painting titled, Dance Like No One is Watching, that depicted a woman in a crowd, dancing with sheer joy on her face. It was how I wanted to live my life, and seeing it was a reminder that my nerves were getting in the way of the bliss of living.
I went over to stand with Gavin.
His face lit up with a smile. "Oh hey, Nat. This is great." He lifted his champagne glass towards the painting he'd been studying.
"You think so?" I of course thought the work was brilliant, but I also knew that I was biased.