Page 157 of Yellow
“Did you see the painting yet?” Melody asked Adam.
“No, I didn’t.”
Darren’s loud voice broke in. “That’s because it’s not in the front of the gallery like I wanted it to be,” he complained. “But I guess it’s a small price to pay for the privilege of exhibiting such delicious art.” He was waving us toward the back, and when we walked around a partition wall, Adam stopped in his tracks.
There, perfectly lit on the wall, was the large portrait of him and me kissing passionately.
His eyes were wide as he admired the portrait.
“Not for sale,” a sign said underneath.
“I could have sold ten or twenty of that painting already,” Darren explained. “Cia is the most gifted painter of her generation, if you ask me, and I’m counting myself lucky to be selling her art. It’s practically as easy as selling cookies to potheads.”
“That’s great,” Christian said behind us. “You know, I was thinking that maybe if you and Cia are interested we could display some of her art in my restaurants. The clientele has money and it might help drive her prices up even higher. I’d be willing to exhibit the picture of me and Melody if that helps.”
Darren looked like he was about ready to kiss Christian. “We should definitely have dinner and talk it over,” he said with a smug smile. “I take my steak cooked medium.”
“Tread carefully, Darren,” Melody warned. “I’m still breastfeeding and I’m a redhead with a temper. Don’t bring my hormonal disturbance down on your weak manly body by coming on to Christian in front of me.”
“Weak manly body.” Darren scoffed. “Please, I’m as fit as a fiddle. You’re just jealous because your tits are gonna sag after all that breastfeeding.”
Melody narrowed her eyes. “If you’re so fit then I dare you to come jogging with me. I bet you couldn’t keep up for one mile,” she challenged him.
Darren swayed his hip to the side and raised both eyebrows. “Oh, Melodrama, sweetie, I could outrun you every day – all day long.”
“You sure about that?” Christian asked skeptically, and I didn’t blame him because Darren looked like a man who liked to dine and drink and had a strong allergy to fitness.
“Easy.” Darren waved his hand dismissively in Melody’s direction. “I was the fastest runner in high school.”
Violet wrinkled her nose. “I would have never guessed.”
“Oh, believe me, I still run daily.”
Adam and I exchanged a look saying we found that hard to believe.
Darren stood completely unmoved and poured himself another glass of wine. “Yesterday, for instance, I ran twice. First I ran out of wine and then I had to run around the corner to buy some more.” He looked up and smacked his tummy. “How else do you think I get to be this tight and ripped?”
Jake was laughing. “Good to know that’s all it takes.”
“Actually,” Darren said and wiggled his finger at Jake, “I do have a secret weapon, and since you could really use a bit of help getting up to my standards, I’ll share it with you.” He sat his wine down and went to a back room only to return with a large multi-colored hula hoop.
Jake, who looked like a guy who could easily run for an hour without getting tired, broke into a hearty roar of laughter.
“You’re not serious, Darren?”
“Of course I’m serious. Forget about whimsical parkour and vulgar cross-fit. The hula hoop is the most hard core fitness tool on the market.”
“Is that a fact?” Jake asked sarcastically.
“Yes it’s a fact, Jake, my fact-loving fanatic. Not many people possess the body control, core muscles, or stamina it takes to master this fitness discipline, but I do, and that’s why people call me Darren the Disciplined.”
We all chuckled and Violet lovingly shook her head. “You have a lot of names, don’t you, my friend?”
Darren moved us out of his way “Move back and I’ll show you how I stay so ripped and good-looking.”
With a flair for showmanship he got us all to circle around him and look on as he took his position and prepared for the great performance.
“I’m telling you, only five minutes each way, once a day, will do wonders for your core muscles,” Darren announced and swung the colorful ring around his soft belly.
