Page 63 of Infatuated as They Come
“What’s there to think about?” she asked.
“I just don’t know if I have time for it,” I said. I could already see the wheels turning in her head.
“You can make time,” she said firmly.
“I’m not sure if I can.”
“You know what? I looked at your schedule before we left, and you have plenty of time to do it.”
“Is that so?”
“Mhm.”
“I think you might have looked at the wrong schedule.”
“I’m certain I didn’t.”
“I don’t know what schedule you were looking at, but I’m working Monday to Friday.”
“That’s your old one. Have you not seen the new one?”
“I think I’ll let you guys talk this one out,” Damien said with an awkward chuckle, pointing a thumb behind him. “I’m gonna… I’m just…”
“We were just about to leave, anyway,” I said as I grabbed Holly’s hand. I was fully expecting her to let go, but she kept her fingers tight against mine. “Thanks for showing us around.”
“No problem.” He nodded. “Let me know what you think, okay? We’d love to have you join. Nice meeting you, Holly!”
He checked out quickly after that, and I was pretty sure me and Holly’s awkward little almost fight had done that to him.
“Come with me,” she said, hand on mine as she took me back the way we had come from. “I wanna see that little gallery they had at the front.”
She stayed quiet the rest of the short walk to the entrance, guiding me into the gallery I only got a small peek at earlier. It was a lot bigger than I realized, with canvases spaced out evenly along the white walls. Holly kept pulling at my hand, finally stopping in front of one of the paintings that was a swirl of green and red and blue.
“Look, no offense to the people who painted this stuff, but you’re more talented than all of them,” she said. “And they’ve probably all been given a bunch of opportunities that you’ve never had. Classes and tutors and all that stuff.”
“So?” I shifted on my feet, eyes not meeting hers just yet as I pretended to look at another painting.
“So…” She let out an annoyed sound. “Your paintings could be in here. Alot of them. And everyone loves the one you did for the library, but this is different. This is a proper art studio with a gallery and exhibitions and everything. Don’t you want to do something like this?”
I did. A lot. More than I had realized. Her words kept tugging at my heart, though. I knew she wanted good things for me, that she wanted me to focus on myself, but it was my job to prioritize her. She was right at the top of my list. Art had been coming second ever since we moved.
“Of course I do, but…” I said, my voice trailing off for a second. “Holly, you heard what the guy said. I can’t just show up for an hour a day. I’m so busy with work…”
“You don’thaveto work.”
Eyes still ahead of me, I shook my head. “We can’t have this argument again.”
“I know. I’m tired of it. You work so hard, Sawyer,” she said. “You do so much for me. You do more than you need to. You should do something for yourself. You’re allowed to put yourself first.”
“I don’t know, Holly…”
“Your art could be in here.” She rested her head on my arm, her forehead pressed up against me. “Everything you paint is so pretty. Don’t you want everyone else to see how talented you are? And it’s not just about making sales and getting money. Just imagine your stuff being up there on the wall. Yours. Your work. With your name right next to it.”
And that sounded really good. I didn’t want it to, but it did. “I’ll have to think about it.”
“There’s nothing left to think about. Everyone would fall in love with your art if you put it in here. You make the most beautiful work. It’d be so nice if everyone got to see it, don’t you think?”
I let myself get lost in her fantasy. It’d be nice to have my paintings on that wall, in an actual gallery, in a real place with real people with real success. Actual success wasn’t something I ever thought I’d have, but Holly sure as hell seemed convinced it’d all work out.
