Page 62 of Moonstruck at Midnight
“Your father will kill me if he finds out.”
“He won’t. I promise.”
Caleb pressed his lips against each other with skepticism. There wasn’t much he could do but trust me. “We’ll be downstairs,” he said with reluctance as he turned around and left.
Sorry!I kept lying to him. It became a habit, and I hated it.
I shut the door and went back to my room. I unlocked my phone and texted Thomas to thank him for the flowers he sent me.
Thomas:Hey, babe. Glad you liked them. I’m so sorry about yesterday. About everything. I couldn’t sleep just thinking about it. I love you.
Me:I love you too. I wish we could talk some more, though.
Thomas: Sure thing. I’ve got an entire day planned for us. Can I meet you at your place in an hour?
Me:Sounds good. How’s your lip?
Thomas:Better. I have a sexy nurse who took care of it yesterday ;)
Me:I hope you’re referring to me.
Thomas:Who else, silly? See you in an hour.
Thomas could sweet-talk me out ofanything.He knew he was my weakness. He could kiss me and make it all go away. That was my biggest fear.
Thomas arrived at my apartment, and I was curious about what he had planned for the day.
“It’s a surprise. It’s a ten-minute walk from here. Do you feel like walking?”
“Absolutely, let’s go.”
Aaron, Caleb, and David came with us that day. They were probably still worried about the night before. Aaron and Caleb followed us on foot, and David took the car to the final destination. Thomas had previously informed them about his plans, so they prepared accordingly. Caleb, as usual, wasn’t in his best mood; one could easily tell.
We walked south on Park, then West on 53rd street.
“MoMa?” I smiled. I’d asked Thomas multiple times to come with me, but we could never find the time to do it.
“Yup.” He placed his arm around me as we kept moving. “I think it’s about time I brought you to see the Matisse you’ve been telling me about.”
We walked throughout the museum and stopped in front of some artworks that stood out for me the most. We finally got to the fifth floor and found Matisse’sRed Studio. I took a seat on the bench, and Thomas stood behind me, holding my shoulders.
“Do you want to tell me why you like it so much?” He gently kissed my neck. There he was, making it all go away one kiss at a time.
I tapped the empty seat on the bench beside me, inviting him to join me. How was I to focus on the painting when he was distracting me like that?
I told him all about why I liked it. What drew me to it—how something that seems to have no order finds its way of creating its personal reality. I explained how it’s simple and apparently flat but full of life and how it draws you into the space.
“I like that it’s mostly red,” he whispered to my ear, pushing a strand of loose hair behind it. He kissed my hair afterward. “I should’ve brought you sooner.”
I gave him a careful peck on the lips and stood up. His bottom lip was still puffy and red. “Come on. If we don’t leave now, I can stay here all day.” I laughed because it was the truth, and I knew museums weren’t his cup of tea. He was doing it for me.
“Well, in that case, let’s get going.” He echoed my laugh and clutched my hand to pull me up from the bench.
We made a quick stop at the gift shop before leaving. As I looked around the shop, I noticed Thomas talking to a guy who was part of the museum staff.
I walked up to them, and he gave the guy six-hundredfreakingdollars.
“What on Earth are you buying?” I was shocked to see him spending so much money on the gift shop.
