Lovely (2 page)

Chapter 3

I responded to a text message from my mom while I waited. My parents had a decent amount of money and would have paid for the dentist if I’d asked, but that would have went against what I was trying to do. I was currently entirely self-sufficient. It was to prove a point that I could support myself in the world as an artist. If I lost a tooth or two along the way, so be it.

“Back.”
Gavyn placed a plastic bag behind his seat and handed me a different bag with the bottle of antibiotics.

“You’re not like a spy my parents sent to keep track of me, are you?”

“What the heck?” He laughed. “Do I look like a spy?”

“Well, you wouldn’t be much of a spy i
f I thought you looked like one,” I said. “You’re good looking. Spies should be attractive.”

“True, but no, I’m a normal guy.”

I shook my head. “Nicer than normal.”

He smiled. “How do we get to your place?”

I gave him directions and he nodded, knowing the general location. “I should have kept the tooth they pulled,” I said when we were on the road again.

“Why?”

“I could have worn it as a trophy on a necklace to show that I was brave in the face of danger. Like those guys that kill lions and sharks and wear their teeth.” I smirked, to let him know I was kidding.

“I’m not sure I would want to go out with you if you were wearing your own tooth. You were brave, though.”

“I’m glad one of us thinks so. I am relieved beyond belief now.” I didn’t speak much more, the replacement gauze I’d placed in my mouth was angled in such a way that I couldn’t speak clearly at all during the rest of the drive.

We
parked at the tall building and I led the way to the front door of my one room apartment after we exited the elevator. I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Gavyn was behind me, carrying the bag from the pharmacy. He kicked off his shoes without being told and walked over to the small kitchen to set the bag on the counter. Exhausted, I fluffed a couple of the pillows on my futon to prop my body up and stretched out.

“Your art…,
” He said, moving around the perimeter.

Nearly every inch of the walls were covered with artwork. Not
just hanging paintings either. I’d painted all over the white washed walls so that they now were decorated in a variety of pictures and colors. I figured landlords never gave back the deposit anyway. There were also other paintings on canvas, paper, and even wood. Some were for art shows and sales, others my own pieces to keep.

“Mm, a shocking amount, I know.” I could speak clearly again, having discarded the gauze since the bleeding had stopped.

“No, I mean, yeah, but it’s so good.” He paused at an abstract I’d done. “I have no freaking clue what this is, but it evokes emotions and I kind of see a brontosaurus.”

“I don’t even know what
I painted, but I don’t think my inner thoughts spilled out onto paper as a dinosaur. Besides, it’s not called a brontosaurus anymore.”

Gavyn
turned to me, a look of anguish on his face. “They changed the name? How stupid.” He shook his head. “So which paintings can I choose from for my payment?”

“You can have any one that you want. What good is art if I keep it to myself?” I blinked a few times, eyes growing heavy.

“I’ll have to think about it. I do like this one of the vampire woman. She’s hot. She looks like you in an emo, bloodsucker kind of way.” He continued talking, but no matter how hard I tried to listen and respond, I found myself drifting off to sleep.

Chapter 4

“Wake up, Farrah.”

I groaned a little in protest and swallowed a few times. A foul taste of saliva and blood lingered. “Oh… you’re still here.
I guess I crashed on you.”

Gavyn
smiled and went into the kitchen which was visible from my seat on the couch in the small apartment. He returned with a glass of apple juice and my dinner. There was a large bowl of heavily buttered mashed potatoes. They weren’t white, but had taken on a yellowish hue. For dessert, there was a chocolate Snack Pack. When I didn’t move or speak, he did.

“I bought a few things at the pharmacy. Good thing, too. Your kitchen is empty except for three boxes of cereal and a gallon of milk.” He smiled. “Eat. It’s all soft.” Next, he extended his hand, offering me something.

I held out my hand, palm up, and he placed a couple of pills in it. Antibiotics and ibuprofen. “I’m not sure if you’re the sweetest guy on earth or some kind of serial killer.” I picked up the apple juice and washed down the medicine.

“
From the food you have here, I’m guessing you’re the
cereal killer
. Although, I will admit that I’m not quite myself today.” He sat down beside me and watched as I scooped some instant mashed potatoes onto the spoon. “What began as a simple introduction has led us here. I don’t get it either. I just want to help you feel better.”

I found myself smiling at him then took another bite. “
Thanks.” I gestured with the empty spoon. “I generally keep to myself as you can see by looking around the apartment. I feel a million times better already because of your charity.”

“Good
, but it wasn’t charity. I’m helping out a new friend.”

“These potatoes are awesome. Did you put half the tub of margarine in them? I’m going to gain ten pounds from one bowl.” I started to laugh, but cut it short. My jaw didn’t like the stretching.

“Close to it.” He checked his watch.

“Do you need to go?” I asked. I was surprised at how regretful the thought made me feel.

He adjusted his glasses and leaned back. “Soon. My weekends are busy and I work at the fire department Sunday through Wednesday nights.”

I raised a brow. I hadn’t pegged him for a fireman. Of course, the only ones I’d seen were on TV or calendars. They were always sweaty and buff. I looked
Gavyn over a little more closely and wondered how fit he was underneath the bulky hoodie.

“What?” He asked.

“Nothing. That’s a dangerous job.”

“It pays pretty well and I can work the shifts the other guys don’t want to so I can
get the last few credits I need in college.” Gavyn shrugged slightly.

I finished off about half of my potatoes and moved onto the pudding pack. The top peeled off easily and I licked the excess from the tin foil
with my slightly numb tongue. “What’s your major?”

“
Business. I have a few core courses that I had been putting off.”

“
So, you’re an attractive Brit with a penchant for dousing flames, calculating expenses, and helping out girls with toothaches. Not too shabby.” I grinned.

“Ah, so you caught the accent?
Occasionally people say they don’t even hear it. I lived in England until I was fourteen and then we relocated here. My mum is American and she wanted to move back home.”

“I’m glad she did.” I glanced away, trying to sound casual as I began to eat my pudding. “Did you decide which painting you wanted?”

“I was kidding about that. You don’t owe me anything.”

“I want you to have one.
Really.”

He glanced at his watch again. “I’ll take the abstract one. It’s growing on me and I’m not sure I can live without it now.”
Gavyn had a strange, quirky smile and I wondered if he was talking about the painting or me. I scolded myself for jumping to conclusions.

“Yeah.
Art is strange like that.”

“I wish I could stay.” He
stood and stretched, cracking his lower back. “May I have your phone number? It’ll be a while until we have class together again.”

“
My cell is in my purse.”

Gavyn
brought my bag to me and we exchanged texts to log the numbers. I owned a cheap prepaid since I didn’t talk or text often.

“Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

I nodded. “I’ll be fine, but thank you.”

And then he did the unexpected.
I’m sitting there with a tangled mess of hair in dire need of a new dye job, chocolate pudding smeared across my top lip, and missing a tooth, and he still leans down and gives me a peck on my cheek. This guy with his good looks and kind gestures
kissed
me. It was so natural, like a husband coming home and greeting his wife after a hard day’s work. It was as if we weren’t strangers, but longtime lovers.

“
Gavyn?” I turned around on the sofa as he paused at the door to put on his shoes. “Umm… drive safe.”

Hmm, one of those moments I wished I’d prepared something better to say ahead of time.

“I will.” He smiled and gave me a wave before opening the front door, locking it, and shutting it behind him. I heard him twist the knob to make sure it was secure.

“Wow.” I said softly to myself as I faced forward and sunk back down into the sofa. My hand was resting on the cheek he’d kissed.

Chapter 5

The next day at work, I felt almost one hundred percent back to my normal self.
Health wise. Mentally, I couldn’t get my shit together. Either I was checking my phone for a message from Gavyn or I was staring off into space.

“Do you think you can do that?” The customer asked as she pointed at a drawing of
several orange and black butterflies in a row. I didn’t know if the monarch butterfly meant anything special to her or if she just liked orange. I didn’t ask. That was her business.

“Hmm?
Oh, yeah. Sure,” I answered and gave a reassuring nod. The design was simple and the tattoo wouldn’t take long unless she was one of the whiny squirmers. “Just take off your shoe, hop on the table, and I’ll get started.”

It would have been easy to freehand the design, but that makes some people nervous. Instead, I used the thermal-fax to transfer the design onto the paper and sat down on a stool. I rolled
in my seat across the tile to the foot of the chair the customer was sitting in. She was wringing her hands together, much the same way I had done on my way to the dentist.

“This is going to hurt, right?” She asked.

“The first minute is the worst. After that, you’ll get used to it and it won’t be that bad. Point of no return, though. Tell me if you’ve changed your mind,” I said as I moistened her skin so that I could apply the design for me to trace. It certainly didn’t count as real art when using this method.

She drew in several deep breaths and I frowned. I wasn’t in the mood for this. “Give me a few more minutes.”

“Look, I’m a big wuss and I have several tattoos. Maybe this isn’t for you.”

“
I’ll do it. Can’t be any worse than childbirth, right?”

“I wouldn’t know, but I don’t think it could compare
from what I’ve heard.” I laughed and she cracked a smile.

My burly boss wat
ched from behind the counter. His hateful glare burned into my back when I turned away. The man didn’t like me because most people came into the shop requesting my services instead of his. I had a bit of a reputation for doing high quality ink. He wouldn’t fire me, though, because I made him profits. My measly check had stayed the same from day one.

I ignored him and focused on the task at hand. The design transferred easily an
d I began my line work. The woman drew in sharp hisses of air, but remained relatively still as I did the outline first. When I finished with that, I changed colors and began filling in the orange areas of the butterfly wings. The entire process went flawlessly, ending with the customer having three small butterflies on her left foot.

“All done.
You did great.” I grinned as she leaned up and examined the handy work.

“It’ll look better than that when it heals up?”

“Mmhmm. I’ll send some material with you explaining care. Looks good.”

She thanked me
, slipped me a tip, and paid my boss while I cleaned up the tools I had used. The vibration of my phone caught me off guard and I headed to the employee restroom in the back. It was the only bastion of privacy in the place. I shut the door behind me and pressed the button to lock it.

You’re not this kind of girl, Farrah. Don’t forget your independence again.

I completely lost my train of thought when I checked the phone and saw a text from Gavyn. I could have squealed…
if
I was that type. In the mirror, my reflection was grinning from ear to ear back at me. It was the goofiest expression, and yet, I looked pretty damn happy. Happier than I’d been in long time. I read the text again and responded.

Gavyn
: Miss you. Stopped by your apartment. Hope you’re well.

Me
: @work. I feel better. Maybe we can get together soon?

Gavyn
: Before my shift early in the week?

Me
: I have morning classes and work in the evening. I’m free all day Thursday.

Gavyn
: Me too. It’s a date. I’ll pick you up at seven.

Me
: Great! See you then.

I squealed.
So maybe I was the type. Then I began to overanalyze the first text, thinking that he meant to say that he missed me at the apartment instead of that he was missing me. It was a downer thought, but at least I had a date.