Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (22 page)

     
"Cats?"

     
"Meow."

     
He raised a
brow at me and I smiled, waving goodbye. "I'll ask the heavens to make
your day more interesting." I turned around and skipped into the building.
Not literally, of course, because that would be unprofessional. But in my mind,
I could skip as high as I wanted. After my breakdown, I was glad that I wanted
to skip so soon at all.

     
I said a quick
hello to Samantha and then to Zach before stepping into the elevator. Just as I
hit the button for the top floor, I received a text from Ethan:
Should I be
jealous of your hubby?

     
With a small
chuckle, I replied:
No, not at all. But if it comes to the end of the world
and I can only take one other with me to the afterlife, I'm going to have to
pick him.

     
At the small
ding of the elevator doors opening, I stepped out and greeted Patricia before
entering the corner hallway. My phone buzzed again as I turned into the
corridor.

     
What can I do
to persuade you otherwise? - Ethan

     
My hubby and I
have a history. He understands me and always knows what I need to hear. Unless
you can hold more songs than him and I can carry you around in my pocket,
there's not much you can do. - Me

     
That's too bad.
I wouldn't mind being carried around in your pocket. What if I gave you a shiny
new hubby? - Ethan

     
I'm loyal. I
only want my one true hubby. - Me

     
A challenge,
then. I will find a way to win you over. - Ethan

     
Good luck with
that. - Me

     
If I don't find
a way, time will. Sorry to say, but your hubs is practically ancient. He can't
have that much time left. I'm surprised he's even still going. - Ethan

     
I'll have you
know that he lives on in spirit. He's already on his third incarnation. If this
vessel dies, I'll just get another. - Me

     
I can get you
multiple vessels. A fleet of them. - Ethan

     
The idea was
actually tempting. It seemed that the older they got, the quicker they would
run out of battery. And although things were just fine for now, I always
worried that as time went on, it would eventually become harder to find long
lasting fifth generation iPod Classics.

     
No reply? Are
you actually considering it? - Ethan

     
Yes. But no.
Aren't you supposed to be focused on your upcoming meetings? You know,
strategizing or something? - Me

     
I am. I'm
working on conquering kittens. - Ethan

     
Kittens? I love
kittens. What kind of kittens? - Me

     
The meowing kind,
of course. – Ethan

     
Three hours
later I was deep into my work, finishing the last touches of the warm
honey-colored waves that framed Bobo's face.
Yes, I folded. All angels would
now have a name.

     
With the extra
help of my oil paints, I was glad to have succeeded in making it look
silky-smooth. It looked so good, in fact, that I had the urge to run my hands
through it. I backed away to get a full look.

     
No. It would
never compare to Ethan's, but it was still fabulous nonetheless. After a proud
little pat on the back, I went to work on the female next to him.

     
I had been
switching off between angels. Not only did it provide a change of pace, but it
allowed me to take a break and get a different perspective every time I came
back to work on them. There were a total of eleven angels that graced the four
walls. So far, I had only named two of them. Once I felt the personalities of
the others, I'm sure their names would come to me, too.

 
    
While I was working on Marina's harp, I
heard my phone ring. It was Dale.

     
"Hey,
Coops. What's up?"

     
"You're
not home."

     
I froze.
"You're back?"

     
"Sitting
in an empty apartment."

     
"...For
how long?"

     
"About
half-an-hour." I heard him yawn. "I had to shower after the plane
ride. Are you working on that mural thing right now?"

     
"Yeah."
Thank fuck he hadn't returned during my breakdown.

     
"Hey, have
you eaten yet?" he asked. "I'm starving."

     
"Not yet.
You wanna meet for lunch?"

     
"I'll
bring some food over. I want to see what you're making."

     
Was that
kind of thing okay?
"I don't know if I'm allowed to have guests."

     
"Guests
are always visiting that place. I have a few co-workers with spouses or
relatives who work there and they have no problem getting in. Anyway, you could
use my professional critique, couldn't you?"

     
"Fine,
fine. Let me just check and make sure first."

     
It felt weird
having to ask Patricia, but it turned out to be necessary since we were on the
top floor. She dutifully informed Samantha that 'a Mr. McGill' would need a
guest badge in order to gain access to the elevator. I quickly called him back
to let him know and then started cleaning up. My chin and left cheek were
covered in specks of red paint, and on my nose and forehead were giant golden
smudges. I didn't remember any of that happening. Realizing that Patricia had
just seen me like this, my face began to heat up in embarrassment.

     
When I returned
to the room, I reorganized the mess of bottles, cans, and brushes that were
scattered across the floor. Dale called me a while later.

     
"I'm
here," he said as soon as I picked up. "Where are you?"

     
"I'm
coming, hold on."

     
This time I
actually did skip as I made my way down the corridor to the waiting area. It
had only been just over a month since I'd last seen him, which was nothing
compared to the number of months we'd go without seeing each other before we
moved in together, but reunions were always fun. As I turned the corner of the
hallway, I saw Dale with our lunch in his arm, looking carefully at the
ceiling.
Probably studying the materials. Or thinking about his food.

     
A few feet
behind him stood Ethan, who was listening to Patricia with a slight frown. I
guess he had just returned from wherever he'd gone.

     
Dale spotted me
first. "Hey, Babydoll!" With a wide-eyed grin, he made a few large
strides towards me before pulling me into a friendly embrace. "Miss
me?"

  
   
"Actually, I was hoping you would have been
gone for a little longer," I joked.

     
"Aren't
you the sweetest? And after I brought you your favorite tacos, too." He
ruffled my head with his palm - it was an old habit.

     
"Not my
hair!"

     
He just
laughed. "You look cuter with it messy, anyway."

     
"This is a
professional business place with grown-ups and stuff. I'd like to
not
look like a bum while I'm here."

     
"That
explains why you're actually wearing clothes for once."

     
"Shut
up."

     
"
Daphne
."
Ethan's voice interrupted our childish bickering. There was an edge to it that
I hadn't heard before, but it paled in comparison to the look he was currently
giving me. And then it hit me…

     
Shit
.
Dale and I were always like this, just as we were with Jillian. But now that I
had a...
an Ethan
, did that mean I had to be a little more careful? What
was the protocol on being friendly with your best male friend when you had a
new male...um, a new male…um…
an Ethan
?

     
Ignoring my
uneasy nerves, I answered calmly. "Ethan, this is Dale McGill - my
roommate. Dale, this is Ethan Desmond, my…um…" Shit, what was I supposed
to call him? "He owns the place," I stated simply.

     
"Ah."
Dale smiled and held out his hand. "Mr. Desmond."

     
Ethan shook it
and smiled politely, but I could tell that it was forced. He then turned to
look at me. "I need to speak with you later. You'll be waiting in the
break room, right?"

     
Is he
actually angry at me?
I nodded, deciding it best not to say anything more.

     
"Sir, Mr.
De Silva is waiting for you," Patricia called.

     
Ethan nodded at
Dale. "Please, do enjoy your lunch." Taking one last glance at me, he
turned and walked briskly away.

     
"Alright,
so let's see this mural," Dale said.

     
I began to lead
the way. As soon as we turned the corner of the hallway, he started questioning
me about Ethan.

     
"So that's
The Scary Luxadigm Owner, huh? I heard he was young, but damn. He doesn't look
that much older than us. He's not an asshole is he? He didn't looked too
pleased with you just now."

     
I felt my eyes
widen slightly.
If Dale managed to hear about him, I guess Ethan must be
pretty well known around the area.
I wasn't at all prepared to start
talking about what had been going on with me and
the scary owner
. And
ideally, if I had to, I would have preferred to do so with Jillian since she
actually had experience with the opposite sex. But I suppose it would just have
to be okay. Dale was also my best friend, as well as my roommate. There was no
use in hiding anything, especially if I was ever planning on staying over at
Ethan's again.
If he still wants me to, that is.
Plus, as a man, maybe
he could offer a proper male perspective.

     
"No, he's
not an asshole," I answered.

     
"Hm."

   
  
"In here." I opened the door and let him into
the room first.

     
"Holy
shit." Dale walked in slowly, looking around at the walls.
"Damn." After a moment, he moved to stand right in front of the
female angel. "Is this...Are they supposed to be in water?"

     
I was pleased
that he could tell. "Yeah. I'm going to wait until I finish coloring in
these lovely folks before filling it with any of the bigger ocean
details."

     
He chuckled.
"Angels and water. Go figure. How are you gonna say goodbye when it's
over?"

     
"I don't
know," I admitted.

     
The longer I
worked on a project that had more
me
in it, the more attached I got to
it. After finally finishing something like that, rather than relief, I tended
to go into a sort of depression. It was nothing that ice cream and pizza
couldn't fix, of course.