Chapter 1 – Erin
I looked in the mirror and smiled at my reflection. The glasses were gone, contacts in their place, and I could finally see my face. I was looking good, and it had been a long time since I felt this way. Usually I wore slacks and blouses for work, but tonight I was going all out for Rose’s art show. She hadn’t been in town in weeks, traveling to South America for a photo shoot, and I missed her. It seemed like the thing to do, getting dressed up, but I almost didn’t recognize myself.
The black dress was a little above the knee and it felt so right on my body. It hugged my slim frame just right and for a moment I felt beautiful. My hair was straightened and hung down past my waist, tickling my bared arms as it softly caressed my skin like the silk dress. If nothing else, I was going to get to see my best friend and I felt like a million bucks. That was a big step away from my normal life. For a night, I felt like I could be someone else. Tonight, I wasn’t a museum curator.
I was nervous about how I looked and I brushed on a little eyeliner and lip gloss, just to make those features stand out a little. The dress and hair had seemed out of place without something on my face. I didn’t care much for makeup, but tonight was different.
I took a taxi downtown to the small pop-up art gallery that Rose had created. The opening was almost as interesting as the pictures on the walls. It was carved like half a tree, and when I walked in there was a feel of the rainforest. Rose had always been fascinated with the climate around the equator, and she had told me when we were in college that she would find a job that paid her to be there. She had found it as a freelancer and this was her third trip in as many months. I was afraid she was going to move down there permanently, especially with a new man in the cards.
“Erin, you made it!”
I smiled at her, taking the hug that she offered and admiring her curved body in the hot pink dress that made her dark skin pop in contrast. Her short hair was in curls almost as big as the gold hoops in her ears.
“I told you I would be. This place looks great.”
“This place? Girl, look at you.”
Catching me off guard, she spun me around before I was able to stop her.
“Stop, it’s nothing.”
I could tell that Rose didn’t agree. She had a look that told me that this was a real departure for me. I had a habit of dressing as conservatively as possible. After breaking up with Zac a couple of years before when he cheated on me, I’d decided that I didn’t want to date for a while. To think that it had been two years was hard to stomach, and as Rose looked on I realized that it had been far too long. It had been far too long since I had gotten dressed up nice, and now I knew that I was going to have to do it more.
“Well, I don’t know about nothing, Erin. You look good, honey, and we need to show you off. If you are still around at the end of this, we should go down to the club and take that bad boy for a spin.”
Her hands touched the soft material and she made me laugh with the look on her face. She always knew how to make me feel better, and the self-conscious thoughts that I had were slipping away. I had missed Rose, and seeing her then was enough to remind me of why. She was always the happier one. She made everything seem like it was no big deal. It was, sometimes, but with Rose, nothing really mattered.
“If you aren’t already too tipsy.”
I looked at the glass in her hand and she grinned. “Third, maybe fourth, but I figure if I can still walk straight, that’s good enough.”
We talked for a few more moments before she was pulled away to talk to a few other people. It wasn’t just about her pictures that were up on the wall; this was also a way for her to get to know other people in the industry and make some connections that would help her later. I watched her for a time, wishing secretly that I could be as relaxed as she was in a crowd of so many people.
My attention turned to the small bar that was set up on the other side of the room. I just needed something to take the edge off. Soon I had a glass of wine in my hand and the slow sips were already making me feel better. I didn’t know many people there, so instead of trying to mingle with strangers, I took a look at the pictures that my friend had done on her trip.
They were grouped as collages and there was a lot to look at. I couldn’t imagine all of the places that she had been to. I was scared to fly, always had been. My father wasn’t much for flying, but we were always traveling together, so I had gotten used to boats, trains and cars instead of the faster way of going the distance. Now I started to think that some of the places I wanted to go might not be accessible by any of those modes of transportation.
A photo of Rose and her new love interest caught my eye. The dark-skinned man was holding a snake, and even though Rose was terrified of the slithering creatures, she had the biggest smile on her face that I had ever seen. She was happy. There was no doubt in my mind that this one was going to be the one for her. It was a mix of emotions. I would miss her, as I had more and more lately, but it also meant that my best friend was happy, and I couldn’t think of any other way that I would want it to be.
The collages were grouped and presented on pillars all throughout the room, as well as against all of the walls. There were hundreds of pictures. I started on the next pillar, this one of a river and lots of people on boats. It was clear that she loved everything that she captured, and I was again blown away by her use of light and how good she was at it. Rose Woods was going to go far, and I was glad to have known her before she made her way to the top.
My eyes flicked up from the mural of art and I caught the dark gaze of a man who was looking at me. It took me a moment to remember him from before. He had been at the museum on Wednesday, looking at the art but looking more at the structure of the building. I had noticed him because of those coal-black eyes that were looking at me now.
Looking away, I felt like my very eyes had been burnt by his searing gaze. I walked towards the next pillar and tried to look at the photographs that were matted in front of me. I tried not to feel the stranger’s eyes on me, but it was impossible not to feel his presence. He was handsome and had a rakish grin that told me he was a man who was used to getting what he wanted. The tall man exuded energy that made me blush a little.
I was chicken, and my discomfort made me turn away and change how I was going to view the exhibit. I went to the outer wall, as far away from him as I could get. I put my back against the wall and tried to take in what was in front of me, but my eyes were unseeing.