Chapter Twenty-Five
James
It was the day of the art show, and I was feeling really good about everything. I also woke up extra early and was excited to see Rachel. A day and a half without seeing her was too much for me. The whole thing was crazy for me to think about because I never would never have expected to feel this way ever again. After everything I’d been through, and everything that happened to me regarding Whitney’s death, I never thought that I would be even okay again, let alone feeling this way.
Rachel and I began setting up. We had a lot to get done before the show started at four that afternoon. I was feeling really good about this one, and I knew Derek would sell it all out. He was an amazing artist, and I was so glad to represent them. Honored actually. He was my best friend and a damn good artist.
“You know Rachel,” I started, as we were setting up various pieces around the room. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done since you came to work here. You’ve gone above and beyond for me, and for Nell. I can’t even begin to thank you enough for all you’ve done,” I said to her. “It’s been really good for Nell. A-and me.”
Rachel stopped what she was doing, then turned and looked at me. I wasn’t sure how she was feeling about what I’d said. I found that I was holding my breath as I wait for her response, and I hoped that I wasn't pushing any boundaries.
“You’re welcome, James,” she said. With a bright smile, she took a step closer to me.
I just couldn’t get enough of her. She was absolutely gorgeous, and her eyes were always sparkling. And her smile—oh boy, her smile. It was breathtaking. She was so pretty, but she was one of those girls that didn’t try to flaunt it all the time. In fact, I don’t think she even had a clue about how gorgeous she really was. She was quite shy really, and played coy a lot. But I found I liked that about her.
One thing I couldn’t stand was women who were fake and required someone to point out her beauty every three seconds. I hated women that were needy or those who were always caught up in some sort of drama. High maintenance women were very hard to be in relationships with. Me, I preferred the laid-back ones, much like Rachel. Exactly like Rachel.
I wrapped my arms around her, “I’m serious. You’re the silver lining to my life right now. I’ve been through a lot and felt like I was just existing, trying to do my best for Nell but failing in so many other ways. But now, I finally feel like I can be okay again and I’m excited to see what the future will bring.” Once again, I was nervous, thinking I might have crossed the line. I hoped that I hadn’t been exposing myself too much. The last thing I wanted was to scare her away. That wasn’t my intention at all.
She smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around me. “You have been that for me, too. Both you and Nell. I can’t even begin to tell you how thankful I am for the both of you. I was in such a dark place for so long, and I’m finally starting to feel better. I went to see Sadie the other day, and she said the same thing about me. So, thank you,” she said.
It touched my heart that she felt that way. Especially when it came to Nell, who was my entire world. To hear that she cared about Nell just as much, meant the world to me. I knew I was making a good decision by spending more and more time with her. My feelings were growing, but I just wasn’t completely sure yet. I knew my feelings were strong, but because I didn’t know how she felt about me, I wasn’t sure what to say.
We went back to setting up the room, which took a lot of work on days like this. I love doing art shows, and actually enjoyed setting them up. I just hoped that she felt the same way because it was a huge amount of work. It took a lot of time and careful planning. Turns out, she was well suited for this work. She had done such a great job. She was the one that came up with where we were going to place everything. She had an eye for what looked good where, and it helped make my job so much easier. This was exactly what an assistant was supposed to do, something I had never actually experienced.
“Thank you for all your help today. Your placement ideas were absolutely amazing, and look; it’s working out perfectly.” I found that I couldn’t stop complimenting her, and hoped it didn’t bother her. From the looks of it, she was okay, but you just never know.
“You’re welcome. I really do enjoy my job, you know. I love every part of it. I’ve always been in the arts; in fact, I’ve always wanted a job at an art gallery. So, this is a dream come true for me,” she said.
I wanted to ask her what she’d done before, but something held me back. Something told me that I shouldn’t ask those kinds of questions yet. If she wanted me to know, she would reveal it herself. Right?
The show started right on time at four o’clock, and people had started lining up outside at three, so we ended up with a large crowd. I found myself looking around for Rachel a lot more than I should have been. I talked to a lot of people, but anytime I did, I would glance around and try to find her. I’d make eye contact with her across the room, then return my attention to the other person. I was constantly concerned with where she was and just needed to know she was still nearby.
“Hey, man,” Derek came up to me in the middle of the show.
“Hey,” I said and took a sip from my champagne glass. “You’re doing awesome. I think you’re going to sell everything,” I said to him.
“Did you have any doubts before?” he asked.
“Don’t get all cocky,” I said to him. It was a fair warning because the last time I had an artist get cocky, he didn’t sell a single piece. Derek was well aware of what had happened that time.
He laughed. “I’m not cocky. I’m confident. I know my pieces are awesome, and I know people like them,” he said.
There was a lot of truth to what he said. He actually was a really good artist, and he hadn’t had a single show where he didn’t sell a lot of pieces. The least he had ever sold was something like ninety-five percent of the show offerings. There were two giant pieces left from that show, his second, and personally, I felt it had more to do with the pricing than anything else.
“Are you the artist?” the woman asked, as she walked over to us. Derek smiled and introduced himself, then the two of them walked away. I shook my head, recalling that he always seems to end up getting phone numbers from a few women at every single one of his shows. I never knew an artist could get so much.
I glanced around the room and spotted Rachel. She walked over to me, smiling.
“He’s doing really well,” she said.
“Guess I should have told you this so you’d know what to expect. Derek always does great. He gets cocky, but the results don’t lie. People love his work and put their money where their mouth is. Guess that’s why I put up with his lip service.”
Rachel laughed. She was holding a glass of champagne and put it to her lips and took a drink. As she swallowed, I was wishing that I could have been the glass pressed to her lips. She looked absolutely stunning in her tight little black dress. She changed just before we started the show, and I really hadn’t even had a chance to compliment her.
“You look really good in that dress,” I said to her.
She blushed, which I found really attractive. “Thank you,” she said.
I sensed that she had gotten shy after my comment, and I hoped it didn’t scare her off. But she didn’t move, so I figured that I was okay. I found myself wishing I knew how she felt about me and hoping she would open up and really talk to me because then I could tell her how I felt about her. Then I wouldn’t have to feel like I needed to hide my feelings from her all the time.
Derek ended up selling every single one of his pieces. I knew he would; there had never been a doubt in my mind. He approached me after the show.
“Thanks for the show, man. It was great as usual, he said to me.
“No, man, thank you. You sold out, again,” I said and high-fived him.
Derek said goodbye and slipped out the door, leaving the gallery quiet and back to just being me and Rachel. I found I liked it better that way.
“What did you mean when you said I was your silver lining?” she asked, as we were cleaning up.
“Well, I’ve needed someone in my life. Someone amazing and beautiful and smart. Someone that actually meant something to me. Somebody that could bring a smile to my face. Someone that I find myself constantly thinking about,” I paused, cringing. I didn’t mean to go overboard, and I wasn’t sure how she was going to react. Relief came quickly as she smiled brightly at me. “I’m grateful to have you in my life, Rachel.”
Without missing a beat, she wrapped her arms around me, stood on her tip toes, and kissed me. Her lips pressed into mine, harder now, and soon enough my arms found their way around her body. I slid my hands down her sides, around her back, then down to her delicious ass. I gave it a squeeze, and she moaned against my lips.
“You’re a naughty girl; you know that?” I said to her.
She bit her lip as I grabbed her face and met her mouth with mine. I slid my tongue into her mouth and moved in the same motion as hers. Our tongues were encircling each other as we started kissing harder and faster. It was hot, and I was getting more and more turned on. I wanted to fuck her right there in the middle of the art gallery, a space that had been filled with people only minutes before.
“I want you so bad,” she whispered against my lips.
I moaned, then bit her bottom lip and moved my mouth down her neck to her gorgeous tits. I pulled her dress down some and discovered she wore no bra.
“Oh, I was wondering if you were wearing one,” I said and took one of her nipples in my mouth. With my finger and thumb, I rolled her other nipple around and around. She moaned, and soon I switched nipples, prompting her to moan some more.
I pulled her into my body, as my pants grew tighter from my erection. I pressed it into her and grabbed her face and kissed her lips once more.
She moaned even more against my lips.
“Do you want it?” I asked, and slid my hand down her dress.
She didn’t speak, only nodded her head. I slid my hand up her dress and found that she wasn’t wearing any panties.
“Oh, Jesus. Fuck. You’re such a dirty girl.” I said and slipped a finger inside of her. She was already soaking wet for me.
Grabbing her hand, I led her upstairs to my office. There were plenty more options in terms of accommodations for us up there. I wanted her to be comfortable, and not laying on the cold, dirty floor. I closed the door behind me.
“In your office?” she asked, with a sexy, playful smile spread across her lips. I pulled her into me again, pressing my cock against her. She moaned louder, saying, “I want to fuck you so bad,” she said.
That was all I needed to hear.