Authors: E. L. Todd
Nancy leaned forward. “Are you going to submit your painting?”
“Yeah,” Tiffany said. “Hopefully it even makes it into the entry. That would be so awesome.”
“What’s first prize?” Shelly asked.
Tiffany clapped her hands together. “The painting will remain in the showroom to be purchased. Isn’t that amazing? Do you know how much he sells his paintings for? Like thousands of dollars.”
“That would be such an awesome job,” Nancy said.
“I know,” Shelly said.
“Are you going to do it?” Tiffany asked Nancy.
“Oh,” Nancy said. “I don’t know…”
“Come on,” Shelly said. “You should do it. What
could you lose?”
“They might not accept my painting,” Nancy said.
“So?” Shelly said. “At least you tried, right?”
Nancy shrugged. “I guess.”
The professor pulled down the projector and started the lecture. Nancy kept thinking about the competition at J and K showroom. She was nervous to show her painting to anyone, but her friends were right. She should at least try. And Dr. Drake would want her to do it as well.
When the class was over, Nancy approached Dr. Wallus.
“Dr. Wallus, are there still applications for the J and K competition?” Nancy asked.
“Are you going to enter?” she asked with smile.
“I was thinking about it.”
Her teacher looked through the papers on her desk until she found what she sought. “Here you go. I’m encouraging all of my students to do it. Even if you don’t win or make the competition, it’s still a great experience to meet other local artists in the area. I can’t encourage you enough.
”
“Thank you, Dr. Wallus. I’ll think about it.”
“Okay. Have a good day.”
“You too.”
She placed the application in her bag then walked to her car in the parking lot. Now she had work, which she wasn’t looking forward to. Sydney was always in the lab so Nancy never saw her, and Henry didn’t work there anymore because he just wrote for the school newspaper. Her only friend was Andre.
She drove to the aquarium, changed, and clocked in.
She didn’t know what she was going to say to Derek when she saw him, but at this point she didn’t care. She doubted he did either. She would just tell him it was over and walk away. There was no point in explaining why it was over. He wouldn’t get it anyway.
She cleaned the tanks and kept thinking about Derek, k
nowing the relationship was dead as soon as it began. There would never be any love between them. Derek would always be an immature asshole and she didn’t want that anymore. She wanted something more.
“Hey, is everything okay?” Andre asked as he approached her.
“Oh, hey. I didn’t see you.”
“You seemed pretty focus
ed.”
“Yeah.”
He sat on the floor and took a drink from his water. “You wanna talk about it?”
She wiped the window of the tank then tossed the rag in the basket. “You don’
t want to hear about it, Andre.”
“You know I’m gay, right? I love talking about relationship problems.”
“How did you know I was having relationship problems?”
“Like I said, I’m gay.” He winked at her and tapped the floor next to him. “Come on. We’re friends, right?”
She sighed then sat beside him. “It’s Derek.”
“I figured. Tell me about it.”
“He’s just a horrible boyfriend. He doesn’t treat me right or respect me. I’m dumping him the next time I see him.”
“You can’t work it out?”
“I don’t want to work it out.”
“So you don’t like him anymore?”
“I do like him—a lot. Whenever I kiss him, I melt. Whenever he’s sweet to me, I fall for him. But when he breaks my heart, he takes it all away. I can’t keep living for the good days, trying to forget the bad ones.”
“I can understand that,” he said as he patted her shoulder. “You have to do what’s best for you, right?”
“I do.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, he
lost a lot more than he realized.”
She smiled. “You’re sweet, Andre.”
“I’m not just saying that. You’re beautiful, sweet, and so much fun to be around. If he can’t see that, he’s an idiot.”
“You think I’m beautiful?” she asked in surprise.
“I may be gay, but I know a beautiful woman when I see one. I even think Ren is beautiful—but don’t tell her I admitted that.”
Nancy chuckled. “I’ll keep your secret. Are you seeing anyone?”
He shrugged. “Sorta.”
“
Sorta?”
“I’m fooling around with this guy but he’s still in the closest. He doesn’t want anyone to know yet.”
“Oh. Is it someone I know?”
“Yeah, actually.
But I’ll keep his secret.”
“Do you love him?”
“I don’t know. Sometimes I think I could. It’s hard for me to trust guys that aren’t open about their sexuality. Some hide it their entire lives. They get married, have kids, do that whole thing.”
She patted his arm. “I hope it works out for you two.”
“Yeah. One can only hope,” he said.
Nancy looked at her watch. “My shift is over—thank god.”
He laughed. “Why do you work here if you hate it so much?”
“I need
a job.”
“Well, there are other places.”
“Why did you start working here?”
“The hours.
My school schedule is hectic, and this is the only place I could find that would accommodate it.”
“I guess I’ll look around,” she said.
“At first, it was cool to play with the animals all day, but now the novelty has worn off.”
“Smelling like poo
p every day can do that,” Andre said with a laugh. He stood and helped her to her feet. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Alrig
ht.” They walked into the break room and clocked out before they locked up and left the facility. When they opened the front doors, they stopped.
A line of candles led across the parking lot, making a straight line until they reached a tru
ck. Derek was holding a bouquet of flowers, staring at her with an intense look. Nancy didn’t know what to do. She was frozen to the spot, surprised by the act. It was so unexpected.
Andre leaned toward her ear. “Maybe you want to hold off on that breaking up thing.” He patted her back then walked away, giving them privacy.
Nancy followed the candles until she reached him. He didn’t say anything as he looked at her. The wind ruffled her hair and the candle flames flickered. The flowers he held were bright and beautiful, an assortment of colors. Her eyes softened when she looked at him, feeling her heart squeeze.
He stepped closer to her, still holding the flowers. “Please don’t break up with me.”
She looked into his eyes, seeing the sincerity in them. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, feeling nervous. He looked so handsome. His light eyes seemed darker in emotion and his lips were pressed together.
“I’m sorry about everything. I don’t mean to be a dick. It just happens. I won’t do it anymore. Please don’t go. I’ll work on it.”
She still said nothing, staring into his beautiful face.
“I got you something.”
She looked down at the flowers. “They are beautiful.”
“Not just these.” He handed
them to her then opened the back of his trunk. He pulled out a fresh paint set and an assortment of brushes. “I thought you could use these while you paint.”
Her eyes softened again and her heart convulsed. It was exactly what she wanted from him for t
he longest time, an act that showed he cared.
He came back to her and placed his hands on her hips. “Will you have dinner with me tonight? I would like to take you somewhere.” He pressed his forehead against hers, rubbing his nose against her skin.
“Derek, you’ve done enough.”
“I want to do something nice for you.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Do you want to come over and spend the night with me?”
“You want me to stay over?” she asked.
“Of course I do. And we can watch a movie.
Just
watch a movie.”
She smiled at him. “It wouldn’t be the end of the world if we did other things.”
He leaned in and kissed her, parting her lips with his tongue. Nancy felt herself crumble as they touched. It was a night she always wanted, a moment when Derek realized the error of his ways. Now she felt her heart repair itself, knowing she was right for being patient with him. Derek broke away then held her to his chest. “You look beautiful.”
“I do?”
“You always look beautiful.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Please don’t leave me.”
“I won’t.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you for putting up with me.”
“You were worth the wait.”
He smiled then grabbed her hand. “I’ll meet you at my place?”
“Okay.”
Derek escorted her to her car then helped her get inside. He walked away and started his truck, waiting for her to pull out of the parking lot first.
After they arrived at his apartment, Derek showed her a stack of movies.
“Chick flicks?” she asked with a smile.
He shrugged. “I thought you might like one of them.”
She was moved that he was trying so hard. “I don’t want to watch a movie.” She took off her clothes then crawled into bed. He watched her for a moment before he stripped his clothes away and followed her underneath the sheets. Derek turned on his side and rested his hand on her waist, not making a sexual advance.
Nancy drifted her hand
down his chest, feeling his heart flutter wildly. “They told you?”
He nodded
, knowing she was referring to their friends. “Coen and Henry gave me a serious talk.”
“I told them not to say anything.”
“I’m glad they did.”
She snuggled closer to him. “I’m glad they did too.”
“I’ve never had a girlfriend before,” he said, gliding his hand down her side. “I’m sorry. I’m just not very good at it. I don’t mean to hurt you, be mean and insensitive, or just be an asshole in general. It just comes out. I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“I’ll try to be better.”
“Don’t try. Just do.”
“Okay.”
“Why do you want to be with me anyway? It seems like you’re ind
ifferent to me most of the time,” she said.
“I’ve never been indifferent to you.”
“It seems that way.”
“I—I just can’t express my emotions like others can. I’m not like Coen and Henry.”
“They don’t express their emotions either,” she said.
“They don’t?”
“No, they show them. I see the way Coen looks at Sydney.”
“Well, they are married.”
“He’s always looked at her that way.”
“I’ll try, Nancy.”
“And stop checking out other girls in front of me,” she said.
“Done.”
“And don’t ever call me mom again.”
“Okay,” Derek said.
“But you shouldn’t boss me around.”
“I wouldn’t need to boss you around if you weren’t a jerk.”
He placed his fingers over her lips. “I feel the argument starting. And I don’t want that.”
She sighed. “Neither do
I.”
“I like you because you’re my friend. We fight a lot, but we have fun together. And the sex is mind-blowing. I’ve never had better.”
“It is pretty great.”
“If you’ve been so upset with me, why have you stuck around so long?”
“I kept hoping you would change,” she said. “And the sex, of course.”
He laughed. “I’m glad I rock your world.”
“You do more than just rock my world.”
“Maybe we should start having sex without condoms.”
“I go on the pill?”
“We aren’t sleeping with anyone else, right?
” Derek said. “Coen and Henry keep telling me how amazing it feels. I want to give it a try now that I’m monogamous.”
“You better be monogamous.”
He smiled. “I know I’m an asshole, but I wouldn’t even do that.”
“What if I told you I was already on it?”
“Why would you be on it?”
“I used to have bad acne. The hormones keep it away.”
“Oh,” he said, clearly interested. “Why didn’t you say something before?”
She touched his chest, feeling the muscle. “I don’t know. I wasn’t sure if we were ready for that.”
“I am if you are.”
“Well, are you clean?” she asked hesitantly.