Page 20 of Colors and Curves

Relief spreads through me. “Good. Come on, Chance.” I’m not ready to answer her questions, but I also don’t want to walk away from her yet.

Chapter 11

Skylar

I have to be patient and remember that privacy is important to him. If I want to get to know him, I have to let him take the lead. It sounds like a tiny part of his wall has been chipped off since we met on Wednesday. I’m starting to think I’m becoming more interested in the man than the photographer.

“Mint chocolate chip and mango. That is disg—”

“Delicious,” I cut him off. “Dark chocolate and vanilla is so boooring.” Him and his black and white things. He needs to expand his horizons a bit.

His phone rings. “Can you hold the leash, please?” I take it from his hand so he can take his phone out of his pocket. Chance is busy sniffing and peeing on plants.

“Hey. What’s up?” he says to whoever is on the other end. My ear grows several sizes so I can hear what he’s saying. Is he talking to a woman?

“I’m in Central Park.” He glances at me. “Yes, I’ll be back soon. I will when I get the chance. Okay, I’m going. I thought you had something important to say.” He laughs. “See you later.” He cuts the call.Was it Daisy?

“Want to sit on the grass in the shade over there?” I point to a cute section where there aren’t a lot of people but a lot of flowers. It’s early evening but it’s still warm in the sun.

“Sure.” He tries to take the leash back. I pull my arm out of reach and shake my head.

“I’ve got him. He seems to trust me.” And at that precise moment of balancing my ice cream cup and changing the leash from one hand to the other, Chance moves away, jerking my hand and knocking the cup out of it. We both stand there in shock, staring at the upside-down cup on the ground. Then at the same time, we burst out laughing. “What the hell was that? Why are we always dropping stuff when we’re together? My poor ice cream. It was so delicious.” Chance licks it like he’s never eaten before, and Julius takes the leash from me. And I wonder aloud, “Is this what it’s like to have children?”

“I’m so sorry, Skylar.” He passes his cup to me, then scoops the remaining ice cream back into my cup. Chance looks up at him, licking his chops full of mango ice cream. Julius isn’t amused.

“That was the second time you knocked something over that was Skylar’s, Chance. You’d better behave, or she won’t want to hang out with us again. Do you want that? I sure as hell don’t.”

Okay, I just melted like my ice cream in the sun. He’s so unexpected. Nothing like he was last Wednesday. What else will I learn about him? He walks over to a trash can and throws the ice cream away. Then he comes back and reclaims his cup.

“Julius,” I say. He looks my way. “You can call me Sky. That’s what my family and friends call me. Skylar’s too formal… too businesslike.”

He rubs the back of his neck.What did I say?

“I thought this was a business meeting?”

My stomach drops and my cheeks start to burn. And then he says, “Sky… I’m just kidding.”

I exhale deeply. “That was mean. You had me there for a second.”

I almost smacked his arm playfully, but thought better of it. I’m hesitant to touch him. For one, I don’t think he’s the type, and two, I’m nervous about what’ll happen if we do touch. Will it be like the other night when his fingers slid against mine and he dropped the glass?

“Come on. Let’s sit down,” I suggest. Once my butt hits the ground, I pat the grass next to me. He follows, always careful not to let go of Chance’s leash or his ice cream. We stretch our legs out in front of us and enjoy the sunshine. “I am a little confused about why you came to the opening.”

“I knew you were the one working with Daisy.”

“You mean you knew when we met the first time? How’s that possible?”

I glance at his profile as he looks straight ahead. I can almost hear his brain working. He proceeds to tell me how he overheard the conversation I had with Daisy on the phone. Then explains how he observed Daisy and me in the gallery. Why am I not bothered by this? He sounds like a stalker.

I turn my body so I’m facing his side and cross my legs. “Wait, you mean the dog barking outside the gallery was Chance? Daisy was acting really weird at that moment. Did she know you were there?” He shakes his head and focuses on me.

“Not at the time. I had to know if it was you. The curiosity would’ve eaten me alive.”

I need something to do, so I rip some grass out of the ground and play with it in my hands. I’m amazed at how honest he’s being, but I want to hear more.

“That still doesn’t answer why you came.”

“You know the Mossi Krelo Gallery?”

---