Page 44 of Partnering with the Artist

He asked if he could kiss me.

While my brain turned off, he started to flee.

And then?

Then Istoppedhim.

My useless brain remembered,oh yeah, I need to get his measurements if I’m going to start working on his suit, which I’m going to do first because I’m positive pants have to be easier than juggling the five hundred yards of fabric I’ll need to use for my dress.

Ignorant cruelty abounding, I destroyed his plans to run away.

And then I, idiot that I am, brought the kissing thing back up.

As though I was all for it, instead of very, very muchagainst.

Has it been a few months since Harry crushed my heart?

Yes.

But has it also only been a week and a half since I’ve met Zakery?

Mmhm.

Huh. Weird.

The internet says it can take years to get over a breakup. Or, you know, seconds.

My nose wrinkles as I scroll through the answers forhow long to get over relationshipon my phone.

This doesn’t seem to be an exact science.

And, yet, I keep googling.

Wow.

Crazy.

How long does it take to fall in lovehas similar results.

Not thatI’min love or anything like that. I was just curious if Icouldbe. I’m not certain that responses on Reddit are entirely reliable, though. I’m likely infatuated because Zakery’s being so kind and spoiling me and, fine, heisvery pretty. My brain keeps skimming back to the tattoos that disappeared beneath his tank top. I’m desperate to learn all the secrets of what he chose to etch into his own skin. It must have been painful, tedious…torturous.

What compels someone?

I’ve always been a curious person. Mom and Dad used to say that mywhy, why, whytrain came with specifics. It wasn’t justwhy is the sky blue?Well, because sunlight reaches the gases and particles in our atmosphere, scattering blue light.Why, why, why?

It washow do you know about the gasses and particles? What shape are they? Do they have friends? Are they sad? Is that why they’re making the sky blue?

And then, maybe, the occasional plainwhytossed in there. For posterity.

It’s normal for me to be curious about Zakery.

It’s normal for me to want to see the art scrawled all over his skin.

Ilikehis art.

It’s beautiful, and powerful, and…sad. Like the blue, blue sky.

A semicolon tattoo,Google says,conveys a person’s commitment to overcoming mental health struggles, suicidal thoughts, and depression.

---