Page 14 of Curvy Crush
Her eyes nearly bug out of her skull. “You need to get out more, live life, have fun.”
“I agree,” I tell her, feeling myself come out of my shell a little more just from being around her and talking with her. “What do you like to do?”
She takes a bite of her salad, chews, and swallows before answering. “All kinds of things. Stella, my best friend, and I like to go to the bar and grill here in town at least once a week. We’ll drink too much, eat too much, and just talk and laugh. I love going to the movies. Horror is my favorite, getting candy and popcorn and leaving feeling like I’m going to explode. I like going to the beach. We usually have a little beach party every year where we’ll light a bonfire and drink and listen to music and get a tan. I love attending all the town festivals, catching up with old friends, dancing. It’s a small town, but there is still plenty to do.” She shrugs and takes a spoonful of her soup.
I feel like my eyes have doubled in size just from listening to all the things she does. “I need to hang out with you more often. Maybe you’ll be able to get me out of the house.”
“I never accept no as an answer,” she says around a smile.
I laugh. “Good, cause that’s kind of what I need.”
“So, what brought you here to this tiny little town in Colorado?”
Ahh, getting to the stuff I don’t want to talk about. How do I answer? “I just wanted a quiet life, you know? I went to college in the city and the town I’m from wasn’t much smaller than that. I guess you could say I wanted a change of pace. This pace suits me much better. That’s why I like to paint so early in the morning. It’s so quiet. I can hear my thoughts, think through what a painting needs, almost to the point where I can actually see how it will turn out before I even start.”
“That’s so funny you say that. I’m the same way with my photos. When I find out the style photos the family wants, things just come together in my head.”
“I could tell that about you. I was watching you today in the studio. Watching you work is captivating.”
Her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. “You… you were watching me?”
I nod.
“Why?” Her face is red now and she’s refusing to make eye contact, instead keeping her eyes down on her food.
“I don’t know. I didn’t intend to. I was just going to tell you I was going to lunch, but then I saw how hard you were focusing. You were in the zone and it reminded me so much of myself that I wanted to know more. I felt a connection to you in that moment.”
Lola looks up at me from beneath her lashes. “I feel the same way watching you paint,” she says, offering up a hint of a smile.
“Thank you for taking this job. I feel like I’m going to learn a lot from you.”
“Thank you for giving me the job. I feel the same way.”
We’re looking each other in the eyes and something is exchanged. I no longer feel like Lola isn’t my type of person. Suddenly, I’m worried she’s the exact right person. For me and only me. I know I should go back to pushing her away, but I can’t. It’s like I’m running headlong into a moving freight train, and I can’t stop myself no matter how hard I try. It’s like fate has intervened and my destiny has been decided. We are on a course and we’re heading straight for each other.
Chapter Thirteen
LOLA
Idon’t know what’s happening. I came to the studio this morning, thinking that it would be a horrible day, that I’d be in his way, that he’d fire me for distracting him, and then this happens. Not only has he not fired me, he has complimented me, my work, my drive. Now here we are, sitting and having lunch together, talking about deeper things and telling secrets. It feels strange, like we’re on a first date and not lunch between coworkers.
For some reason, emotions are running deep and it feels like we’re getting too close. I should back away, but it’s like looking into a fire. It’s warm and beautiful, but dangerous. I want to jump in with both feet, but I know that will only leave me hurt. A guy like Evan could never want a girl like me, and taking his compliments as something more will only leave me hurting and wondering why he doesn’t like me the way I like him, something I’ve done numerous times in the past. I’d like to say that I’ve learned my lesson, but have I?
Hearing all these things that he’s saying makes me feel like something is changing between us, but I know it shouldn’t. I need to keep a level head and not run off to frolic in the fields, screaming that he loves me. Mentally, I rip the flower out of my hand and give myself a good verbal lashing. Just because he likes my work and is learning to enjoy my company does not mean that he’s attracted to me in any way. I won’t let myself ruin this… this time.
“I’ve been wanting to ask you, how did you get your start in painting?” I pick up my drink and have a sip.
“I’ve always loved to paint. As a kid, it was watercolors. As I got older, I moved into other styles. I’d paint anything and everything. I painted my bike as a kid, I painted shoes, my walls, the privacy fence in the back yard. Finally, my mom gave me some canvases, and here I am.” He shrugs.
“So, your mom has always been supportive?”
He moves his head from side to side. “She was when I was younger, but then as I got older, I heard all the same old things every artist child hears. You know, things like, ‘You can’t pay the bills by painting pictures. You need something to fall back on when this doesn’t work out.’ I never listened, though. I even spent my college money on an art degree, and I think my mother was ready to kill me. She wanted me to become a teacher or a doctor, something that I would always be able to fall back on, but…” he shrugs again. “Painting is the only thing I ever wanted to do.”
“And how does she feel now that you’re doing it full time?”
“I think she’s accepted it now. We’ve never really talked about it, but she came to all my art exhibits in school. She always said she was proud and would be no matter what I did.”
I smile. “She sounds like a great woman.”
