Page 11 of Curvy Crush
“Not you. Paxton. Stop!” she says around fits of giggles.
“Need me to let you go?”
“No, I’ll…” her sentence drops off as her laughter takes over.
“I’ll just call you tomorrow. You sound busy. Bye,” I say, hanging up before she can object.
Something causes my insides to twist and turn, and I know what it is. Jealousy. I’m happy for my best friend. I really am. She deserved to find someone who loves her like Paxton does, but, at the same time, I’m a little sad that I don’t have that as well. I’ve never had a serious adult relationship. In fact, I’ve never had a serious relationship at all. The guys I’ve dated always seemed to have ulterior motives. They used me for a place to stay, to make their ex jealous, to get lucky, but never because they actually had feelings for me.
I take a deep breath and pray that something changes soon. I’m tired of being alone all the time. Maybe I should get a cat.
I dismiss the thought, knowing that I’m far too busy to have any kind of pet. I’m gone too much with on-location shoots. Maybe a fish wouldn’t miss me as much, but that’s also not much of a pet. I want something to hold, something warm, fuzzy, and cute. A sigh slips out, and I realize all I’m doing is depressing myself, so I get up and go wash my face for bed.
I slip beneath the covers, and I turn the light out. My eyes are wide open though and all I can do is stare at the green spot on my ceiling from the light on my bedside clock. I think about Evan and what it would be like to be with him. How it would feel to have his strong arms wrapped around me, how warm he would be, and how good he’d smell. Just from thinking about him has my head swimming all over again. It’s probably for the best that he doesn’t look at me like that. I’d never be able to breathe correctly again.
Sleep doesn’t find me easy. I toss and turn for what feels like hours before I finally drift off. Even asleep, I still feel like I’m somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. My dreams don’t feel like dreams, rather thoughts that have somehow gotten away from me, like I have no control over them anymore. I’m shocked awake when my alarm goes off. I sit up and shut up the horrible noise, but I feel like the dead. How am I supposed to get any work done today? I’ll need a long hot shower and a strong cup of coffee.
I shower and dress in a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved shirt. I have some breakfast and several cups of coffee as I get my things ready and loaded up into the car. Around eight, I make the drive over to the studio and pop the trunk, ready to unload everything, and hoping I can do it quietly. I guess I really should make two trips with everything I have to take in, but the more I have to walk by, the more I’m going to disturb him, and that goes against his number one rule. I do what I can to keep ahold of it all and head for the door. The wind picks up and blows my hair into my face. I try sliding it back, but it does little to no good. I reach the door and pull it open. I keep my back on the door as I slowly and quietly set everything inside, but a big gust of wind comes and blows the door shut. I scrunch down when I hear it echo through the building.
Chapter Ten
EVAN
It’s pushing eight A.M. and I’ve already been in the studio for hours, working on the newest project. It’s one of the largest to date for the visitor’s center. It’s a canvas that’s nearly as long as my studio, and I’m supposed to take the areal shot of the town and paint it on the canvas. It’s going to be a long project that’s going to require a lot of time and energy, but it’ll be worth it in the end because millions of eyes will be on it. I’m just about to take a break and get some coffee when the door opens and slams shut, pulling me from my concentration.
My back straightens as I turn around to see Lola walking in with her arms loaded down with equipment. Her face is wrinkled and her shoulders are pulled up as she says, “I’m so sorry. The wind caught it and my hands are full.”
I wave her off and walk over to take a few things from her. “It’s fine. I was just about to take a break anyway.” I take a few items and ask her where she wants to sit up.
She nods toward the back. “Will back there work?”
“That’ll be great.” I help her carry her things back to the empty section in the back and watch as she starts setting up.
“I’m going to take a break and get some coffee. You good here?”
She nods. “Yep, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. Lock up if you leave.”
“Will do,” she agrees, not paying me any attention, instead focusing on setting up her equipment.
I turn and walk away without another word. As I walk down to the bakery, I can’t help but think about how focused I was and how that was all so quickly shattered. I was about to stop anyway, but I wasn’t done yet. The moment that door slammed shut, it shattered every thought, every plan I had in my head. Now I have to start all over. I walk into the bakery and order a large coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Usually, I’d take the items back to the studio to eat. Doing that helps me get back into the right head space because then I can look at the canvas and see what it needs. I can examine it for any little mistake. I know that having Lola there will change the way I do things. Luckily, it’s only for two weeks.
I sit at a table and eat my breakfast and drink my coffee while reading over a morning paper that someone left behind on the table. It’s a nice little way to escape and to ignore the hustle and bustle around the bakery that’s always jam-packed first thing in the morning. I read up on the high school track team making nationals, the local farmer who’s sold his land to a big corporation and now has plans of moving to Hawaii to retire, and about the structure fire that was down on Cherry Street last week. The rest is mostly game scores, horoscopes, and the comics.
I fold the paper back up and push it to the side as I take the last sip of my coffee. I stand and throw my sandwich wrapper into the trash and move back to the register to get a refill to take with me.
The cashier smiles as I approach. “Refill?”
I smile and nod. “You know me too well.” I remove the top and hand over the cup.
She turns her back to me to refill the cup. “You’ve been coming in here every day for years. I think I got you figured out by now.” She places the cup on the counter in front of me.
“Thank you.”
She nods. “You’re welcome. See you for lunch?”
I laugh. “Don’t know yet. We’ll see.”
