Page 78 of Totally Played
“Me, too. So tell me, how did you meet Ash?”
“How much time do you have? It’s a pretty funny story, actually.”
“Great, I love a good story,” she says, sitting beside me, and I tell her all about the amazing man who changed my life.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ashley
Calvin is gone for twenty minutes when I finally peel myself away from Red and the prospective investors. They listened to the info on the tech, but in the end, they didn’t think it was a suitable time for them to invest in anything, having just expanded into Europe themselves. Like, why let me go on about it all then? Just say you’re not interested and let me go find my man already. But I don’t because while they might not be interested now, they might be later. I follow the path through the gallery rooms, finally spotting him sitting with an older woman with gray hair in front of what he said was one of his favorite pieces. When we walked around the first time, he had us loop back past just so he could see it again. It’s nice. It has some cool lines and textures to it. It’s not something I would normally gravitate to, but I love the way it makes him smile. I’d buy it for that alone. But most of the art in this place costs more than my apartment building. Maybe I can get him a framed print.
I hear them talking as I move closer.
“And you just knew?” she says, and he nods.
“Yeah. It was like there was an energy about him that drew me in. I’d never felt anything like it, and even though I had no idea what it meant, I just knew I didn’t want to let it go.”
“So what do you do?” she asks.
“I play baseball in the Banana Ball league.”
“And Ash?”
“He works at this amazing tech company,” Calvin begins, and I stop and listen to him explain all about the sensors, the tech behind them, the impact on the farms, the animals, all of the numbers. He knows it all. He’s remembered everything I’ve said about the trails, about my trip to the farm, and he connects it all together into this amazing story. To hear him talk, you would think I was single-handedly responsible for the success of Red Tech.
He glances back and spots me.
“Oh, Ash, hey, sorry, we got caught up,” he says, standing.
“It’s no problem. I thought I’d find you at your favorite piece,” I say, and he blushes.
“Umm, Ash, this is…, sorry I don’t think I got your name,” he says, turning to the woman. She stands and turns toward me, offering a soft smile.
“Lynette.”
“Oh, nice. My mom’s name is Lyn. Lynette’s brother painted this,” he says, turning back to the artwork, and it brings the same instant smile it did when he first laid eyes on it.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she says. “It was lovely meeting you both. I should probably be getting back.”
“Yes, sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you,” Calvin says, but she chuckles and shakes her head.
“It was the joy of my night, dear. Have a good evening,” she says, kissing him on the cheek and leaving us.
“She was sweet,” I say, and Calvin hugs my side.
“She really was. I told her why I like this painting so much.”
“Why’s that?”
“It makes me feel seen, like how you do.”
I want to tell him I heard what he said. That I heard how he raved about me, and my work, and my love of this company, and what it is trying to do. I want to tell him how amazing it feels to see myself through his eyes.
“I feel seen by you, too,” I say instead, but what I really want to say. The words my heart is screaming are, I love you.
***
