Page 13 of Love Off-Limits
Tyler
After Isaac’s wedding, my life fit into two distinct parts.
Before Olivia. After Olivia.
I understood well enough why she resisted the idea of a long-distance relationship. It wasn’t my ideal either, and neither of us was in a position to move. Especially not after having only spent one night together. I liked her, but I wasn’t crazy enough to uproot myself from my hometown, an incredible support network of friends and family, and a job that paid me more than any other job I could find doing what I did.
Leaving Charleston would be foolish. Rash. Completely irresponsible.
And yet. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head.
“What’s wrong with you?” Darcy said, nudging me with her elbow. We were waiting in line at Jeni’s Ice Cream, killing time until a show opening at a local gallery—the debut of one of Darcy’s artist friends.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I said for what felt like the ten-thousandth time, not that Darcy would believe me. We were too close for her to ignore my off moods. And I’d been in an off mood since Olivia had left.
Except it was more than that. I wasn’t just obsessing over a woman, though Olivia was definitely worthy of obsession. It was more like she represented the idea of...possibility. Of something new. Something different from what I’d always known.
We moved forward in the line, the smell of the waffle cones drifting toward us through the open door.
“You’re thinking about her again, aren’t you?” Darcy said knowingly.
I rolled my eyes. “No, actually. I’m not.” It was the truth. Mostly.
I’d told Darcy all about Olivia. I hadn’t told her I was thinking about leavingRandom I.
Because I wasn’t.Couldn’t.
“You can talk to me, you know,” Darcy said as she studied the Jeni’s menu that was taped to the front window. “About anything. Not just women.”
“Let’s talk about you,” I said. “How’s business?”
She heaved a sigh. “Flower business is slow. But my tours are staying booked a couple weeks in advance, so I can’t complain.”
“Dating anyone?”
“I’ve actually surveyed every single man in all of Charleston and deemed them all unfit, so no. Not dating.”
“Must have been some survey.”
“I’m very thorough.”
“Whose show are we going to tonight?”
“Katherine Avery,” she answered. “Do you remember her? She was my roommate a while back.”
“Did she move out because you snore?”
Darcy glared at me. “I don’t snore. She moved out because she got married.”
I grinned. “You do snore.”
“Anyway,” Darcy said pointedly, “her show is called Life in Motion. It’s video art.”
I paused. “Video art?”
“Yeah. Short clips. Compilations. I didn’t fully understand when she explained it to me, but she says it’ll be clear once we get there. It should totally be your thing, right? Since it’s video?”
Video art.A twinge of something tugged at my chest. I liked what I did atRandom I.But there was only so much creativity required. Any reminder that there was more out there only fueled my unease.
