Page 55 of Sweet Punk
KELLAN
The weekend has flown by. It’s already Sunday, and the art show opens in about ten minutes. I’m not exactly sure who received invitations to attend. Maybe other faculty members? We were allowed to invite people, of course, and once my friends found out, there was no way to keep them from showing up, both in support of me and of Ryleigh. The lot of them are waiting outside to be let in. To be honest, I’ll be glad when this part is over. This is not my thing. Creating the art, sure, but talking with total strangers about it, not so much.
Ryleigh gives me a reassuring smile as she pushes her glasses back up onto the bridge of her nose. “You’re fine. Your paintings are bomb ass. Everyone is going to love them.”
I inhale deeply through my nose, my lips drawn into a tight line. Finally, I let the air out in a rush, shaking my head at how ridiculous I’m being. This is what I do. This is what I’m at Shadow River for. “Yeah, you’re right. And yours are fuckin’ gorgeous, too. It’ll be fine.” Funny how I’m trying to convince myself of this as the words drop effortlessly from my mouth.
“Let’s get your mind off it. What’d you do this weekend? Gage told Matty that shit was still weird with that Milo guy.”
I roll my eyes. “That dick has balls, I tell ya.”
“Most dicks come with balls.” Ryleigh sputters with laughter. “Sorry, trying to lighten up the mood a little.”
I can’t help but snort a bit. “Ry, you slay me. I never expect the shit that comes out of your mouth.” When we finally stop snickering, I continue, “Yeah, so the guy’s been attending my speech class to… stalk me? Spy on me? I dunno. And he had the nerve to talk to me about his”—I throw up finger quotes—“‘girlfriend.’”
“Oh.” Ryleigh’s lips hold the O formation long after sound stops coming out. “What a crazy fucker.”
“Yeah. You can say that again. Star and I laid low all weekend because of it.”
“Well, that sucks.” Ryleigh wrinkles her nose at me, then lets her eyes scan the room. I guess it’s not just me who is a little on edge with all this talk.
“I mean, I’m not one who likes to go out a ton anyway, you know me, but I don’t like feeling like we have to fucking hide, if that makes sense.” But with the knowledge that both Star and I had Milo run-ins on Thursday, we thought it best not to poke the bear any more than we absolutely had to. We’d even gone as far as having food delivered so we never left the dorm until we had to for this event.
“Of course. And you can’t stay in the dorm forever. You have classes, and a life.”
I swing my arm out, gesturing to all the paintings. “Yeah, we knew it wouldn’t last because of this today. But it was nice to have a couple days of quiet.” I chuckle to myself. “I will say, though, the joke’s on him because the two of us needed the time alone together to continue to work through a few things.”
“Was I right?” Ryleigh arches a brow. “About being honest with her and taking things slow?”
I let a breath hiss from between my lips as I consider how to answer. Finally, I nod. “Yeah. We had quite the conversation on Friday. Really got shit out into the open.” I glance around to see who’s within earshot. “She, uh, she’s helped me with some of those issues I hinted at having. I mean, they’re still there… but we kinda have a way of handling it that works for us.”
“Aw. Well, I’m super happy for both of you, then.” She grins, pointing toward the entrance. “Speaking of. Here she comes, along with everyone else.” Ryleigh hurries over to Matty, who scoops her up and spins her around before they head over to her pieces so he can see the finished products. She hadn’t let him see any of it throughout the entire process, so it’ll be an eye-opener for him to see what Ryleigh’s been working on.
I scan the crowd until I see Star coming toward me, flanked by Lux and Raven, with Maddox and Hawk trailing behind them. The guys each lift a hand to wave. They totally know this isn’t my scene. Hell, it’s not their scene either, but they’re here to support me, because that’s what we do. I nod back at them with a small smile, then I have to focus on the girl in front of me because she’s standing there hesitantly. It dawns on me that she’s waiting for my go-ahead. I can’t stop the wide smile that stretches my cheeks as I hold out my arms for her.
Star practically melts into me, putting her arms around my torso to give me a squeeze, while looking up at me with beaming eyes. “This is amazing. I’m so fucking proud of you, Kellan.” She points at the paintings then glances back at our friends who have gathered around us in a semicircle. “Look, aren’t they beautiful?”
Everyone takes a few minutes to study each piece, while Star and I stand to the side. She looks up at me with a soft smile. “I really love them. What happens to them after the show?”
“I don’t know the answer to that. I know we keep a portfolio of work. I’m sure I’ll be able to get my hands on them someday. Probably when I graduate.”
She gives me a bright smile. “Don’t get rid of them. Please. I mean… if you don’t want them.”
I catch her chin with my fingers. “Are you trying to tell me you’d like to have them?”
She chews on the side of her lip for a second, then nods. “I would. They mean a lot to me.”
“We’ll keep them, then.” I don’t know if she understands the subtle undertone of my words. But that’s how much she means to me. She’s my person. She’s got my heart locked away inside her chest. It’s hers.
She nuzzles against my side and sighs. “I’d like that. A lot.”
“Kellan.” The deep boom of my father’s voice hits me square in the chest, and my body goes rigid.
Beside me, Star also stiffens. “Is that your dad?”
I huff out a breath as I watch the man who will never be anything more than a sperm donor to me walk in my direction. “Fuck,” I grit out under my breath.
My father stops in front of our group, his eyes flicking to the paintings behind us and back to me. He ignores everyone, his gaze locking on me, a grim set to his jaw. “Seems like we may need to have a discussion, son.”
