Page 78 of Fresh Canvas
“I’m just tired,” I lied.
“So that’s how you wanna play it?” She shook her long sheet of black hair and folded her arms over her vibrant red blouse, scattered with bright orange poppies. “You—” She frowned. “Wait. What is that on your neck?”
My stomach lurched as Kate peeled a forgotten puke-green paint chip from the skin right below my ponytail. Clapping a hand to the back of my neck, I cursed.
I was going to leave a one-star review for Death By Paintball as soon as possible. My skin nearly felt like it had been bleeding after I scrubbed all the paint off in the shower last night.
Or so I had thought.
“That’s so weird, it’s the same color…” Kate trailed off, shaking her head as if she was being silly. “I mean, why would you be painting with...”
The blood drained from her face as I felt mine flush hotter than a thousand suns. Eyes widening in abject horror, Kate flapped her mouth like a dying fish.
“It’s not what you think.” I flew from my seat as Kate’s hair whipped to Val’s office and back.
“You and?—”
I clamped my hand firmly over Kate’s mouth as I swept the office for witnesses.
“Russo?” Her whisper escaped through my fingers. “Why in the world were you painting with Val? And why is his paint on yourneck?!”
“We’re leaving.” Firmly grasping my friend’s shoulders, I steered her out of the curation wing and onto The Spiral. I didn’t dare stop until Kate’s escalating questions were masked by the clamor of the cafeteria.
Practically shoving her into our usual booth, I said, “It’s not what you think.”
“Is he blackmailing you? Are you in danger? Blink twice if you’re in danger.”
I held my eyes big and unblinking.
“Well then what is going on?” Kate slapped the tabletop infrustration. “Why would you two be spending time together outside of work? You don’t evenlikethe guy.”
I swept a lock of hair behind my ear, the heat in my cheeks scalding.
“No,” she whispered. Horror morphed to seething anger in a millisecond. “Amantha, are you serious? You are way too good for that prick! I literally know of an ex-con that would be better for you than Val Russo.”
“Oh, jeez.” I chuckled. “Kate, I know how crazy it sounds, and it still doesn’t make complete sense to me either. Things… I don’t know. Changed?”
“Changed how?!”
I tried to find the words to explain the relationship I still didn’t fully understand myself.
“Val’s more complicated than we thought. Or maybe complex is a better word. At the gala—” I stopped short, fiddling with the hem of my pale blue blazer. Telling Kate about the forged painting could only implicate her. Guilt twisted my insides as I opened my mouth and lied. “He asked me out.”
Kate scooped her jaw off the floor. “And you said yes?”
“I did. He said he wanted to... explain why he’d been so rude.”
“What in the world could he have said to get you drooling over him two days later?”
I bit my lip. “Some things aren’t mine to tell, but once I understood, none of it mattered anymore.”
“Twodays, Amantha!Two! And why didn’t you tell me any of this?” It was only because I knew Kate so well that I saw a sense of hurt under her fierceness. I reached out, settling my hand on her slender arm.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Kate. To be honest, it all happened so fast. Or slow? I’m not really sure.” I released a thin stream of breath from the corner of my mouth. “I just didn’t want to tell anyone until I knew how I really felt.”
Kate nodded. “See? Now that makes sense… But how do you really feel?”
Val’s handsome face and beautiful soul filled my heart.
