Page 2 of Seductive Desires

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Who, exactly?”

He rolled his lips between his teeth, his answer only mumbles.

“Carlos De La Rosa, I swear if you don’t tell me right now…”

He sighed, his shoulders dropping. “Pablo.”

I froze. Pablo Garcia was a pervert who has told me more than once he wanted me to marry him and give him babies. Even his name made me shudder.

“Nope.”

“Oh, come on, Mari! It’s a big offer and it could really help the studio. You know I’ve been wanting to move to a bigger space.” He pouted at me.

The studio we were working out of now was really small. It fit maybe ten pieces at a time, if they were small. From the outside, it looked more like a house than an art studio. It was a small brick building with a big bay window in the front. The stoop was cracked, the front door’s paint was worn and the floors squeaked when you walked on them. If Carlos wanted to have a showing here, he had to let only a certain number of people in at a time because the show room was once the living room and dining room before Carlos remodeled this place. He used the upstairs to paint, the bathroom was tucked on the other side of the unused kitchen and that was it. We had both been saving for months to get him a new space but it would go a lot quicker if he got bigger clients. The Spring Gala was a huge win for a new artist to be featured there.

I couldn’t help but whine. “Do I have to?”

“No. But it would mean a lot to me. We need this, Mari. This may be the big break we had been hoping for.”

I dropped my head, defeated. I had been by his side for every step of the journey. Being a latino artist in Chicago wasn’t as lucrative as one might think so we both worked part time jobs to help him with his dream. Once he finally started pulling in enough to get his studio, he put me on the payroll and I’ve been working for him ever since, trying to get him the life he deserves. The man is a saint, he should get to live out his dreams.

“Fine. But I’m taking the truffles.”

He threw his arms around me, hugging me tightly. “Gracias!”

“Ease back, you’re killing me.” Carlos may look thin but he was all muscles. Andrew was big into healthy living so he kept them both in the gym and eating well. I joined them for self defense classes and barely kept up. So I’m not an athlete. Sue me.

I spentthe rest of the evening pouting. The studio didn’t get many walk-ins, especially when it was raining like today. I sat on the kitchen counter, kicking my legs and trying to resist eating all the truffles at once. Carlos wanted me to walk home with him. He may be strong, but he was jumpy walking home in the dark. Usually Andrew came to walk with him but he was working late, so I volunteered to stay.

“Have you told your mom about the Spring Gala?”

I could hear his snort from the front room. He was shutting off all the gallery lights, intent on getting out of here before it got any darker. “You know I haven’t.”

“She asks about you, you know. She did say she was sorry.” His mother didn’t handle his coming out very well. She was very religious and apparently she didn’t see it coming. I knew before he ever told me, but hey I wasn’t a mother.

They haven’t spoken in months. She came around to the idea eventually but the damage was done. I couldn’t blame him. I had my own family issues.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, what are you wearing to the gala? You can’t wear what you wear to showings you know. It’s a fancy event.”

I growled. “I don’t know. You kinda just sprung this on me.”

He poked his head around the corner. “You know what, you’re right. Let me take you shopping tomorrow. We’ll make a day of it. It’s the least I can do.”

“Isn't it your anniversary this weekend? Shouldn’t you be prepping for that?”

He waved a hand dismissively. “He said he didn’t want to do anything, it’s fine.”

I snorted, trying to hold in my laughter but it only lasted maybe half a minute before I burst into giggles. He frowned at me.

“What’s so funny?”

“The fact that you believed him! You are so screwed.”

Carlos pursed his lips, waiting for my chuckles to die down. When I finally wiped the tears from my eyes, he raised an eyebrow at me.”

“Oh, come on, Carlos. He’s just saying that because he doesn’t want to pressure you. He wants you to go all out. He’s a romantic!”

His face paled. “You aren’t serious, are you?”

---