“I’m afraid my career hasn’t done as well as yours,” Sasha said as she pointed out the Astor Place Theatre, where the Blue Man Group was performing.
Brandon acknowledged the venue but kept the conversation focused on Sasha. She’d always seemed to know exactly what she wanted in college. “Tell me about it.” He wanted to know everything. He wanted to soak up as much as he could about her in the short time they had together.
“After college, I decided to take a year off to find myself.”
“Where did you go?”
“I traveled to Europe, mostly, with stops in London, Paris, Barcelona, Vienna, and Germany. I pretty much stayed in youth hostels to keep my costs down. I hooked up with wannabe artists, actors, and musicians all in search of a dream. It was all very grand. Looking back, I don’t regret it. I learned a lot while I was there about art - about structure and contrast and proportion that I hadn’t learned in class. I think it made me a better artist.”
Wouldn’t you know it? When she stopped talking, they paused in front of a tan-brick building, which just so happened to be an art gallery as evidenced by the floor-to-ceiling exterior windows.
“Wanna go in?” Sasha asked, her eyes alight with merriment.
If it would bring that megawatt smile to her face, Brandon would go anywhere. “Let’s do it.”
Inside, they paid a small fee, then began to roam. The gallery was white, bright with lots of natural light, and had tall ceilings and a maze of twists and turns. Sasha took the lead, pointing out different pieces.
“What happened when you got back from Europe?” Brandon asked, continuing where they left off in the conversation.
“I worked at some galleries and painted in my spare time, but it was hard to get my footing in a place where everyone is aspiring to make it big. I felt like a small fish in a very large pond.”
“I know the feeling,” Brandon said. “I thought I was going to write the great American novel and found myself instead with a slew of rejection letters from publishing houses.” He paused to stop in front of a revealing portrait. “This is intriguing, right? You wonder what she was really thinking.”
Sasha nodded beside him. “The artist captured a moment in time, and I love the blends of color and textures.”
“One day one of your pieces could be up here.”
Sasha shrugged and began moving away. Clearly, he’d said the wrong thing. Brandon stepped quickly to fall back in line with her as she perused the paintings. Eventually, she spoke after a prolonged silence. “Not every artist is meant to have a showing.”
“Don’t tell me you’re giving up.”
She stopped and turned to him. “I’m being realistic, Brandon. I’ve been at this for over a decade, and I’m no better than when I started. Except when I was in my twenties, everything seemed possible and now I know otherwise.”
“You’ve never been a cynic,” Brandon said. The girl he remembered was an idealistic dreamer.
“And I doubt you’ve ever wondered how you were going to pay next month’s rent,” Sasha quipped.
She had a point. Although he hadn’t lived hand to mouth, his former job, a minimal yet stable position as a lifestyle reporter for a small newspaper, had allowed him to have a roof over his head and food on the table, albeit not in the finest area of Los Angeles.
“You’re right, and I’m sorry if I offended you. That wasn’t my intent. I wanted to encourage you.”
Sasha turned to him, and he was relieved not to see anger lurking in her brown depths.
“Ah, there’s the Brandon I’ve missed.” She leaned against a wall and regarded him. “You’ve always had a way of calming me and putting me at ease even when I was a complete and utter disaster.”
“Oh, that’s not true.”
“Ha.” She laughed without mirth. “C’mon, you can’t forget when I was living with that part-time rock singer who had me doing his papers for him and when I refused to do them anymore, he kicked me out. You graciously allowed me to sleep in your bed until I could find another apartment.”
“It was no trouble at all.” And it hadn’t been. Those few weeks were some of the best times of Brandon’s life – laughing, talking, watching stupid, funny movies, and making tuna fish and Hamburger Helper into a grand meal.
“Yeah, well. I’ve never forgotten your act of kindness.”
“I wish I could say my motives were purely altruistic.”
Her eyes grew large with bewilderment. “Really? Do tell.”
Brandon gazed at her as she leaned against the wall. Their eyes caught and held. He became aware of something pulling tight and humming within him. He stepped toward her, his body trapping hers. They stood like that, bodies melded, breath mingling, eyes locked. “You know why, Sasha. I wanted you for myself, but you were always too busy with other men to notice.”
“I’m noticing now.” She bit down on her lower lip like Brandon would like to do with his own teeth.
His brow quirked, and then he saw something shift in her bewitching brown eyes. It was subtle, but he sensed she wanted him to kiss her and he would have, but the owner of the gallery was walking toward them. “Hey, lovebirds, we’ll be closing in a few minutes. I’m sure you’re as eager as I am to get your New Year’s Eve started.”
Oh, I’m eager, Brandon thought. Eager to have Sasha in my bed.
Sasha couldn’t help but feel the heat coming off Brandon. Her body had craved it, and she wished they hadn’t been interrupted so she could see if he could really kiss.
She used to think he was good-looking in a bookish sort of way, but Brandon had matured into a grown-ass man who knew how to treat a lady as evidenced by the way his hand moved to the small of her back to guide her out of the gallery and the way he instantly took hold of her hand once they were outside in the cool Manhattan evening air.
The sun had long since set while they were perusing art, which meant some of the dinner spots would be getting busy if they didn’t get a move on.
“What are you in the mood for?” she asked and felt herself blush as she realized that her choice of words might sound like an open invitation.
Brandon laughed, and Sasha sighed with relief. “If you’re talking about dinner, I’m game for whatever you have in mind.”
And if I’m not talking about dinner? Sasha thought, then berated herself. Stop it. Stop it, Sasha.
She reminded herself that Brandon was in town for just one night and that getting entangled with him would change the dynamic of their relationship. Still, that didn’t stop her sex from clenching at the notion of getting to know him in the biblical sense in every way imaginable.