“Did you just get here?” I asked, internally begging the force to set my eyes free.
“No, I’ve been here for about an hour,” Darren pointed at the painting that drew me in, “You like this one?”
“Yea. It’s nice,” I forced myself to turn my back to him, begging for the art trance to return. “I mean all of the pieces are great, but this one stands out. I feel a connection to it.”
Along with the painting’s connection, I felt him move closer behind me. His scent commanded my attention. I closed my eyes and inhaled the small portion of the charming aura. Thoughts of him putting his hands on my waist came to mind. Then, he kissed me on the neck. Whispering words of romance and small jokes to make me smile.
“I think he’s selling this one. You should buy it.” He recommended with a faint tone.
I didn’t need advice on buying art. Darren’s hands and lips on me would have been better. To hell with the painting, I could pull it up on the internet if I wanted to look at it. Since I wasn’t going to get the touch of my crush, I breathed deeply and engaged in small talk.
I pointed to the price conveniently located on the information card. “Um, $6,000. I can’t afford to admire that every day. I’ll just keep it in my memory. And it’s a she. The artist’s name is Natalie Speers.”
“Ah, I see,” he moved from behind to stand next to me.
My body weakened from his movement, wafting the scent my way. We gazed at the artwork, then he turned to face me. I didn’t move, thinking it would be safer to enjoy him from a side view.
“Have you seen the other sculptures in the back?”
I shook my head hastily, with my view remaining solely on the painting. “Uhh, no I hadn’t made my way back there yet.”
He tapped my elbow with the same two fingers he held up at the restaurant. The same fingers I wanted inside of me. “Come on. I think there’s a lot of pieces you’d like.”
Since he tapped me, I had to face him. Another slow turn towards his direction. That time, I didn’t think of erasing the goofy smile. “Lead the way, sir.”
I followed him to the back where there were only five other people in the room. Even though we weren’t completely alone, it seemed as though we were. He pointed out sculptures he liked which turned out to be the same ones that I liked. I never met a man that was into art as much as I was.
“This one is major!” Darren pointed to the three-dimensional model with abnormal features. “It’s abstract yet...”
“Structured with a message,” I chimed in, staring at the side of his face. “Like a 3-D version of a Basquiat.”
He turned to me in amazement. “Yes! I was trying to find a parallel. But you summed it up just right, Jenn.”
I felt like I had a superpower that read his mind. Our art talk was effortless, with no awkward silence at all.
By 10 pm, the showcase was coming to a close. The host thanked everyone and directed us to the area where attendees with big wallets could make purchases.
Darren motioned me to walk with him to buy something. I followed, but kept my distance while he handled his business. I was afraid of people thinking we were together. Hearing him correct insinuations with the words “Oh, we’re just coworkers” would have sunk my soul...again.
“Why are you standing back here? Thought you got lost.” He chuckled finding me in the corner of the small room and placed a receipt in his pocket.
“Just wanted to be out of the way,” I replied awkwardly.
He squinted his eyes and blew out a laugh breath. “Need a ride home?”
“Okay,” I replied softly, accompanied by a big smile.
We walked outside and Darren handed a ticket to the valet. The sky was clear and illuminated by the moonlight, displaying a storybook evening. I wondered how his wife would feel about him giving a young woman a ride home after spending the past hour and a half with her at an art show.
“What did you buy?” I asked, assuming it was something for his wife.
“A painting,” he replied, then licked his lips. “I had my eye on one of the sculptures but it wasn’t worth twenty-thousand bucks.”
Bucks, another deep dimpled word. I wanted him to repeat it so I could gander at them more.
“That’s the only thing about great art,” I fiddled with my purse. “It’s expensive.”
“It is,” he nodded, then made a face as if a bright idea came into his head. “Have you tried creating your own? I’d support it if you did.”
Supportive and sexy. A deadly combination for me to be standing near the unavailable man. I grinned at the idea, appreciative that he entertained the thought of being my first customer.
“No, I just like to admire it. Thought about it back in college, but I don’t have the patience for it.” My eyes teasingly danced up and down his suit as he tuned into my answer.
Strangely, he didn’t reject the modest flirt. Almost as if he wanted it. Darren caught on to where my eyes moved on his body and blushed. A tiny geeky laughed crept out of his mouth, signaling me to stop.
I quickly switched back to coworker mode as I continued. “So how did you hear about the show anyway?”
The blushing slithered off his face, taking the smile and dimples with it. He followed my lead and switched back into coworker mode as well.
“An old colleague of mine gave me the flyer. I was hoping you got to it before Miss Alice did.” Darren pulled out his phone to check the time, then quickly put it away to look at me.
Our eyes stayed on each other, innocently, as the car came around. He did the gentleman duty of opening my door instead of allowing the valet to do so. It was a quick ride home. We didn’t get to say much; just listened to music and laughed about random people on the street. That time, he didn’t drop me off at the front of my building. He parked the Porsche in the visitor’s area, which left me baffled.
“Since it’s late I’ll walk you to the door to make sure you get in safely,” he turned off the engine.
“Oh,” A nervous laugh snuck out. “Thanks, but you don’t have to. We have security at the front desk.”
He sighed with a half-smile, “I insist.”
I exited the car and waited for him. Then, I suddenly noticed how his eyes flustered while looking at me that night. The possibilities of Darren equally admiring me deemed to have been coming true from that notion. A short fantasy arose while he fiddled with whatever caught his attention in the console. I didn’t mind, I needed time to myself to dream up a good fantasy scenario.
However, before it began, he suddenly appeared on the passenger side and motioned for me to lead the way into the building.
“I think they do art classes at that place we just left. Maybe something to do for a date night.” He entered the automatic doors behind me.
“Date night?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
I didn’t know if he suggested a date between us or if it was his way of determining whether or not I was dating around.
Open marriage possibly? I wondered. It’s not uncommon in this day and age.
“Yea, with you and your boyfriend,” Darren replied nonchalantly.
Upon his response, I was glad that the fantasy didn’t play out in my head. I got way too ahead of myself. He wasn’t equally interested at all.
“I’ll have to look into that,” I nodded.
Inside the elevator, silence came. He pulled out his phone to check messages and answered a few texts. Making myself scarce, I teased the walls with my fingers to take my mind away.
“Are you doing another movie tonight?” Darren asked, clicking on his phone keyboard.
“No, I think I’ll call it a night,” I said softly.
“I think I’m done for the night too,” he yawned, placing the phone back into his pocket. “I need to get up early tomorrow to do some yard work.”
The ride to the sixth floor seemed longer than ever. I felt his eyes move away as he leaned down to straighten his pants leg over the expensive shoe. My peripheral vi
sion stayed on him, but I didn’t want him to catch me flirting again. I felt embarrassed about letting my guard down earlier. Especially since he thought I had a boyfriend.
As the elevator doors opened, he waited for me to walk out first. While I dug through my purse to find keys, I caught him staring at my door as if he was trying to remember the numbers glued above the peephole.
“Well, thanks again for the ride AND suggesting the show tonight. It was a lot of fun,” I unlocked the door.
“No problem. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Have a good night, Jenn,” he smiled, standing in the hallway with his hands in his pocket, as I walked in.
“Good night,” I waved to him right before closing the door.
I quickly pressed my face against the peephole to get one last glimpse. He took his phone out of his pocket, scratched his head, and walked away. After he was no longer in sight, I turned around to lean my back against the door. I let out a big sigh then went to get ready for bed.
Usually, I would call friends to fill them in on a night out with a guy. But it wasn’t a night out nor a date. We ran into each other at an art show. Well, an art show he told me about. Then, he drove me home and walked me to the door. No hug, no kiss goodnight. However, a gnawing feeling said the night wasn’t very casual.
“What tha hell am I thinking?” I stared in the bathroom mirror. “He’s not yours, Jenn. Just go to bed.”
That night, I dreamt of Darren. We were alone making pottery. His hands soothed me, planted on top of mine molding clay. Our energies connected constructing the masterpiece. His breath against my ear felt like silk as he whispered instructions while moving my fingers along with his. With hands still molding, I tilted my head around to meet his lips. Our kiss lasted a long time and the tip of our tongues touched in between sensual pecks.
“I love this,” his deep voice said in my ear. “We should do this more often.”
“We should,” I replied in a seductive tone. “Kiss me...”
Chapter 5: Harmless Attraction?
A fire truck zooming down the street woke me up from the dream. That was the only drawback of living downtown. Countless calls to the fire department. Annoyed that my dream ceased abruptly, I walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. After gulping down Atlanta’s finest straight from the faucet, I stood in the dark thinking.
I couldn’t figure out why, of all people, Darren would hang out with me at the art show. He could have acknowledged me and went on his way. But he stuck around to check out sculptures, showed interest in my thoughts and shared his. On the other hand, he didn’t make advances towards me and assumed I had a boyfriend.
HE HAS A WIFE YOU IDIOT! A strong voice of reason emerged while analyzing.
I headed back to bed, realizing no matter how much I tried to rationalize our run-ins, I needed to wake up from wishful thinking.
Back at work, Monday morning. The night before I registered for classes for the upcoming quarter. I had four weeks until the first day of school so there was enough time to prepare myself for balancing work and school. Part of me wanted to share my progress with Darren but, I convinced myself to leave him be. I had to work harder at getting him off my mind.
“Hi Jenn, do you want to have lunch with us?” Miss Alice snuck up behind me as I worked.
“Awe, no thanks. I’m having a late lunch today. Working on a big project.” I lied, pulling up an old task list to play the role.
“Oh noooo,” she placed her hand on my shoulder. “We wanted you to join us. But I understand.”
“Maybe some other time, Miss Alice. Thanks again for the invite.”
She walked away, disappointed. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I wasn’t in the mood for lunch with people I barely knew. I’m not the type to get chummy with coworkers. I don’t do the non-work related team lunches and the employee happy hours. It all seemed fake. Forced conversations with people hiding who they truly were due to the fear of judgment spilling over to the office. Darren was the only colleague I’d ever had a genuine connection with.
Later that day, as I left for lunch, the team led by Miss Alice returned. I heard talks of how they wish I came, how the new place they tried had the best food...blah, blah, blah. I smiled, nodded, and pushed through the crowd of overly excited employees. I pressed the elevator button repeatedly, praying for it to come quickly. The doors opened and Darren stood in the corner, talking on the phone. Engaged in what seemed like a heated conversation.
“Look, I’ll have to deal with it later. I can’t do this right now...” he glanced at me entering the elevator, then lowered his voice. “Cheryl, let’s talk later... Well, at least wait until I’m out of the office... Cheryl, please!... I’ll call you back!”
I inched towards the front of the small space, pretending to be busy with my wallet. Darren was just as fascinating while angry. I wondered which words made the dimples appear, wishing I could see for myself.
Soon after ending the call, he tapped me on the shoulder. “Jenn, are you on your way to lunch?”
“Yea, the usual Monday burger run.” Assuming it was safe to turn around, I faced him. “Do you want to come?”
Before I knew it, an invite to lunch was extended. It wasn’t my intention, but the idea of easing a friend’s mind over a burger seemed natural. Plus, I felt sorry for the dude in the aftermath of a deep debate with Cheryl.
I then reflected on the name. Who in the hell is Cheryl? Is that the wife? And what were they arguing about?
“That sounds good. Hell, I need a break.” He shoved the phone into his pocket, “How’s your day going?”
“Pretty good. This project is kicking my butt but, that’s work.” I shrugged.
The elevator reached the first floor and Darren led the way out. His demeanor was uneasy and distracted, frequently flexing fingers at his side.
“Are you okay?” I pried, pointing to the finger flexing.
Darren followed my eyes to his hands and laughed faintly. “Yea, yea...well...not really...”
“Work stuff huh?” I tried to keep up the act of being unaware of the phone argument. “Nothing like a Monday burger to get your mind off the office.”
At first, he looked at me, wanting to spill his guts about the phone call. Instead, he smiled.
I led the conversation as we walked to the burger joint. However, judging by foggy expressions, he wasn’t engaged at all. Although Darren didn’t give a damn about what I said, I made it a point to cheer him up. He saved me with a shiny black Porsche, it was my way of returning the favor. At least, that’s what I told myself.
“Did your painting come in yet?” I sat at a booth by the window.
Darren shuffled in his pocket to remove the phone, then tossed it on the table. “No, not yet. It’ll come in about a week.”
“Good. You have to take a picture so I can see it,” I said excitedly, with a goofy grin. “Oh, yea! I registered for school. I start in four weeks.”
“Good for you,” he replied, sitting down and giving me a smile that faded as quickly as it came. “I’m glad you did.”
The somber disposition crushed my attempts. I should’ve known better than to rush in like Superwoman to lift his spirits. Fed up, I waved for a waitress to take our orders.
Lunch was quiet for the most part. I viewed random things outside, while he ate and periodically checked his phone. That was yet another sign to leave Darren McCray out of my mind. How many times can a girl get rejected?
“This was a mistake.” Before I knew it, I had mumbled my thoughts aloud. Embarrassed, I kept my eyes down, picking at fries.
Darren sighed to himself and I suddenly felt his stare. “Sorry, I’m being rude.”
I raised my head in astonishment. I was talking shit on the other side of the table and he apologized to me. Although he WAS being rude.
“I’m having a rough day and...”
“Say no more,” I smiled, holding up my hand. “It’s fine.”
Although curious about the elevato
r argument, I realized during our silence that I didn’t want to hear complaints about the wife. Frankly, I didn’t want to hear him speak of her at all. The word “wife” seeping through his lips was a constant blow to my fantasies. Also, we weren’t close friends, so his marriage problems were none of my business.
“School in four weeks. You should take a vacation before you start,” Darren suggested, forcing an upbeat tone in his voice.
“I thought about that. But I don’t know,” I shrugged, pushing the half-empty plate to the side. “My close friends are in Boston, and I haven’t seen them in a while.”
“There you go! Book a trip to Boston and visit your friends. I’m sure they would love to see you.” He blinked slowly. As his eyes re-opened, a new light shone through as if the blink was a reset button for his mood. “You’re good company.”
“Thanks. I’ll think about it.” I blushed at the compliment, flirting with my eyes. I couldn’t help but give a little eye tease by the way he studied my face. Darren’s soft stare conveyed that it was okay to activate the harmless razz.
“Heard that before,” he let out a genuine laugh, then wiped his mouth with a small napkin. “Two weeks from now you’ll be messaging that you’re on your way to Boston.”
I giggled at the insinuation, crossing my legs and leaning my shoulder against the thick window pane. “Right, because I always take your advice.”
We endured a refreshing walk back to the office. I knew I had something to do with his mood improving. Thinking of my efforts in being Darren’s “Lunchtime Superwoman”, I felt better about inviting him out for a burger.
However, the mini celebration came to a halt as he held the door open for me. I noticed a Black Zirconium band on his ring finger. That was the first time I paid attention to it. Another sign to ensure that nothing but random lunches would come of me and Darren.
He immediately caught on to my face sinking to the floor, moving to use his back to hold the door open. “What’s the matter, Jenn? Did you leave something at the restaurant?”
The Perfect Sin Page 6