by Claire Adams
“Hello,” I said as I held the phone up to my face.
I had never Skyped anyone and wasn’t even sure why I had the app on my phone. Probably something Rebecca thought I needed. When I bought my phone she had made sure to install every possible application she thought I would want to use.
“Hey, I promised to do better. So here I am,” Chris said.
He was wearing a t-shirt and looked very casual in a hotel room. I couldn’t help but smile at the effort he was making to stay in touch. I also couldn’t help but wish I was in that hotel room with him. I bit my lip as thoughts of him naked rushed through my mind. His smoldering brown eyes looked at me as if I was the only woman in the world. It felt good, but it felt like he could tell exactly what I was thinking.
“Where are you?”
“Chicago.”
“Doing anything fun?” I didn’t want to come out and ask exactly what he did for work or why he was in Chicago, but I desperately wanted to know.
“Nope. How about you? That’s a sexy top, let me see it.”
I was out in my garage and wearing a torn up old t-shirt. I had gotten it while visiting Paris and it always gave me inspiration. I set my phone on the table in my garage and took a few steps back.
“It’s nothing but a rag,” I said.
“Yes, it’s horrible. Take it off.” Chris leaned closer to his camera and smiled.
I lifted my t-shirt up over my head and threw it to the other corner of the garage. Chris’ jaw instantly dropped. His eye widened like he hadn’t really expected me to do it. Come to think of it, I didn’t think I would either. Slowly I moved back toward the camera and let my fingers play with one of my nipples. I moved in nice and close so Chris could see what I was doing. He still had not said a single thing since I took my shirt off.
“Mmmm, I wish your lips were right here,” I said as I let my finger circle around my hard nipple.
“You don’t know how bad I wish my lips were there too.”
“Show me,” I said.
It was fun to play this game. Chris could only see my breasts at the moment and couldn’t see my face. It gave me a weird sense of confidence that I had never really felt before. I certainly would not have felt this confident if I was standing right in front of him.
“Oh you can’t handle seeing this,” Chris said in his usual cocky tone.
“You’re right. I better just get dressed and get back to my displays.”
I looked at the screen and there he was, sitting in some hotel room chair with his cock out in his hand. The camera watched as his hand slid up and down the shaft and I got wet just seeing him.
“When will you be back?” I asked as I picked the camera up and moved it to my face. I bit my lip slightly and licked my lips at the thought of feeling him inside of me again soon.
“I’ll be there for your art show. I promise.”
Chris moved the camera back up to his face and I suddenly felt embarrassed now. His chiseled jaw and defined muscular torso made me nervous. I could feel the flush of red taking over my face.
“I’m really nervous. I’ve never had a show as big as this one.”
“Don’t worry, people will love you,” Chris said confidently.
“What are you doing in Chicago?”
“Just work stuff. Nothing exciting.”
“I really am so nervous about this show. I’m afraid I’ll get there and no one else will show up. Or worse yet, people will show up and say the photos are terrible. I don’t know if I can take that kind of rejection.”
“You’ll be great. I’m going to get going. See you in a few days,” Chris said and he was quickly off of the call. It struck me that I felt bonded to Chris. We had not known each other for long and I certainly did not know much about him. I felt somewhat different about us after our conversation. I still wanted to find out all of his secrets, but I was alright waiting for a little bit if that is what he needed.
I finished putting one of the frames together for a picture and then made my way inside. As I walked across my yard, I thought I saw a light turn off from inside Chris’ house. I watched patiently from the comfort of my living room, just to see if anything unusual happened. I wanted to see if anyone else was coming or going from his house. He certainly had not talked about anyone being at his home, but then again he might not want to share that information until necessary. I continued to watch his house and felt like I was going crazy. No lights turned on or off and there certainly did not seem to be anyone running around outside. There wasn’t even a car around. After walking around the house and checking all the door locks and windows, I headed upstairs to my room.
For some reason, I felt scared. I had lived in my grandparent’s house on and off for years, and not once had I ever felt afraid while I was there. My instinct was that someone was watching me from afar and I either needed to confront them or pretend like I didn’t notice them. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I should do or if there was even a person out there that was watching me.
Chapter 22
“So tell me more about this mysterious neighbor man,” Rebecca said as she and Robert helped me bring my pictures to the art gallery.
“There’s nothing much to tell. He’s a mystery man.” I said and then laughed.
“You haven’t found out any more about him?”
“Nope, nothing. I guess he doesn’t like to reveal too much about his life.”
“You’re lying to us,” Rebecca said as she stopped and looked me in the eyes.
“What? There has been nothing to lie about. I don’t know anything about him.” I continued to bring my pictures out to Robert’s truck while behind me I heard Rebecca and Robert having a little bit of an argument. Robert was telling Rebecca to leave things alone and Rebecca was telling Robert that he didn’t know what he was talking about. It was actually very fun to listen to the two of them argue.
“Ok guys, I’ll tell you the truth. I fell down a mountain and he carried me home, we had sex. We had sex again just the other night. But I don’t know where he is at or what he’s doing now and I’m perfectly fine with that.”
Rebecca broke out in hysterical laughter. Her body was bent over and she held onto the table for support.
“Oh Katelyn, you are so funny. I love your sense of humor.”
Sometimes honesty is better than any lie you can tell. I knew Rebecca wouldn’t believe me. I knew that the idea of me sleeping with a stranger would not be something she could even comprehend. But to me, Chris wasn’t a stranger anymore. Sure, I did not know much information about him. I wasn’t too worried about it though, the man did live right next door. Sooner or later I would find out more about him, which was a natural thing that happened over time.
“Well, I’m glad my life is amusing to you,” I said with a smile.
“Seriously Katelyn, you should stay away from that guy. Whatever he’s doing it’s probably illegal. Only criminals like to keep their life so shrouded in mystery.” Robert said as he continued loading the artwork into his truck.
“I appreciate you both worrying about me so much.”
“Katelyn, he’s very handsome. Do you think you would consider dating a guy like that someday?”
I could tell what Rebecca was really trying to get at; it was if Chris looked like a guy that I would consider my type. If I said yes, then surely Rebecca would have a date lined up with a guy that she thought looked a lot like Chris. If I said no, the date would be with someone exactly opposite of Chris. There really was no way for me to win.
“I don’t know. He is very handsome.”
“I think you two should stop talking about how handsome this guy is,” Robert laughed.
“Oh darling, you are much better looking,” Rebecca said as she hugged her husband.
Both Robert and I laughed. He certainly had a good sense of humor, but handsome was not a trait I would use to describe Robert. His tall, thin frame looked like it barely kept him from falling over on a windy day. Although Robert did
go to the gym often, he didn’t appear to be making any progress on his goal to bulk up and get more muscle.
“When you are married someday, you will see your husband as the handsome model that he is in your eyes,” Rebecca said as she kissed Robert.
The two of them were such a sweet couple. It was encouraging to see them together and how they interacted with each other. Rebecca was more of the caretaker for the family and Robert was the provider, but they switched roles as necessary and took care of each other very well.
“I’m really excited about this photography show. I hope there are a lot of people there,” I said, trying to change the subject.
“Yes, I’m sure there will be. There have been flyers all over Kansas City and I think they said all the tickets for the event were sold out.”
I couldn’t help but smile. All the tickets being sold out was a big deal. That meant there would be over a thousand people at my show. All of them interested in seeing my art and possibly buying some of it. I would really love to sell a few pieces to help pay for the renovation to my family’s home.
“How many total pieces do you have?” Robert asked.
“I should have twenty-six. I’m not sure if they will be showing all of the pieces or picking twenty of their favorite.”
“This is big Katelyn. Like really big. People will come to your show and be talking about your photography in the newspapers and stuff. You might just end up being really famous.”
I couldn’t help but smile at Rebecca’s enthusiasm. She was always one of my biggest supporters and it made me feel so optimistic about my show. I had sold a few photos through friends and local people, plus I had sold several pictures online, but I had never had a real show. I had never put my work on display for people to critique and judge with me standing right there. It made me nervous even to think about it.
The thought of people picking apart my work or saying bad things about my photos, it made me feel pretty anxious. I really did hope that Chris could make it to the show and I wanted him to be able to walk around with me to be my protector from the critiques. His physical presences would make it hard for people to say too many bad things to me. At 6’2 and with all the muscles Chris had, no one was likely to be talking very poorly in front of him at least. They would be too afraid of him.
Chris wasn’t a scary guy, even if he looked like it on the outside. In reality, he was a very kind man who seemed to have a lot of demons in his past that he liked to keep protected. He always seemed to be protecting something. I did really want to get to the bottom of what he did for a living and why he was here. It seemed like there was quite the story there and I just wasn’t hearing it yet.
Chapter 23
The night before the art show I didn’t sleep much at all. My brain raced with excitement over the event and all the people that would be there. It didn’t help that I was away from my bed and staying in a hotel nearer to the show. The gallery said it might take them a couple days to make sure they had all the sales cleared before they would be able to give me back the remaining photos. I didn’t mind though, it was nice to have a little bit of an adventure and stay in the city.
I got to the gallery nice and early and walked around to see how all the photos looked. The lighting in the gallery was simply amazing and it surprised me at just how perfect my photos looked there. I was confident in the quality of my photos, but seeing them on display here made them look even better.
My heart started racing as I looked around the gallery and saw my life’s work on display. I said a silent prayer that people wouldn’t think my work was horrible. That was all I wanted. Just not horrible. They didn’t need to love it; I just couldn’t take it if everyone thought my photos were bad.
“Katelyn!”
The gallery owner Sarah waved at me enthusiastically and started to walk over.
“Hi Sarah, the showroom looks amazing. I think your display and lighten is what is going to get people interested in my work tonight.”
“Oh shut up! Your work is amazing. I bet we sell at least half of your photos.”
Wow, half of them. I couldn’t even imagine it. That would mean I had enough money to finish the whole renovation on my family’s home. I would be able to do the kitchen too and that was going to be extremely expensive.
“Wow, Sarah that would be great. Thanks so much for believing in me.”
Sarah brought me around to show me where the drinks would be set up and the flyers about my work. She showed me where the balcony was in case I needed to take a breather.
“Many artists get overwhelmed at their first show. There will be a lot of people wanting to talk to you and a lot of questions. The hardest part will be consistently keeping a smile on your face and interacting with people. Use this balcony when you want to escape for a moment. It has stairs that go all the way down to the first floor if you decide to make a run for it.” Sarah winked and laughed a bit.
“I think I’ll be alright. I’m really excited to meet everyone and talk about my work.”
I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in a back room and trying to get some sleep. I had been up the whole night and really didn’t want to have bags under my eyes when I met everyone at the event that night. I was able to get an hour nap in before I needed to change and get ready for the show. I brought a black cocktail dress that I thought would help me blend in with the crowd if necessary. The back was cut really low and it fit me perfectly, like a glove. I had some basic black heels on to tie the whole outfit together.
When the evening started, there were at least thirty people outside the gallery door just waiting to get in. It was exciting to see that many people interested in the event. My body was so tense that I had to have a couple drinks to calm my nerves. My pulse raced and my face was flush with excitement.
I tried to just mingle around and see what people thought of the work. Since Sarah had not introduced me yet, it was nice to be anonymous and able to blend in. I really wanted to hear their thoughts and critiques without people being obliged to give me compliments. If they knew I was the artist it was more likely that they would feel like not saying the truth.
People seemed to really like the picture I took when I fell in the woods. It was one of my favorites as well. The dark circle around the moon and the trees that covered the corners made the picture very scary looking. It was ominous and I liked that. Especially because that night had been anything but ominous, it had been fantastic.
That photo was the first night Chris and I were together and I could still feel the ecstasy of his hands on my body. My body reacted as I let my thoughts drift back to that night and the power of Chris as he brought me to orgasm.
I pulled out a phone and sent a text to Chris to see if he was going to be able to make my show. Since I really didn’t know what he did for a living or where he was, I wasn’t sure he was going to be able to come to my show. It was perfectly fine with me if he didn’t show up. I had enough on my hands as I tried to relax before Sarah introduced me to the crowd. If Chris had been there, it would have made me even more nervous.
Chapter 24
“I know you all are dying to meet the artist of these amazing pictures, so please let me introduce you to Katelyn Peterson,” Sarah said over a small microphone.
The whole gallery stopped what they were doing and looked up at the small platform that Sarah was on. I begrudgingly made my way up there to say a few words. I was not the type of person who had a lot to say on a normal day, but in front of a thousand people I really didn’t have much to say at all.
“Hello everyone, I’m so happy you can all be here to share this day with me. It has been a long road to get here and I’m very excited to be starting my journey in the world of photography. I hope you all have a great night and enjoy my work.”
As I put the microphone down the room erupted in applause. It caught me off guard. They were all clapping for me. It was hard to even fathom that all these people were there at the gallery for me. They had gotten
babysitters and scheduled their whole night around coming to see my work. It was pretty dang awesome.
The second I got off the platform there were people coming up to me and asking me questions. They seemed to want to know every little detail about the work. They wanted to know where it was taken, what camera, what lens and even more personal things about myself. One man asked if I was single, another if I took dirty pictures and a few other people asked about my family life.
It was funny at first; as they would ask me a question I would ponder it for a moment and then answer. But soon I got so tired of answering the same questions over and over again. I got anxious when they asked me questions that I didn’t want to answer, like about my personal life. It was pretty amazing how people felt comfortable asking you things in a gallery setting that they wouldn’t dare ask you in any other place. I did my best to answer the appropriate questions and deflected the inappropriate ones with laughter. I would pretend to see someone waving at me, then waive back and say I needed to go.
Sarah was right; it was extremely overwhelming to have a gallery show. I had entirely underestimated the power of a thousand people trying to talk to me about a thousand different topics. I decided to take Sarah’s advice and sneak out onto the balcony.
It was a very nice balcony, about twenty feet long and six feet wide. It was on the third floor and had a set of stairs leading down to the second level and then to the main level. They had a lounge chair out on the porch and I sat down in it and put my feet up. It felt so good to take my heels off and let my feet relax.
My eyes closed for what I thought was just a quick moment, but then I woke up in a panic. I looked around and tried to get my bearings and figure out where I was at.
“I thought you would never wake up,” I heard a man’s voice say.
I jumped up and looked around. Chris came out from the dark of the other side of the balcony. He was dressed in a finely-tailored suit and looked delicious. Even in the dark he looked like a man who could get any woman in the entire gallery to go home with him. All he would have to do was flirt a little and flash them his smile, the girl would be his for the night; I was sure of it.