Page 21 of Colors and Curves

Okay. Random. I toss the grass to the side. “I’d hope so—they’re one of the best in the city.”

“They contacted Daisy and want to show one of my collections.”

“Holy shit! Congratulations. That’s awesome! You must be thrilled.”

“Yeah… But I have to agree to attend the opening to clinch the deal.”

“Oh. But what does that have to do with my gallery?”

“I needed to see what an opening of my work would be like.” He shrugs, then his voice becomes serious. “At least that’s what I told myself. And what I told Daisy that night. It was a good excuse.”

“Excuse? I don’t get it.” I lean in closer. “Please tell me.”

“I wanted to see you.”

Suddenly, a butterfly flutters around us and lands on my arm. “Oh my gosh! This is amazing. It’s a Buckeye Butterfly. Isn’t it beautiful?” It stays there for a few seconds to let us observe it.

He has a pensive smile on his face. “My mom loved butterflies. She was obsessed with a butterfly bush we had in our small backyard. She’d get so excited when she’d see one. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much else that made her happy.” He talks about her in the past tense. Maybe she died?

“They’re beautiful. Especially the ones with blue on their wings.” And just like that, it flies away.

“It’s not as pretty as your name. It’s unique. Sky fits you, because you light up the sky with your presence.” He’s being goofy but I like it. He tries so hard to act like a tough guy, then he says these things. He’s a big pussycat.

“Yeah, well I can darken it too, if someone pisses me off.” I narrow my eyes at him. “Beware.”

“Good to know.”

“Who you see right now is me—Sky. A new friend or acquaintance, whatever you want to call me, but not a business associate. But I need to know who I’m sitting with right now. Julius the photographer or just Julius?”

“It’s just me. Even though I’d love to get you in front of my camera one day.” He chuckles, and I see red.

“Excuse me? Is that why you’re being nice all of a sudden? So I’ll agree to be one of your models or objects?” I stand up and pat down the back of my pants vigorously.

He jumps up. “Wait a second. What did I say? That was a compliment.”

“Maybe to you. Is that all you see? My body?”

“Sky, I didn’t mean anything disrespectful by it. Look at you.” He motions to my entire body. “You’re a beautiful woman. I told you that before, and you didn’t get pissed off then.”

“Well, I don’t want to be a part of your black and white world. When guys look at me, most of them just see my body. Yes, I have curves and boobs, but that’s not all I am. I want you to see the real me and not look at me as one of your many models.”

He rakes his hand through his hair, then walks over to the nearest tree. After he wraps Chance’s long leash around it, he stomps back over to me, his hands balled into fists. I don’t know what to expect at this point. He blurts out, “The problem is, I can’t see the real you, and you have no fucking clue how frustrating that is.”

Chapter 12

Julius

Her forehead crinkles. “What? I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“I’m color-blind, damn it.”

“A lot of people are color-blind,” she counters. “So you don’t see all the colors. You can still see some. What does that have to do with me?”

“You don’t get it. I have the rarest form of color blindness you can have. It’s called achromatopsia. I can only see black, gray, white, and slight shades in between. Every time I see you, I practically get a headache from willing my eyes to see your true colors. To see you the way everyone else sees you. I’m fucking jealous of those people. I came to terms a long time ago with my inability to see properly. It was my norm. But when you walked into my life, you changed everything.” I move a step closer to her, my eyes never leaving hers. My chest heaves.

“You want to know why I acted the way I did the first day I saw you? It’s because you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and my wall shot up even higher. That wall is thick and it’s up for a reason. But you give off this energy that’s making it crumble. And then when you opened your damn gorgeous mouth and let me have it the other day, I was a goner. I’m drawn to you like… like an insect to a flame. I know that’s not the best way to say it. I’m not a man of many words and I’m not used to talking to women… Or wanting one so much.”

She inches toward me, her light-colored eyes glistening with tears, until we’re centimeters apart. Her heavy breathing matches my own.