“You have to ask her to paint me, Carter. Oh my God, can you imagine?”
She waves the phone at me again, this time it’s open to Beth’s Instagram and I look away from it.
“Who is she, Carter?” Dean’s quiet question is loaded with demand and suspicion. I feel like I’m going to throw up. Or burst into tears. Or both. So I cover with a smile I don’t mean.
“Well, if you weren’t the biggest talent agent in the world and Nadia here wasn’t the world’s biggest gossip, I’d tell you. But clearly she doesn’t want anyone to know. So…lips are sealed.” I waggle my eyebrows and smile and hope that it’s enough.
Since I found that she lives here, or at least was here when she mailed Hetal her painting, I’ve been low key freaking out. If she doesn’t show tonight, then I’m not sure what I’ll do.
It’s a big city, there’s no reason our paths should cross while she’s here. And yet, I already know that I will find a way to make it happen.
Between Now and Always, I will love him.
She still loves me, too. She’s tattooed it on her body that she always will.
How the hell will I be able to walk away from her again if she doesn’t want to see me again?
“We’re here. I can’t believe it,” Nadia’s excited voice pulls me back to the present.
We climb out of the car. This is the foundation’s official fundraiser. It’s not a major event red carpet, but there’s press in attendance. I’m their highest profile board member and they’re counting on me to help them make this evening successful in terms of fundraising. I do the obligatory interviews. I stop to grant one more to a young woman who tells me she’s twelve years old and is a budding YouTube journalist.
We’re inside in less than half an hour and are seated right away. I scan the room twice before I see her. Her back is to me, and she’s blond again. But I know it’s her.
The long fall of it is swept over one shoulder and I’d recognize the constellation of freckles that span her shoulders anywhere.
I spent so many nights tracing them with my fingers and my tongue and my eyes.
I start to stand when the lights flash and the master of ceremony announces that dinner is served. That’s when I notice a man next to her. His hand moves to wrap around her shoulders and he leans into whisper in her ear.
My heart sinks.
The intimacy between them is unmistakable. Jealousy grips me, knuckle white and red hot and for a second I can’t breathe.
“Oh my God, do you think she’s here?” Nadia whispers urgently next to me.
“We’ll find out soon enough, I guess,” I say with a tight smile.
She looks askance at me. “I wish you would lighten up, you’re starting to get on my nerves. Maybe if you smile, you’ll meet someone tonight.” She winks at me.
My phone rings. “Saved by the bell,” I say. I leave the table walk out into the small reception area to take the call.
“Yo, my guy came through,” Dave says as soon as I answer my phone.
“Oh, fuck yes. I owe you, man. Next time we’re in the same city, drinks are on me,” I say, relief cutting through some of the tension that’s been plaguing me all day.
“Dude, it’s a private visit to helicopter ride over the city. On a Sunday night. Last minute. Next time we’re in the same city, everything is on you,” he says dryly.
I laugh, but don’t disagree. But now that I’ve seen her with that man, I’m not sure I’ll have any use for the tickets.
“She’s going to flip,” I say, trying to stay optimistic.Friendship is our only option…right? I can’t expect her to be like me and stay alone forever.
“Can’t wait to meet her. Hopefully you’ll finally get your shit together and I can.”
“If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is, D. You still fucking someone else’s wife?”
He groans as if in pain. “Touché. You better be glad I like you, Carter. Talking shit before you have those tickets in hand, takes a lot of nerve, asshole.”
I laugh and stick my head back into the room. The servers at our table. Beth is no longer at hers.
“I gotta go. The event’s starting and I don’t want her to see me. This whole night is a surprise”
“I’ve got a performance in the morning and I’m fucking wasted. I need to go to sleep. Let me know how it goes. Hope the pussy’s worth it.”
Dave is our generation’s greatest violinist. And he looks like he just stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad, but lives like he’s trying to set the world record for most debauched rock star.
“That’s not why I’m doing this. It’s not like that…she’s a friend. I want to do something special. That’s all,” I say it to convince him as much as myself.
“My man…all grown up and shit,” Dave chuckles. We say our goodbyes and head back inside and pray like a motherfucker that I haven’t hoped for too much.
Destiny Manifest
BETH
“Joe, I think I’ve made a mistake.” I grip his hand, and he squeezes mine back.
“The only mistake you’ve made is hiding for so long, angel. You’re going to be great.”
“It’s not that… I mean, no one’s going to see this little ceremony. It’s just I’ve never spoken to a large crowd. And I don’t know…what if they don’t understand?”
“They’ll understand. They understood enough to invite you. You’ve been racing your destiny for a long time. It’s time you stopped and let it catch you. This is your moment. I would have given anything to know I’d impacted someone’s life enough to change things for the better.”
His words hit me with a jolt of surprise. How remarkable it is that he can’t see how extraordinary he is.
My butterflies fall away and I smile at him, resolved again, just as I was the day the invitation came.
“You’re right. I’m going to do it. I was just scared,” I smile sheepishly.
“Well, thank God for that. The only people who don’t get scared about stuff like this are the psychopaths. So at least you know you’re not one of those,” he says with a twinkle in his eye.
I blow out a breath, squeeze his hands one last time and then head backstage to get mic’d up.
I smile at the young woman who’s been standing patiently waiting for me to get over my nerves.
The dark blue organza dress gown hugs my upper body and cascades down my body is waves of gold embroidered fabric that swirls around my ankles, leaving just the toes of the strappy high heeled gold sandals exposed.
It’s the most beautiful and the most daring thing I’ve ever worn. Instead of feeling self-conscious in the sleeveless dress with its plunging neckline, I feel beautiful.
I picked it because I loved it, but it’s nice to see heads turn as I walk through the tables. Just before I slip back stage, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I turn to scan the room.
“This way, Beth,” the young woman who’s escorting me says excitedly. I turn to follow her.