Falling In Love - Chapter 224

Jack

“Come in,” he pulls me into the front door of the gallery and I walk in with an excited smile plastered on my face. The main part of the gallery is dark but I have been here a lot of times before, so manoeuvring my way around the walkway is easy for me.

I look around, taking in all the paintings on the wall, and see that they have a new addition. Trick turns the light switch on and I see that it is a new painting that they have acquired and it is of a woman standing in a field of flowers.

I look at it in awe; it is stunning. The woman’s body is covered in flowers, she has a smile on her face and her eyes are closed. I am mesmerized by the detail and by the effect that it has on me. “It is amazing, isn’t it?” Trick says, impressed, “It cost a small fortune to get it here but it’s by an incredible artist and I just couldn’t resist. It was meant to be here for the next exhibition but I couldn’t wait that long.”

“It is beautiful,” I say, admiring it further, “The flowers are so realistic and the colours. I can really imagine being there.”

“I agree,” Trick says, smiling at me, “You would look beautiful in a canvas like that. A beautiful man in a field of flowers.”

I smile and shrug my shoulders, “Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“I don’t need to flatter you,” he says, “You are the most beautiful man in the room, any room.”

I am completely taken aback by his comment. I hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes. I have always known that Trick is attracted to me and has flirted with me before but this is different. He must see something in me that I cannot see in myself.

“Thank you,” I say, smiling and looking down at my feet, yeah, flirting with each other is not new but after our clean slate, everything feels new. He takes a step towards me and I welcome him with open arms.

He wraps his arms around me and I close my eyes. I feel content, happy in his arms He kisses the top of my head and I breathe in the scent of his aftershave. I have gotten so used to everything that has to do with Patrick. He is a norm in my life and just a couple of weeks ago, I felt like I was going to lose the most important thing in my life.

Now that we are here together, in each other’s arms, I can’t even think of a life where he doesn’t exist.

I feel like I have been blind to everything in my life, I haven’t taken time to appreciate it or enjoy it. I have been too focused on things that aren’t relevant. Yeah, I want to go back to work, I want to find a purpose apart from just love. I want what he has. Art is an escape for Trick. Without it, he wouldn’t be who he is today. He wouldn’t be the man I love. I want to find that so badly.

“So where is the surprise?” I ask him, pulling away from him but he holds me tighter. “I’m not letting you go.”

“Not even for a second?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.

“Nope,” he says, “I want you right here, with me, all the time.”

“That sounds nice,” I say, looking at my feet, “I think I could get used to that.”

“Good,” he says, kissing my forehead, “I want you to get used to it. I want you to think about it all the time. I want you to feel like you belong with me like this is where you are meant to be. I want you to think about it when you are at home, I want you to think about it when you are at work. I want you to think about it when you are with your friends, I want you to think about it when you are eating, and I want you to think about it when you are sleeping.”

I look up at him, “That’s a lot of thinking.”

“I know,” he says, “but it will all be good thoughts, happy thoughts. I just want you to feel like you are home with me.”

I don’t have to tell him that I already feel that way.

“I think I will go crazy with all that thinking,” I say, smiling at him.

“Good,” he says, “I want to drive you crazy.”

I laugh, “I think you have done that.”

He kisses me, his lips on my lips. My eyes stay fixed to his because this is everything I want. Everything I need. “Come on,” he grabs my hand in his again and we walk up the stairs and away from the display.

“Remember I told you I was working on something new?” he asks me as we walk up the stairs.

“Yeah,” I say, nodding my head.

“It’s up here,” he says pushing open the door to his studio and letting me in first.

The room is full of colour and paint, the easel is set up in the middle of the room and there is a painting up on the easel but from where we are standing in front of the door, I can’t see the right side of the painting. I walk closer to it and see that the canvas is blank.

“You need to close your eyes,” Trick says, his voice is full of excitement.

“Okay,” I say, smiling at him.

“No peeking,” he says, “I want it to be a surprise.”

“I’ll try my best,” I say, closing my eyes.

“Okay,” he says, “I’m going to count to three and then you can open them.”

I take in a deep breath. I can’t wait to see the painting

“One,” he says, “Two,” I hear him walking around the room, putting things away.

I have to admit, I am a little nervous. I don’t know what to expect but I am already excited.

I hear him turn the switch of the light “Three,” he says, sounding like he is standing right in front of me. I open my eyes and the sight in front of me has my heart beating faster and my breath taken away.

Wow.