From Bully To Beloved

I take a deep breath and get to my feet. “I agreed to meet with him. Next Friday, 9 o’clock. In a cafe across from his gallery.”

Cal’s face breaks into a grin. “That’s awesome, Sera! I’m glad I didn’t have to call him myself.”

“Call him yourself? I would have beensopissed if you’d decided to butt in!”

“I wouldn’t have butted in.”

“Wait. Pushed me? Smoothed the bumpy road for me? Made sure I didn’t cave?” I can feel my temper boiling up.

“No. Helpedhimout. I would have made sure he didn’t let the opportunity to meet New York’s finest up-and-coming artist fly by.”

“Oh.” Not what I expected. My shoulders drop. My temper dissipates in a heartbeat. That was actually so sweet. “Well, good.”

“Good.” He gathers me into his arms and spins me around.

I shout in surprise. “Oh, God, put me down! You’re going to make me sick!”

My stomach rolls again, and I have to hold my breath until he puts me down. I must look awful because Cal’s smile fades. “Hey, hey, you okay? You look pale.” He uses his hand to rub the charcoal from my face.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“No, I’m not okay,” I admit. “I’m freaking out and a complete mess. The meeting is on Friday…”

“You got this, babe.”

“Are you sure?”

“One hundred percent.”

“But Friday is also the date I’m supposed to officially take over from Marie.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll just tell Marie that I’ll be in late.” She’ll understand. I don’t need to tell her more than that.

Coltongrins again. “Great. I’m so glad you’re going through with the meeting. Go kick ass.”

Just when I have the funniest retort of my life ready, the nausea returns. “I’m going to throw up.”

“Well, don’t do that.”

“Gee, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Coltonchuckles and sits on the couch, pulling me down with him. “Relax. Take a deep breath. Is the meeting why you made our living room a mini gallery of your stuff?”

I nod, looking around. “First, it was because I started packing, but after the phone call, I realized that I need to update my portfolio. I’m trying to decide which new works to add.”

“Okay, why don’t you work on that, and I’ll order us some food.”

“I’m not hungry.” Anxiety and exhaustion have taken away my appetite.

“Babe, you need to eat something,” he says, concern lacing his voice. “You’ve barely eaten over the last few days. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

He called me “babe” again. Twice. A (foolish) part of me feels madly excited, even though I know I shouldn’t. But I’m glad we’ve left our fight in the past. “I’ve been too exhausted.”

“Not eating isn’t going to help. I’ll order something light.”

For the first time in days, he pulls me into a hug and presses a soft kiss to my forehead. My body seems to breathe a sigh of relief. I didn’t realize how much I craved his touch until I went days without it. There’s still a bit of tension, but it’s not as thick as before. Maybe we can be friends, after all. That’s better than nothing. I don’t want to lose him completely.

“Or you can just get the cheesiest, greasiest pizza you can find,” I suggest.

Coltonlaughs. “Deal. That actually sounds really good.” He studies me for a second, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Are we okay?”

I can’t help but close my eyes and savor the touch, no matter how brief. “We’re okay,” I assure him, smiling. “For now. Maybe not in twenty minutes if you don’t order that pizza.”

Coltonkisses my forehead. “Yes, wifey.”