I shushed him. There were a handful of others admiring Glen’s gates. Matt had evidently stepped away.
“You know,” he said, low, “I adore you both, but you are not the women to sell this whole invisible rubbish. Have you looked at yourselves?”
It took me a moment to register what he was saying, the audacity.
“I know you probably mean that as a compliment, but I’m not taking it that way.”
“I’m just saying, it is quite likely that people will think you are taking the piss.”
“That we’re what? Taking the what?”
He smiled, adorable, even when infuriating. “Like mocking them. You are the two least invisible women in this entire convention center.”
“I’m not sure that’s true. But if it were, for the reasons you’re insinuating it is, it would give us more impetus to support this project.”
He was quiet for a bit, mulling the idea.
“You realize that we are currently the only gallery of our size owned by two women? If we’re not the ones to back this, I don’t know who is.”
I was proud of that fact. That Lulit and I had managed to make it work despite the odds. That we’d garnered a certain amount of respect, success in the ten years that we’d been doing this. That we’d birthed this idea—to fight for the underrepresented, the underappreciated—and we were winning.
“I didnotknow that. That kind of makes you hotter.”
I laughed at that. “Okay, go away. I need to work.”
He drew me into him, both hands on my hips. A motion that was decidedly suggestive. “Tonight I think we should go for nine.”
“I think you need to leave.”
“I think you need to lose this dress.”
“Go.”
“‘Look how sexy I am. But for the rest of you who are not so sexy, here’s this wonderful installation that addresses all your insecurities.’”
“Get out of here, Hayes. Being a woman is a complicated thing.”
“I bet it is.” He leaned in to kiss my nose. “Have a good day. I love you. Good-bye.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. I didn’t say that. Fuck. I didn’t say that. Good-bye.” His face was red as he backed out of the booth. And for a fleeting moment I considered following him. Anywhere.
“What is it you’re doing?” Lulit approached me shortly after the curator from the Whitney had departed. “This Hayes thing. What are you doing, Solène?”
I looked at her, not understanding. Was she not the one who’d fully endorsed this? Who’d told me to go and get my rock star?
“I thought this was just going to be a fling,” she said, soft. “Like for the summer… I thought it was temporary and you were having fun and that was great. Andimportant. For you… to move on, and grow. But it’s now like serious, and you’re completely falling for him, and it’s affecting your decisions in not the best way. And he’stwenty, Solène.He’s twenty.”
I was speechless.
“And he’s going to fucking break your heart and I can’t sit and watch that happen again. And don’t tell me it’s just sex. Because it’s not just sex anymore. I’ve seen the way you look at each other… It’s not just sex.”
I wanted to be angry with her. I did. But I was terrified that everything she had said was right.
On Sunday, after a late brunch in the Design District, Hayes and I returned to find no fewer than two dozen young girls congregated outside at the front of the Setai.
They’d found us.
