Sal nodded and stood on the platform, focusing on the crowd.She just wanted to get this over and done with before her nerves got the better of her.She took a deep breath and fixed her sight on a random spot where her eyes could rest in the middle of the audience.But her gaze was drawn to a magnetic presence in the sea of artgoers.
The man was impossibly still, a statuesque figure clad in a chocolate-brown three-piece suit.His features were captivating.The jet-black side-parted hair and pale, cool-toned skin highlighted his other dark features.Only his eyes registered some kind of softness, like two black coals that lit up with warmth.He was staring right back at her.He then slowly blinked after offering a restrained smile.
Electricity ran through Sal’s veins.Her ears felt hot, and her heart raced under the magnetic man’s careful gaze.She had never experienced this sensation, not even with Rafa.
She took another deep breath and called everyone’s attention.Then she gave her speech, but she continued to meet the man’s eyes.The strange rush of excitement from him watching her pushed her through the rest of her opening remarks.Sal had never encountered someone who took up so much air in the room; she once believed Rafa was like that, but this man was something else entirely.It was as though he had willed her attention to stay fixed on him throughout the entire speech.By the time she was done, her eyes shifted to Rafa, who was smiling proudly, oblivious to the fact that she had been drawn in by another.
Chapter Four
Mister Moon
RAFA
Sallookedinvigoratedonstage while she spoke.He hadn’t seen this side of her before, and it made him even more enamored with her.She finished her speech cleanly, and riotous applause sounded as she walked off the platform.
“How did I look up there?”she asked, appearing slightly flushed.
“Beautiful and prepared,” he responded
Sal took off her burgundy blazer to reveal a black fitted dress that had a little sparkle.He knew little about women’s gowns, but this one was long enough to hug her curves until just above her ankles, and as if that wasn’t teasing him enough, the dress also had a slit that reached to the middle of her right thigh.Rafa felt his insides burn a little when she flipped her hair over her shoulder.Was there anything this woman could do that wouldn’t turn him on?He offered his arm, and she handed him her jacket and clasped his hand.
Just then, two familiar faces emerged from the crowd.“Sal!”one of them called.It was Auden and Willow.
Rafa frequently met with Willow, but he had rarely seen Auden since she had left to study at the Curtis Institute of Music.As she approached, he noticed she had completely shaved off her hair, and her face had slimmed down, showcasing her high cheekbones.Auden’s look presented a more mature air compared to the younger version in his mind.
“Oh my God, Sal!That was an inspiring speech!”Auden practically yelled with a mega-watt smile as she hugged his fiancée.
“It’s been so long, Auden,” Sal said affectionately as she returned her hug.“How’s everything at Curtis?”she asked.
“Everything’s great, but not as cool as what you guys have here.”She turned and held her arms open.“You guys really killed it!”
Willow butted in playfully, “It wasmyidea to hang the paintings from the ceiling.”
“It was genius,” Sal exclaimed.“And of course, the presentation was also chef’s kiss.Rafa helped me think of it too.”
“The execution, though, was all Sal.”Rafa winked and watched her beam at the compliment.
“I have high hopes we’ll sell out,” Willow said as she helped herself to a glass of white wine from a passing server.
“We will!How could we not?”Rafa chimed in.
“Wait a minute.”Auden pulled Sal closer, and since Sal was holding Rafa’s hand, she ended up reeling him closer as well.“I didn’t know you invitedhim.” Auden tilted her head as she spoke in a tone that sounded like reverence.
“Invited who?”Sal responded.
Auden lifted her chin, pointing it toward a man in a three-piece chocolate-brown suit.“Him,” she said, narrowing her gaze.“Don’t you know who he is?”
Rafa hadn’t noticed him at first, but when he saw him, he knew he wasn’t from St.Stephenshire.“Can’t say we do,” he responded.
“That’s Harmon Moon,” Auden said, eyes slightly widened, and with what sounded like a gasp, or maybe a groan?“He’s one of the most decorated art curators in the world.He trained in Korea and then took a highly coveted master’s degree in the UK and did a lot of training under the best mentors in the US.His specialty is Asian Contemporary Art and…” Auden paused and looked at Sal, who was struggling to follow Auden’s monologue.It was hard to take it all in at once.“Anyway,” Auden said, “in short, he’s justthatgood.Now spill, how did you get him to accept an invitation?”
“I-I didn’t invite him,” Sal stuttered.“He just showed up.”
“That’s weird,” Willow said.“He dresses like a big shot, that’s for sure.”She peered over the crowd with a raised brow.“He visited the café a few days ago, said he was here for the art show.”
“Guys, guys…!”Auden said, sounding excited and breathless.
Rafa noticed a long shadow falling over Sal’s small face.Her cheeks became flushed, and the rising and falling of her chest drew attention to her décolletage.
