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But now it was here. We were at the art exhibit together and so far it really just felt like it was very natural. Ricky picked me up at my place and from the moment he did, everything was fun and easy. We just got along so well and we’d built up a decent level of rapport already during the past few weeks that I’d been working for him. Maybe that was it. In a way, it just didn’t feel like a first date at all. It felt like we already knew each other so well.
When we first entered the exhibit, I was very impressed with the display and the showmanship of it all. I’d been to many exhibits in the past and most of them were more or less the same, but here at the Artist Corner, which was a relatively new gallery, you immediately felt like you were entering something special, a wonderful world where you were destined to have a very unique experience.
When we first walked in, there was a man dressed in a sleek, white suit holding a glass of champagne. He tipped his head slightly and handed us each a glass of bubbly as he welcomed us into the exhibit. After taking the champagne, we entered under an archway that appeared to be gold, or at least gold plated. It was metallic, but the glittery sheen lit up the entire entranceway. I couldn’t help looking up at it as I walked past. It was beautiful, yet disorienting.
“Wow, this is really something,” Ricky said. We were coming out of a narrow hallway into the main room. Inside this main room was a setup of about thirty paintings, all arranged around the perimeter of the room with a few rows in between. Music that was almost too loud poured from the speakers bolted on the rafters of the high ceilings and I suddenly felt like I was actually inside of some sort of nightclub.
“Yeah, it’s intense,” I agreed. I sipped my champagne. It was sweet and delicious. “I wonder how expensive this champagne is.”
“It’s probably the cheap stuff,” Ricky replied. “But you know, I’ve had the good stuff and the cheap junk, and I really can’t tell the difference. I’m not sure if that makes me unenlightened, or if I’m just not falling for their marketing scheme.”
“I would say the latter,” I replied teasing him. “But truthfully, I can’t tell the difference either.”
Ricky laughed. We came to a painting that struck my fancy and I had to stop to look at it. It showed a man’s face twisted into some kind of rage as he screamed into a tunnel that was totally dark, but at the end was filled with a rainbow of light with a car’s headlights in the center of the circle.
“What do you think this one is supposed to be saying?” Ricky asked.
“It can’t just be an odd picture?” I joked. “Does it all have to have some special meaning?”
Ricky adopted a stuffy art critic’s demeanor. “I’ve always heard that they do and it’s our job as purveyors of fine art to come up with some kind of a fancy and deeply insightful explanation for the artist’s bared, tortured soul. And it means something different to everybody. What do you think?”
I laughed at Ricky’s assessment. He was being cheeky, but he was more or less right. “Well, I always like to think that the artist had a specific statement in mind, but as an artist myself I know that sometimes it really is just an image that comes to mind out of nowhere. We sit down and try to recreate what we are seeing in our minds, but afterwards what it really means is open to anyone else’s interpretation.”
“Interesting,” Ricky said. “I feel privileged amongst the other patrons tonight to have an actual artist viewpoint on things.”
I felt myself blushing slightly. “Thanks,” I said. “Any unique things that you want to know, just ask. But I should point out that I’m just one artist and I can only attest to my own viewpoints and what works for me. This artist may be completely different. It’s quite possible that they meant something very specific with this piece, some unique statement, or they may have nothing to say with each piece they do. Everyone works differently.”
“I’ve always wanted to do s
ome art, but I’m just not that talented,” Ricky said. “I can’t draw, paint, sculpt, or anything really. Although I did write some songs back in high school.”
“Well, there you are. That’s definitely artistic.”
“They were not good,” he laughed.
“That’s open to interpretation,” I said. “If they accomplished what you wanted them to and they said what you wished them to say, then they were good. Whether they were commercial sounding or had a high entertainment value for the masses, that is open to debate. You should never let such things stop you from creating. That’s what art is really all about. And no matter what, if it is honest, you will always find an audience for it.”
“I see,” Ricky said with a warm smile. I could tell he loved to hear me speak about artistic expression, which is the thing that I am most passionate about. His eyes would light up a little, his facial expressions would soften, and I could really see that hint of pain that was always present disappearing for a brief moment.
We sauntered over to another painting. It was a bit more abstract. The top of the canvas was layered with what appeared to be a serene landscape. It was a cabin by a small lake, with a large, silver moon looming behind it that covered everything in shadows and greyish light. It was peaceful and serene, the type of place you would love to go get away for a while from everything.
The bottom half of the canvas was a picturesque sunset, but it was drawn upside down with lines of pink and various shades of reds bleeding together as they tried to run from the canvas. The two images merged together to create something beautiful. I found it very peaceful.
“And what do you think about this one?” I asked.
Ricky looked at the painting for a moment. I could tell he was really gathering his thoughts. He rested his hand on his chin and peered into the painting deeply, squinting his eyes as he shifted his gaze from the bottom to the top and then back again.
He sighed. “I believe that this is supposed to represent the inner turmoil so many people feel. There is a duality to being human. We all have it. There is a darkness and a light, a dark side, and a light side, but I believe inside this individual there is peace, otherwise the darkness would have elements of chaos interspersed within it. And it’s calm and peaceful instead.”
I smiled. “Wow, that was a great answer. I like your insights.”
Just then as our eyes met, I realized that we were now standing close together—very close. I could practically feel his warmth emanating over to me and our energies mingled together creating that spark. I’d first felt this sweet spark the moment that we met. And I’d felt it bubbling underneath the surface for so long since then, always ready to reemerge. I was just waiting for the moment that would call it forth. And there it was. It was happening now.
I found myself smiling softly as he leaned in closer. I didn’t even realize what was actually happening until it was almost too late. His lips touched mine and the spark within me began to sizzle, burning my skin in a glorious glow that spread warmly over my body and encapsulated the two of us together in our very own little section of the world. His lips were soft but rugged, his stubble scraping slowly against my chin to remind me of his penetrating masculinity. I craved him almost all the time and now I had him. This kiss had been building for a few weeks now, each time we were together just stoking the fire.
And now it was happening. For a moment, my thoughts shut themselves down. There was no world. There was no me, no him—only the kiss. His soft breath entered into me and I gladly accepted it as his energy shifted to my body and I inhaled his essence. Ricky’s big, strong hand rested gently on my back as he pulled me in a little bit closer and applied more pressure to the kiss. I loved the way he was leading me, drawing me into him and there was not the least little morsel of resistance anywhere inside of me. Why would there be? I’d found the man that I had been looking for all my life. Not just for sex, but for all else. I wasn’t sure how that thought popped into my head, or why it was there, but I knew that I whole-heartedly believed it. There was no wiggle room there. This was the way that I felt.
When our lips parted, I found that I wanted the kiss to continue. I wanted it to go on and on, and I wanted it to build up to something where Ricky could just ravage me right then and there. Nobody else could see us. We were in our own little world together and we could do no wrong. We were essentially alone. We didn’t have to bother with finding a place to be physically intimate. No, we could really just drop ourselves down to the floor and do what we wanted to do.
