s.” She looked up at me. “That’s the difference between your career and ours. Yours is by education and training. In many ways, it is in your own hands. But, like you said, for us, it all rides on whether or not we are popular. We can go to school and train too, but if, at the end of the day, no one buys anything… It was scary at first for me, but when you do make it, and you give someone a painting, and he looks at you like you created a miracle…it’s worth the risk.”
There was silence between us for a while and I remembered her painting. How it was a miracle. There were no family photos of us all together, and with her hands, she had created one on her own.
A smile spread across my face when I heard her soft snore.
Rolling her over onto her back, she then shifted onto her side, facing me.
Behind her, I saw the time and realized we had talked for another hour. She was just so easy to listen to and speak with.
“What are you doing to me, Guinevere?” I kissed her head, feeling myself drifting. I was pretty sure I was going to dream of her; she was slowly taking up a bigger part of my life.
Chapter Sixteen
Troublemakers
Eli
I held Taigi’s leash as we walked back to the apartment. Guinevere had to rush to meet a paint supplier since we’d both overslept, so I offered to take Taigi out. I could only get in a thirty-minute run, but I wasn’t bothered; I felt more than worked out, anyway. Before we could turn the corner, Taigi stopped, sitting his gray ass on the sidewalk.
“Come on,” I said, tugging on his leash.
When he got up, he tried to walk in the other direction.
Kneeling in front of him, I scratched behind his ear. “We can go for a good run tomorrow, but I've got to go to work.”
He barked, trying to walk back again.
“Taigi,” I said like I was talking to a naughty child.
He whined, but followed me.
The moment I turned the corner, I wished I had listened to him.
He hunched over, looking almost like a wolf, and growled at the man standing right in front of our building, holding a bouquet of red and white poppies. The fact that I knew what they were proved I had gone flower shopping with my mother one too many times. When we reached the man, Taigi's growls grew louder.
“Taigi?” Sebastian turned, looking down at the dog.
Taigi barked, baring his teeth at him.
Good boy, I thought, tempted to “accidentally” loosen my grip on his leash.
“Eli—”
“To you, it’s Dr. Davenport, and why the hell are you standing in front my building? Would you like for me to actually bust your face in? Hannah isn’t here to threaten me with the cops.”
He looked back at the building above. “You live here?”
“And you don’t, so why are you still in my face?”
“That’s Gwen’s dog—”
Taigi jumped as if to bite off the finger he had dared to point in his face.
“You should leave before I let him go,” I threatened, giving Taigi some slack.
The husky jumped closer to Sebastian, causing him to back up quickly.
“Taigi, it’s me, Bash—”