Ruthless Games

“There are several working artists here,” she says, and I make a mental note to look that up on the school’s website later. “I only have time for teach a couple of classes a week, but I like passing along my wisdom to aspiring artists. You never know what kind of discovery can be made by helping others do what you do. It’s very satisfying. Are you a new student?”

“Maybe,” I reply. “I mean, I hope to be.”

“Well, good luck,” she says with a wink. “Perhaps I’ll see you in my class soon.”

“I would like that,” I manage to reply, face burning. Like it? I’d love it!

The guide steers me out, smiling at my starstruck expression. “Don’t worry, you get used to it,” she confides. “My first week, I could barely talk in class, I was so intimidated. But everyone’s friendly. It’s a great community. Did you need any more information?”

I shake my head. “I have everything,” I say, clutching the brochures she gave me. “The application is right here.”

“Good luck!”

I’m goingto need it. I’m sitting at a café nearby leafing through the pages, wondering if my portfolio even stands a chance, when Juliet arrives to meet me for lunch.

“Hey!” she greets me happily, wearing a loose boxy dress and big sunglasses. “You look great.”

“You mean, aside from my shiner?” I ask.

“I was going to be tactful and wait until we at least had fries because asking about that,” she winces. “What happened?”

“Would you believe a bathroom brawl?” I say, making light of it.

Juliet gives me a concerned look, like she knows there’s more to it than that. “Nero must be thrilled.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, he’s gone into full caveman protector mode. Which, I hate to admit, is kind of hot.”

Juliet smirks. “I won’t tell if you don’t. Caleb nearly lost his mind when someone drove me off the road. And then there was the time his stalker tried burning our cabin down…”

I choke on my ice water. “And here I was, thinking you guys were a boring high society couple.”

“Oh, I have stories,” she twinkles, putting me at ease. Underneath her sweet exterior, Juliet is clearly made of sterner stuff. No wonder she doesn’t flinch around Nero.

“So, she prompts, after we order. “How do you like the ring?”

I glance down. “I love it,” I admit. “I take it I have you to think for picking it out?”

She shakes her head. “Nope, that’s all Nero. He must have looked at a hundred of them before picking it out. He wanted it to be perfect.”

I feel a glow. “Well, it is.”

“Almost as good as mine,” Juliet says with a smirk, flashing her own amazing ring, and we laugh.

She notices the application packet beside my plate and picks it up. “What’s this?”

I explain briefly to her about my tour of the Newton school. Juliet looks excited.

“Really? You want to go back to school?”

I nod. “It’s an old dream,” I explain. “One that’s been on hold for about ten years. So, I just decided… I don’t want to wait anymore.”

“That’s really great! You’ve got to pursue your passions,” she says. “It’s easy for them to take a backseat with everything else going on. I mean, I love Caleb, but drama seems to follow the man around,” she adds with a mischievous grin. “And I’m guessing Nero is just the same.”

I smile. I know exactly what she means. “He’s like… a black hole,” I say. “Pulling everything into his orbit. A force of nature.”

“Bingo.” Juliet laughs, as our plates arrive. She pauses, wincing at her food. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs to the waitress. “I asked for the tuna to be cooked well done. I can’t eat it rare.”

“Of course.” Her plate is whisked away.