Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“Yeah, Finn told me you like very spicy books.” Levi waggles his brows.
I playfully roll my eyes as Finn chuckles. “That’s not how I described them,” Finn says.
“He called them audio pornos,” Levi admits.
“You laugh but don’t knock it till you try it. I’ll send you some recs. I bet you could learn a thing or two,” I throw at Levi.
“Pfft.”
“Levi’s dated almost every girl in our graduating class,” Finn tells me.
“Oh, so you’re that type of guy. Got it.”
“Dude.” Levi scoffs. “Give her some context at least.”
“What?” I ask, confused.
Finn glances over at me, the corner of his lips tilted up in a smirk. “There were only eight girls total.”
“Eight?”
“Yep.”
“And thirty boys,” Levi adds.
“Jesus. But still...you dated all eight?” I pop a brow.
“No, only five. I was related to the other three.”
I burst out laughing. “Oh my God. What a small-town cliché.”
Once we’re closer to the festival, I see cars lined up along every road. Main Street is blocked off, and all the parking lots for the small businesses are full.
“I’ll drop you and Levi off by the entrance so we don’t have to lug your supplies around. Levi can help you set up while I find a spot a few blocks away.”
“Okay, that works,” I tell him as he slows and shifts the truck into park.
“Levi, be good,” Finn warns.
Levi puts his hands up in surrender. “What’d I do?”
“I know you.”
Levi chuckles as he grabs my stuff from the bed.
“Be right back.” Finn pulls me in for a kiss. “And don’t believe anything he says.”
I snicker. “Well now I’m curious.”
Levi carries my easel while I carefully hold my canvas and paints. Mayor Myers secured a spot for me out of the way so I can work.
“He’s crazy about you, ya know?” Levi speaks up once Finn drives off. “In case he hasn’t told you, he’s sad you’re leaving.”
I frown. “Yeah, I’m sad too.”
“You can’t stay?”
“My job kinda requires me to be close to a large city. I mean, I could technically live anywhere, but if I want to do this professionally with higher-paid commissions, I need to meet people in the industry. Be present at events.”
“I bet you could open your own gallery,” he points out. “Just a thought. But I know people would love to see your work and would purchase whatever you created.”
“It’s not a business model that makes a lot of money on its own. Most of them have sponsors or funding from universities. There’s a lot of networking involved.”
“Sounds like it’s more complicated than just selling art.”
“It is. A lot of shit goes on behind the scenes. Most times, we don’t even meet the clients. They hire people to find what they want, and it’s their job to track down the right pieces.”
“That seems so weird. Art is personal and should be something you connect with before hanging it in your home.”
I smile. “I agree. That’s why I prefer to freelance. It allows me to work with the clients on a more intimate level. It’s just not easy finding work. I was lucky with this one and even luckier with Mayor Myers.”
“Do you have jobs lined up when you get home?”
I frown as I set up and organize my paints by hue. “No, I was waiting until I had my apartment situation figured out first. I can do some small paid projects to cover expenses, but finding bigger jobs takes a while. I wish it was more stable, but hardly anything in the creative field is. I’m still new to the game, so I gotta do my time. Hopefully, one day, it will be more consistent. The Bennett’s project and this one will be great for my portfolio. I’m hoping to use it to get larger ones.”
“Maybe you can do one for me? We have a gift shop in one of our barns, and a nice canvas of the farm would look great in there.”
“You’re just trying to find ways to keep me here, aren’t you?” I taunt.
“I like seeing my best friend happy,” he says somberly. “I haven’t seen him smile and joke so much in months.”
I swallow hard, pushing back the tears threatening to spill over. “Will you keep an eye on him after I leave?”
“Already planned on it.”
I nod, silently thanking him for understanding. This will be hard on us both.
“What about you?” he asks.
“I’ll just bury myself in my work like I do with every other life inconvenience.”
“Ahh, art therapy,” he muses.
“Pretty much the coping mechanism I’ve used my whole life.” I shrug.
Before he can respond, Finn appears. “Sorry it took me so long. I parked a mile away.” He comes to my side and kisses my cheek. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“Sure, that’d be great.” I look up at him and smile. “I’ll probably work on this for a while if you two wanna walk around.”