My Sunshine ✔

[ 2 ]

The weeks were a blur and neither of them remembered each other. Narco was busy getting his paintings to be displayed on the pristine white walls of The Galleria.

Lewis was busy writing his book, absorbed in every word he typed. The meeting hadn't crossed his mind since that day. He had to care for his daughter and a deadline that was approaching quickly.

"Rose, go with Sam for now, Sweetheart," Lewis said with hands covering his face in frustration. He lost his thoughts when his daughter, Rose, had come running into the room with her doll. The little girl frowned and stomped her way out of his room.

Lewis's phone rang, which made him even more annoyed.

"What?" He glowered into the phone after seeing his friend's name on the screen.

"Are you going or not?" His friend asked and Lewis sighed with annoyance.

"I don't know," He finally said and he heard his friend groan.

"Listen. This is going to be your first human interaction in a week and you can find inspiration there too. So?" The simple sentence made him frown.

"Not true. I had my fair share of human interactions and all of them were annoying and a waste of time."

His friend was getting angry. Why wouldn't he when they had discussed their plans, and Daniel had already planned out the outfits.

"Didn't your interaction with that man give you inspiration for a character? See, interaction equals inspiration," His friend said and Lewis blushed.

"Okay, fine! But, you need to pick me up."

Daniel scoffed and hung up.

"Going somewhere?" The female voice startled him. He whirled around to face her.

"Yeah, Dan's brilliant plan. Can you take care of Rose for an hour or two?" Lewis asked, and she nodded with a smile. "Thanks, Sam," He grabbed clothes from his closet and changed in the bathroom.

A silver car was waiting when he exited his house.

"Finally," Lewis muttered and entered the car. He gave a quick hug to Daniel, who scrunched his nose and muttered an insult about not being punctual. The two men cracked jokes and discussed business. Somehow, the conversation took a turn to Lewis's love life.

"You always find the most peculiar people."

"Shut it. I don't want to talk about my love life, especially not with you." Daniel scoffed at the man's remarks, and focused on driving rather than the annoyed man.

"We're here!" Daniel announced joyfully as he stepped out of the car and Lewis followed his steps.

The Galleria looked too sophisticated but there was a slight edge to it. Something that showed they were willing to give chances. Vines grew around creme walls, grappling for more, and the building wasn't pure white. There were marks that contrasted, giving the building a more rustic look. The names of artists were in bold, another contrast to the cursive writing that adorned the signs. Lewis' eyes scanned the artists on the list. His eyes darted to the last name: Narco Evans.

"Oh," Lewis said dryly while his friend dragged him to the entrance.

"Come on, you're sulking." Daniel said, and pulled the pale man inside after showing tickets.

The Galleria was dazzling; dark wooden floors reflecting lights, stone walls decorated with paintings, people talking and observing.

They skimmed through the paintings and looked at a few with interest. They entered the last sections where Narco's paintings would be situated.

Lewis' eyes glanced past the group of people entering.

He stopped at a painting of a tiger, messy strokes of blues and greens and reds glaring at him. Daniel was busy talking with the group of people who were looking at another painting. He didn't know much about art, but the painting exuded fierceness. It looked like the tiger was going to jump any moment, amber eyes following his movements, calculating his decisions.

"Like what you see?" The smooth voice startled him.

Lewis turned to the man. There stood Narco. A tall man in a black, crisp suit, brown hair styled to perfection, lips a little glossed. He looked beautiful. The lights did him justice. A smirk appeared on the artist's face as Lewis stood there, gaping with shock and recognition.

"Y-Yeah," Lewis stuttered his words and blushed when he heard himself. His eyes darted to the group of people looking at them, which made him self-conscious.

"Leave them alone," He heard one of them whisper and the group turned around, Daniel following them while talking with someone from the group.

"They're my friends. Sorry if they made you uncomfortable," Narco apologized, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lewis shook his head and turned back to the painting. "How did you find inspiration for this?"

"Surfing the internet and I found animal pictures and it... clicked? Nothing special." He shrugged as Lewis moved to another painting of a wine glass and a bottle. The rough strokes of paint were weirdly satisfying to look at.

Lewis stared at the intricate painting while Narco stared at him.

"Can I get your number?" Narco managed to ask, and the writer was visibly surprised.

"Why?" Lewis shot back.

"Uh, I dunno,"

"How elaborate. Sure," Lewis drawled, and put his number into Narco's outstretched phone.

"I hope you enjoyed the exhibition." Narco said with a small smile as they both walked out of the last part of The Galleria. Parting of ways happened, a promise to text, goodbyes left unsaid.

Lewis could not find Daniel anywhere. He gave up after half an hour of desperate searching.

"I fucking hate you," He swore under his breath and took a cab back home.