Loved by a Dragon (Mate Me Book 1)

3

Roxie dragged herself home Friday afternoon after her father saw how tired she was. He thought she was getting sick, but in reality, it was because she'd hit inspiration in her painting. It had kept her awake most of the night, giving her only an hour of sleep before she needed to get up and go to work. She set her alarm for an hour from that moment to get in a power nap. She wanted to continue working on her Grand Canyon series. She lay down and let sleep take her five minutes later her phone rang. She groaned and hit ignore. It rang again, and again she hit ignore. This went on several more times until she finally growled and hit silent, so she could get some sleep. She dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail, stopping to take photos of the mountain, forest, and animals.

"Roxie!" Evelyn shook her awake, yelling loudly. Roxie shot up, rubbing her eyes. She looked out the window to see it was dark outside. How long had she been asleep?

"What time is it?"

"Seven, we need to get ready for the club. I ordered pizza for us to eat while we get dressed." Evelyn sat on the edge of Roxie's full-sized bed.

"Damn, I wanted to get in some painting before we went. Why didn't my alarm go off?" She grabbed her phone and saw fifty missed calls and two voicemails.

"Whoa, who wanted to get a hold of you?" Evelyn asked, seeing her call history. Roxie remembered she kept getting calls and silenced her phone so she could sleep.

"I don't recognize the numbers." She pressed play on her voicemail.

"Roxie you stupid bitch! If I ever see your lawyer poking around my gallery again, I'll sue you. I have your awful paintings hanging in the gallery. I can't do anything about them not selling because you are an awful artist." Roxie quickly deleted the message from her horrid ex-husband Mitchell.

"Ignore the jerk. What are the other messages?" Evelyn patted her gently on the arm.

"Hi Roxie, it's Lauren Hurts. We went to art school together. I'm temping for Dragon Lore Art Gallery, and my boss wants to..." the voicemail cut off.

"Next message."

"Sorry, Lauren again. My boss wants to see your current work. If it's the same as your work on your website, he might showcase you. Call me back at five, five, five, two, eight, nine, six, thanks bye!"

Roxie stared at her phone in shock. Someone looked at her website and liked her work? She'd only put it together to have a place to put up her finished pieces. Evelyn wrapped her arms around her and screamed,

"That's amazing!"

"I'm not calling her back." Roxie shook her head. The thought of showing her work in a gallery was nerve-wracking. Mitchell had told her enough times he would never show her work in his gallery. That no gallery would ever want her and to give up and be his stay at home wife.

"What? Why?" Evelyn pulled back and glared at her.

"I've told you why I'm not interested in being rejected again." Roxie plugged her phone in to give it an extra charge. She didn't want to be without it at the club.

"Don't give Mitchell that control over you. You two divorced. Move on and let someone tell you how amazing you are! I say go for it, they are the ones seeking you out." A knock sounded on their door.

"Pizza!" Evelyn raced to get the door, while Roxie stretched out her legs and back. She opened her closet and searched for something to wear to the club. Maybe Evelyn was right. Dragon Lore Galley had reached out to her.

"One works pizza, no mushrooms from Luigi's."

"Evvy, what are you wearing tonight?" She pulled out a deep purple dress with cap sleeves from her closet to show her friend.

"I have my spaghetti strap black dress. I'm going to enjoy tonight and show off some skin. You should wear your turquoise dress with that super short skirt. It will show off your half sleeve tattoo you've been hiding from your parents." She put down the slice and pulled out the dress. Roxie held the dress at arm's length, she'd bought it for an event at Mitchell's work. She never got the chance to wear it, thanks to the divorce.

"I don't know, I bought it to wear with a sweater. My boobs pop out too much without one." Roxie pulled out the corresponding sweater.

"No covering up Rox, tonight you will be the sexy mama I know you are. Embrace your curves and show off those tatas'." Evelyn snatched the sweater away.

"Fine." Roxie plopped on the bed and snagged her slice again.

"How was work?" Letting Evelyn launch into a story about her boss. Roxie's thoughts went back to the voicemail from Lauren. She hadn't heard from her in years, but she remembered her being a smart, fiery girl, with hair to match. She couldn't believe someone wanted to look at her work. She had posted nothing new since the divorce. She would put up her Grand Canyon pieces once she finished them. She wouldn't be calling Lauren back, she knew the owner would reject her work. If the man who was supposed to love her for all time hated her work, what would a complete stranger think?

"Rox. Roxie! Are you even listening?" Roxie gave her a sheepish grin.

"Stop thinking about painting and get dressed." She closed the pizza box and tossed Roxie her dress. Roxie dusted her hands off. She got ready to go out for the first time in over a year. Stepping into the bathroom, she changed into the dress and admired her tattoos. She loved how they looked on her shoulder. One of her rebellious moments from Mitchell and her parents had been getting a tattoo. She quickly curled her hair, braiding the front away from her eyes and pinning it behind one ear. She did natural makeup, foundation, a light dusting of blush and brown eyeshadow, adding a touch of lipgloss. She was never one for the smokey eye. She always ended up looking like a raccoon by the end of the night. Tonight, she didn't feel like embarrassing herself. 

A/N: Please let me know what you think so far. Don't forget to vote!