Line Of Trust (BWWM Interracial Romance) (3 page)

Somehow, the mere fact that she couldn't talk about the obvious elephant in the room was making her feel even lonelier than she actually was. Desiree took her phone and scrolled down to Taylor’s name. She tapped on the message tab and stared at the hole that was the blank space on her phone screen. She had no idea what she was supposed to type out; she found herself blank and confused.

Hey babe, just checking how your day is going.

She deleted that. It sounded too cliché. She took a long deep breath as she began typing out the next message.

Hey Ericson, I was wondering how everything is going especially after last night. You almost bolted out of this place like...

She deleted it again. That was more like an email than a text message. Actually it was more like an accusing email than anything. She shook her head before tossing her phone over to the other side of the bed. Could Cynthia have been right? Could it be that she wasn't okay with the whole idea? Not okay with her decision?

She wondered long and hard as she lay in bed. Suddenly she had an idea. She was going to do exactly what she thought was right.

She got up and made the bed. Something wasn't right.

She decided to change the bedding in full. It had been a while since she had changed the linen at all, seeing as she hardly ever spent any time in that house. She put the dirty sheets in the laundry basket and then spread a fresh pair of white sheets instead. She then lay on the light duvet on top.

Stripping off, Desiree walked to the bathroom and took a long shower. When she got out, she dried herself off and got into a pair of blue skinny jeans and a cream colored spaghetti strapped top. She pinned up her now curly hair and put on a pair of silver looped earrings before putting on some light makeup. Not that she really needed it, but it always brought out her best features.

Desiree then walked over to where she had last left the painting and picked it up. She looked at it for a long minute before walking out of the bedroom and into the living room. She then wrapped it up in some brown paper before walking out of the apartment.

Desiree was still unsure of the whole situation, but she knew that the last thing she wanted was something that could cause strife between her and Taylor.  When she got a cab, she again thought of calling Taylor but had nothing to say. Instead the best option was to continue about her day.

The ride to the Wilkinson Art Gallery was shorter than usual. The place was owned by one of her old friends from high school, Anita Greene. She was the one person who had more passion for creative arts than Van Gogh and Monet put together, and after a summer internship in an art school in
Paris, Anita was sure that a future in art was exactly what she wanted. So far, Anita had done pretty well for herself.

When Desiree got there, she got out of the car and slowly made her way into the gallery. Even though it was only eleven in the morning, the gallery was already abuzz with customers. Desiree slowly made her way to the front desk.

“Welcome to the Wilkinson Art Gallery, miss. Is there anything you would like me to help you find today?” the pretty assistant asked.

“
Yes and no,” Desiree replied with a smile. “My name is Desiree Young. I was wondering if Anita is in today?”

“
As a matter of fact she just came in. I’ll let her know you're here.” The lady picked up the phone.

Desiree looked around as the assistant made a call to her boss. She noticed the various pieces on display and realized that Anita had really expanded her territory. The place was alive with not only paintings, but carvings, photographs and sculptures as well. Desiree normally wasn't an expressionist art lover, but she had to admit; what Anita had on display was beautiful to say the least.

She walked over to one black and white photograph that seemed to call out to her. The photograph was of a young woman. She seemed to be in her late twenties and totally unaware that she was being photographed. She was a normal looking girl, Desiree was sure, but in that photo she looked better than the world’s top models combined. It was almost a glamour shot, even though Desiree was sure that wasn't the photographer’s original intention. She was still looking at the photograph when she heard Anita’s voice behind her.

“
Why, Desiree Young, as I live and breathe,” Anita said with a smile. Desiree turned around and smiled back at her. The last time she had seen Anita was almost a year ago and she had changed so much in just twelve months.

She was dressed in a knee high fuchsia colored sleeveless dress. She always had a great body. People referred to her as the white girl in a black woman’s body, and as such, the dress was a perfect way to accentuate her stunning physical features. Desiree smiled and gave Anita a brief hug with one hand. aThe other hand clutched the painting securely.

“Hey, it’s really good to see you,” Desiree said as she pulled away.

“
So, what brings you to the Wilkinson? Because if memory serves me right, I'm sure that art has never really been your thing,” Anita said, smiling. Desiree smiled and nodded.

“
Is there somewhere we can talk in private?” she asked. Anita nodded.

“
Come on, my office is this way.” She led Desiree to an office located at the corner of the gallery. “Can I offer you a cup of coffee or something?” she asked before sitting down. Desiree shook her head.

“
I’m fine thanks. I just had breakfast actually.”

“
So, what’s going on Young?” Anita asked the woman seated across from her desk. Desiree began unwrapping the painting then handed it to Anita. She thought she heard Anita gasp when she realized what she was being given. “Where did you get a Franco Mancini in the States?” she asked is amazement.

“
You know the artist?” Desiree asked surprised.

“
Yeah, I was in Italy some years back and I met this guy. He is really a big deal back there but he is yet to make his mark internationally. If you ask me, he is the next Van Gogh.” Anita went on to inspect the painting.

“
Well, someone gave it to me and I don’t want it. I am looking to sell,” Desiree said. Anita looked up, surprised.

“
Why on earth would you want to sell it? Do you've any idea what you've got here?”

“
Like I said, I really don’t want it,” Desiree responded. “The person who gave it to me said he had a friend in Italy do it for him. I’m guessing that’s your friend Mancini,” she added. Anita shook her head.

“
Whoever this guy is, he must have really pissed you off,” she said.

Desiree smiled.

“You've no idea,” she admitted. “So, what's it gonna be?”

“
We're looking at a good twenty grand right here,” Anita said. “Or more,” she added as she put the painting down on her desk. She then looked into Desiree’s eyes. “Are you sure this is what you want?” she asked again.

Desiree looked at the painting and flashed back to times when her and Leon were a couple. The one time she went to surprise him at his office, but ended up being the surprised one when he was with another woman. She remembered how bad she felt, how cheated she felt and how disappointed she was in Leon. There was definitely no way she wanted to keep that painting. She looked at Anita and nodded.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

It had almost been a week since Desiree sold the painting and yet she had not seen Taylor. Every time she tried to call him, she would either get a busy signal or his phone on voicemail. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that Taylor was avoiding her.

Anita had made good on her promise. She had found a buyer for the Mancini almost as soon as Desiree left the gallery. A collector, she said, had been looking for an authentic Mancini for a while. And when he went to Italy he had found that Mancini had taken a sabbatical; an indefinite one at that. And just like that, Mancini had become one of the most sought after artists around.

His pieces were almost as rare as finding a needle in a haystack.

Anita had sent Desiree a check just a few days after their rendezvous at the gallery. In fact, Anita had sent Desiree a whopping twenty-two thousand dollar check. She explained that she had sold the piece for twenty-seven and that the additional five was her commission. Desiree definitely didn't mind. At last, she was rid of that Godawful piece that Leon had given her. All she wanted was to get back to her life.

When she got the check, Desiree found herself in the same predicament as Taylor had been in a short while back when he had won some money in the lottery. She had no idea what she was supposed to do with twenty-two thousand dollars.

She suddenly found herself noticing all the expensive shoes and dresses, even though she knew that would be the most irresponsible decision she could make.

Two days after she got the check, she banked it and decided to forget about it for a while. At least until she sorted things out with Taylor.

It was on a Thursday when she got off her afternoon shift. She walked down the street as she tried calling Taylor again.

“
Hey this is Taylor Ericson. I can’t come to the phone right now, but if you leave me a message I will call you right back.”

Desiree sighed and then hung up. This was getting extremely irritating. Why was he acting like this? I mean, seriously? She called him again and waited for the message to play before taking a long deep breath.

“Ericson. It’s me. I just wanted you to know that I sold the painting and that we need to talk. I’m not sure what about, but we need to have a sit down.” She hung up.

Desiree hailed a cab and put on her earphones as she rode home. When she got there, Rochelle was busy buried in a book... for the first time in ages. “What’s going on?” Desiree asked as she walked towards her sister.

“Preliminary finals are on in a few weeks,” Rochelle answered as she took a long sip from the glass in front of her. Desiree smiled and walked over.

“
Oh good, protein shake. I’m starving,” she said before taking a sip of Rochelle’s drink. This despite the fact that her sister was desperately trying to stop her. As soon as the drink touched Desiree’s tongue, she put the glass down and rushed to the kitchen sink to spit it out. “What the hell was that?” she asked while rinsing her mouth. Rochelle got up and walked towards her.

“
It’s not your everyday protein shake,” she said.

“
Tell me something I don’t know,” Desiree said as she looked at Rochelle.

“
Fruit and molasses. New thing we tried out in school,” Rochelle said.

“
Why?” Desiree asked as she rinsed out her mouth again. She could still taste the fishy paste at the back of her tongue.

“
It’s like having coffee and food at the same time. New thing we learned from some exchange students from South America,” Rochelle said. Desiree looked at the blender and then at Rochelle.

“
I hope you cleaned that thing out well.”

Rochelle smiled.

“Don’t worry. You guys can still make your cocktails.”

Desiree shook her head and opened the fridge. She got some chopped strawberry left over from Rochelle’s weird drink, a slice of pineapple and some cranberry juice. She put them all in the blender and then got a bottle of milk from the fridge again. She walked over to the blender and plugged it in before she poured some milk into the blender. “Want some molasses to go with that?” Rochelle asked. Desiree shook her head as she switched on the blender.

“Sorry sis, I like my shakes and smoothies from the good old US of A.” She switched the blender off and walked over to the dish rack for a glass.

“
Well you don’t know what you are missing in nutrient value.” her sister responded.

“
Well, I know exactly what I am missing in terms of bad tasting goo,” Desiree countered as she took a long sip of her smoothie. “Now that’s more like it!”

Rochelle smiled as she walked back to the table where she had been studying earlier. “How're you doing anyway?” Desiree asked. “I hardly see you anymore with all your sleepovers at Tony’s and my work.”

“I’m good, but my sleepovers are not the only ones to blame. You've also been spending a lot of time at Taylor’s,” Rochelle mentioned. Desiree hesitated for a moment.

“
Yeah, but not that much lately...”

“
Why not? Is he out of town or something? Because I haven’t seen him here either.”

“
We are going through something,” Desiree said. Rochelle slammed her book shut and crossed her arms on her chest.

“
Details,” she said. Desiree laughed.

“
Hold your guns. My life's not some cheap gossip you would read on TMZ so cut out that excitement,” she said.

“
What? I’m bored and I just found out that my sister’s perfect relationship is on the rocks. I have to be excited,” Rochelle exclaimed. Desiree smiled and sat down on the couch as Rochelle walked over to join her.