Siempre (26 page)

BOOK: Siempre

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“You’re amazing,” Sean said when Jaime turned to look at him. “This whole show is amazing.”

“Thanks.” Jaime pulled Sean against his side so they could look at the print together.

“So what’s wrong?” Sean asked when Jaime kept staring at the same picture.

“I was hoping it would feel worth it.”

“Worth it?”

“I got to do the show I wanted. My advisor said it beats all my other work. They’re taking half of it to a gallery in the city for another exhibition, but Lupe isn’t even coming.”

“Do you regret everything?” Sean wasn’t sure he wanted the answer, but he looked up to watch Jaime’s face anyway.

“What?” Jaime’s forehead crinkled with confusion for a second before his expression softened. “No, babe. That’s not what I meant. It’s just the exhibit. I wish they were here, and I was hoping seeing it all together would make it worth it that they weren’t. That’s all I meant.”

“It’s still amazing.” Sean paused before adding, “You shouldn’t give it up.”

“I’m still taking the job I have,” Jaime said, but the corner of his lip turned up as he pressed his lips to Sean’s temple. “But I can work from home a lot already. I have time. I can see what happens.”

Sean turned so they were face-to-face as the doors opened and people started flowing in from the other side of the gallery.

“For what it’s worth,
I’m
proud of you. I’m so proud of you that I made Elizabeth and Eric plan their annual trip so they can catch your exhibit in the city. I also linked my parents to the gallery online. They’re very impressed. They tried to talk me into letting them come. I just thought it would stress you out too much to deal with them right now,” Sean said. “I know it’s not the same, but I’m always going to be proud of you.”

“Even if I end up taking passport photos for money?”

“You could probably make people look good in passport pictures. They’d probably pay a lot of money for that.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Jaime said, but he laughed and pulled Sean into a hug.

“You love me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I do,” Jaime said, and then leaned down to brush his lips against Sean’s neck as he whispered, “
Siempre te amaré.
”

“You’ve been saying that lately. Are you ever going to tell me what that means?”

“You could look it up. You looked up
te amo
,” Jaime said as he pulled back. “Or you could ask Alana. It’s one extra word. She probably knows it.”

“I know, but I was hoping at some point you’d just want to tell me.”

Jaime turned to look at the door, but almost everyone was still making their way through Aleksandra’s exhibit at the front of the gallery. When he turned back, he gazed over Sean’s shoulder at the picture behind them for a moment before meeting Sean’s eyes.

“It means always. I love you always.”

About the Author

T
ESSA
C
ÁRDENAS
was born and raised in small town Texas, but she left on a greyhound the day she graduated high school. Tessa studied ballet for nine years before running away to join the circus where she took her skills into the air on the Spanish web and double trapeze. Since graduating from Florida State University, she has lived in San Francisco and Washington DC. She had an affair with New York City, but it would never commit, so she accepted a proposal from Chicago. At this point, it’s possible she’s not really from anywhere anymore.

In the free time she pretends to have between her day job and writing, Tessa volunteers for multiple LGBTQA organizations, studies pole dancing, and tries to get other lesbians to go out with her. Tessa can be found misbehaving on Twitter when she’s supposed to be writing.

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ESSA
C
ÁRDENAS