twenty six
I could feel my brain exploding as I realized I had nothing nice to wear for this art exhibit showing.
Literally nothing.
I sat down on the floor of my closet and dug through every last article of clothing until I finally stood up and walked to my parent's bedroom.
I rummaged through my mother's dresses until I found one that I figured would fit me.
It was quite beautiful. It was a soft shade of cream and was detailed with lace. I quickly slipped it onto my body and glanced in the mirror. It was very fitting, nothing like I had ever worn before. The dress loosened up towards my knees and ended at my ankles.
"You look nice," I heard a voice call from behind me. I turned around to see Luke standing in the doorway. He was dressed in only a pair of pajama pants and a thick sweatshirt, which looked surprisingly flattering on him.
"Oh, thank you," I beamed as I headed for the closest to find a pair of matching shoes.
"So I take it you'll be going to the gallery tonight?" He asked.
"Yeah, it's the right thing to do," I muttered as I glanced through the shoes. I quickly grabbed two pairs, both were cream. One with straps and the other a closed toed shoe. I held them up for Luke to see and spoke up. "Straps or none?" I questioned politely.
"Straps," he responded immediately. I slid them onto my feet and peered over at the clock.
"Dammit," I sighed. It was already 6:22. "Ashton is picking me up in eight minutes," I groaned.
"We'll have fun," Luke muttered before leaving the room. I grabbed my purse and hastily curled my hair before rushing downstairs to see Ashton waiting on the porch swing.
He was wearing a cream button-up shirt, a black tie and a pair of black dress pants. I sighed realizing that we matched. He looked incredibly good. I couldn't help but admire him.
"You ready?" He asked softly. I nodded my head and watched as he leads me to his truck. We stepped into the car and rapidly sped off knowing that the gallery was over a half hour away.
"You look nice," he beamed.
"You too," I blushed. I took a few moments to admire his features. A rough stubble covered his jaw and his hazel eyes seemed to gleam in the light.
It was gloomy out, the clouds hung overhead with the sun barely peeking through.
"I have to pick my mom up from the airport tomorrow morning," he stuttered.I watched as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.
"So I take it you don't really like your mom do you?"
"Hell no," he chuckled. "She's terrible."
"She can't be that bad?" I laughed as I nudged him lightly.
"Shannon, she's probably the worst woman you'll ever meet in your life, she's rude and fucking annoying," he rolled his eyes.
"I'm sure I'll be able to handle it," I sighed. He laughed to himself slightly and placed a hand on my thigh.
"Well, best of luck to you."
-
Within a few minutes, we had arrived at the gallery.
Ashton had quickly darted for the open bar as soon as we stepped inside. I managed to walk all over the room until I found our painting hanging in the center of the musical section. I stared at it for a few minutes before being interrupted.
"Is that yours?"
I turned around to see a rather handsome man standing beside me. He appeared to be around twenty. He had a deep shade of brown hair and piercing green eyes which intrigued me immediatly.
"Yes," I grinned.
"Anthony Hanson," he hastily greeted me with a handshake.
"Shannon Montgomery." I briskly responded in return.
"I hope you don't mind if I ask your age?"
"I'm seventeen," I responded with a smile.
"Well I'm very impressed with your work," he handed me a card with his name on it and smirked. "Give me a call if you're ever interested in going professional."
"I certainly will," I quickly fixed my dress as he walked away. I turned around to see Ashton sitting at the bar chatting with a woman who appeared to be about twenty-five. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the bar and sat beside him.
I watched as she would rub his thigh or lightly place her hands on his chest. She was trying so hard to flirt with him and he seemed the least bit interested.
He quickly turned around and ignored the woman beside him as she spoke. "Someone noticed our painting," I said as I shot the lady a glare. Her eyes widened and she instantly walked away.
"Really? Who?" He rambled as he downed another glass of champagne. I placed the card on the ledge of the bar and pointed to the man who spoke to me. Ashton rolled his eyes snatched the card and tucked it in his pocket.
"Ashton!" I quickly jumped and tried to grab the card from him.
"No fucking way," his jaw tightened as the man stared at me from across the room.
"Calm down," I whispered as he grabbed another glass of some kind of drink from a waiter. He swiftly downed the liquid and smirked at me. "Slow down, you're my ride home," I pouted. He chuckled and stood up.
"Let's go talk about pointless bullshit with these people," he held out his hand, I grasped it and followed after him as he pulled me through the crowds of people. Once we reached the center of the room, I felt his hand rest in the small of my back.
"I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself," he whispered into my ear. His voice was low and rough like it always was. "It's this goddamn dress."
"Well you're going to have to," I insisted as we smiled at the artists walking by.
"Ashton! Shannon!" We heard a familiar voice call. Ms. Rain. She quickly rushed over to the two of us and smiled widely. "You're work was absolutely inspiring," she smiled.
"Thank you," Ashton said kindly.
"The two of you have a future in art, keep it up!" She cheered. "I wish I could stay and chat but I have to talk to the directors of the exhibit!" She called before disappearing into the crowd.
Soon after she left, Ashton left my side and stepped outside for a smoke.
Within a few minutes, Anthony approached me once again.
"Boyfriend troubles?" He smirked. He was quite handsome.
"He's not my boyfriend," I was sure to answer quickly.
"I couldn't help but notice you standing here by yourself," he smiled. "I noticed an accent? Where are you from?"
"I'm French," I responded.
"France is a beautiful country, almost as beautiful as you," he smirked. "It doesn't make much sense that a girl like you is single?" He whispered softly as he grabbed himself a glass of champagne.
"Technically I am single," I answered slowly. He took my palm and brought it up to his lips. I felt quite uncomfortable and pulled my hand away gently.
"So would it be a crime if I asked you on a date this Saturday?" He smiled charmingly.
I suddenly felt a familiar hand grasp my waist.
"Back the hell off," Ashton growled. I turned around and glared at him.
"Be nice," I insisted.
"I thought you were available?" Anthony questioned with a confused look on his face.
"She's single, not available," Ashton quickly smiled sarcastically.
"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt, the two of you have a great night," he nodded kindly and rushed off into the crowd. I turned around and scowled at Ashton.
"He was really nice, you didn't have to be so rude," I rolled my eyes.
"How am I suppose to play nice while I've watched him stare at you all night?" He mumbled.
"That is not true," I insisted. "You need to stop being so over-protective," I whispered as I fixed his collar.
"Okay, I'm sorry," he said kindly.
"Thank you," I smiled.
"Now let's get out of here."
---
ashton is so cute omg
sorry for the filler