Kelly Waters checked her reflection in the darkened windows of a closed shoe store. Hmm. She pulled her coat aside to see her figure better. There was a little bit of pudge beneath the back strap of her bra, but otherwise it was a skinny day for her.
Up ahead, light shone on the sidewalk through the windows of the Birch Falls Art Gallery. Kelly gave her watch a glance and cursed, realizing the opening reception had already begun. She quickened her steps, suddenly thankful that she’d gone with flats instead of high heels. Not only did she leave her house ten minutes late, but the parking downtown was brutal. Though most of the stores were closed, Fredrick’s Restaurant—just down the block from the gallery—was always busy Friday nights. Lots of people from school hung out there this time of year since there was nothing to do in Birch Falls during the cold months.
Inside the gallery, Kelly slid off her fleece gloves and shoved them in her purse along with her matching scarf. She couldn’t wait for spring. Winter was not her season. Not that it was anyone’s season, really. Well, maybe if you made a living by snowboarding.
She recognized a few faces from school and smiled, nodding at them as she went farther inside. She found Will in the far corner, pointing to a framed canvas on the wall as he talked to Brittany, a girl from school whose thin figure and height screamed couture model while Kelly was more Oprah-ish. She felt skinny one week and downright fat the next.
A twinge of jealousy furrowed her brow and she hesitated, wondering if it was her right to interrupt their conversation, since she and Will were a sort-of couple, or if it would be rude. She took tentative steps across the gallery, her flats clacking on the hardwood floor.
As Will talked with his hands, he saw Kelly waiting on the periphery. “Excuse me,” he said to Brittany.
Relief overtook the worry, and Kelly smiled. If he’d rather talk to her than Brittany, he must like her more, right? Maybe she should get back to the gym. And stop eating so much chocolate. It was her diet kryptonite. It didn’t help matters that her older brother, Todd, was always talking her into late night fast-food runs because their mother couldn’t cook. And Raven’s mother was always making those awesome Italian dishes and insisting Kelly stay for dinner…
“Hey,” Will breathed into her ear, then kissed her cheek delicately. “You’re late,” he said, the smile on his face slipping away.
“Sorry.” She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and cast her eyes to the floor.
“Well.” He took a breath. “You want to check out my pieces?”
“Sure.”
He led her to the far wall where he’d been talking with skinny Brittany. “This is it. My favorite one is Kites.” He inclined his head toward the abstract painting done in bright, childlike colors. Were there actual kites in there somewhere?
“And this one,” Will went on, “took me weeks to finish. Every time I put the brush to canvas, something changed.” He put his index finger to his chin, musing over his own work. “I like how it came out though.”
Kelly glanced over the second piece. It was a blue face in the middle of something green. Trees maybe? Honestly, she didn’t get the whole art thing. Especially the way Will did art. Sure, she could appreciate the Mona Lisa or the fantasy art that was so popular lately. But that was art. There was something to see and look at. You didn’t have to think hard about it, or analyze it, or interpret it. But she wasn’t about to say that out loud to Will.
“Wow,” she said, making her voice sound breathy. “It’s all great, Will.”
“Yeah.” He nodded, his mouth quirking. He flicked his eyes to her. “You look great tonight, by the way.”
“Thanks.” She smiled again and bit her lower lip to stop herself from squealing. At least being late had paid off in some way. “Can we walk around? I want to see what the other people did.”
“Sure.” He threaded his fingers with hers and led her away from his collection. The gallery was bigger than Kelly had first thought. She’d never been in here before tonight. Even farther back than Will’s wall was a little room filled with black-and-white photography.
When they went inside, Kelly found the room empty. Perfect opportunity to tell Will about her Valentine’s Day plan. It was just a few weeks away. She was planning on V-Day meaning more than V as in Valentine. If all went as planned, it would mean V as in the day she lost her virginity.
She and Will had been together—or sort-of together—for several months now. They weren’t official, but Kelly wanted to make it official. What better timing than the day of love?
“This guy,” Will was saying, “is really good though his style is a little out there. He doesn’t fit normal conventions. And he has a lot of tattoos.”
“Tattoos are bad?” Kelly asked.
“Art is for canvas, not skin.” He put his arm around her shoulders and drew her in. “At least that’s what I think.”
“Yeah, I get that.” She snuggled in close to him. He smelled like licorice and soap. It was an interesting mix. “So,” she said, wondering how she should bring up Valentine’s Day. She was so excited about it. She was afraid talking out loud would somehow jinx the whole thing.
Finally, she said, “I’ve got a surprise planned for us.”
“Yeah?” he said, keeping his eyes on the wall of photographs.
“I was thinking, for Valentine’s Day, we could make reservations at a hotel restaurant and then maybe we could—”
“Wait.” Will pulled away so he could look her in the eye. “You’re making special plans? For Valentine’s Day?” Confusion furrowed his brow. “I can’t. I thought I told you I had plans already.”
“Plans?” No, he hadn’t told her. “What are you doing?”
He ran his hand over his hair, probably checking that it was still perfectly styled. “Brittany asked me out to dinner. I can’t back out after agreeing.”
“Brittany?” Kelly’s voice hitched on the name, sweat beaded on her forehead. This was exactly why she didn’t want to talk about it out loud.
“Kelly,” he said, using that adult tone of his. “You know we’re not exclusive.”
“I know, I thought…” Well, it didn’t really matter what she thought now. She forced her lips into something she hoped resembled a casual smile. “I know we’re not exclusive. I just thought it’d be fun to hang out.”
“Yeah,” he said, visibly relaxing. “We could maybe do something that Sunday?”
“Yeah. Maybe.” She managed a false sense of cheerfulness. She did not want Will knowing what she really felt right now—crushed. She’d been hoping they could spend the whole weekend together. She wanted them to be a real couple. Finally. After waiting so long. She figured that if she stuck around and showed Will how much she cared about him by complimenting and supporting him in his endless list of extracurricular activities, that he’d eventually make the relationship serious. At least that’s what the astrology article in Seventeen had suggested for sweeping Capricorns off their feet.
Will did all the talking as they went through the rest of the gallery. Kelly didn’t feel like saying anything. What she wanted to do was go home and get out of these stupid clothes and put on some sweatpants. Suddenly she wasn’t feeling so skinny.
After seeing all of the exhibits, people started drifting into groups in the middle of the gallery. Will dragged Kelly over and introduced her to Brittany. She knew Brittany; everyone knew Brittany. Why make it a point to introduce them? Why didn’t Will just stab her in the heart and save himself some trouble?
“We’ve never really talked,” Brittany said, shaking Kelly’s hand.
“Yeah. It’s nice to finally talk,” Kelly lied. Brittany was even prettier up close. She had delicate features, rosy-red cheeks. How was Kelly going to compete with her?
“Are you coming to the dinner after this?” Brittany asked.
“Um…” What dinner? Kelly looked at Will for clarification.
“I forgot,” Will interjected. “We’re all going to dinner at Bershetti’s. You can come.”
It didn’t sound like he wanted her to come. She’d bet he’d withheld the info, not forgotten.
Feeling like she was going to vomit, Kelly excused herself before answering and hurried to the bathroom. Finding it empty, she allowed a few tears to slide down her face. She swiped them away angrily and faced herself in the long mirror on the wall.
Maybe she was making more of this than she needed to. Was it such a big deal that she and Will wouldn’t hang out on Valentine’s Day? She’d been trying to have a serious relationship with him for months now. It wasn’t time to give up yet. Maybe Brittany, for all her physical attributes, was a huge bitch, and after hanging out with her, Will would dump her.
With renewed determination, Kelly left the bathroom and headed into the main part of the gallery, except it was quieter now, and looking around, she saw fewer people. She scanned the faces, searching for Will. When she didn’t see him, she made a circle around the gallery and still didn’t find him.
She went up to the first person she saw—a guy with thick, black-framed glasses—and said, “Excuse me?” He turned. “Do you know Will Daniels?”
“Uh, yeah, I know of him,” the guy said.
“Have you seen him?”
“Yeah.” He pointed toward the front door. “He just left, not even five minutes ago.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yup.” He turned back to the wall of photographs.
“Thanks,” she muttered and hurried outside. She’d seen Will’s car parked across the street when she came into the gallery, but looking over there now, she saw an empty parking spot where his black BMW should have been.
She pulled her cell from her bag and dialed his number. It rang and rang and then finally someone picked up.
“Will?” she said.
“Uh…no, this is Ben.”
Kelly frowned. She dialed Will’s twin brother’s phone?
“Will left his cell at home,” Ben explained. “Is there a message I can forget to tell him? ‘Cause I really love forgetting his messages and watching him blow up when I remember to tell him days after. His face gets all red and—”
Kelly gave a half-laugh and interrupted Ben. “No, it’s all right. Thanks anyway.”
“‘K. Later.”
Kelly hung up and slipped her cell back in her purse. Will had left her at the gallery. And he didn’t even say good-bye. How could he do that?
Then tears came for real. She wiped them with her hands and saw mascara come away. Great, now she was crying and looked like hell.
Two hours ago, she’d been excited and hopeful that she and Will would be boyfriend and girlfriend after Valentine’s Day. Now everything felt wrong. Will had broken up with her, and the worst part was that they weren’t even really together in the first place.
Time for some Chunky Monkey, aka “Woe Is Me” ice cream. Ben & Jerry should rename it. It’d sell like crazy.