'Tis The Damn Season

Chapter 1

"So, are you taking your girlfriend home for Christmas?" Sarah asks her son during their weekly phone call.

"I'm not sure yet, she might have to go to her family." Steve lies

There was no girlfriend, he just wants his mother off his back. Sarah kept sending him phone numbers of daughters of her friends for him to date. He was sick of it, so he has been lying to his mother for about three months. And so far, it's going well.

"I really want to meet her, so do your siblings." Sarah says

"I know, we're just trying to figure the Christmas thing out." Steve says

"She's welcome for New Year's too." Sarah says

"Umh, yeah, I'll ask her." Steve says

"Okay, bye sweetie!" Sarah says, "By the way I'm in the city right now, so I'll stop by tomorrow."

"Okay, bye mom." Steve says and hung up the phone. He slammed his head on his desk and groaned.

"How long are you gonna keep lying to her?" Maria asks

"Not long, I'm gonna end my fake relationship in January." Steve says

"Okay, anyways, I need your signature on these sells." Maria says and dropped some papers on his desk.

"Last minute Christmas purchases?" Steve asks

"Yes." Maria says, "And now everything is sold, so in the new year you got tons of work."

"Fantastic." Steve mutters

"So, got any plans for Friday night with your girlfriend?" Maria jokes

"Not really." Steve says

"You should go out more, maybe you'll find some inspiration for new art." Maria says and left Steve's office.

Steve finished up some paperwork and locked up the gallery. He finally had a break from work. Maybe Maria was right and he should go out more, so instead of going home he went to the nearest bar he could find.

Steve sat down at the bar and ordered a beer. He looked around and saw a woman sitting two chairs beside him with her head in her arms. Steve moved over to sit beside her.

"Are you okay?" Steve asks

"Mmh? Yeah." The woman replies and looked up at Steve.

"You don't look okay." Steve asks, "You wanna talk about it?"

"I just had a bad break-up and he kicked me out of our apartment. So now I'm homeless and I won't move back in with my parents, even though they offered." The woman says

"Let me buy you a drink." Steve says

"I'll take a vodka." The woman says, "I'm Natasha, by the way."

"Steve." Steve says

"Nice to meet you Steve." Natasha says and gave him a smile.

"So... Was he a jerk?" Steve says

"Kinda, he cheated on me." Natasha says

"That's horrible." Steve says

"And he's a damn lawyer." Natasha says and sipped her vodka.

"Well, what do you do?" Steve asks

"I'm a personal assistant, you?" Natasha says

"Artist, I make paintings." Steve says

"That's awesome! I love art." Natasha says

"And I like to make it." Steve says

Natasha woke up the next morning with a bad headache. She noticed it wasn't her room she was in, she didn't even recognize the room.