Someone once said, 'A muse can be a mirror: a reflection of the artist's desires, anxieties, dreams, and needs'.
Right now, I was his muse. I was his desire. I was his anxiety. I was his dream. I was his need.
I was his love.
_____________...
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The difference between Silas and Adrian was their ways of carrying themselves. Adrian might be the older one but he was the one with the charm, making the people around him laugh and bask in his sunshine. Although the physical dissimilarities between them were limited. Apart from their height and the color of their eyes, they looked a lot alike.
"You're into publishing. What a coincidence!" Adrian flashed a genial smile, his glass of champagne suspended in mid-air.
"Technically, I am jobless now. I had been into publishing for a while." A sheepish chuckle came from me as I looked down at the street, backing away somewhat at how far we were from the ground.
"We are always willing to expand our team. You can think about it if you want to continue."
Adrian's information piqued my interest. With a tempting frown, I inquired, "You're into publishing?"
And turned out he was indeed, the managing director of the 'Wildhorse Publishing House' for half a decade. I hadn't met Adrian before but I had met their parents once. Ruth & Carly Dale, two excellent business prodigies in their late forties, had lived the life everyone wanted. They liked to keep touching each other like my parents and I had always wanted something like that. Although, I was well acquainted with the fact that Ruth and Carly, none of them were alive anymore, missing their sons' success. It was upsetting in a way.
The MC, however, interrupted causing Adrian and my conversation to halt.
"Thank you for joining us for a sparkling night of care, compassion, and beauty. This year's gala will be the most influential fundraising event of the year, and it is our privilege to introduce some of the country's most esteemed and admired individuals, who have graciously lent their support to help us unmask this disguised disease," the MC boomed over the microphone in the stage under the limelight. Gulping my second glass of champagne down, I looked around.
The banquet was full of all the women in sophisticated evening gowns and impressive designer masks and the men in their expensive tux with boutonnieres tucked to their jackets. The prom vibe in this room made me roll my eyes. These dates for one night sometimes could turn into such disasters. I had been there with men with their fake charm, trying to make up for the fakeness with more fake charm. I could go on about a lot of things but I chose not to.
The MC boomed over the microphone about a vacation in Maui for a week, the last on the list. I could use a little of that; beach, relaxing or hiking. As the bid started someone from the front row shouted, "Ten thousand dollars."
My hand reached over for the champagne glass the waiter with black tray was serving. I gulped it down in one attempt as someone else announced, "Fourteen thousand dollars."
"June, how about a week in Maui, you, Jared and me? I'll give you two plenty of alone times," I muttered to her hair, a waft of Versace invading my senses.
