apartment 23 // mitchel cave

19

angeline's p.o.v.

i sat with my computer on my lap, casually scrolling through my inbox until i found an email that sparked my interest: renwick gallery. i swear my heart stopped beating in my chest for a split second. i hesitantly clicked and opened up the email to read what exactly they had sent me.

last august we, the renwick gallery coordinators, had you present a few of your own original pieces in our gallery. after the amazing turnout that weekend and the overall interest people had shown in your pieces, we'd like to invite you back to present more of your pieces within our gallery. please contact us as soon as possible to save your spot in the gallery. all needed information can be found within the attached link. hope to see you there and kindest regards.

administrators and coordinators at renwick gallery

they wanted me back? shit, i couldn't pass up another opportunity like this. i clicked on the link where the email had said the information could be found and was redirected to another page. i read trough the information: it was similar to last time. they'd pay for my flight and expenses for the weekend of april twenty-first through april twenty-second, which was next week. they definitely weren't giving me much time to plan ahead.

i heard the door creak open, causing me to look up, and well, i definitely was given quite the sight. mitchel had told me a bit ago that he was going to get a shower, so now here he was, his body still damp with a towel hanging loosely on his hips. his hair lay wet around his face, framing his cheekbones.

"you like what you see?" he asked with a smirk, obviously noticing my staring.

"why are you like this?" i sighed, placing my face in my palms.

"what? i gotta take a shower eventually. it's not my fault you are practically eye-fucking me right now." he laughed.

"i am not." i said, crossing my arms.

"whatever helps you sleep at night. whatcha looking at?" he asked as he made his way over to me. he sat on the edge of the bed and peered over at the laptop screen. the scent of his aftershave still lingered on his skin. i could tell he was reading the information displayed: his eyes would dance across the screen as he took in all the information presented in front of him.

"renwick again?" he asked curiously.

"yep, they want me to put more pieces in their gallery." i said proudly.

"shit angeline, that's amazing!" he exclaimed before bringing me in for a tight hug. i returned the hug, definitely not complaining that he was shirtless and fresh out of the shower at this point.

"i can't believe they want me back." i said, shaking my head in disbelief. i honestly thought it was going to be a one time thing. i never thought they would have contacted me on their own time. i didn't even send in for this this upcoming exhibition.

"wait... they are willing to send out two people?" he asked, pointing at the screen. i looked at where he was pointing and sure enough, they were willing to lay for the expenses of two people. i had completely missed that part.

"well, i guess i know who's coming with me then." i smiled at him.

"me?" he asked with a wide grin.

"no, i was thinking of taking christian. christian seems like he would appreciate art. he's more of the intellectual type." i responded nonchalantly. mitchel's jaw dropped, causing me to break out into a fit of laughter.

"i'm just playing, you idiot. of course i'm gonna take you. that is, if you want to come with me."

"of course i want to come with you! a weekend just with the two of us? sounds exciting." he winked as he leaned in closer to me.

"can you stop being so horny and just put on some pants?" i asked him as i laughed.

"says the girl that was eye-fucking me two minutes ago..." he mumbled before standing up and heading over to his closet to find something to wear. he eventually slipped on a pair of black jeans, which were surprisingly not his chaos jeans, and a black vfiles sweatshirt.

"when is this again?" he asked as he ran his fingers through his damp hair.

"next week." i said before shutting my laptop and putting it on the bedside table.

"oh shit." he said, his eyes widening. i don't think he was expecting having such a short notice. trust me, i wasn't either.

"yeah exactly. i don't even know what pieces i'm gonna take." i said with a sigh.

"i could help, ya know? why don't we go over and look right now?" he suggested.

"as long as you aren't busy. i don't want to waste your time." i told him as i stood up from the bed.

"love, no time with you is wasted." he smiled before grabbing my hand and leading me down to my studio.

we both stepped into the small room, the sun's rays gleaming through the windows. this room was probably the most peaceful place for me. i could go in any time of the day and just become completely relaxed. i was forever thankful that mitchel and the boys had spent so much time working on putting this studio together for me: it was practically my escape.

i walked around, looking across the walls and the different pieces i had propped up against them. i had been making so many new pieces lately, most of which i wouldn't consider gallery worthy, but it was definitely good practice at least. mitchel followed close behind me, staring at each piece as if he would never lay his eyes on them again. i always found it funny how amazed he was when he saw my art. i couldn't quite grasp why but it was adorable nonetheless.

"what about this one?" he asked, picking up an oil painting of a lavender field i had taken a picture of once years ago. i had finished it a while ago, back when i had still been with james. he never liked it when i would paint so i would have to work on it when he was out for the night for one of his drug deals. despite how peaceful the scenery looked, it definitely brought back bad memories. i remember putting so much time and work into the painting with each tiny detail because i needed something to alleviate all of the pain and stress james had put onto me. from pain, i was able to create art.

"sure, set it off to the side." i told him as i continued looking. last time, the gallery had let me put in three pieces, so i assumed that it would be the same this time. one down, two to go.

my eyes landed on a city landscape with a deep blue and purple sunset in the background. i picked it up and held it up for mitchel to see. he nodded and took it from my grasp and placed it by the first painting.

now, i only needed one more painting, and i was genuinely having a rough time with figuring out which one to pick. nothing else was really grasping my attention enough to enter it into the gallery. suddenly, i saw mitchel walk away from me to the other side of the room where my easel was sitting.

"can you put my face in?" he asked, pointing to the oil portrait i had some of him.

"mitchel...." i sighed.

"pleaseeee. it's fucking amazing and i'm not just saying that because it's of me. it's incredible and people deserve to see my face painted on this canvas." he begged.

"fine. but only because i love you." i laughed. he grinned widely as he took the painting and placed it with the other two. i stood back and looked at them: this is what i would be presenting to hundreds of people in the gallery. mitchel came behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. i felt him press a light kiss on my head and i smiled.

washington, here we come.