apartment 23 // mitchel cave

21

mitchel's p.o.v.

i stretched my arms out and opened up my eyes slowly. the air in the hotel room was cool and the scent of green tea wafted around the room. i looked over to see angeline standing by the microwave, stirring a spoon in a mug. she took a tiny sip before turning around and noticing that i was now awake and looking in her direction.

"you seriously brought green tea?" i laughed. this girl and her green tea...

"of course i did. you know me. can't go a day without it." she replied as she sat down at the foot of the bed. she wore deep blue satin dress with her dark hair cascading over her shoulder in waves. she looked stunning.

"you look quite beautiful this morning." i said to her as i sat up in the bed. the white bedsheets lay messily over my legs. i hadn't even changed out of my clothing from yesterday. must have been too exhausted from the flight. typical.

"why thank you." she said with a smile before taking another sip from her mug.

"what's the plan for today?" i asked her.

"well, the gallery opens at noon, so i was thinking that we could go today. that means that you should get your skinny ass ready. it's already ten and if the traffic is anything like yesterday, we're screwed." she answered. with that, i nodded and pulled myself out of the bed. i travelled over to my suitcase to grab my clothing and quickly got changed as angeline stepped outside onto the porch to look over the pool. it didn't take me long to get dressed and i wasn't in the mood to do anything special with my hair. the braids would have to wait.

i went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and make sure i looked somewhat presentable and not completely dead, despite how much i felt like it on the inside. jet lag was a killer: you'd think i'd be used to it by now but that was not the case.

once finished, i stepped outside onto the porch and stood next to angeline, my arms draping over the railing.

"you done getting dressed, pretty boy?" she asked smartly as she turned towards me to inspect my outfit. i turned to face her and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"pretty boy, huh?" i asked her. i grabbed her waist and pulled her in closer to me. she looked up at me with wide eyes.

"mmhmm. this is nice" she hummed, a smirk playing at her lips as she pulled at my grey sweater.

"this is nice too." i smirked as i fumbled around with the satin fabric around her waist. i leaned down to place a kiss on her lips but she suddenly placed her finger against my lips. i looked at her with a confused look.

"we'll be late." she said before turning around and walking off. i stared at her as she walked back into the room and placed her mug down on the small countertop by the microwave.

i followed her in, stepping next to her as she grabbed her small wristlet and her phone off of the counter. i placed my hand lightly against the small of her back and leaned into her ear.

"two can play at that game, love, and i promise you that you won't win." i whispered into her ear lowly. her eyes widened as her face transformed into a light pink shade. i winked at her before removing my hand and leaving the hotel room, the sound of her heels following behind me quickly as she tried to catch up.

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we made it to the gallery just in the nick of time. there were a few other people, who i presumed were the artists, who stood by their little "stations". angeline walked around for a little bit, examining the other's pieces and making small comments about the colors used in them before she found her own area. there were the three pieces we had picked out, one being my face of course. it was weird seeing a painting of my face up on a wall in a gallery. definitely not something that everyone gets to experience. i felt like the mona lisa.

a few people came up to angeline and asked her about her pieces. i stood behind her, silently sipping on the complimentary wine that they had set up in front of the exhibition. the man who was talking to her seemed to be in his later fifties. he wore a dark suit and his hair was getting slightly. he made nice comments about the pieces she had submitted and she kindly thanked him. she had a way of transforming from the seductive girl i knew to a professional when it came to her art. kinda hot if i'm being completely honest.

suddenly the man turned his attention towards me, which completely caught me off guard.

"and is this one of you?" he asked, pointing at the portrait of me.

"yes it is, sir." i said, giving him a kind smile. angeline looked up at me happily. it was great seeing her this enthused about something she loved so dearly.

"it's quite the masterpiece. the way you used the colors... breathtaking. all of these pieces have such personality. you know, you really have quite the talent." he said to angeline. i felt this overwhelming sense of pride for her. this is what she wanted all along.

"thank you, i really appreciate it."she said graciously.

"in fact, i could really see you paintings hanging up somewhere. perhaps... in my living room. what would you say if i offered to buy one of your paintings off of you right now?" he asked suddenly, leaving both me and angeline in shock.

"i... um, wow. sure, i would love to sell one to you." she said, still baffled over his offer.

"that's exactly what i wanted to hear. here's my business card. contact me about buying one of these, i'll definitely keep in touch." he said as he handed angeline a card with his information on it. he then turned around and left, leaving us both wide eyed and amazed.

"did that really just happen?" she asked me quietly as she looked up at me, her eyes wide with surprise.

"i think it did." i replied, the same expression plastered across my face.

"oh my god." she said breathlessly.

"wow." i replied.

the rest of our time at the gallery had been spent in complete shock. although angeline and i have no idea how much this mystery man wanted to spend on one of her pieces, i felt extremely proud of her. her painting was going to be hanging in someone else's living room for them to look at and enjoy every day.

we made it back to our hotel room much later than we had expected to. we had gotten carried away in the gallery, still high on the fact that angeline was finally making it with her art. we hurried inside the hotel room and angeline jumped around, celebrating everything that had happened.

"i know how we can celebrate." i said with a wink as i walked over to the phone. i ordered room service to bring up a bottle of red wine. despite having a glass earlier, i could definitely go for another. or two.

within a matter of minutes, a woman knocked on our door and brought in a tray with the bottle and two glasses. angeline and i didn't hesitate to pour ourselves a glass.

"to you, my hot ass girlfriend, and your growing success with your art." i said, holding my glass up.

"oh my god, mitchel..." she shook her head with a smile spread across her lips before clinking her glass against mine and taking a sip. i leaned in closer to her after taking a sip for myself.

"can i have a kiss now?" i asked her.

"yes you can." she laughed before i connected our lips together. her lips tasted of red wine and her cherry lip balm. quite intoxicating. much more than the alcohol in my glass.

"i guess i just won our little game." she said with a smirk.

"it was worth the loss." i replied before taking another sip of the red liquid. she was quite feisty.

i could hardly wait to see where her art would take her. i anticipated watching her grow as an artist and as an individual in the art industry. she was doing what so many people were scared of doing: stepping outside of the "norm" and following their dreams. i had so much respect for her and the fact that i could call her mine blew me away.

her future was so promising.

i wouldn't let anything rip that away from her.