Taylor

Chapter Eighteen

"Just text me the address—"

"No way. We'll pick you up," Emily interrupts, shaking her head. "You might cancel or not show up or something."

She was probably right. So, instead of arguing, I went home to find something that matched the formal dress Emily had on. I didn't want to underdress and look out of place.

~*~

The art gallery was filled with people dressed in tuxes and suits, it was hard not to feel out of place in my formal military uniform, the only nice thing I owned. Both Emily and Luke had told me I looked nice, but it didn't make me feel any less uncomfortable. The last time I had worn this suit... I shook my head. That didn't matter.

Once Emily pointed out which painting was Will's, it wasn't hard to spot his work. Each one was the same, yet weirdly unique. And each one was admittedly very nice. He was talented at what he did. And he seemed surprised to see me when he finally noticed the three of us standing at his, what I was told, other newest painting.

He came up to us and offered his hand to me. "I'm surprised to see you here, but I appreciate the support."

"Honestly, I appreciate your support. What you said to me meant a lot and... I wanted to say thanks."

He grinned as he gave Emily a side hug. "And thank both of you for coming as well." He reached over and pulled Luke closer so he could kiss his temple; I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly and looked away.

"So, what happens at these things?" I asked Emily.

"You find interesting people to talk to, get buzzed, eat fancy food, and make a fool of yourself." She giggled and grabbed a glass of wine from a passing tray.

The waiter almost lost the tray from the change of weight and Emily blushed. "I'm so sorry." She turned to me and looked like she was ready to disappear into the floor. "That looked cooler in my head," she admitted.

I busted out laughing. "I guess 'make a fool of yourself' is first on the list?"

At first, she looked put-off by the comment. But then she laughed, letting out a small, cute snort. "I guess it is." She downed the entire glass of wine. "Getting buzzed is second."

After finding a glass of wine, I go back to Emily and raise my glass. "To making fools of ourselves and eating fancy cheese."

She laughed. "Cheese?"

"There's literally a whole table of different cheeses over there."

"I'm going to try every type." She headed over to the table of cheese and grabbed a plate. I watched as she placed every single type of cheese available onto her plate, turning to me with a wide grin. When she got back to me, she held out the plate. "You have to go on this adventure with me."

She took a piece of cheese and split it, handing me one half. We took a bite and I immediately made a face. "What kind of cheese is that?" I quickly swallowed it and took a sip of wine to rid the taste from my mouth.

"I like it." She sipped on her wine but suddenly shuddered. "Okay, fine. It's disgusting. Sheesh."

Once again, I laughed. We spent quite a bit of the night on this cheese adventure as Luke hung out with Will. Sometimes I would steal a glance his way, but he was always be preoccupied with something Will or someone else was saying.

It came as a surprise when my eyes met the gaze of none other than Fynn. He grinned when he noticed me, but the smile faded slightly when he saw Emily beside me. He didn't hesitate in coming over and greeting us, however.

"Emily?"

"Fynn? Wow, I haven't seen you since graduation. How are you?" She gave him a side hug, then turned to me. "Do you remember Fynn?"

I nodded my head awkwardly.

"This guy here," Fynn said while looking at me. "Saved my little brother a couple of days ago."

Emily's eyes widened. "What? How?"

"My brother shattered his knee hiking at Eden Falls and Taylor just happened to be there. He slowed the bleeding, which saved his life." The corners of his lips flipped up into an appreciative smile.

"And you didn't tell us?" Luke's voice suddenly interjected from beside me.

Sighing internally, I turned slightly to face him. I wasn't trying to shout to the world what had happened. It wasn't a big deal.  "It's not a big deal. I just did what any person should do."

The smile Luke had on his face was extra annoying. Like I had just proven his point, his point most likely being that I'm not a bad person. I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn't.

"Not a big deal to save someone's life? What world do you live in?" Luke laughed and looked past me to Fynn. "How's your brother doing?"

"He's doing good. He'll have a cast for a while before he can switch to a brace, then he'll have probably a year of rehab. But, outside of a limp and maybe arthritis, he'll be fine."

Luke's face twists into pity. "A limp and arthritis would suck."

Fynn nodded his head in agreement. "But better than the alternative."

"Of course."

A woman announced over the hushed conversations that the unveiling was about to commence, so we stopped our conversation and headed to the covered painting. Will was introduced and then the woman pulled the covering from the painting. Murmurs erupted within the crowd, including from Emily who gushed about how gorgeous it was. And she was right. It was an abstract painting with his same signature colors, but this time the colors formed a skillfully done painting of Luke's face.

My eyes flicked to Luke who looked mesmerized. It took a while for him to peel his eyes from the painting and look at Will. His gaze was a mixture of appreciation and awe and, although it made my stomach twist slightly, it also made me smile.

Will truly cared for Luke and that made me happy.