A Thousand Miles And Poles Apart

who you are is not where you've been

New York City

"Hey Y/N, do you have the guest list for the Zuckerman showcase?" your boss Tom peeked his head into your office.

You nodded and gestured at your computer. "Just emailed it to you," you said. "I had a few cancellations so I filled it up off the wait list."

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver," he said. "Now don't you have a date in like an hour? Why are you still here?"

"We're just going for a bite. With your dress code, I think I'm dressed appropriately for the occasion," you rolled your eyes with a smile. The truth was you weren't very excited about this date. Ethan was nice, and you said yes because you thought it would be fun, but now that the day had arrived, you just weren't into it. You weren't sure why. He was genuinely nice and a good guy. He was one of the party promoters you had contracted for the show. He was exactly the guy you should be dating. But something nagged at you. Like you knew it was doomed.

"Okay, what's with the tone?" Tom said. "You are way too young to want to be a spinster already."

"There's nothing with my tone," you laughed. "I'm fine, really. I don't want to be a spinster. But I don't know. I guess he's just not my type."

"Not your type?" Your assistant Jen popped in. "Girl, he is all kinds of fine. Trust me, he is everyone's type."

"He's attractive," you conceded. "But I don't know. I'm just not excited."

"Maybe you should cancel then," Tom said. "No point in leading him on."

"Oh please, he's taking you out to Lux, one of the hottest restaurants in the city," Jen said. "That place is not cheap. You definitely need to go, and have a good time. Get free booze and then get laid."

"And as your boss, that is my cue to exit," Tom said, saluting as he walked out. You and Jen laughed.

——

"I don't know if I said this already, but you look really beautiful today," Ethan said.

You smiled. "Thanks, you did say. But it's always nice to hear," you joked. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"So I've spent most of this dinner talking about myself. So tell me something about yourself," he said. "I mean we've talked a bit at the gallery, but we haven't really had a chance to get to know each other."

"There's not really much to tell," you said, taking a sip of your wine. "I grew up in South Dakota, went to NYU for college. Majored in art history of course. Fell in love with the city. And started at the gallery right after graduation."

"Oh come on," he said. "I know all that. Your degree is literally hanging on your wall in your office. And from what little you've shared about yourself during our time together at the gallery while I was shamelessly trying to hit on you as oblivious as you were, I knew you were born and raised in South Dakota. Tell me something I don't know about you. Like why do you like art?"

"Okay first of all, I am very focused on my work at the gallery," you joked. "But I guess I've always liked art. It's always been my peace, like no matter what I was feeling or going through, art would make me feel better."

"See, that wasn't so hard," he smirked. "Do you draw?"

"I like to paint," you said. "The colors, and techniques and brush strokes, it calms me."

"I'd love to see your own work sometime," he said. "Who knows, maybe I'll be promoting your own show one day."

You laughed. "I doubt it, but thanks. I don't really like to display my art. It's just for me, you know?"