Sketch

Chapter 20

"I'm going to pee myself."

"You'll be fine," Devon laughed.

"I most certainly will not! What if he doesn't like me?" I groaned.

"He'll like you just fine," Grayson said as he straightened his tie. Anderson Cheswick had invited us to a formal dinner at a high end restaurant with the second and third place winners the night before the ceremony. We'd arrived around lunch time yesterday and explored a little before we went shopping for something nice to wear. Grayson was wearing a black suit and blue pinstripe tie that set off his blonde hair.

"How could he not like you in that dress?" Devon purred. I smacked him on the arm and he laughed. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt and black dress pants, but his suit jacket was missing and I had a feeling he had no intention of finding it. A bright red tie lay eskew on his chest and his shirt was unbuttoned slightly. With black hair gently mussed, he looked like he should be on the cover of a magazine. I examined myself in the mirrior and frowned.

"Are you sure I look okay?" I sighed, giving my long red gown a spin.

"Oh, I'm sure," Devon and Grayson said in unison. Devon glared at Grayson, who nervously backed out the doorway. Devon leaned closer to me and tugged the pins from my curly hair.

"Hey!" I snapped. "That took me forever!"

"I can't do this if it's up," He smirked, running his fingers through my hair, root to tip.

"K- knock it off," I stammered, ignoring the shiver it sent down my spine. I'd obviously failed to hide it from Devon because he traced my hairline with his finger, cutting across my chin and down to my exposed collar bone.

"Gross," Grayson gagged as he stepped back into the room to straighten his tie for the tenth time.

"No one asked you to watch," Devon snorted, dropping his hand but keeping his eyes on me.

"Well, we're gonna be late if I didn't interrupt... whatever I just interrupted," Grayson shrugged. Devon put his arm around my shoulder and led me out to the car, hopping in the driver's seat. I climbed in the back and wrung my hands nervously as we made our way to meet Mr. Cheswick.

We arrived at a very fancy, very expensive looking restaurant and had our car parked by some dude in a tux. We wandered inside and a thin man showed us to our table. A very handsome man, probably around twenty three or so, stood up as we approached and grabbed my hand.

"You must be Ms. Natalia! Pleasure to meet you, love," the man grinned and kissed my hand. "I'm Anderson Cheswick, but please, call me Andy."

"It's great to finally meet you," I smiled, my cheeks burning. He put a hand on my shoulder and led me to a seat beside him at the head of the long table.

"You're the first to arrive," He smiled softly, "I guess you forgot the expression 'best for last'." Not knowing how to respond, I laughed nervously. Anderson rested his arm on the back of my chair and leaned closer to me.

"You're much prettier than I imagined," He cooed, tucking a loose curl behind my ear. I felt Devon rising to his feet beside me, so I kicked him as hard as I could under the table. The last thing I wanted to do was cause a scene. Instead, I scooted my seat a little closer to Devon, who grabbed my hand and set our entwined fingers on the table for all to see. Andy seemed unfazed and continued to smile warmly.

"So, love, before everyone else gets here, would you mind reveling the inspiration for the piece you sent me? You know, just artist to artist," Andy purred.

"Well, um," I shrugged, "it was really just the product of boredom and pent up anger."

"Pent up anger, hm?" Andy echoed thoughtfully. "Are you a troubled girl?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to say troubled, but I have my issues like everyone else."

"How intriguing," He smiled and poured himself and I a glass of wine. A tall man looking around forty or so joined us at the table, taking the seat at the opposite end of Andy. A pale woman who seemed to be his wife sat down beside him.

"Mathew!" Andy exclaimed, shaking hands with the man, "I'm so glad you could make it." Mathew simply nodded and eyed me carefully.

"Is this who I lost first place to?" He sighed in a high voice.

"It is indeed!" Andy exclaimed as he took my free hand and kissed it again. Devon's hand twitched in mine and I rubbed my thumb across his knuckles softy, as if to convince them not to punch Andy.

"I'm accustomed to being the best but, if I lost to you, you must be very talented," Mathew said with a sour smile. To lighten the mood, I asked about the past competitions he'd won. This seemed to put him in a much better mood. The third place winner arrived shortly after Mathew.

"Good evening everyone!" The woman grinned, waving frantically. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Hello Hannah! That's quite alright, you're here now, aren't you?" Andy grimaced. Hannah took the seat beside Andy and it seemed she'd arrived alone. She put a hand on Andy's shoulder and practically shouted how honored she was to be here while Andy tried to scoot away without her noticing. He ended up so close to me that we were practically sharing a seat.

"So Ms. Natalia," Andy smiled, cutting Hannah off mid sentence and turning to me, "How are you enjoying New Orleans?"

"I love it. It's very nice here, so many things I've never seen."

"Wonderful," He said quietly, placing his arm on the back of my chair again. "I know this beautiful little spot on the river that reflects the light of the stars just right. It pales in comparison to you, of course, but if you'd like to see it sometime, just call me."

"Nat?" Devon chuckled.

"Wha-," I began, but was quickly silenced as Devon pressed his lips to mine. His fingers tangled in my hair and his free hand slid to the small of my back. He broke away with a satisfied smirk. This time Andy did look taken aback, but not in a manner of suprise, in a 'you're on' sort of way.

"Young love," Mathew sighed from across the table. "I remeber being your age, having a girlfriend. I was quite popular with the ladies."

"I feel you, man," Grayson chimed in. Only Hannah laughed, and at a rather deafening frequency. I sipped my wine quietly and placed my order as the waiter made his way around the table. It felt as if I'd been here for an hour, but we'd only just ordered the food.

Devon and Andy were preoccupied with death glaring at each other, so I rested my head on my hand and silently toughed it out. I would have fallen asleep if it wasn't for Hannah's broken volume control. Her mother obviously hadn't taught her how to use her inside voice. All the noise and testosterone was giving me a headache and I politely excused myself.

I sat outside on a bench, letting the cool air calm my nerves, when Devon appeared beside me.

"You okay?" He asked, touching my shoulder lightly.

"Yeah," I sighed. "Just tired."

"I'm sorry," He frowned. "I know it must be abonoxious, trying to keep me from murdering Mr. Fancy Pants, but he just make me so mad."

"He's no threat," I laughed and patted his cheek. "With you dressed like that, there's no way I'd choose him over you."

"Are you saying if I was wearing my usual band tee, you wouldn't?"

"I'd consider it," I smirked. Devon put his arm around me and rubbed my arm lightly.

"We should probably get back inside," I groaned.

"You know," Devon smirked thoughtfully, "we could always just go back to the motel."

"Down boy," I laughed, "I'll just have to deal with them tomorrow, so I might as well just use this as practice."

"Maybe I wanted to go back to the hotel for practice," He pouted.

"Oh shut up and get back inside," I snorted. Devon offered me his arm and, after taking a deep breath, I took it and let him lead me back into the seventh circle of hell.

Sorry, I was moving. I just finished unpacking and getting settled, so bam, here's a chapter as a gift from me to you. I hope you enjoyed and thank you for being patient!