UNDER MY SKIN | 18+

01. sugar

TALIA L.

"Is this Miss Talia Love?"

"Yes, this is she." I respond to the feminine voice on the phone. I tried to sound as composed as possible, but in all honesty, my voice wanted to tremble out of anticipation. The mystery woman responded in a soft hum before she continued, "We reviewed your application to be apart of the King's Art program and membership; we had been impressed by your portfolio and your credentials from the past art school you've attended. Because of this, we would like for you to come in for an in-person evaluation and sit down. What's your availability?"

If I wasn't talking on the phone, I would have let out a squeal as soon as the excitement reached my throat and struck my chest, "Yes, thank you so much, and I would love to come in. I am available anytime during the day." Well, that wasn't entirely true. I was working at one of the local coffee shops in my area, but my manager sure wouldn't mind if I called off work for this opportunity. Hopefully.

I could hear her small clicks from the phone almost as if the woman had been typing, "Perfect, does tomorrow morning and 10 a.m. work for you? You will be apart of the group evaluation." We had a really busy Sunday night schedule at the club tonight because of our event, but if it meant giving up a decent night's sleep to take advantage of this opportunity, then so be it. I've done more on less sleep." Yes, that works out perfectly for me."

"Perfect," She replies, "I will send the address information for our building and instructions to your email and number; we're looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"Before you hang up, I've been wanting to ask, do you have any advice when it comes to meeting Mr. King?" The lady on the other line became silent for a split second, almost as if she was thinking what she wanted to say: "Just don't speak too much unless spoken to, and make sure to keep a good distance from him; he doesn't like it when people are too into his personal space." My brow had rose. "So, if I wanted to ask him questions, how would I do that if I don't speak unless I'm spoken to?"

"Don't ask too many questions; just gather information and use the information you gather wisely." She says, "Have a good day, Ms. Love."

That sounded cryptic as fuck for absolutely no reason but okay.

After putting the phone down, I bounced up and down and let out a squeal of joy, almost as if my body couldn't control itself. I've been dreaming of this opportunity for a long time, and it brings me one step closer to becoming an official artist. Well, I did already consider myself an official artist, but I wanted to be an artist that solely depended on her art. I walked over the open windows of my studio apartment, my eyes trailing over the lights of the city.

Even after almost a year of living here, the city lights have never ceased to amaze me. It was quite beautiful at night. My comfortable lifestyle is primarily a result of my dancing profession. Aside from my small side gig making coffee, it's essentially what kept my head over water most of the time. I didn't want to lose this sight, but I didn't want to keep dancing forever.

The soft buzz of my phone snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked over to it, seeing Morgan's name across my screen. I picked it up immediately to be greeted to her voice, "Bitch, guess the fuck what?" She exclaims. "What happened?" I respond. "The people from the King's Art Program had contacted me back; they want to take me into evaluation tomorrow!"

Morgan Walter is my absolute best friend. I hate a lot of people in this life, but not her. We first crossed paths in our junior year of high school, when a boy who wanted to play both sides with us nearly resulted in us getting into a physical altercation. Unexpectedly, everything worked out, and we discovered we had a common interest in art. We ultimately enrolled in the same art university in London and were roommates for the entire four years. When we graduated, we relocated back to our hometown of Manhattan, where she currently resides in the building directly across from me. We shared a lot together, which included wanting to be under Mr. King's Art company and one day having our art displayed at of his shows.