Souled [Editing]

Chapter 21

Dee's heart raced as she paced around the art gallery. Her hands trembled at her side and she tried to calm herself down by taking deep breaths. It wasn't working.

Soon, her family would be arriving at the gallery to see the unveiling of her artwork. But that wasn't the only thing that kept her heartbeat at a million beats a minute. They were also going to meet Drew for the first time. She knew they would like him. There was hardly anything to dislike about him. But she also knew that her family could be intense and she feared that they would overwhelm Drew.

She stopped pacing when she realized she was in front of where her painting would be. Technically, it was there. A simple white sheet covered the painting. It almost blended into the wall behind it.

Staring up at the square, her pulse spiked again but for a different reason. The owners had already mentioned how excited they were to display her piece. She thanked them generously. Tonight would determine if she would be a successful artist or not. If people liked what they saw then they might come back to see more of her artwork later. If not, then she'd have to try harder next time.

Two other artists paced around in their own nervous states. There were three unveilings tonight and plenty of art collectors promised to be in attendance. It was a big night for all three of them.

Two hands clamped down on Dee's shoulders, cutting off her train of thought. She turned around and smiled at the person still holding onto her shoulders.

"Drew," she said with a grin.

He leaned down for a quick kiss. "How are you holding up?" he asked, knowing how anxious she had been for this night for weeks now.

"Pretty well all things considered." Which was true. She could be in worse shape. "How are you? Nervous yet?"

"Not at all."

"You should be," Dee teased.

"I'm not and I don't think I will be."

"Have I warned you how much my family could be?"

Drew nodded. "Yes. Multiple times. And each time I assured you that I could combat it with my charm and wit. Yeah?"

She reluctantly agreed and put her arms around him for a hug. "You're right. You can hold your own."

"I'm glad you see it my way," he chuckled. Dee could feel the reverberations in his chest.

They stayed in the position for a moment longer until Dee noticed a couple people trickling into the gallery. "I better go get ready for the reveal."

Drew let her go and his eyes lit up. "Yes. Go! It's your night. Don't forget to enjoy it," he said, kissing her forehead.

Dee walked away, smoothing down her top and pulling up her dark jeans up a little higher. She disappeared to the back for a few minutes and by the time she returned Drew was no longer standing in front of her painting. She took up stance next the white sheet and smiled at the people looking at the existing artworks.

Drew watched from across the room. He wanted to give her enough room to do her own thing. She was a rock star when it came to events like these. Pride rose in his chest as he watched her strike up a conversation.

He turned away and went to get a drink of water. If he was being completely honest with himself, he was a little nervous about the night. Drew convinced Dee he wasn't nervous so that it wouldn't stoke her nerves more than they already were. Despite his nerves, he knew he was ready to meet her family. It had been more than time, but he knew better than to rush Dee. After all, she always did things on her own terms. But he also knew that if she was willing to introduce him to her family then maybe he could make an announcement he'd been wanting to since he met her.