fandomtownies | The York Gallery; Wednesday [ 09/17 ] -- Exhibit Opening! 8pm onward.

The past few weeks of work were finally coming to a head, and Charlotte was both nervous and excited and getting herself worked up into a frenzy with making sure everything was perfect. She couldn't help feeling an overwhelming sense of satisfaction with the exhibit, though. The turnout wasn't huge, but nicely manageable and thankfully not small by any measure. Some of the work was a bit amateurish, but she had to admit to being pretty blown away by a few of the others.

By the time eight o'clock rolled around and the doors were open, the gallery was set up in a display of the pieces by artist, and the usual spread of treats and drinks were available in another area of the room. Charlotte, dressed in a vibrant red, milled around the gallery to make sure everything was in order and all the guests were enjoying the exhibit. She was also keeping an eye out for the artists of certain pieces, since she was very eager to potentially meet them.

The Community Showcase Exhibit was open!

[[ ~~or will be, once I get the very extensive OCD up!~~ It's up! Enjoy! ]]

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Amber stopped, turned to stare up at him. "Wow. That kind of makes me hot."

What didn't make Amber hot? Cal grinned a little behind a newly blossoming blush, swaying his hand in hers a little. "Well," he said modestly, "I am a bit of a writer, remember?"

Good question. She squeezed his hand. "You should write me something... you know, like that."

"Why would I waste my time writing something, you know, like that," Cal asked, arching an eyebrow and tilting his head in closer toward Amber's, "when I can just skip the writing process and actually do it?"

"Oh," she said, heart picking up a beat in her chest. "I... okay."

"But if you'd prefer writing..." Cal said, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated way as he pulled back, made as if to continue just strolling down the gallery away from her.

"What? Wait," she reached out to grab his arm. "I'd rather you show me. Come on, Cal, you know I would."

"And you," Cal came back to Amber easily with the pull of his arm, moving to wrap his arm back around her and pull her closer to him; the move, while it played out smooth in his head, was a little more awkward in reality than he had anticipated, but he went with it, hoping she wouldn't notice the clunkiness for being won over by his smile, "know that I'm totally just joking with you."

She didn't notice, come on, she was more concerned with what he was going to say and the fact that he pulled her closer instead of continuing to wander off. Her hands held to his upper arms and that smile of his melted her. "Yah, I know it, Cal Stephanides. I just didn't like it."

"Not at all?" Cal asked, looking down at her with a new expression of a slight pout.

Amber shook her head. "Not at all. I think you should make it better."

"And how might I do that?"

Although Cal had a feeling he could guess it without even having to use three tries.

"You could tell me how much you liked my painting again," she said, biting her lip because she was sure he was expecting to hear something else.

Cal blinked, because, yes, he definitely was expecting something else, but he could roll with this. He was probably going to make an idiot out of himself, but he could roll with it. He gave Amber that grin again and, lowering his voice to a whisper in her ear, he said, very quietly, dragging the words out slowly, "I really like your painting."

"God, I love it when you say it like that," she whispered on a grin and stepped in closer, turning her face in against his cheek, settling her hand down to lay against his hip.

"What?" Cal asked, just as quietly, closing his eyes to close his lips for a moment on the soft spot just below Amber's earlobe. "That I like your painting?"

She had been teasing him, just a little. "Actually just the way you said it..." She shivered. "Cal, you can't turn me on right here, right now. It's totally not fair."

"I can't help it," Cal whispered quietly, sticking close to her ear so that it wasn't so much about the words, but about his lips barely brushing her skin. And, really, he couldn't. Cal was almost starting to think that he could turn Amber on with even the slightest hint of suggestion in his look. And it was a very, very good feeling.

"There's got to be a supply closet or something in here," he mused in another whisper. Twice a suggestion of back rooms in one day; it was a bit of a whirlwind with everything else.

"Or," he continued, "since you have an adoring audience to attend to, we could take a moment, take a break, work the crowd, and see how we feel afterward..."

Amber groaned. His lips barely brushing her skin affected her more than she'd like to think about right now, especially given where they were.

A closet. That had her fingers tightening in the folds of his shirt near his hip. "Cal..."

She needed a break or so help her, she would drag him somewhere and that just couldn't happen, not here. "We'll take a moment, a break, okay. But I don't think I will feel much different later."

"Good," Cal couldn't help grinning, even if part of him just had to shake his head incredulously that this was actually happening to him. "I wouldn't want you to."

"Okay, so..." she stepped back a little, licked her dry lips, and repeated, "So... mingle I guess?"

"Go," Cal said, nodding and shooing her slightly with a wave of his hands. "Mingle. Be free. I'll catch you in just a little bit."

Amber nodded and walked away, but with a tiny frown marring her brow.

He was like, getting rid of her.

The York Gallery; Wednesday [ 09/17 ] -- Exhibit Opening! 8pm onward.

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