Nodding, I glance at her. “I designed all my tattoos.”
She purses her lips and tries to hide her smile. “I’m impressed. Can you draw something else for me?”
Suddenly, I’m filled with a sense of excitement. Drawing gives me a strong emotional response. Other than music, it’s a real passion, and no one has ever asked me to draw for them. So Ria wanting me to sketch something for her excites me.
“Sure.”
All the awkwardness from before seems to have ebbed, and now we’re back to being us again as I sit back and create some artwork. Zaria lays on her sun lounge, soaking up the sunlight and waiting for me to finish. She sips on her fruity drink and orders her chef to make us a salad.
After being out in the sun for a while and me doodling, she turns to me. “We should go watch a movie in the theater room.”
“You have a theater room?”
“Don’t you?” she replies.
“Um… no.”
She grabs my hand, leading me inside her mansion. “Well, c’mon then. I’ll show you mine.”
Shaking my head, I take a breath and follow her inside and off to the left, where we walk under the stairs and into a darkened room. She flicks on the lights, and it’s basically a small cinema. There are rows of recliner chairs with small tables between them, and at the front of the room, on the wall, is a giant white screen the size of a standard cinema screen. I look up at a projector, and it is not like the standard type you’d find in a home theater room. No, this is massive, and it hangs from the ceiling.
I shake my head. “Wow,” I simply say as Ria chuckles and drags me further inside.
“What do you wanna watch? Not one of mine, though,” she exclaims, and I laugh.
“What aboutFinding Nemo?”
She cocks her head to the side with a half-smile. “Wasn’t expecting that. More of a horror or thriller or maybe a comedy, but definitely wasn’t expectingDisney-Pixarfrom you.”
Grinning, I shrug. “I’m full of surprises. Plus, I like the message of ‘never give up’ in it. I kinda live by Dory’s motto of ‘Just Keep Swimming.’ It helps me survive in this world.”
She frowns and pats my shoulder. “There’s so much to you, Nate Levine, that’s deeper than people know. I wish they saw you how I see you.”
Tilting my head, I furrow my brows. “Howdoyou see me?”
“As a broken but kind man, everyone steps on. And you let them because deep down, you feel like you’re not worthy.”
Shifting uncomfortably, I swallow hard. “You got all that by looking at me?”
“I see a lot of the old me in you, Nate. You’re worth more than you think you are.”
I scoff. “I’m just your typical dumbass drummer.”
“No! You’re a passionate artist who has no sense of self-worth. I’m going to change that. Show everyone how worthy you are.”
I exhale. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Like I said… I see my old self in you. BeforeRiabecameZaria.You’re a decent man, and I want people to see you for you.”
“Why don’t you let people see you for you?”
“As in Ria, not Zaria?” I nod, and she sighs. “Because of Patrick, my stepdad. He taught me to be Zaria, and I owe him so much. My whole career, basically. I feel like if I stop being Zaria, it would feel like a slap in the face to Patrick.”
“I guess. But you don’t have to be so dramatic, Ria. You could be less diva and a little more Ria. I think people would warm to Ria more than your Zaria persona. Honestly, I think they’d respect Ria more than that diva. People generally roll their eyes at the diva mentality, don’t they?”
She exhales. “It’s hard, though. When I get into that mode, it’s difficult to switch off the bitch. I hate being her, but I don’t know how to be any different in public because it’s so ingrained in me now. It’s like a habit that I can’t break.”
I nod. “I get it, but I think you should try. How about you start with my friends? I know for a fact they’d appreciate Ria instead of the diva.” I give her a warm smile.
