And Calliope could not find it within herself to take a patron or inspire anyone, since.And when the painting stopped, when the writing stopped, Calliope told herself it would pass.Every artist experienced a block in one way or another, and it always passed...
“I know that,” she said carefully.“But you can not blame me for being cautious with my gifts when my gifts are a curse, clearly.”
“Callie...”
Calliope drained the rest of her drink as the lights turned down low, the room shifting to a darkened ambience with the sudden influx of light illuminating candles all throughout the room.
“All right, my darlings, take your places!”Aphrodite called out.“Our Masquerade of Mystery starts in just five minutes!”
“Good luck, Hattie.”Calliope shoved the empty martini glass across the bar and slid off her stool, relishing in the faint dizziness as her feet touched the ground.She blinked a few times, trying to filter in the sight of everything amidst the swaths of neon and candlelight.The room was full of life as everyone took their places and Calliope’s heart pounded in her chest with anxiety and trepidation, and something else.Something she did not want to pay as much attention to for fear it would be damaging to her as well as her passions in life.
And just as Eve rang the bell and called out the start of the evening, Calliope felt the strangest force around her; like a vibration, an echo.It was warm and solid, and it felt somehow strange and familiar all at once.She opened her eyes as the buzzer sounded, laying her gaze on the man across from her, dressed in what looked like a blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a black, plastic mask that reminded her ofZorro.
But it wasn’t the sharp-dressed attire or the stocky build of the man that intrigued her.It was his eyes.Deep like phthalo green, bleeding into canvas, staining every untouched surface.
Calliope had never seen such eyes before and she couldn’t help but think the darkness, the shadows of mystery surrounding them, added to the man’s allure.
“So, do you like Piña Coladas?”he asked, his voice oddly awkward but with an overstated cockiness that mimicked humor, which told her he was not as confident on the inside as he was attempting to appear on the outside.
Interesting.
“That depends.Do you plan on buying me a Piña Colada, Zorro?”she coyly responded.
The man chuckled, his lips turning up into the corner into a sly grin.“Maybe.”
She shook her head.“What ever happened to getting to know a woman first before you buy her a drink?”
“I mean...you can tell a lot about a woman by the type of drink she orders,” he said, crossing his arms.His performative cockiness irritated her, but she also found it strangely refreshing.Because they were all here, pretending to be someone else, were they not?Hiding behind ornate masks and alluring costumes, hoping to feed into some sort of fantasy?
“I doubt that.”She scoffed.
The man in front of her licked his lips, nodding to the table beside them where Hattie and a lithe man with a slender, gold venetian mask sat.Zorro nodded to Hattie’s drink.
“Pomegranate martini.Equal parts bitter and sweet, which tells meshehas two sides, and one of them is a side you don’t want to be on.Red is usually symbolic of love and sex, which makes it a pretty bold statement in a place like this.”
Calliope smirked.“And power.Fortune, too.”
“Huh?”
“You said red is symbolic of love and sex, but anyone with a smartphone can Google that.”She tutted.His mouth fell open and she let out a chuckle.
“You’re lying,” he said, with a scoff.
“I’m not.Red is also a symbol of victory and rebellion.And depending on the shade, it can also be toxic.”She licked her lips proudly.
“It’s also a color that symbolizes desire.Heat.Anger.Aggression.”He shifted in his seat, but his smirk was enticing.His eyes lit up with excitement.He was enjoying this banter, this flirtation.And Calliope couldn’t say she disliked it, either.
“That it is.”She shifted in her seat, the motion making some dark hair spill out of her updo messily.“And what about you, Zorro?What do you prefer?”
The intriguing man shrugged.“Piña Coladas are my favorite.Especially the ones when they put those little cherries on top...”He puckered his lips, pretending to give a bon appétit gesture, as if the little candy cherries were truly a delicacy.
Callie shook her head but couldn’t help the smile forming on her lips.“And what does your drink choice say aboutyou?”
He leaned closer, across the table, his green eyes flashing up at her.“I like sweet things,” he whispered.
“Is that so?”
He nodded, licking his lips.“Life’s too short to be bitter, right?”
