That made sense because she didn’t see anyone else being able to judge it. They could let attendees vote, but most people wouldn’t recognize superior work if both pieces were good, and the most deserving person may not be chosen.
“I wasn’t going to ask and wait for you to tell me, but the anticipation is killing me,” Avian started. “How was your date with Elias?”
“It wasn’t a date. We just hung out.”
Avian furrowed her brow. “It wasn’t? It looked like a date to me.”
“I thought it was, too, but he made it clear it wasn’t.” Eri paused briefly. “He said, since I had fun, I shouldn’t be opposed to him taking me on an actual date.”
Her friend put the laptop on the coffee table, picked up the other glass, and turned towards her. “So you had fun?” Avian asked with a smile.
“Yeah, I did; I met one of my favorite animators.”
“Yes, but did you have fun with him?”
“I did.” She thought only momentarily before continuing. “Each time I’ve been around him, I’ve had fun.”
Eri had no reason to keep that from Avian, and aside from her therapist, she didn’t have anyone else she would be comfortable talking to about the emotions she felt when she was around Elias. Things she hadn’t felt in a long time.
“You just like pretending that you don’t and giving that man a hard time.”
“With anyone else, they would take it as me being uninterested, but not him.”
“Because you aren’t uninterested. I can see that, and Elias clearly can see through your faux meanness to see that you’re attracted to him, too.”
Eri didn’t respond. What was she supposed to say to that? She wouldn’t lie and say it wasn’t true. She’d known that from the first moment she’d seen him, had even said so much to Avian at the gathering she’d invited her to at Marco’s house for the first time before her friend had moved in with him.
However, she hadn’t realized then how attracted she was to him, how he’d be able to start chipping away at the wall she’d had up to keep any man at bay. It didn’t help that when she tried to be mean to him, he laughed it off or said something that lent itself to the fact that he knew she wasn’t as irritated as she pretended to be.
“I can understand if the thought of dating is still scary for you,” Avian stated. “And you should take all the time you need, but you said it yourself, you have fun with him. Is there something other than what you went through that’s keeping you from giving him a chance?”
That wasn’t a difficult question. It was one Eri had already asked herself. “If I pursued something with him, I’d feel inclined to tell him about the assault if we became serious. Hiding it and not bringing it up would seem like lying to me, and I wouldn’t want to do that.” She paused for a beat that felt longer than it was. “I don’t want to be looked at differently or like something I did caused what happened.”
Avian took Eri’s glass from her, putting both glasses on the table before taking her hands in hers. “Nothing about what happened is your fault, and anyone who tries to find a reason for it to be isn’t someone you want in your life, and they can go straight to the bowels of hell.” Avian squeezed her hands. “I understand that’s a fear, and you should absolutely take your time until you’re ready. If it helps, I don’t see Elias doing eitherof those things, and if my telling you that doesn’t help or you need another perspective, be sure to talk to Cherell about it.”
Eri would like to believe that, but you never knew how someone would act in a situation like that until you put them in it, and she wasn’t sure she was willing to put herself in that position. Realistically, she knew that if she ever wanted a meaningful relationship, she would have to open up and put herself out there, but was she ready to do that?
“Thank you, Avi,” Eri replied, squeezing the other woman’s hands before releasing them.
“You don’t have to thank me. I want you to be happy in all things, and I will support you in every aspect.” She paused. “So, do you plan on going on a real date with him?”
Eri thought about it briefly. “Maybe,” she responded, but they both knew what she was saying: if he asked, then yes.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Elias redrew a part of the bike frame in the sketch he was working on. He’d started working on a design for the second referral he’d gotten from Rei, the streamer who commissioned a bike from him last year. As he looked at it, he realized it didn’t have all the elements the man had requested, but Elias liked it and decided to finish it, put it aside for a future project, and restart on the commission. He would start on the first bike next week since the last of the parts he ordered would be in.
He could have started and continued once the parts arrived, but he liked to ensure he had everything on hand before starting. Once he got started, he liked to focus on it. He only worked on one bike at a time and reduced the number of tattoo appointments he took during that time by forty to fifty percent.
His phone rang, and he glanced at the screen, debating whether or not to answer it when he saw who it was, suspecting why they were calling and what they wanted. Elias figured he might as well.
“Hello?” he answered, putting the phone on speaker.
“Elias, hey.”
“What’s up, Amanda?”
“I was calling to see if you were free,” she responded.
