Something Like Stories - Volume Two by Jay Bell

Author:Jay Bell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: something like summer, gay series, lgbt fiction, gay short stories, mm romance, gay sex, queer fiction, gay relationships, gay love, kindle alexander

__________

__________

Something Like Memories

by Jay Bell

__________

__________

Austin, 2016

__________

Hey baby. It’s our big day! Or at least the anniversary of it. Probably. I figure it’s around here somewhere. I know we disagree, and today definitely isn’t the right time to argue. I just want you to know that I love you bunches. Ha! Instead of two peas in a pod, we’re two bananas in a bunch. That’s not supposed to be sexual. Unless you want it to be. So uh… Yeah.

Tim Wyman looked up as the door to the Eric Conroy Gallery opened. He was grateful for the interruption, the greeting card he had been writing in already ruined by his clumsy efforts. Romantic prose didn’t come easily to him, which is why he had bought five more of the same card. Just in case. They were currently spread out across the desk, but only two of them were untouched, the rest having been marred by bad poetry or blundering declarations of love.

“Just let me know if you need anything,” Tim said to the couple who had entered.

He offered a smile and looked down at the card again, pretending to be busy. As soon as the couple had moved to the first painting, he covertly sized them up. They had sales potential. The man was in his late fifties or early sixties, the slacks and Polo shirt implying he needed to be prepared for emergency business meetings at the nearest country club. His wife was a good ten years younger, maybe more, her taste refined. The clothes she wore were stylish. Her jewelry and makeup popped without being excessive. The couple moved from one painting to the next, giggling and finding excuses to touch each other. The afternoon was still early. Tim could imagine they had eaten lunch down the street and gotten tipsy while doing so. Time to move in for the kill.

“That’s a great piece,” he said, nodding at a painting of a disembodied head—a self-portrait of the artist, whose red nose and downturned lips gave the impression of someone with a cold. The sickly pink color that filled the backdrop only helped reinforce this. “The artist is just starting out, but I can promise you that he’s a name to watch. A self-portrait of Rembrandt was valued at fifty million recently, and one of Van Gogh sold for seventy. All we’re asking is five hundred bucks, so it’s a real bargain.”

The man laughed appreciatively, then turned to his wife. “What do you think, honey?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s kind of… icky.”

Tim couldn’t argue with that. Whenever he looked at the painting he thought of cough syrup and days spent in bed surrounded by sopping wet tissues. That’s why he was so eager to sell it.

The wife turned to Tim, perhaps noticing him for the first time, because her eyes took a stroll over his body. “Do you have anything cuter?”

“Cute? Let’s see… There’s a new exhibition in the west wing you might like. Right over there.”

“Thanks!” She smiled demurely and then walked in the direction he had indicated.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.