There wasn’t a part of Destiny that he wasn’t intimately familiar with in the most unassuming of ways. There wasn’t an inch of her that he wasn’t still just as eager to explore as he was before he’d first touched her. She was his personification of love, pure and simple. He pulled her to him now, brushing his nose along the curve of her neck. She always smelled like honey, warm and sweet and he felt her sigh contentedly in his embrace.
When he’d moved to Miami, he really only had one purpose—to convince her that there was more than just years of friendship between them, that his love for her had evolved from just protective admiration because she was his best friend’s little cousin to desire, devotion and…well, really, need. They’d been through hell and back in the months since he’d abandoned Phoenix for Miami, but he loved where they were now… because they were together.
“I was looking for you,” she said, smiling when he dropped a kiss on her lips. “Let me introduce you to the DJ.”
She turned slightly and waved her hand.
“Brian, this is DJ Regulate—he helped put the show together. And this is my boyfriend.”
“What’s up,” he said, extending a hand toward the baby-faced DJ. His hair was slicked back into a ponytail and he knew from his features he was probably Filipino and black.
“What’s up, bro,” the DJ said. “You enjoying yourself?”
“Yeah, man,” Brian replied. “It’s a dope show.”
“I appreciate it,” he grinned. He nodded toward Destiny. “We love Destiny around here. She’s been showing me and my partner, Kyle, a lot of love leading up to the show.”
Brian watched her cheeks flush as she shook her head dismissively. She was so adorable when she blushed. From the way Regulate was looking at her, it was clear he thought so too. Brian eyed him again, subtly giving him a more thorough once over.
“You guys deserve the coverage,” she said, grinning, oblivious to Regulate’s appreciative stare. “I love what you guys are doing. We’re from Phoenix and it’s like, sifting through the abyss trying to find cultural events that are actually diverse and well put together. We were just talking about that the other day, huh, Brian?”
Brian nodded, unable to suppress a half-grin from playing on his face. It was good to see her so excited, especially with everything she’d been through lately. Her dark brown eyes were shining with enthusiasm.
“Yeah, I dig Miami’s arts scene,” Brian agreed. “I used to think it was just movie stars, spring breakers and cocaine.”
Regulate laughed, nodding his head. “Cocaine Cowboys?”
“Yep,” Brian admitted, laughing at the reference to the popular documentary that illustrated Miami’s cocaine trade in the eighties.
“That’s what we’re trying to do, bring people together through the arts, keep fostering our arts community,” Regulate said. “Like a more intimate version of Art Basel or Art Wynwood,” he explained, referencing two of the city’s most respected arts events. “That’s why we appreciate Destiny so much for helping to get the word out.” He grinned again, before glancing around quickly. “Let me know if you need anything else, Destiny. I gotta get back on these boards.”
“Cool,” she smiled. “I’ll hit you Monday.”
He reached out and hugged her quickly before releasing her and extending his hand to Brian, who shook it.
“Good meeting you. You got a good girl, bro.”
“I think so,” Brian said, grinning easily, as he glanced down at Destiny, whose cheeks reddened again. He placed a hand on her waist. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
Regulate nodded and returned to his place behind the tables, immediately focusing on the task at hand. He seamlessly mixed from Mos Def into a jazz-laced remix of Tribe Called Quest’s “Check the Rhyme.”
Destiny bobbed her head as she turned to face him. She took his drink from him, taking a healthy sip, gazing at him over the rim of the cup. They’d moved off to the side of one especially exuberant painting of a child dressed in fatigues like he was ready for war.
“So how was work today? They still trying to kill you?” she asked.
“It’s a start-up, that’s the nature of the gig,” he answered, shrugging.
He was one of two web developers at a three-year-old company, ComWave, which specialized in building websites for local hospitals and clinics. The work wasn’t that exciting, but the money was good and the company was expanding quickly. And honestly, although it was often boring, the work he did was solid. He could only imagine if someone he loved were locked up in a nursing home. He’d want the best for them, and his work helped provide that for other people. That knowledge he could definitely live with, even though his schedule was pretty relentless and had been since he accepted the job and relocated from Phoenix. Even today, he’d worked over three hours, rushed home and changed, and came directly to the art show to meet Destiny. Finding time to see her, especially since she’d just accepted a new gig as the regional music writer at Volume, was becoming more and more of a challenge.
Destiny looked up at him, a slight frown on her face.
“Did the clinic approve the changes that you made to the site?”
He nodded, watching as she took another sip of his drink.