They do

Back at my apartment, I waited for Vicky to send me a text. I don't know why, but I was more interested in her than working on my next piece. Maybe it was the fact I wasn't sure if she would contact me. She seemed rather anxious when we talked, but I guess that just served to make her seem more real. Certainly more real than the money-eyed man and his trophy wife.

It was well into the afternoon when the text came: 'Hey Tony. How about we hang out at the park?'

'I'd love to'

'Great. I'll be around the north entrance. See you there'

With haste, I went over to the park. There, I found Vicky in her natural habitat, drawing a portrait of a child who managed to sit still during the entire process. She was laser focused. So much so that she didn't even notice me until she handed the child his portrait.

"Hey Tony." She said.

"How's it going?"

"Good."

"So, are you getting a lot of customers?"

"Ah, not as much as I'd like."

I reached for my wallet. "Well how about you make it one more?"

"Sure. You don't have to pay though."

"I'm afraid I insist."

"You're very insistent, aren't you?"

"Well, that's politer than saying I'm stubborn."

After paying, I sat down and let Vicky get to work. That focus she had beforehand seemed to melt away. Her pencil strokes seemed more frantic and ****. Once again, her nerves were getting the better of her. She tried to regain her composure, taking the occasional deep breath before she got back to capturing me on paper.

The results spoke for themselves. The lines at times were a little frantic, but you could still make out it was me. Truth be told, it was more interesting than a typical sketch portrait. Its oddness gave it a personality that it would otherwise not have.

"You like it?"

"Of course I do. It's fantastic."

"Uh… I dunno about that. Certainly not my best work."

"I like it. It has a certain charm to it."

"Isn't that just a polite way of saying something sucks?"

"Not if I mean it."

Her cheeks turned red as the smile on her face grew.

"Shall we go for a stroll?" I asked.

"Yeah. Let's do that."

Once Vicky packed her things up, we went for a stroll in the park. Admittedly, it's not something I do often, but it felt nice to just take in the serenity of the parklife. From the ducks relaxing in the pond to the kids running amuck in the playground. It was much more peaceful to the city life I'm used to.

"So, how's your piece going?" Vicky asked, snapping me out of my little daydream.

"Haven't started if I'm honest."

"Well, it's good to know we share an interest in procrastination."

Her joke got a chuckle out of me.

"So what do you make of Jessica?"

I shrugged. "Hard to read honestly. She seems to be always performing, y'know?"

"Yeah, I understand. I feel sorry for her if I'm honest."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I suppose it's not my place to say, but she just doesn't seem to be her true self."

"And what about you?"

"I certainly try but… We can't all make a living out of being an artist. No offense or anything."

"None taken. Truth be told, I can't say I haven't had my doubts about this journey of mine."

"So how did you do it?"

"A combination of persistence and luck. Wish I knew the magic formula, but I don't."

"Same."

We shared another laugh.

"Is this a bad time to remind you that you had friends that could get me in a gallery?"

"Well it's a good time to tell you I can't make any promises."

"It's the thought that counts, right?"

"Right. So what do you do outside of art?"

"Not much really. I uh… I don't have much time."

"If you had the time though?"

"I'd love to do more hiking.

"Maybe that could be date number two?"

I look at Vicky, who's fingers toy with her hair as she looks to the ground.

"What? Does my breath smell?" I asked.

"No uh… I just didn't know this was a date."

"It's whatever you want it to be."

"I just didn't think you were really into me like that."

"Well, I think you're cute."

We paused, allowing Vicky to lock eyes with me. For a moment, I didn't know what was going to happen. That was until Vicky pulled me in for a kiss. It ended pretty much as soon as it started, with Vicky retreating back. Her eyes looked away from me, but that smile of hers betrayed that her thoughts were the same as mine: There was something special between us.