Slowly opening the beautifully crafted doors, Blue stepped outside and felt the crisp autumn air wrap around her, making her grateful for the long sleeves she designed on her dress. Not seeing Gael, but knowing he must be there somewhere, she began to walk around the corner of the patio where multiple fire pits were lit. There, standing against the railing and looking out at the skyline, was a very still and quiet Gael. New York City was too bright to see any stars, but the glittering lights of the city were a suitable substitute. Unsure of whether or not she should interrupt him, her inability to subdue her inquisitive nature ended up pushing her forward. Blue quietly walked up behind him and put her hand on his back, simply saying, "hey..." as he looked up at her. Immediately, his eyes told her what she had been wondering. He was upset, and she had a decent idea of what it was about. "What's wrong?" she asked, wanting him to explain it to her.
Gael looked back out at the skyline, his dark eyes illuminated by the lights of the city. He barely shook his head, mumbling, "I know it's stupid. I know I shouldn't care, but I do. I always let the negative emotions rule over me, and I hate it. Yet, here I am again."
Blue held out her hand and said, "let me read them."
He looked at her, hesitating to let her see the negative reviews he let bother him. He sighed and relented, handing her his phone.
As she scrolled through, Gael moved a piece of her hair that had blown out of its place and onto her face, gently tucking it behind her ear. She looked up from his phone as his hand lingered on her hair, twirling it between his fingers. It thrilled her to know he really wasn't afraid of how he felt anymore, that he would do something so intimate and sweet. Looking back down at his phone, she read further as a scowl began to form on her face. The worst thing she saw was that someone had said something about the show not being for everyone - too narrow of an audience - and Blue had extremely firm opinions on that subject. "I won't let you focus on these," she finally declared, jutting her chin out in defiance. "They're not even that bad, they're just...not great." Gael just scoffed at her, so she added, "okay this guy? You can tell by his writing style that he's not only living in his mom's basement, but also jerks off to a list of synonyms of the word 'dismal', which he used no less than fourteen times in one article."
Gael was so caught off guard by her words that he busted out laughing, immediately easing some of the tension she could still feel in his back that she hadn't stopped touching since she walked over to him. "Okay," he yielded, "but what about this other guy? He seems a little more intelligent, like he knew what he was talking about."
"Uh yeah, that's the problem. He's so smart he's stupid." Blue rolled her eyes, exasperated at the denseness of the article. "There's a pretty obvious irony and a very strong sense of cynicism that runs through the entire play, which he completely missed. I mean, if you don't understand artistic liberty then I don't know why you think you are capable of even attending a show, much less publicly reviewing it."
Gael winced for the guy she was verbally thrashing, laughing as he said "Ouch! Okay, I guess I have to somewhat agree with that brutal assessment, although I don't think he's wrong that it's not for every audience."
"Of course it's not! That's not the point! Name one show that is one hundred percent beloved by every person that has ever seen it? You can't, it's impossible. There's always going to be a Bob in the crowd that was dragged there by his wife, and you know what? He's going to hate every second. Or a know-it-all Karen who thinks she could have done it better even though she's only watched plays on PBS her entire life and this is the first time she's actually stepping foot inside a theater." Blue softened her voice, realizing she was getting too worked up. "Tell me some of the good things they said."
"What?" he asked, confused. "You mean read them?"
"Yes, out loud. I want to hear you say the good stuff." She handed him his phone back and crossed her arms to show she meant business, but immediately missed the warmth of touching him.
He sighed and reluctantly scrolled through, finding the list of good reviews Malik had sent him. As he read them out loud, Blue watched his eyes change. They told her that he was slowly moving up from 'melancholy' to 'okay', but she was determined to make him read until he reached 'happy' or maybe even 'thrilled'.
Just as he was reading the New York Times' review, a cool breeze whirled its way onto the patio and made Blue cold and bold enough to wrap her hands around Gael's waist inside his open suit jacket. His voice hitched slightly, but he kept reading as his lips began to curve into a content smile. Against his body, she was immediately warm again and felt him relax even more as the positive words flowed from his mouth and her closeness melted the stress.
"See?" she hummed. "So many more good ones to focus on. All written by wonderful, artistically intelligent people who don't live in their mom's basement."
"Wait. What if some of them do live in their mom's basement though? Does that discredit their good review?" he joked.
"Of course not, they're obviously just being frugal." He smiled at her warmly and wrapped his arms around her waist now, pulling her even closer. She asked him, "so what do you think?"
"About the show? I mean I think it's great, I have since I first had the idea. There were plenty of times I struggled writing, I even put it away for six months once because I was so stuck on the lyrics for the final song, but I always felt like it was important. I love the characters and the story, and I really love the way everyone has brought it to life." He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently, barely brushing his lips against her skin. "I'm so incredibly lucky to have the best crew to make the show so much more than I could have ever imagined all those years ago when it first sparked in my mind. It really is phenomenal now."
"There you go," she whispered. "That's all that matters."
For once, giving into the good emotions that were quickly taking over his mind, Gael tilted her chin up and kissed her. There was no thought of who might walk out there and see them together on the patio, no thought of who said what about the show; nothing mattered except his lips against hers. Blue savored every second, already feeling like their last kiss must have been a century ago; there was no way she could be this desperate for his touch unless she had been separated from him for a lifetime, surely. His tongue was hot in contrast with the cold air, and he held his warm hand against her exposed neck, running his thumb along her jawline.
Breaking the kiss, he pleaded, "is it later yet?" His fingers left her face and slowly followed down the neckline of her dress, making her gasp as he traced along the curve of her chest. He watched her reaction in amazement, his eyes on hers the entire time. Blue bent her head to the side and kissed the spot on his neck that she had thought about a dozen times since she first found it. Satisfied once she heard the slightest moan escape his lips, she murmured into his neck that they still had to go back to the party and make small talk with influential people. Gael groaned and put his head on her shoulder, nodding in defeat. Quietly he mused, "you always smell like hibiscus - like home." Taking a step back then, he took her hand in his and rubbed the back of her wrist like he had a couple days before. "Thank you for always encouraging me. You have no idea how much it helps."
Blue nodded, "I'm just giving back what I receive. You have supported me since day one, always made me feel like I was worth taking a chance on. I really have always felt like you appreciated my work, and it means a lot to have someone say they like what you create."
"You weren't a risk, we all knew we would be stupid not to ask you to design for us." He pulled her hand up and kissed it, lingering for just a moment. "Oh and thanks for making me focus on the good and for thoroughly burning the bad to the ground. Somehow, you're still more capable of cheering me up than anyone else. Poor Malik thought I was a lost cause and assumed I would need at least a month to recover."
Blue smiled proudly at him, "that's my specialty, I guess. Now let's go back inside and soak up all those good vibes the cast and crew is putting off; based on how they were acting when I left, you're not going to want to miss this."
—
Blue was wrong about the atmosphere of the crowd, it wasn't good. The energy that hit them as soon as they walked back into the main room was absolutely effervescent, every one of their co-workers buoyant with the news of the show trending online on basically all social media platforms. An exhilarated Malik spotted Gael come back into the room first, and immediately ran up to him and slammed him with a giant bear hug. Blue could only look around at her friends in disbelief, stunned to see them all bubbling around at the good news like the fizz on top of champagne. She saw Kiara floating towards her and was still in shock when she yelled over the music, "we did it, Blue! It's a hit! Everyone is talking about the show! Look," she said as she handed Blue her phone. Scrolling through, there were thousands of tweets and posts and shares, all about Nothing but Tombs.
They had actually done it.
The rest of the evening was nothing but pure celebration at the success of their hard work. Blue danced with her friends, moving to the beat of the DJ's music and living off the high of the crowd's excitement. At one point, Kiara pointed out Arjun sneaking off with the columnist and they laughed at the success of their matchmaking efforts. Natasha convinced Crush*Trek to play a sample of Arcanum's music, telling everyone to make sure and respond to the email Blue had sent to the entire company inviting them to the next party to celebrate their success. Ken was glowing as tons of people went over to him and said they couldn't wait to hear them live.
She hadn't seen much of Gael since their talk on the balcony because he was mostly preoccupied with networking and talking to investors, who were suddenly very interested in the show. He did finally join them on the dance floor though when Crush*Trek played one of the songs from the show. Everyone was singing at the top of their lungs, jumping up and down as the song ended and giving hugs all around. Gael grabbed Blue and hugged her, their embrace lingering longer than any other hug he had given that night. She held onto him, wishing everyone would disappear - not for the first time - so she could have him all to herself. When he finally let go of her, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled charmingly as Malik dragged him away from her, his phone to his ear. Kiara's eyes were wide, giving Blue a very suspicious look, to which she just shrugged and kept dancing as the music got louder.
It was getting late and Blue's feet were screaming to get off of them, so she told Kiara they should see if they could locate Arjun, although she was wondering if he hadn't already left them and gone home with his prize. She wasn't exactly sure if she should also try to find Gael and say goodbye, or what his plans were for the rest of the evening. He ended up being the one to find Blue on a couch in the corner of the giant room, resting her feet while typing a message on her phone to Arjun inquiring if he needed a ride home or if he needed a 'do not disturb' sign instead. Gael sat next to her, putting his arm on the couch behind her and sighed heavily. "So...I have to go do an interview with Variety Magazine; I guess they literally just called Malik and want to get ahead of the press tomorrow."
Blue was shocked, not expecting that to be what he would say. "It's past midnight, they want an interview now?"
"Yeah the world of journalism waits for no one apparently," he huffed. "It's a pretty big deal, they don't usually cover musical theater but I guess the fact that we are trending, well basically everywhere, means new doors are opening." His eyes were very open to her tonight; constantly being torn between huge feelings and having to network with so many influential people that the show depended on had taken its toll on him. "I really wanted to spend time with you and hear about how your night was, but...I have to do this interview and then I have to be awake in," he looked at his phone, "five hours to do some more press Malik already had lined up before tomorrow's show."
Blue was disappointed in not getting enough time with him tonight, especially with most of it spent around everyone else and not having him to herself. She knew this would be the case, however, and things probably wouldn't be any easier for a while, at least until the hype calmed down and there was less for Gael to focus on. "It's totally fine, I understand. It's a huge deal! Go charm them and enjoy getting like two hours of sleep while I sleep until noon tomorrow."
"Oh dear God, that sounds amazing. I don't think I've slept that late since...ever?" he joked, but Blue had a suspicion that actually might be true. He looked at her like she was miles away and not sitting right next to him. "I miss you," was all he whispered, but it was enough to take the breath away from her lungs, leaving only a few words possible. "I'm right here," she breathed, unable to say anything else.
He moved his arm that was resting on the couch behind her down to twine some of her hair into his fingers again, his eyes heavy and conflicted. "It feels as though I'm made of dusty old paper and you're a brilliant flame; no matter what happens, I'm always completely consumed by you. On a night that I should be thrilled to do a hundred interviews for the show, all I want is to be with you for a little while longer."
Blue was taken aback by his sincerity and openness. "How am I supposed to be a good influence and encourage you to do your job when you say things like that?" she stuttered. Gael involuntarily began to lean towards her and wanted nothing more than to let him have his wish, but they were most definitely not alone in a room full of over a hundred prying eyes. "Go promote the show," she said, "it's important for all of us. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. You're the one that hired me, remember?" She nudged him with her elbow and made him laugh. "We have nothing but time."
Although Gael was grateful for her understanding, it still was difficult to get up and walk away from her. He promised to text her how the interview went and she promised she would be asleep and would read it when she woke up.