Kasey’s phone rang over and over but, she remained deep in sleep, until the warm rays of the morning sun kissed her cheeks so gently.

After a few blinks, Kasey’s eyes were open to greet a new morn. She was wide awake.

Kasey Jones yawned and stretched her arms apart. The joints on her limbs popped without pain and a great feel of relief and flexibility was her reward. Her feet struggled briefly with a large white duvet and in a few seconds, she was out of bed.

Kasey walked to a huge oval shaped mirror, framed in gold made magnificent by smooth curves and delicate designs.

She stared at her reflection. The messy curls of her hair brushed her forehead, eyebrows and cheeks. Kasey’s body was buried in an over-sized black sweater and huge red sweat pants that swept the floor.

“He’s got a flair for dark colors.” Kasey smiled.

She stepped away from the mirror and looked around. Baroque designs were pasted in gold on the corners of the four walled room she found herself in. The walls of the rather large room were covered in an exquisitely designed wall paper with the brightest shade of blue.

Criss-crossed by white patterns intricately created to resemble lace works, the wallpaper gave the room a Victorian look. Kasey loved that about the room.

White vases Kasey thought expensive glimmered under the influence of the morning light, which peeked through the parting of heavy white curtains. Each curtain had a gold floral embroidery, which blended well with its silk and linen mix of textiles. Sculptures and ceramic figurines were placed on round tables with thin tall legs. The room was beautiful.

Kasey’s nostrils were blessed by a pleasant aroma that rode with the wind. She walked to the windows and parted the curtains some more. A gush of wind bearing the sweet smell of pancakes and coffee sprayed on Kasey’s face.

The bleached color of snow, padded short shrubs below. The branches of naked trees held unto snow piles and icicles like a unique decoration. The sun’s golden glow rode over the surface of winter’s pale canvas, giving the backyard Kasey stared at a shimmery ambiance. She smiled.

It was the first time Kasey woke up in a man’s home without sex or a drunken night attached. It felt strange. It felt new. It felt good.

Her phone rang again.

“Must be Cindy and Stacey.” She said, ignoring her phone completely. She wanted to bask in silence for a while. That moment gave her peace and Kasey thought it her right to enjoy the serenity. Well, until she heard a knock on the door.

“Coming!” Kasey ran to the door and flung it open.

“Good morning.”

“Oh, Hi. Good morning.” Kasey greeted the human at the door with a wide smile on her face.

“Sleep well?” Luca, the human at the door asked.

“Yeah, sure. You?”

“I slept like a baby. Thank you for asking. I made breakfast if you’re interested. I assume you’re not going to work today.”

“Shoot! Work!” Kasey screamed.

“Relax Miss Works-A-Lot. It’s 9am. More importantly, it’s Saturday. Who goes to work on a Saturday?”

Kasey kept silent. Her eyes quickly counted the toes on her feet.

“Wait…No…You…” Luca laughed.

“Hey, I just pop by my office for a little while. I just try to get things prepared for the new week. It’s not exactly working.” Kasey said with pouted lips. Luca thought her cute.

“Okay, Jones. Let me ask this then? How many hours do you ‘prepare’ for the new week?”

“Two hours…That’s a lie. Four. Fine! I spend over seven hours in my office on Saturdays. I get to my office by 9am and get back home at night. Sue me!” Kasey folded her arms. Luca burst into laughter.

“You need a vacation. A really long vacation.”

“I know. I’ll get one soon.”

“No laptops, no phone calls about work, no tablets or iPad. Just you and nature.” Luca said.

“Just kill me instead.” Kasey said. They both laughed.

Kasey’s eyes strolled all over Luca. He smelt of jasmine flowers and peaches. Kasey assumed he’d just had his bath.
He wore a grey turtle neck sweater over a pair of black trousers. Kasey’s eyes could trace the outline of his build from the sweater he wore. It was fit and so was he. A hand towel sat on his left shoulder. His hair sparkled as wet curly coal-black strands hugged tiny drops of crystal-clear water. His green irises shone bright, highlighted by a black line that encircled them. Kasey thought Luca Brandon a work of art.

While lost in thoughts of the human before her eyes, Kasey’s stomach sang a melody of its own accord. A loud growl echoed in the room. She blushed.

“That’s it. Breakfast it is. Come on.” Luca carefully pulled Kasey’s right arm.

“Wait…My phone…I’ve got to check my calls…I…” Kasey stuttered in a useless attempt to break free from Luca’s grip.

“Mm. You really are the whole package, aren’t you?” Kasey asked Luca who fried bacon in an elegant contemporary eat-in kitchen designed in white and wood.

The spacious kitchen was beautified by charming marble stone paddings for walls, LED strip lighting and appliances that proved the revolution of modern technology in the 21st century. The natural light from the sliding glass paned doors, gave the kitchen a brilliant ambiance. With the snow outside, the kitchen in Jeremey Foxx’s home was a piece of art that praised the comforting feel of the color ‘white’.

With a wide smile on her face, Kasey munched on the lightest and sweetest pancakes she’d ever had.

“The whole package? You flatter me.” Luca said, with blushed cheeks.

“I’m serious. These pancakes are delicious, Luca.” Kasey filled her mouth with the scrumptious dessert and scoops of whipped cream on the side of a plate, placed on a sleek countertop.

“Thank you for your kind words, Kasey. Such a nice thing to say. Now, I have something nice to tell you too.” Luca walked to Kasey and leaned towards her. He brushed rogue strands of hair on her bed head to the side.

Kasey gulped a cup of coffee as quickly as she could, while her cheeks grew as hot as the beverage she consumed.

“My clothes look better on you.” Luca said in a calm voice, so low it almost sounded like a whisper. Kasey chocked.
Coffee escaped her mouth and slapped Luca’s face in a quick spray. Kasey gasped. Luca took the hand towel on from his shoulder and wiped. His eyes were shut tight, then he opened them for embarrassment sake.

He stared at Kasey for a while and she did the same. Kasey bit her lips in a desperate attempt not to laugh.

“It was funny. Let it out.” Luca folded his arms and pouted. Kasey burst into laughter. Tears crept out of her eyes and her stomach hurt a bit but her heart was filled with joy.

“I know others’ demise can be hilarious sometimes, but isn’t this too much?” Luca rolled his eyes in harmless annoyance.

“I’m sorry…I just…The moment was so…And I…You should’ve seen your face.” Kasey laughed loudly; her voice echoed in the well-ventilated building.

“Oh! I’ll wake Jeremy.” Kasey said after she realized how loud she was.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Jeremey’s not home.” Luca told her.

“Where is he?”

“He stepped out an hour ago. He’s got a meeting with a client of his.”

“Well, would you look at that? And you treated me like a freak, just because I said I worked on Saturdays.” Kasey said with a sly smile.

“Yours and Jeremey’s are very different situations Kasey.”

“Really? How so?”

“Jeremey meets with his clients in fancy restaurants, golf courses and classy hotels. Plus, these meetings always come with a free meal and more. You on the other hand, sit in an office for hours and probably eat one meal, preferably junk food, which I’m sure you pay for. You both work on Saturdays. Agreed. But the circumstances are very different.” Luca explained. His words were followed by the sizzle of oil on a frying pan.

“To-mei-toes, To-mah-toes.” Kasey said. Luca laughed while he dished out eggs and bacons on two plates.

“You do know I’ve got one stomach, right?”  Kasey asked.

Luca picked up one plate and walked towards the sink “What a waste.”

“Are you crazy?” Kasey screamed.

“I thought you weren’t interested.”

“Not interested? It’s freaking eggs and bacon!”

“But you said…”

“I was just trying to be lady-like! Take a hint, man.” Kasey walked to Luca and grabbed the plate from his hands.

Luca laughed “The more I get to know you, the more interesting you become. It’s like opening an endless pile of presents.”

Kasey blushed and turned away from Luca, whose eyes sparkled while he spoke. Her eyes peeked into a room at the far end of the parlor. The door of the room was wide open to reveal a blank canvas on an easel.

Kasey walked towards the room. Luca followed with a wide smile on his face.

Palettes and paint brushes in jars occupied the surfaces of small round tables spatially arranged in the room Kasey walked into. Art supplies ranged from end to end by color, use and size were placed on wooden shelves.

“Wow! I know you said you were an artist the first time we met but this…seeing this now…this is awesome.” Kasey said. Her eyes strolled on blank and painted canvases on easels. Some canvases leaned on a corner of the wall and others were hung high.

“Can I?” Kasey said, her finger an inch away from a painting.

“Sure.” Luca said. Pride swam with the red in his veins.

Kasey ran her fingers over the painting. It felt smooth for a while, and then rough at certain areas. She stepped back to observe the painting. It was a red hibiscus flower surrounded by green leaves on a black background. The brush strokes gave the hibiscus, varied shades of red in small lines which aligned and fed the eyes deceit, as the flower looked real.

“This is beautiful.” Kasey said when she turned to another painting on the wall. The painting occupied a large part of the wall. It was a quadtych.

The four canvases displayed winter in a subtle, yet splendid way.

Each canvas was brought together to show the dark branches of a tree. The tree was partially covered in the bleached fluff of snow. The bluish background of the painting showed mountains covered by the frosty season like ice cream cones. A frozen lake was painted a few inches from the huge tree. It looked so real. Kasey grazed the painting of the lake. It felt smooth. She smiled.

Kasey took a few steps back and her eyes noticed the highlight of the painting.

The huge tree in the middle of the painting, and its surroundings were kissed by curtains of colorful lighting that seemed far at a distance. Kasey eyed the colorful lines of light reflected on the lake and her eyes strolled back to the skies in the painting. She knew those lights well. They were polar lights.

Kasey was staring at the realistic painting of a single tree on the winter and a lake, in the presence of an aurora. Her heart skipped a beat.

Her eyes spotted something on the tree. Kasey walked closer to the painting and squinted at the object on one of the branches of the tree. It was a green leaf. One green leaf in the midst of the winter, dangled from the tree. A small pink flower bud perched next to the stem bearing the leaf.

“In our darkest hours, in the moments we think all is lost. In the times we consider woe and pain. If we appreciate the beauty of the circumstances, we deem tragic, we’ll find what we need the most. We’ll find hope. And like a bud in the winter, we’ll find a miracle.” Luca said.

“A miracle huh? I need that.” Kasey said. A tear drop fell out of her left eye. She wiped the tear.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. What’s in there?” Kasey said as she walked towards a closed door in the room, in an attempt to change the subject.

Luca turned to some alphabets on the bottom right of the painting Kasey admired a second ago. The initials ‘L.B. Smith’ were inscribed on the painting in a cursive font and the color gold.

“I guess she’ll never know whose painting she bought.” Luca thought.
Drowned in a second-worth sorrow, Luca Brandon was awakened to reality by Kasey’s voice.

“Oh, my goodness! You’re a photographer? These are beautiful.” Kasey called from a small room that had a good portion of its walls covered in photos.

Luca walked towards Kasey.

“Yeah, I’m a photographer. It’s something I do in my spare time. Most of my artworks are paintings of these photographs.” Luca said when he entered the room. It was a white-walled room with no windows. A table and a chair were the only furniture in the room.

Kasey’s eyes admired the photographs on the walls of the small room. They were beautiful pictures of animals, buildings and wonderful landscapes.

“No humans.” Kasey said.

“I do take photos of my friends, but that’s it.”

“Can I see?” Kasey asked.

Luca opened a photo album in the room and took out a photograph. He handed the photo to Kasey who had amazement written all over her face.

“Is this Jeremey?”

“Yup.”

“He looks like a model. Did you also give him an idea for his pose?” Kasey asked, picturing the photo she held unto, displayed on the cover of a magazine.

“Yeah I did.” Luca answered proudly.

“And his clothes?”

“Had the help of a stylist, but the clothes were my idea.”

“Come work for me.” Kasey said.

“What?” Luca asked, confused by the bomb Kasey dropped.

“The photographer who works for my magazine has been a pain on the neck recently. He flirts with every single model. There have been many reports of sexual assault involving him and he’s not even that good. I did find another photographer. Someone a bit better, but he was way too pricey.” Kasey explained.

“And you don’t think I’m pricey?” Luca asked slyly.

“No, you’re not. You’re priceless.” Kasey said. Her eyes were locked with Luca’s. He blushed.

“Flattery won’t pay my bills Kasey Jones. Besides, I’m not sure about this.”

“Please, Luca. I’ll be generous in paying you. Just come to my office and check out what the magazine’s about. Just get a feel of the place and if you still don’t think working there’s a good idea, I’ll let you be. Cross my heart.” Kasey promised.

“So, you run a magazine company. That’s another thing I’ve learnt about you.” Luca said with a smile. He walked closer to Kasey.

“Yeah, and I also learnt somethings about you too. We really don’t know much about each other, do we?” Kasey said. Her eyes gazed at a familiar ring pendant that dangled from a gold chain on Luca’s neck.

“We will.” Luca said. “To be honest, I’m a lot more interested in taking photos of people these days. Especially when they have a face that’s hard to forget.”

He got closer. So close, Kasey was almost moved to hug him.

“So, will you work for me or not?” Kasey asked, ruining what could have been a ‘moment’. Luca chuckled at her cute display of innocence.

She walked out of the room. Her eyes landed on a canvas in the middle of the room occupied with paintings. The canvas she stared at was covered with a white cloth.

Kasey looked around. It was the only hidden canvas.

“What’s with this one?” Kasey asked as she stretched her hands towards the painting.

Luca ran to her and held her hand “It’s not finished yet.”

“Can I take a peek?”

“No, I’m sorry. But I promise to show it to you once it’s finished.” Luca said.
Kasey rolled her eyes “I’ll let it go, if you promise to pay a visit to my office on Monday.”

“Sure, I will.”

“I’ll be right back.” Kasey said.

She ran out of the room and rushed back after forty minutes. Dressed in the red gown and heels she wore the previous night, Kasey walked briskly to Luca.

“Here’s my card. Call me and we’ll talk more about it.” She said, trying to catch her breath. She gave Luca a card.

“My phone’s dead and as much as I’ll love to stay, I have to go. Cindy must’ve called me like a million times. I don’t want her to get worried and I don’t want her disturbing Jeremey either.” Kasey said and with those words she rushed out of the room.

She ran back after a few seconds and peeked into the room with a wide smile.

“Hey! At least this time, you’ve got my number. I’ll see you, when I see you and tell Jeremey I said thanks. Till we meet again Luca Brandon.”

Luca heard the front door open and close with a loud bang.

She was gone.

“Cindy, don’t start. I know I…” Kasey announced while she opened the front door of her home. Her words came to an abrupt end at the sight of a human she did not expect to see the morning after her date with Jeremey Foxx.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.