down for a better view of the hearts, completely unaware how large a calf’s heart really was in comparison to the heart of a boy. A calf’s heart wouldn’t even fit in there, and yet no one even posed the question.
Farkas looked down and noticed he had an erection. He turned away quickly and left the gallery, strolling to the back alley. The moon hung in the sky like a silver orb, and he watched it and wished some clouds covered it. The moon always looked more beautiful partially covered.
“That’s pretty impressive,” Natalie said as she stepped outside. He could smell the alcohol on her breath.
Farkas looked at her and then back at the moon. “I worked for months on that piece, and even had I worked a century, it wouldn’t compare to a single glance at the moon. Art is a cheap imitation of nature. We’re motel paintings compared to nature. That’s my true regret: that I can never live up to its pureness… though I try.”
“Well, maybe we can talk about it a bit more back at your place?”
They stepped inside the home, and Natalie immediately wowed and chuckled. She ran through the house like a child at a playground. Open space was the theme, and it seemed almost like the only thing taking up any space was the metal banister and stairs leading up to the second floor and the bedroom. The home was designed as a loft. Farkas would’ve lived in a loft if he could’ve, but he preferred his privacy.
He watched as she ran up the stairs and examined the bedroom and the pole that went all the way back down to the first floor. She grabbed the pole and slid down, squealing the entire time.
“This place is amazing.” She ran up and grabbed his hands. “I really like the bedroom.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a bedroom. It’s more of a shrine.”
“Oh, well, you’re definitely going to have to show me what you worship.”
Before heading upstairs, Farkas made certain she had a few more drinks. It had to be enough to abolish not only self-control but perhaps even lead to black spots in the memory of this night the next morning.
She pressed her lips to his, and wearily, he obliged. Kissing was such a disgusting action. Saliva and bacteria exchanged in a wet embrace. Nothing about it seemed pleasurable. After a few seconds, she pulled away with a shy grin on her face and led him up the stairs to the bedroom.
She sat him on the bed as she rose and undressed. Her skirt slipped off as though she had only just applied lotion, and her shirt, which had hugged her tightly the entire night, came off as well in one smooth motion.
Natalie turned around and bent over, revealing her thong underwear. She ran her hands up her calves and then her thighs before turning to him with a smile on her face. She got between his knees and undid his pants. Her lips engulfed him and her head moved slowly… and then she stopped.
“You all right?”
“Fine,” he said.
“You’re not getting hard.”
He rose and crossed the room to the dresser. Inside was a black satchel that he removed and set on the top, unrolling it and revealing a plethora of scalpels, knives, needles, pliers, lighters, and shards of glass. “No, that type of thing doesn’t arouse me.”
“Well, what does?”
He ran his hand over the glimmering blades. “Let me show you.”
21
The flight to Phoenix had been scheduled for one in the morning but had been delayed for a reason the airline wouldn’t say. Gio told Sarah he once had to wait for a plane for three days, so a few minutes didn’t feel like anything. As they sat in the terminal, she rested her head against his shoulder and he let her.
“What does this feel like to you?” he said. “Us?”
“Comfortable. Familiar.”
“That’s all? Familiar?”
“That’s about the most important thing to me.”
“I think it’s maybe the opposite for men. New is everything. Even supermodels get cheated on.”
The airline announced that the flight would be boarding in ten
Octavia E. Butler
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