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When we got to my booth, I walked around the table, and the nerves were starting to set in. I was on the cusp of talking to people about wanting me to sketch them. Suddenly, my mouth went dry, and I felt chilled as I began to second-guess if I could do this. I tried to look like I knew exactly what I was doing and picked up the receipt book beside the pens.

“Cash.” I looked at Tristen when he said my name. “You’ll do fine. Stop second-guessing.”

I nodded and smiled. “Who said I was worried or second-guessing?”

“You didn’t have to say it.” Tristen winked at me as he reached across the table and put his hand on my shoulder. Our eyes were glued to one another for a few moments as he smiled at me. “I’ll be around.”

“Thank you,” I said. He probably had no idea how much that small interaction had calmed me down.

The fair had been a blast, and the few hours went by in a flash. I talked with lots of people and some even booked a sketch session. I had Richard booked for tomorrow morning at 10:00 in his suite and a couple, Nolan and Owen, at 2:00 in their cabana. I had two appointments for Saturday and so far one booked for Sunday. All the customers opted for them to be framed and shipped to their homes.

As the fair wrapped up for the evening, I realized I hadn’t stopped by any of the other booths to meet the vendors. But since all the booths would remain up over the weekend, I figured I’d have time to stop by them later. All the booths had a lot of foot traffic and guests stopping by, so it was good to see that there was so much support and interest from the guests.

I closed my receipt book and made sure I hadn’t left anything in the booth that I needed for tonight, or that I didn’t want left out. The only thing I wanted to take back to my room was the receipt book and my notepad with some details I wrote down for each person who scheduled a sketch with me.

“Heading back to your room now?” Tristen asked as he approached my table.

“Yeah,” I answered.

“I’ll walk with you. How did the evening go?”

“Really well.” I walked around the table as I opened my receipt book to show Tristen as we slowly walked toward my room. “I have five people scheduled for the weekend. Two for tomorrow, two for Saturday, and one for Sunday.”

“That’s great, Cash. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks!”

“I know all of the gentlemen that you have scheduled very well. They’re all really great guys, and they’ll be excellent subjects for you.”

“They all seemed very nice, and most of them actually had ideas for what kind of sketch they wanted, so I think it’ll go well.”

As we neared the door to my suite, Tristen said, “I see you opted for your interview outfit,”

Instantly, I regretted the navy pants and gray polo. I ran my hand down the material from my chest to the top of the pants.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I asked Braxton for help to figure out what clothes to wear this weekend, and he gave me shit about my wardrobe. When we were roommates, he’d tell me my clothes always looked like I was a paralegal or intern,” I said as I fished the room key out of my pocket and held it over the card reader until the door beeped and a green dot lit up.

“Lots of polos and either twill or polyester pants, with the occasional sweater thrown in?”

How did he know?

“Yeah, how did you know?” I asked and turned to face him.

Tristen held his hand up and then looked down the hallway. He smiled when he looked at me again. “I’ve been around resorts and interns most of my adult life. I know the look and the desire of beginning to build a wardrobe.”

“Yeah, I was building a wardrobe for a career in law. And I hate those clothes.”

“Now you can build a wardrobe that you like.”

I looked down at my outfit and wrinkled my nose before I looked at Tristen again.

“I think I hate this outfit,” I admitted.

Tristen nodded and leaned on the doorframe of the door.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Cash, but if I have to look at polos and twill on you much more, I might rip it off you.”

My face felt warm at his words, and my stomach felt like I’d just jumped off a cliff to do a cannonball in the ocean. Words started tumbling out of my mouth without me having enough sense to use a filter.