Chapter 9

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Reese didn't want to go home, if he could even call it that anymore. It felt more like a cage with his uncle there. But his father would be back this evening and he would be expecting a full family reunion. 

It had been too late to go back home last night when Julian had found him so they stayed up together watching Christmas movies until Reese fell asleep on the couch.

When he woke up the next morning, Julian had cooked them blueberry pancakes. 

"I haven't had pancakes since I was a kid."

"Really? Well, stick with me and you'll get them all the time." Julian winked, the action causing Reese's heart to skip a beat. 

He wanted to believe that Julian coming into his life was a good thing but there was still the sense of dread curling in his stomach. What if he fucked this up too? What if Julian saw who he really was under the person he was trying to be? He couldn't wreck this like he wrecked his relationship with Angel. But he just didn't know how to love someone.

"Do you want me to take you home now?" Julian asked, placing their empty dishes in the sink. 

He nodded but had no intention of staying there. He would get Julian to drop him off then find somewhere to go until his father got home. He doubted his uncle would try anything then. 

"Or would you like to have that date now?" Reese whipped his head up as Julian was setting his phone down on the table. "I just got a text from my dad. I have the day off so if you had no plans today..."

Reese nodded, probably too eagerly judging by Julian's quiet chuckle. "Alright. What kind of things do you like to do Reese?" 

Reese shrugged. What did he like to do? Football but that wasn't really a date.

"No worries," said Julian. "I think I have an idea."

~

A little while later, they arrived at a shop downtown with a sign that read 'Clay Cafe'. Reese had never heard of it before and was a little nervous when he followed Julian inside. The room was filled with little tables with room for 4 people and it smelled like art class. They walked up to the front where a row of shelves were filled with plain white figurines of all different shapes and sizes.

"Pick whichever one you like," said Julian. "Then we'll paint them."

Reese's eye caught on the penguin so he picked that one up at the same time Julian chose a duck. Reese found a seat by one of the windows while Julian brought over enough painting supplies for the both of them.

Reese sat there, unmoving. He wasn't really sure how to start. He had never painted anything before. He mostly skipped his art classes in high school because he never saw the point in them. 

"What's wrong?" 

He looked back at Julian who had paused in his work. "Nothing, I just... I've never really painted anything before."

At that, Julian laughed. Reese's first response was to be angry that someone was laughing at him but he swallowed it as Julian stood up and moved from his seat across the table to sit beside him. "I always start with the big things then move into the smaller details later. What colour would you like his coat to be?"

Reese shrugged. "Black, I guess." 

Julian reached for the black paint and squirted a bit into Reese's tray. Then he looked through the brushes and handed him one with a large belly. "Here. Just focus on painting the large parts and if you can't get places with that one just switch to a smaller one."

Julian watched him for a moment, making sure he got the hang of it before pulling his stuff towards him and focusing on his own. 

He found that it was surprisingly easy and relaxing to paint. He enjoyed the simple brush strokes and the way he could fall into a rhythm. Gentle music flowed from the speakers in the store, setting the calming mood even more. 

He lost track of time, finishing off the top coat and giving it a second layer at Julian's instruction. He found it a bit harder adding the smaller parts like the eyes and the bow but he didn't really care if it was perfect. As Julian reminded him, it was meant to be fun, not a test.

"So tell me about yourself." Stated Julian, eyes never leaving his paint brush.

"What would you like to know?"

"Well, what did you do in high school? Was there any particular subject you liked above the rest?"

"Gym."

"Okay," Julian laughed. "Any particular sport, then?"

"Well... I played football for a little while."

"Oh, nice. How come you stopped?"

"Long story. What about you?"

Julian was quiet for a moment before responding. "I've always enjoyed English. Particularly poetry. But those days are behind me now. I went to university to study business for a couple years and like I said before, now I'm apprenticing for my father."

"Is that what you've always wanted to do?" Reese was eager to keep the subject point off of himself and Julian seemed to realize this.

"No. I always thought I'd be a poet." He chuckled. "I thought I could live up to William Shakespeare even. But my father talked me out of that. He said there wasn't enough money to be made for poets, even famous ones. Not that I would ever even become famous, he liked to remind me."

Reese found himself feeling... Sad. His parents always gave him the freedom to be whoever he wanted to be. His father wasn't disappointed when he didn't want anything to do with his business. He was happy he had found a calling of his own. He couldn't imagine what it would be like giving up his dream because... Then he realized that's exactly what he did. He gave up football. But that was his own fault, not his parents. He had no right to feel sorry for himself about that. But Julian on the other hand-

"I see that pitying look." Julian's voice startled Reese from his thoughts. "Please don't pity me. I chose my life and I'm happy with it."

"Okay..."

They finished painting and brought up their figures to the lady behind the desk. She took their names and numbers and gave them a time to pick them up next week. As they were leaving, Reese asked Julian what she would be doing with them for that long.

"They have to bake," explain Julian. "Trust me. They'll look a lot better when they come out."

"Oh."

"Would you like me to take you home now?" 

Reese tried to think of an excuse not to go yet but his mind was blank. He knew he couldn't keep avoiding it. In a few short hours, it would be dinner time and his father was likely to be back from his business trip. If he could just think of something to do for those last few hours...

"Reese, is there something you're avoiding at home?" 

Reese snapped his head up. "No."

Julian gave him a skeptical look. "I know we don't know each other well but if you're in a bad situation, you can tell me and we'll figure something out."

"I'm not, I just..." An idea was forming. Not a good one but something that could perhaps buy him a little more time. 

He slipped his hand into Julian's, running his thumb across his knuckles as he gave him his best flirty smile. "I was just hoping to spend a little more time with you."

Reese took his lower lip between his teeth, flicking his lashes up. He watched as Julian's eyes dipped down to his lips just like he wanted. 

"I didn't think you would want to move so fast." He stated, not looking like he believed Reese was serious. 

Reese slipped his arms around his waist, pressing their hips together. "I don't think we're moving fast enough."

Julian gave Reese a skeptical look but started leading them towards the car. "If you're sure..."


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