Her Ex-husband

Chapter 11

Joy sighs happily as she stumbled around, aimlessly, in an unknown room with Alec being her only guide.

 "Alec," she whines.

 "Just a little longer, I swear," he tells her, still guiding her carefully across the room. "Okay stop." Joy crossed her arms as a playful smirk appeared on her lips, "Are you gonna show me what you've got planned for us or are you gonna keep me blindfolded and try and make me submit?" Joy teases flirtatiously. Alec chuckles and shakes his head, his hands reaching for the blindfold, "As much as I would like that, it wasn't what I had in mind." Joy was finally able to see; her eyes adapted to the new light.

 "A sip and art date?" Alec nods nervously, "I managed, somehow, to convince them to allow me to get the things I needed to make all of this possible." Joy sucked on her teeth, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised in curiosity, "So who went with you and how many?" "Five and the lady." Joy chuckles to herself, "Figures." Alec nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "Anyway, yeah it's not the most ideal date I had in mind but it's the thought that counts, right?"

 "Right." Alec leads her over to the canvas, allowing her to sit first before him. "So, Mr. Artist, what do we paint?" Joy asks. "Whatever, your mind and hand agree on," he tells her, handing her a brush. "Hm. Whatever I choose huh?" Alec nods. "Don't be surprised if it's unrecognizable," she laughs. Alec laughs and shakes his head before focusing on the canvas in front of him. Joy watched in amazement as she followed every stroke of his hand, seeing the once blank canvas become covered in colors. The side of Alec's lip twitched upwards. "You know, the canvas isn't gonna paint itself," he chuckles. 

"Sorry, just like watching you work," Joy smiles, turning to face her blank canvas. 

From the corner of her eye, she saw Alec's face harden with passion as he focused on his art, focusing on the way his hand created his images that his mind had shown him.  Joy's fingers grasped the brush, dipping it into one of the many colors. Lifting it up to the canvas, Joy carefully and gently mushed it against the surface. Soon color began to expand along the surface, one by one. The picture from her mind began to come to life and show its face. She didn't even realize that Alec had said something to her until he gently placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping her back to reality.

 "I see that you're deep in thought? Mind telling me what you painted?" He asks. 

Joy's eyes snapped back to her painting. It was a layered type of abstract artwork. Joy shrugged, "I guess my beginnings." "You're beginnings?" Joy nodded, "I guess my mind wandered back to those nearly torn down buildings that my parents raised me in." Alec offers her a glass of wine. Joy took it and took a nice sip from the glass. "You know," Joy perks up at Alec, "after all the months of dating you, you never told me anything about where you grew up or much of your past." "Well, I never had a reason to," Joy says, not looking him in his eye, her focus solely on her painting. Alec reached out to gently touch her hand, "Would you tell me about what it was like for you, that is if you're comfortable. I mean I don't wanna-" 

Joy cuts him off. 

"No, I guess on dates you do get to know the person you're with." Alec slowly nods, a frown on his lips. "For a while, I lived with my parents and my younger brother. Our family wasn't the richest, but we were normal until Mom caught my old man cheating with a stripper. Mom lost it and when my brother and I returned home, cops swarmed our home. Mom was charged with two counts of murder and my brother and I were sent to live with our grandmother," Joy sigh was shaky but she continued, "Our once peaceful life in a home in a decent neighborhood was flipped. Nana lived in a dangerous neighborhood. Drugs, prostitution, gangs, everything that a kid could dream of. I hate to say it but my brother and I adapted quickly to our surroundings, doing practically anything to make a buck."

 Joy heard Alec slightly shift in his seat. "Day and night, nothing but gunshots. It was a miracle that we both lived as long as we did. I managed to get out but my brother didn't, he turned to drugs and money," Joy's bottom lip quivered slightly at the thought of the boy she once knew, how he was no longer a bright kid and how he turned into a man who depended more on drugs than food. Alec glanced at her painting before back at her. "Joy?" Joy brushed it off, "I'm fine." Alec sighs, "I'm sorry." Joy, yet again, brushed it off. 

"It wasn't your fault. I was the one that decided to open up a little."

 "Yeah, I know but I still shouldn't have asked. Not on a date anyway where we're supposed to be a little drunk and covered in paint." Joy chuckles pitifully. "I mean we still can if the mood isn't dead," Joy asks. Alec nods and smiles, raising his glass, "A date?" 

"A  date."

 Joy clinked her glass against his before they both enjoyed the taste of the delicious alcohol gradually flowing into their mouths. The pair continued to find themselves enjoying each other's company, the alcohol taking its effect on the pair. Joy and Alec giggled like school children as they laid against each other on the couch within the room. 

"So, what you're telling me is that you, of all people, had an emo phase?" Joy laughs. "Hey, don't judge! Everyone goes through that phase," Alec chuckles, faking pouting. Joy grips his face, squishing his cheeks in the process as she brings him closer to her. "You are too cute for your own good," she playfully growls. 

"I'll take that as a compliment." Joy and Alec sigh as they enjoy each other's warmth on the couch, his hands rubbing loving up and down her arms. "We should do this more often," Alec said. "What? Getting drunk or laying against each other on a couch?" "Both." Joy chuckles, "I like the way you think."

 Snuggling more into him, Joy says, "I like the way you think."