Love Next Door

Chapter Twenty One- It was all going so well...

The morning of New Year's Eve, Jay found himself lying on the sofa across from Ash, reading. Surprisingly, he had almost finished the trashy, romantic fantasy novel, but it had only made him want Ash more. Out of the corner of his eye, Jay watched him. He was just lying there staring at the ceiling with his arms resting on his chest. His face was blank as well as his eyes, faraway looking. He was beautiful as always. His blue hair fell lazily on to his face and curled around his ears like it was beckoning Jay. It had been Jay's favourite spot to kiss him, where the skin was particularly smooth and sensitive. He turned back to his book with a mostly inaudible sigh.

Tonight he was planning to take drastic, dramatic action. He was running out of time. He really only had two more days to convince Ash. He felt that it was slowly working, Ash was beginning to warm to him again, but it wasn't enough. He needed to do something big, but what? Should he lay everything out from his mind and heart in front of Ash? Should he Lay bare his heart to the man who he still loved so much?

"How's Kasey?" Ash asked suddenly, looking over to Jay with his eyes half lidded in the encroaching morning sunlight.

"She's really good. Oh, yeah, she's started trying to walk!" he replied excitedly. "It was on Christmas day, I uh spent it with them. I was going to spend it alone but Tahlia didn't like that..." He was drifting off topic, but Ash stayed staring at him, his expression seeming to harden slightly. "I walked into their apartment and then Kasey just came out walking on her two legs, it was incredible! She couldn't walk more than a step or two without falling but...still! I didn't think kids started walking that early. She's amazing."

Ash was smiling softly. It went silent again for a few minutes.

"What about your art...have you been getting many commissions?"

Ash hadn't bothered asking this before, what was changing now? The renewed interest had Jay blushing furiously.

"Uh...not really. I haven't been painting much lately. The ones I did get I had to sell for less because they weren't...up to standard. They all seemed to turn out...depressing looking-I don't know."

But, saying that aloud, Ash must have known the reason.

Ash was frowning, but somehow Jay didn't think the look was directed at him. His eyes had a faraway look. He decided to change to a positive tone, "But I did paint something for Kasey for a Christmas present. I mean, it was more for the adults but they seemed to like it."

"Can I see it? Do you have a picture?"

Jay stuck his hand into his pants pocket and produced his phone. After a minute or so of searching his photo gallery, he found a disappointingly low-resolution photo he took of it, but he showed it to Ash anyway. Unexpectedly, the man's eyes lit up and grew wide.

"This is amazing Jay!" He cried, studying the image close up. Jay blushed but said thank you anyway, for once accepting Ash's compliment. "You're getting so much better. Please don't give it up." He added, pleading with him. Jay was taken aback but assured him he wouldn't.

The rest of the day the men spent apart, Ash spending his time in the garden and Jay either reading, browsing the internet on his phone, or napping. He usually wasn't much of a napper but after being so active for the past few days, in a place which took his breath away, he was tired. There was also the emotional stress he was putting himself under, trying to interpret every movement or word Ash said. He wished he could stop but until Ash was back to normal he wouldn't be able to. He faded in and out of consciousness, the calm yet inconsistent rural breeze whistling as it flowed through the window above him.

At four in the afternoon, Jay woke and decided to go for a walk. He found Ash's mother outside, talking to another woman, whose long, white blonde hair flowed down to her knees. Both ladies smiled at him, the stranger more creepily. He smiled back and walked down the street to the left, towards the town square. He had his hair out for once, and the soft breeze was like a whisper through it, twirling blonde strands around him in the air.