Like Taking a Photo

Chapter 4: Connection

Reid sat at the kitchen table finishing up his lunch. It was a grilled cheese in which he used 3 different cheeses, Cheddar, Gruyere, and Pecorino Romano. Taking the last bite, he looked at his phone. His accident had been two days ago. He was feeling pretty good overall, but something was still on his mind. Kitsy came from around the corner and saw Reid looking at his phone.

"You gonna text him or what?" He said with a grin.

Reid jumped a little. "I don't know, what if we got it all wrong, and he doesn't actually like me?"

"Well, let's say hypothetically, he doesn't. He totally does, but let's say we're wrong. At the very least, he wants to know how you are healing. So you can at least let him know you're doing ok." Kitsy said, putting away Reid's plate.

"You know I can-" Kitsy cut him off.

"I want to, I'm already standing, and your ribs are still bruised." He put the plate in the dishwasher.

"Ok." Reid sighed. "I'll do it."

He took the number from his pocket and put it in his phone. He opened the messaging app and began typing. He wrote:

"Hey, CJ, it's Reid. I'm just letting you know that my neck is feeling better. My ribs are still quite sore, but I'm able to move around a little better now. Thanks again for your help, I owe you one."

He hit send, and put the phone down on the table in front of him. He let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know why that was so hard. He's a potential friend, and he seems really- 'DING DING'

The phone went off, he answered back quicker than Reid expected. He looked at the message.

"Great! If you say you owe me one, then how about when you feel up to it, I take you for coffee and we can talk a little bit. My treat, of course."

Reid answered. "That sounds great! I'm feeling pretty good, so how about tomorrow?"

"Sounds good to me. Let me know the address, and I will come pick you up tomorrow morning."

Reid and CJ finished up their conversation, and Kitsy was close by waiting to be filled in. He came over to the table and sat down, with a shit-eating smirk across his face.

"So? How'd that go?" He asked

Reid cleared his throat. "He wants to hang out. He's coming by tomorrow and we're going for coffee." Kitsy chuckled. "What?" Reid asked.

"He's picking you up."

"Yes."

"Is he paying?"

"Yes."

"Did he tell you what to wear?"

"Umm, just something comfortable, nothing too fancy."

"What place is this?"

"Café Ría, it's a sit-down place. Why all the questions? You my dad now?"

Kitsy chuckled again. "Eh, just curious. Cause it sounds kinda like a date to me."

Reid gulped. A date? He felt stupid, obviously this was a date. How did he not realize this? Now it's gonna be awkward. What is he going to say? He doesn't want to make a fool of himself. Kitsy noticed Reid's inner turmoil.

"Reid, buddy. It will be ok, you are a very charming buck. You'll be fine. Trust me."

THE NEXT DAY: Reid was dressed in his new clothing that he had bought yesterday to prepare for this "date" which was a dark red polo and black khaki pants. He wasn't sure if he was over-dressing for the occasion, but Kitsy seemed to think it was fine. He looked at his phone and the time was 10:59 am.

As if right on cue, Reid saw out the window, a red truck pull into the driveway. The truck seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, an interesting contrast to the first time he saw it. Stepping out of the truck was CJ, he was dressed in a white button-up with black jeans and boots. The top-most button was undone leaving a tiny bit of brown peeking out.

He walked up to the door and knocked. Reid casually made his way to the door and with a slightly shaky paw, he opened it. CJ smiled wide.

"Hey Reid. How you feelin'?" he asked in his slight southern accent.

"I'm not too bad, just took my pain medication, so I should be good for a while." Reid responded.

Kitsy spoke from the kitchen. "See you bud, have fun!"

The two walked to the truck. CJ opened the door and helped Reid inside, closing the door afterward. He got into the driver's seat and they both buckled up, and began the drive to their destination. Along the way, CJ talked about life working on the farm. Reid talked about the restaurant business and what it's like being in the kitchen. They had a pleasant conversation and before long, was at the coffee place.

CJ helped Reid down out of the truck and they made their way inside. They were greeted by a red wolf, who guided them to their booth. They sat, and the wolf spoke.

"Good morning you two, my name is Flare, I will be assisting you today. You two need some time, or are you ready to order?"

CJ spoke first. "I will have a regular coffee, with cream and no sugar please. Oh, and an egg sandwich as well. Thank you sir."

Reid followed suit. "May I get a Peppermint Mocha, and an egg and cheese croissant, please?"

Flare wrote down both orders. "Ok, if that's everything, I will make sure you get these as quickly as possible." He turned and walked back to the kitchen.

The table was silent for a bit, Reid still looked nervous. He just wanted to address the elephant in the room. He broke the silence.

"Um, so I have to ask. Was this ... supposed to be a, um, a date?" He rubbed his paws together, looking down at the table.

CJ seemed to be caught off guard. He blushed a little. "Um, I mean, yeah. If you don't wanna call it that, then that's ok."

Reid looked up. "No, it's fine, I do want this to be a date. It's just, it's been so long, I'm afraid that I'm not good enough."

Reid felt a hand on his. He looked up and was met with two Brown eyes, meeting his Bright red ones.

"Reid." CJ said softly, "I can tell just by lookin' at you, that you're a wonderful and charming deer. You're good enough."

Reid blushed and smiled genuinely. The moment was interrupted when Flare the waiter came back in with the food.

"Ok, so we have an egg sandwich and regular coffee, cream no sugar. And for you, we have an egg and cheese croissant, with a peppermint mocha. You enjoy now."

But before he left the table he leaned in close so only the two of them can hear. He whispered, "You two look very cute together, by the way." He smiled and walked away.

Now both the horse and the deer were turning red.

After the moment was passed, CJ began to eat his food. He paused when he saw Reid messing with his. He was sliding the cup around the table, and positioning the sandwich in different ways before finally taking a photo of his meal with his phone.

"What's all this?" CJ asked.

Reid looked up. "Oh, I'm just trying to find the best lighting for my picture. This is not for any social media or anything, it's just something I like to do."

CJ thought for a second. "You're looking for work, right? I know someone who is looking for an intern at her studio. They do food styling and photography for restaurant ads. They use my produce sometimes so we've gotten to know each other pretty well. I can put your name out there if you want."

Reid was at a loss for words. "Uh, y-yeah. I mean, if that's ok. That sounds wonderful." his face lit up.

CJ smiled. "You are very cute, you know that?" Reid blushed again. "Yes, I can bring you up to Amy, she is the director of sorts. She oversees all operations. She's very nice, I'm sure she'd love to have you on board."

Reid nodded and the two continued eating their meals. Talking about interests and hobbies and the like. Once finished, CJ placed a tip on the table and they walked out of the coffee shop. They drove back to the house in peaceful silence, just enjoying each other's company. The truck pulled into the driveway and CJ walked around to help Reid out of the truck again. They walked together up to the front door.

Reid stopped for a moment and turned to CJ. "Thank you, CJ." He said, "That was nice, and I do want to do that again."

Before he could react, CJ placed a soft but quick kiss on Reid's muzzle. "Me too, Reid." he said before walking off back to his truck.

The front door opened behind Reid, who's still standing in place, un-moving. Kitsy's voice spoke from behind him.

"Did it go ok?"

Reid still didn't move. The only thing he could say was, "Uh-huh."

CJ's truck drove away, out of sight.