I reached for the small, rectangular canvas and held it toward him. “The assignment was to paint a scene that tells a story, and since I now know why that park in this town got renovated a few years ago, I decided to take it as my inspiration.”
He eyed the painting, then smiled as he noticed all the little details that I painted onto it to recreate the park he had built.
“This is incredible. And you did this in four hours?”
I smiled and shrugged. “It wasn’t too much work. Once I turn it in to get it graded, I want you to have it.”
Wells smiled back at me. “That’s sweet. Thank you, Rooney.”
“Daddy?”
“Yes, buddy?”
“Can we eat?”
“I’ll start making dinner in a few. Wanna stay?” he asked me after answering Ira’s question.
“Oh, I’d love to, but I promised Evie we’d have dinner together. But another time for sure,” I told him.
I couldn’t spend every hour of the day with them, even if I’d love to.
“I have to get back to studying anyway,” I added.
“All right. Are you leaving right now?” he asked.
I puckered my lips and thought about my answer for a while, then nodded and guessed that it would be best if I got some of the studying in before having dinner with Evie.
“Yes. I had a really great time with you today, Ira. I love all your artwork,” I told him.
He smiled up at me and quickly got back to his sixteenth painting.
“If it’s okay with you, he can have these paints and brushes. I have enough upstairs,” I told Wells.
“That’s nice of you, thank you. Say goodbye to Rooney, Ira.”
Once I got up, Ira waved at me, too focused on his painting to say a word.
“Bye, Ira,” I said with a smile, then followed Wells down the hallway.
“How about dinner next week?” he asked as we stopped at the door.
“I definitely have time on the weekend. Just let me know,” I told him.
“All right. I’ll see you around then.”
I smiled and nodded, then leaned in to give him a quick hug before opening the door and stepping outside.
“Have a good night,” I said, smiling.
“You too. Good night.”
His eyes were just as intense as they were before, and I wished he didn’t have such an effect on me.
“Night,” I whispered, finally finding my strength to move my legs up the stairs.
As much as I loved to spend time with them, I knew a few days apart would let me think clearer.
I spent most of the weekend with Wells and Ira, and it was a nice distraction from college, but I knew I soon would miss being around them.
They lit up something in me I never knew existed, and although I had no idea what it was, I knew it was something special.
“How was your play date?” Evie asked as I walked into the apartment.
I laughed softly.
It pretty much was a play date.
“It was fun. Did you study at all today?”
She rolled her eyes at me and sighed. “Yes, Mom. I’m hungry. Wanna get takeout? We don’t have anything in the fridge.”
“Order whatever. I’m going to take a quick shower.”
“’Kay. By the way, I invited Jonathan over.”
“Who’s Jonathan?” I asked, frowning.
“Some senior I met last night. Never seen him around campus before, but he’s hot,” she explained.
Right.
“Is he coming over as a one-night-stand? Or to actually hang out with you?”
“We’ll see. We didn’t talk much last night, but he got my number and we’ve been texting all day. He might bring a friend.”
No need for that.
“I will lock myself into my room and get some more studying done, then I’ll go to bed. Tell Jonathan to not bring a friend. He’ll only be disappointed.”
“I can take both,” Evie said with a smug grin on her face.
I knew she could, and before she could say any more, I headed straight to my bathroom.
For some reason, college guys really didn’t appeal to me anymore.
They were young and too hyped up.
Too…confusing.
Or confused.
Whatever they were, I wasn’t on the look-out to date anyone anyway, but I was already excited to see Wells again soon.
*
The week was moving by fast, which was definitely a good thing.
I had finished all my assignments, got a good grade for the painting I made on Sunday, and successfully passed both tests, one of which was a surprise.
Hard work paid off, but college didn’t give much time to relax.
Friday nights were great to sit in the coffee shop on campus without getting bothered by anyone else