Joseph smiled at the man and nodded in greeting as he passed, watching just for no other reason than he was there. With a shrug he turned back to fiddling about on his phone. Another minute later when Raven joined him, they began their walk. ‘You look great.’ The gallery was a few blocks from here, closer to the art district of the city. About a half hour’s walk. Not too bad considering the weather. And if they felt like it they could always hail a cab back.
He held the door open for her and grinned wide. It had been far too long since he’d gotten to show off his work for one of his closest friends. “When did you have the time to do all of these?” Raven asked as she saw just how many new paintings there were. Needless to say, she was impressed. “Is that why you haven’t been skyping me?” It was all in jest, Raven let out a soft laugh and nudged him with her shoulder.
‘I get so wrapped up in the moment. Hard to pull away.’ He led her towards the back, wanting to show her one in particular. ‘This one not for sale. Painted it for you.’
Raven stood in front of a moderately sized canvas, on which the bird of her name sake soared upwards through swirls of dark blue and purple colored smoke. There seemed to be a shimmer in the paint, and Raven lightly touched the canvas surface. “It’s magnificent,” she whispered as she looked back up at him and leaned against him. He responded in kind by wrapping an arm around her shoulders for a quick hug.
Raven had needed the night out more than she realized. A good friend and a bottle of wine at the end of the night were two things she didn’t get enough of lately. “Are you sure you’ll be alright getting home?” she asked him as they stood in her doorway. They were both busy, so moments like this were far too precious. “You called a cab?”
‘Don’t worry. I’m good to go.’ Joseph smiled and reached a hand out to pat her shoulder a few times before he continued. ‘See you soon. Promise.’ He almost turned to leave when he remembered something else. ‘Your neighbor? Really cute.’ The statement was punctuated with an over dramatic wink.
She couldn’t help but laugh at that, and a slight heat crept to her cheeks. “Careful, or I’ll think you’ll try to take my apartment from me just to see him again.”
‘No no. One man for me.’ And he held up his left hand. ‘Best night I’ve had in a long time, Raven. I miss you.’ Joseph smiled down at her and heaved a sigh.
Raven returned the smile and leaned up to give the man a peck on the cheek. “I miss you too, Joey. We’ll do better to keep in touch, yeah?”
After a few more pleasantries they parted ways. She’d sleep well tonight after a long shower. Raven set the water as hot as she could stand it and let the room fill up with steam. She hummed, a song stuck in her head for the past week. As her muscled loosened up in the hot water, she felt more relaxed and started to sing.
Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell
Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high
Mama’s dancin’ with baby on her shoulder
The sun is settin’ like molasses in the sky
The boy could sing, knew how to move, everything
Always wanting more, he’d leave you longing for
Black velvet and that little boy’s smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that’ll bring you to your knees
Black velvet if you please
A long day but less fighting then the one before and Jason was back up to his room, passing the guy he saw earlier in the day. Brushing his teeth, he heard the water flowing in the wall between the apartments and the muffled humming. So, that guy wasn’t his neighb-Oh.
His thought process ground to a halt as the voice penetrated the thin wall. She, most definitely see had the pipes on her. As he finished up he started bobbing along with the beat of the song he knew. He stepped into his recording room and went to grab his bass when his phone went off in his pocket.
“Oh boy... Heey Patchy...” He answered quickly, maybe a little glad that she called after the day he had yesterday, despite how completely unhealthy his relationship with Rose Wilson was. “Yeah... yeah Thursday still works... you’re place... I got neighbors now.... No... No I really don’t want them to hear the shit you say... Yeah... See you then ba-... click... such warmth...”
ellievsbear
yousharknotpass
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