@littleollieballard
Tugging his coat on as he walked, Beau checked the time once again, cursing himself for allowing his mind to wander long enough to make him late for a meeting he’d set up. Studying a new artist with the same conviction and focus that he had given to those he admired his entire life, the man had been absorbed in it all to the point of forgetting lunch. It would’ve been acceptable normally, when he was the only person waiting on himself, but not when he had met someone he genuinely found interesting and didn’t want to disappoint. Walking briskly, he glanced down at the thin, black package in his hands. He was reminded of why he never did things like this, the anxiety and self-doubt surrounding not only his gift but his late arrival and the cold weather outside ate at the confidence with which he’d written his first note to Oliver.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting. I, um, foolishly lost track of the time.” Beau once again cursed himself for picking a location outdoors to have the man wait for him instead of somewhere warm and comfortable, his appreciation for the romanticism of their initial meeting place seeming awkward and heavy-handed in hindsight. “I hope you haven’t been out here long.”