Page 36 of Mister Artist

After finishingthe last of Mal’s letters, I decided to share with her my truth. I pulled up on her at her apartment and told her to come with me. When we made it to the building I used as my art studio, I took her down to the basement. She was oohing and aahing over the art and sculptures that were in the front room, but that wasn’t my concern right now. I’d give her a more thorough tour later. Once we made it downstairs, I turned the light on and let her go in first.

It took her a second to realize what she was looking at, but when she did, her knees trembled, and she whimpered as she covered her mouth. Walking behind her, I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her neck. For years, I’d wanted this closeness with her, and I finally had it. Once I had my fill, I pulled away and took her hand into mine to lead her around the room.

“You wrote me letters, and I drew or painted you when I thought about you,” I admitted.

The basement was filled with drawings and paintings of her in various sizes. There had to be over a thousand.

“I thought of you daily, sometimes multiple times a day. I kept them here because I figured it would be some out of sight out of mind shit, but regardless, you were always in my heart and on my mind.”

As she wiped her tears, Malorie turned to face me. “Regardless of the roles we have in each other’s lives, I will never intentionally leave you again.”

I could admit I didn’t really trust her as much as I used to, but I respected the sentiment. With a nod, I led her out of the basement.

“Are you hungry?” I asked, not really wanting to be away from her so soon.

“A little.”

“You wanna get food?”

She looked up at me with a smile. “Yes. Can we get Korean barbecue?”

I chuckled and nodded. “Whatever you want, mama.”

We’d been togetherfor the past six hours and I still didn’t want to get rid of her. After lunch, we went to the beach and walked and talked and rode a few rides at the boardwalk. Now, we were sitting on the sand eating hot dogs talking about our hobbies and interests, getting to know each other all over again.

“You still watch anime?” I asked before taking a bite of my hot dog.

“Oh, of course. Even more now. Mangas too. And K-Dramas.”

“You got me on that shit. I started watching after you left to get the appeal, and I got hooked.”

She gasped and squeezed my knee. “Really? What’s the last thing you watched?”

“Actually, I’m currently watchingMonstersand readingErased. I like the dramas and heavier shit.”

Her mouth opened before she snapped it shut. Clearly, she was surprised. “I’ve been wanting to read the manga forErased. I tried to watch it but couldn’t get into it.”

“Are you watching it subbed or dubbed?” When her mouth dropped again, I chuckled. “I heard that makes a difference.”

“I’m sorry but who the hell are you and where is Neko?”

At that point, I was unable to hold my laughter in. “Why are you so surprised?”

“I mean…” Her head shook as she eyed me. “You just don’t strike me as the type to be watching anime let alone reading manga, but I really like it. It makes me feel like I finally have someone I can watch with and talk to.”

“Yeah, you do. Do you ever go to the anime-cons?” Her animated expression almost made me choke on my food. “Malorie!”

“I’m sorry! It’s just going to take me some time to get used to this.”

We continued to talk, and I locked in her likes for future reference. She still loved books, plays, and wanted to experience Broadway. She was obsessed with tattoos, which led to us showing each other our tats… well the ones we could in public. When she mentioned having two on the sides of her breasts, my dick bricked up and didn’t go down until I walked her to her apartment. I didn’t know how this whole friendship thing would work this time around, but I was just glad to have her back in my life.

27

Malorie

The Next Weekend

Neko had been avoidingme at work, so I was surprised when he texted me and told me to meet him atBrewed and Booked. I could tell he was starting to crumble when it came to his guards and how he felt about me. Since I wasn’t sure if I should give him space or apply a bit more pressure, I decided to follow his lead.

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