Page 16 of True for You

Parker

“I’ve literally lived heremy whole life and I’ve never been to this place,” Christopher says as we walk into Paint & Play. I’d found this place by googling cute date ideas near me. A little lame? Maybe. But I can’t argue with the results. I just wanted to treat Christopher to something special but I’m not the most creative alpha in the world. Nothing wrong with getting a little help from the internet.

“Hopefully we have a fun time.”

“I mean, not to be all sappy or anything but we’re together,” Christopher tells me, looking up and smiling. “We’re sure to have fun as long as I’m spending time with you.”

“Oh,wow.”

He glares daggers my way, his lips quivering with how hard he’s trying to keep himself from laughing. “Not. A. Word.”

I raise my hands in surrender, only just barely keeping myself from giggling at the look he’s giving me. God, how is he so adorable without even trying? I hold my hand out, my stomach flipping when Christopher rolls his eyes and laces our fingers together. He gives me a squeeze as we walk further into the building.

Paint & Play is a place for people to come and paint ceramics; things like mugs, plates, bowls, piggy banks, and anything else we could imagine. Opposite the wall which contains all the ceramics to pick from is a glass wall with tables lined up against it. On the other side of the glass is a large indoor playset that younger kids can go in and play on while their parents sit in this room and paint while being able to keep an eye on their kids. It’s a really nice set up and a tiny voice inside my head whispers about coming back here someday in the far future when it’s not just the two of us.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First official date now, family nights out on the town later.

With my hand against Christopher’s lower back, we step over to the wall of possible creations. There’s an adorable bee piggy bank I think about grabbing but then my eyes land on a medium sized plate, an idea forming in my mind.

“I think I’ll pick this one,” I tell Christopher, picking up the plate and flipping it every way, already visualizing what I want the plate to look like. “Do you know what you want to paint?”

“I know it’s a bit basic but I think I’m gonna go with a mug.”

“That’s not basic. Every time you have a coffee or two you’ll think of this first date,” I tell him, feeling incredibly soft at that idea.

“You’re so mushy today.”

“Me?” I ask with a fake gasp. Christopher just nods his head, trying to hide his smile as we head over to a table. There’s already paint and brushes and pallets at the table, everything we might need to decorate our creations.

I squirt a large amount of black onto my pallet, already having an idea of what I want to do with mine. Christopher taps his chin a few times before picking up black, white, grey, and purple.

“Have an idea?”

“I do,” he says with a small smile, gesturing towards the paints. “It’s my pride colors. I think I’ll do some sort of ace design.” He nods towards my plate. “How about you?”

“I have an idea but it might be kinda silly.”

“What’s wrong with silly?”

I reach over and poke his nose. In retaliation he snaps his teeth, pretending like he’s going to bite my finger. “Absolutely nothing. You’re silly and I still like you.”

“I think we’re gonna need to order some wine to go with all the cheese we’re spouting back and forth to each other,” I say with an amused snort, affection welling up inside my chest until it’s near busting at my seams.

“Are you a wine drinker?” Christopher asks, picking up a paint brush and dipping it in the black paint. He begins with a black line down the side of the cup and I wonder what it’ll look like by the end of this date.

“Not really. I’m from a really small town in the middle of nowhere which means there wasn’t really anything to do. A lot of people just ended up drinking and to be honest, I never really understood the appeal. I saw the way it messed up a lot of families so I just always stayed away from that scene.”

Christopher nods along as he paints, listening to me talk. “That’s understandable. I drink when I’m out with my friends but if I’m just at home I’d much prefer a cup of tea.”

“Oh no,” I murmur, looking away from my plate and staring at Christopher with wide eyes. “Don’t tell me,” I say slowly. “You prefer tea over coffee?” At his wince I let out the most dramatic groan. “I’m not sure this whole true mate thing is gonna work out after all.”

“I swear to god, Parker,” he murmurs back, shaking his head at me.

I smile down at my plate, my stomach erupting with butterflies at our banter. It feels so good to just sit here and talk, getting to know Christopher a little more. I carefully cover the entire back of my plate with black paint, waiting for it to dry enough for me to flip it over and start on the other side.

“Are you still craving all things garlic?”

Christopher nods his head vigorously. “Last night I discovered that I can make myself a salad with ranch and then put garlic powder in the ranch. It’s basically how I imagine Heaven to be like.”

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