Hope you're going to like this chapter. After this chapter there might be a little twist. I don't know quite yet. I have a couple of alternate endings to this story because I don't really know where this story is taking me, it could go so many directions and I don't want to choose. Sice it's the first longer tory I've written I think I might make it my guinea pig and experiment with some different stuff that I want to try. For any ideas or wishes write me at rock_on_summer@yahoo.com . Let me know if it get's too crazy. Now go and read the real stuff.
Disclaimer: I wrote this, don't copy it unless you ask. This is fiction. If there are people who are similar to people in the story or have the same name, I didn't intend it. Beware, teen sex, gay sex! Don't like that don't enter, you have been warned.
I heard a key rumble in the lock and looked up. Case walked through the door and looked at me, behind him his boss and his wife. I was shocked. I had not prepared a thing. I had not even noticed that I had spent more then seven hours painting without taking a break. I looked at the canvas in front of me, the painting was almost done. This was the fastest I had ever painted anything. A volcano. Which made me think that this was Case's volcano. And the real volcano was standing speechless and smiling in the doorway, most likely about to erupt. About to leave everything in his way burnt and hurt. I was scared.
"Shit" I muttered. The living room that we had just cleaned was a mess again. The floor around me and I was splattered with paint, because I had not taken the time to cover it with paper. The lamb was sitting neglected in the fridge, the potatoes weren't peeled and the basilikum was still growing in the garden.
Case, never forgetting his manners, just ignored the chaos and introduced us as if it was normal to have a paint-splattered boyfriend standing in the living-room. Well, it kind of was, for him at least, but he acted as if he hadn't expected anything else.
"Eric, Jane meet my fiancé Ludwig Cylon" he said, smiling, shaking his head. The awkwardness of them in slacks and nice shoes and me in my paint-splattered shirt on my knees in the middle of all the clutter didn't leave any room for any discomfort with us being gay. They seemed cool with that.
"Shit Case, I forgot to make dinner... "I started to say.
"I know" he just said calmly, sighed and smiled at me with love. Smiled at me with love? "Just get changed and we'll got out for dinner. I know this nice little restaurant downtown. What do you think?" And he looked expectantly at Mr. and Mrs. Henderson. Apparently I was dismissed. I felt so bad I was on the verge of crying, this time I had really fucked up bad. This had been important to him. He had been worried about me letting him down and I had. This was terrible.
"Case, I'm sorry... Really ...I know I promised." I started to apologize.
"It's ok Lucy, really" he said, looking at me, his eyes pleading me not to cry in front of his boss. "Now go get changed."
"Why don't we prepare dinner together?" Jane suggested enthusiastically. That was the first time I noticed her. She was a slim woman with greying brown hair, pulled back into a ponytail. I had imagined she's be one of those women that wore pearl necklaces or had pink poodles but she seemed more like the sporty mom in her early forties that always wore hiking boots. Right now she wore a nice orange blouse and dark brown slacks, hardly any makeup and an inviting smile.
I had always thought millionaires didn't cook. And she was married to the dude that owned Case's company. He probably had a cook from every country of the world on his staff judging by the quality of his dark blue cashmere sweater. His hair was already fully white, bushy eyebrows arched over dark eyes. Suddenly I could understand why Case would have been nervous. This was almost intimidating, had it not been for the slight wrinkles around the eyes... Almost.
"Ehm...We could." I replied uncertainly." But I planned a lamb-roast and that takes at least two hours."
"That suits me fine, we just got back from Spain and we never ate before ten over there. And this way I get to steal one of your recepies. Case told me about your cooking and maybe I can pick up a thing or two" Wow. I didn't think she would be so nice. And so...not stuck up at all.
"You still should get changed, though" Case said.
"Do you mind if we look at your paintings in the meantime?" Jane asked.
"No, not at all, go ahead. Case knows where everything is" And I escaped into our bedroom.
As I got changed I heard them talking. Remember, no proper ceiling on each room? It was kind of weird, especially since I knew that Case knew that I could hear them but he still talked about me as if I wasn't there.
"It happens; he gets so caught up in his work that he forgets the world around him. But look, it's really worth it" I heard Case say, always the salesman. I didn't mean to listen in. I just stopped getting dressed so I could hear them better. And it was their fault for talking so loud anyways!
"Amazing! Look honey, its beautiful. Look at the colours! Look at the shadow and light! This is incredible!" I could hear that Jane's astonishment was real. I, of course, was totally flattered and glad that nobody was there to see me blush.
"It is rather impressing. Definitely worth eating a little late" I heard Eric joke. "I was looking forward to meeting him. I understand why you're so good at finding last minute solutions now. You have practise." Chuckles from all of them.
"I don't have a choice" Casey said. Hey! What was that supposed to mean! He was supposed to be on my side me! To tell them I wasn't as chaotic as it looked like.
"Does he exhibit somewhere? He really should!" Jane said.
"Well, not yet, he doesn't really like to share it, its something very personal for him. Most of his paintings are sitting in the other room. He might show them later. RIGHT LUCY?" Case yelled. Ass. He knew I was listening in.
"RIGHT!" I yelled back. I hadn't picked out what to wear yet, because I knew I was going to cook, but wasn't too sure of how casual I should dress. Hm. I was standing in my undies in front of my dresser, with my finger on my bottom-lip, averting my eyes. Thinking. Trying to decide.
"Lucy? Are you planning to join us?" Casey asked loudly. He was still in the living room with Jane and Erik.
"I can't decide what to wear" I admitted begrudged. I heard chuckles. I felt so stereotype. I decided on a pair of blue slacks and a nicer, blue and white plaid button-down shirt. I brushed my blond curls and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like a choir boy, totally innocent. I wasn't about to get re-dressed so it would have to do. I just hoped I wouldn't get any sauce on my shirt; it had been a present by my grandmother. I shook my head, now I thought like a choir boy, too. Awful.
I headed to the living-room where Case was trying to convince Jane and Erik to go to a restaurant. Jane insisted that we cook together and stayed here. She was here to get to know US and how we lived after all and not some restaurant, she pointed out and Case gave in. I was positively surprised, she seemed to be really interested in other people and how they did things and was obviously of the opinion that, if being chaotic was part of how we were, she'd get past that, too. I had a bad conscious again because Case had told me he didn't want to come across as a chaotic wacko, and that apparently hadn't worked out. I still thought I could save the night though and I really liked Jane already so I wouldn't even have to pretend to be nice to her.
Jane and I prepared dinner while Case and Eric sat in the living-room and discussed work. Jane and I mostly talked about art, exhibitions, the Guggenheim museum that she had visited during her stay in Spain. Apparently she had wanted to meet me for some time now and was very interested in my work. I was surprised to hear that Case had talked about me and my work quite a bit because she even had some paintings that she wanted to see in particular and I promised to show her later. After we had put the lamb into the oven we joined them in the living-room and brought Martinis just as they had put their laptops away.
"So, Ludwig..."
"You can call me Lucy if you want to, everybody does" I interrupted, taking a sip of my Martini, feeling very young all the sudden. For the first time in a long time I noticed that my nick-name was a girl's name and I was borderline embarrassed by that. Why couldn't I have normal friends that gave me normal nicknames? Oh, right, I wasn't normal.
"So, Lucy. You're the guy that calls Case the conferences all the time" he said, chuckling.
I think I might have blushed a little.
"Ehm, yes, I might have done that once or twice" I looked at Casey, apologetic.
"I remember the last time, we were laughing so hard. The look on your face was priceless Case! I didn't know anything could surprise you" Eric said chuckling. I felt the urge to check on the lamb.
"Well, if you're living with somebody as crazy as him..." Case mumbled under his breath and made a face.
"I just wanted to know if you minded if I painted the living room. And hey! I'm not crazy!" I said and swatted his chest. He didn't even reply. Just cocked an eyebrow. "You're supposed to defend me and not gang up on me!"
"I'm not ganging up on anybody. I'm just stating an opinion" he replied.
"Well, your opinion is not very flattering" I said.
"That's ok" he said chuckling, taking a sip of his Martini. I didn't know what to say to that. Ass. But Jane was amused at his teasing so I guess it was ok. At least somebody was having fun.
I showed Jane my paintings later. I had them in a room that had magazines on the wall that you could flip, like a book. In the back I had the X- and G-rated paintings and the rows were locked. In the front were the other paintings that everybody could see.
She was delighted and I was embarrassed. I hated when people saw my paintings and went all 'ahwww, that's beautiful'. In a sense it was flattering, but it made me want to disappear. I hated having to be present at Vernissages for that very reason, but Case made me go to the few I had had. I didn't really like exhibiting my paintings, but Case said I should. I didn't want any of the applause. And I didn't want Jane gawking at my paintings and making comments that probably would've sounded nice to everyone else's ears, but not mine.
"Look at that! The colour, the technique! Have you ever thought about giving art classes?" she asked me.
"No" I was getting uncomfortable.
"Well maybe you should!" she exclaimed.
"Maybe..." but probably not. I did what I did for me and not for anybody else. Well, maybe for Case a bit.
"What will you do with all the paintings when you move to Taiwan? Will you have them sent? If you want to I could arrange for them to be exhibited at a museum, then you wouldn't have to worry..." I didn't really hear anything after the mentioning of Taiwan.
"When I go to Taiwan?"
"Yes, or is Case going to leave you here? For such a long time? That can put a big strain on a relationship, I remember when I first met my husband..." and she started telling me about how she had met Erik and how they had to go through the troubles of being in a long distance relationship. All that flying back and forth in the private jet, such a hassle. Me and Case sure didn't want to go through that, did we?
"No, no. Taiwan, I'm going to Taiwan" I reassured her. And me. I was going to Taiwan? I was confused. When had that happened? I was wondering when Case had planned to tell me. I was quiet and maybe a little bitchy for the rest of the night. When Eric and Jane were gone it felt like a thunderstorm was going to hit.
I took some of the glasses in the kitchen, tight-lipped, angry. Giving Case dirty looks.
"Do you know why it was so important to me that this night went well?" he asked me in a quiet voice, already sensing my sour mood. 'No clue, get's you a company car in Taiwan?' but I bit my tongue, huffed and dunked the glasses in the water.
"I want a promotion. If I get the promotion I'll lead a marketing-agency in another district. At my age! Do you know how much that would mean to me? He'll let me know if I got it soon, he said, and then..."
"You call Taiwan a district?" I blurted.
"There are districts in Taiwan" he started. But I was in no mood to let him finish.
"When were you going to tell me? If we want to get married we should be able to tell each other these things! Are you even planning to take me with you?" I asked, glaring at him.
"I was worried you'd say no..."
"No to what? You didn't even tell me that you were thinking of going, you couldn't at least have mentioned it? How do you think I could say no if you didn't even bring it up? "I was trying hard not to sound too accusing, but I failed miserably.
"This is a really big thing for me! I worked my ass off for this and I really want it. I'm perfect for the position and I would basically do pioneer work in Taiwan..."he tried to explain. I wouldn't let him.
"Hello!? Am I included in that plan somewhere? Weren't you at least going to tell me that we were going to Taiwan!? Weren't you at least going to ask me?"
"I didn't even know if I was going to Taiwan and..." he suddenly seemed...insecure? I had rarely seen him like that; actually, never "I guess...I was afraid you'd say no"
"Why would I say no?!" I yelled and I threw the sponge into the water so that it splattered my shirt, but I ignored it as I turned to face him.
"Because I would ask you to move half way across the globe!? Away from your family!? To a country where you don't know the language?! You were born and raised here, all your friends live here..."
"Didn't we go through this just a few days ago?" I asked. He looked at his shoes, like a boy that just got scolded for not washing his hands before dinner.
"I know. I know" he replied softly. " It's really hard... getting used to the idea...when I got together with you, I kind of, well I was fascinated with you. You amaze me. Everyday. You're the most interesting person I have ever met and... I just figured that what we had was so good and so... you know so pure that...well... it felt like one of these great summer flings that you want to last forever and looking back you think that you should have known all along that they wouldn't. So I kind of prepared myself for that. This will sound harsh, but I always figured that we wouldn't last as a couple...so...I guess I didn't really plan my live with you as I should have, because I always feared you might be gone the next day. And yes, I know we already talked about this a couple of days ago..."
"Have some faith in me Case! I'm not letting you go! You're stuck with me! Since when do you know?" I asked.
"A couple of months..." he replied uncertainly.
"How many months?"
"Seven?" he said unsure. I just sighed. Seven months. Great.
"When are we leaving?" I asked.
"That means you're coming?" He asked hopefully.
"Of course I'm coming, stupid! When are we leaving?"
"If I get the promotion, next Monday, two days"
"IN TWO DAYS!?!"
"I'm just kidding. We have two months. We'll be leaving right after the wedding. We could have our honeymoon in Thailand"
"We could. I could book the flight and the hotel, since you have so much work to do with the wedding."
"Do you think you'll be able to...." he saw the dirty look I was giving him and then it was decided that for once I would take some responsibility in this relationship and plan our honey-moon.