Impress Me Not: The Handyman

Chapter 13

The shoot was only a few hours in the day. It felt nice to finally be back to doing this again. Modeling had never been a dream of his. He kind of just fell into it when he won a competition. After being on that magazine, he kept getting offers to model more. Since he really needed the money during the time, he accepted a few of them.

Rico was one of those people. The man was the main one who would try to convince him to do more. It was interesting that him and Nicholas knew each other on such a friendly level. Solomon wondered how long they worked together. Knowing Rico, he would have already met Nicholas if they were close friends back when he was still doing modeling jobs. Rico also loved telling other companies that he worked with about him.

This was only a hobby, and had always been. Solomon had never wanted to make it a profession. He had turned plenty of those jobs down, just like he was about to turn this job down at first. This time was a little different, though. This job wasn't so that he could have some more money to pay bills with like when he was younger. This was just to get out and try something that he hadn't in a while.

Which was why he had almost turned it down when Nicholas had called him a thousand times.

But he really was enjoying himself. Maya was happy that he had accepted the job. He told her just a few days after. She always looked up to him, which made him proud to be her older brother.

The only thing that sucked was that it only lasted the morning. He had taken the whole day off from work, but now he was regretting it. Solomon didn't exactly like being by himself too much. Especially not when he was at home.

"That was perfect, Solomon!" Rico came up to him after he changed back into his normal clothes. "You still got that charm to you, baby! This is going to be great!"

"Thanks, Rico," it really was nice to see the man again. He was a little overdramatic, but that was everyone in this line of business. "It's always good when you're the one in charge of managing the photos, though. You're the one that makes the magic behind the scenes."

"No one could make you look any more perfect, baby," Rico winked at him and flashed him a smile. "Everything you touch is gold!"

"You're ridiculous," he shook his head. It seemed like Rico hadn't changed a bit since he last saw him. The man loved to flirt with him. He thought they were just compliments when he had first started working with him. But he realized that it was more than that when the man asked him out during the second project they were on.

Somner absolutely hated him.

He shook his head again. He really shouldn't be thinking of him right now. Being in a place like this brought up old memories. Memories that he had been trying to hide from for a long time.

He sighed and headed towards the exit of the building, ignoring all the things that Rico was saying about him doing more jobs. He didn't want to think about doing any more jobs at the moment. But he also really didn't want to go home either. Maya was still in school and all of his friends were probably working still. He was sure that there was something that needed to be cleaned or fixed, though. If anything, he could use that to pass time.

"Hey," Nicholas leaned against the exit. "You did great in there."

"Thanks," he smiled. He really didn't know why the guy was showering him with compliments. He had agreed that he wasn't going to flirt with him anymore, and it didn't really seem like he was trying to hit on him. If there was anything that those blue eyes showed him, it was excitement. The man may have come off as a pig when Solomon first met him, but it was nice to see this side of him. The side of him that loved his work and got as excited as a kid on Christmas about it.

"You know," Nicholas moved so he could get out of the building, then followed him. "I was thinking about something."

"What?" he raised an eyebrow as he walked to his car. He knew this guy had to be planning something.

"Well," he paused for a second. When Solomon looked back at him, he seemed nervous. "Since we started this whole project on bad terms, I was thinking that I could treat you to lunch."

"To lunch?" Was this guy asking him out? After they just agreed on him not flirting?

He guessed it wasn't really flirting if you were being upfront about it.

"Just as a celebration for the success of the project!" Nicholas talked really fast, chuckling after he spoke. "If your boyfriend doesn't mind, that is."

"My boyfriend?" he looked at him confused. He really didn't get this guy. First, he tries to hit on him, then he showers him with compliments, and now he's talking about this imaginary boyfriend?

"I was talking to Rico a bit about offering you lunch," Nicholas explained. "But he told me that your boyfriend might not like that too much. I just thought I'd offer it anyway."

Oh. This was because of Rico.

"I don't have a boyfriend," Solomon said. His eyes glued to the ground, trying to not live through the memories again.

"Really?" Nicholas said. "The way Rico talked about him, I didn't think he was lying."

"He wasn't," Solomon shrugged. "The last time I saw Rico, I was dating someone."

"Ah. That makes sense," Nicholas said. There was something about his tone that made him seem like he was picking up on Solomon's discomfort over the whole thing. "That bad, huh?"

"Not in the way that you think," Solomon sighed and put his bag into the back of his car. Thankfully he didn't just have the company truck to drive around everywhere.

"What do you mean?"

"We didn't break up," he told him. He would have laughed at the look on Nicholas' face if it were any other time. The poor guy looked so confused.

"But you aren't together?"

"He died," he said. This was the first time he had to say it in almost a year.

"Oh!" those blue eyes got big the moment he said it. "I'm so sorry, Solomon, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's okay," he shook his head. "It's been a long time since then."

"Still," Nicholas looked so guilty the second he heard him say it. "I'm really sorry, I had no idea."

"It's alright," he blew it off. It felt strange telling it to a total stranger. Usually, he had to tell it to friends or family members that he hadn't seen in a while. Those ones were always bittersweet. Because those people always had a connection with his past; with Somner.

Telling it to Nicholas had a different affect on him. It still hurt to say, but it didn't bring back as many memories as it had with his family or friends from the past. It almost felt relieving. Like he had finally stopped keeping it a secret.

"Please," Nicholas looked at him with a sincere expression for once. "Let me treat you to lunch, at least. As a way of apologizing for all of this."

Solomon looked him over for a second. This guy really never knew when to quit when it came to things he wanted. As much as Solomon didn't really want to keep talking to the man, he also really didn't want to go home. Especially not with his ex on his mind.

He'd wind up laying in bed crying if he went home now.

"Okay," Solomon smiled. "I'll follow you then. I don't exactly want to leave my car here."

"You will?" the man smiled back at him. He had such a dazzling smile. "Perfect! I know just the spot!"

He got into his car and sighed again. He wasn't used to getting this much attention. He hadn't had someone hit on him or flirt with him in a long time. Nicholas might not be his type, personality wise, but he couldn't say that he didn't like all the compliments that he gave him.

Maybe he could take a compliment or two. Just for a little while.