Portrait of Him | Wilbur Soot ✔️

Second Chance

She was glad to see his name on her screen. With a few words, she texted him back to let him know that everything was alright and also mentioned that Josh had brought her home, so it's all good.

Wilbur on the other hand didn't like reading the ginger guy's name on his screen. He felt intimated and for some reason, as if Valerie deserved someone as good looking as Josh more. Still, he knew that there was still a small chance for him with her, if they weren't a thing yet. And even if he would never be her boyfriend, he'd cherish every moment that he could count himself as one of her friends.

Wil

Btw, is he your boyfriend? I don't remember you mentioning him before, but maybe that's just on me.

Val

Josh? nope. I mean he's great n all, but tbh I haven't seen him for years and only recently got in contact with him again.

Wilbur knew how his text sounded, but there really was no other way to ask. Her reply gave him the reassurance he wanted.

Valerie really needed to talk about that almost-kiss she just had. But in no world could she tell Wil, right? That would be absolutely weird. Her mind wandered as she sent her text to him. After stripping off her clothes, she instantly slipped under the covers of her bed. It could have been so different. What if, instead of Joshua, Wilbur had accompanied her on the way home? Would he have leaned in for a kiss too? Did he even like her like that? Even if it had just been an act of the moment, she thought, maybe she would have kissed him.

Val

I'm sorry, that I didn't text you earlier.

Wil

What you mean?

Val

After you left my house. I didn't even say thank you for the breakfast :/ It was amazing tho.

Wil

Oh that? Don't worry about it. See it as a small 'thank you' on my part for the evening that I had the honour of spending with you

In that moment Valerie overthought a few things. One of the conclusions she came to was, that she would have definitely kissed him on her doorstep.

Her eyes got tired and after a bit more scrolling on her phone, she decided to go to sleep. Even in complete darkness, there was so much going on in her head, that kept her from properly relaxing. It was just so hard to not picture Wil on stage again and again. Then again she felt bad for Josh. She hadn't given him the opportunity to be himself in this loud bar. Maybe she had to give him another chance. Another approach?

They had this spark when they were younger and having him back around gave her this weird feeling. He was so polite with her, just like then. Only now, she KNEW there was tension and his forwardness had an endearing effect, even if she hadn't been ready so far.

She had an idea. What better way was there to get to know him better than to have him over for a second date. No interruptions, no getting lost in the streets of Brighton, no rain. Just the two of them in her beloved cave of comfort.

...

Val texted him right after she woke up. Josh apologized once again in case he'd made her uncomfortable and told her that she really wouldn't have to do it if she wasn't interested in him. Typing, then deleting, then typing again... Val had trouble finding genuine sounding words.
"It's not like that. As I said, I like you. I always have. But I can't pretend the time gap wasn't there. Things have happened. Please, I don't just wanna throw this away." And with a click and a quiet sound, the message went up in the chat.

All the effort couldn't hide his scepsis, but they agreed to do it.

...

Five minutes late. Ten minutes late. Then the door bell rang and a slightly sweaty Josh stood in front her with a bouquet of red flowers. "Hi." He greeted her with an exhausted smile. "Those are amaryllis flowers, I heard they're the flowers of-" "artists." She finished his sentence. "Thank you so much, that's really thoughtful of you." With a quick peck on the cheek, she took the bouquet and motioned him to come in. With a content blush on his face, he followed her orders.

There was creeking from the kitchen cabinet doors and a few seconds later, the flowers were placed in a pretty clear glass vase with flowy details on the sides.

"Do you still do your art?" he asked from the living room. "It was always so relaxing to watch you do your thing."

She entered the room. "Yes, actually." Josh was glad. It would have been a waste of skill, if she had abandoned it.
"Would you want to paint something right now? I'd make something for you too of course." His idea didn't sound to bad. Besides, she hadn't picked up a brush or a pencil in a while.

"If you give me a minute or two, I'll get us everything we need." Joshua gave her a nod of approval and she disappeared in another room. She cake back with paper, paint brushes, water colors, acrylic paint and a pencil case and set it down in front of him.

"So what do you want me to draw?" Val asked excited. Josh picked up a pencil and gently tapped on his lips with it's end while thinking. "How abouuuut... How about me?" He was definitely on high spirits right now. Val considered it and tilted her head to the side, eyeing him as if trying to view him as a motive for the picture.
"I can't do that. I can't just draw you like that. It's not that easy." Not even the sweetest of puppy eyes could convince her to do it.

"Fine, then draw me a cute dog. I'll do one two. It's a contest!" They shook hands on it and sat back to back on the couch. "No peeking, tho!" He chuckled well knowing, that it was him out of the two that would look at her piece of paper. She had no reason to.
Many curses were exchanged, as drawing on your knees was really not that easy, especially when the paper gave in.

20 minutes past, in which both of them roasted each other or themselves, based on what they thought the other person's drawing looked like.

"OK, stop it. I'm done, so put down the pen!"

They turned around and held up their paintings. A wholehearted laughter filled the room and Val held her stomach. "You didn't even try, did you?! Why does it have six legs?"

He looked at his own painting. "Shoot. I don't know. Well, actually one is the tail. I guess he just has a spare leg. In case one goes missing or sum."
Needless to say, that her result was world's better. You could even make out the breed. A cute small Jack Russell Terrier.

They'd do those little drawings again and again, with the most random words as a premise. Eventually they sat face to face and experimented with different technics ands colors and paints.

With piles of freshly created art works around them, they decided to pack it up. "I'll put it back, you just stay there and tell me where it goes."
Val told him to just throw the art supplies in the open box in her bedroom. She'd take care of that later.

Josh got up and left, while the French girl tidied up the rest. She cleaned the water cup for the water colors and washed the acrylic paint of the brushes.

"CHERRY?!" Josh shouted from another the bedroom. He sounds panicked.