The Artist | #3✓

Chapter 24

"This place is great, don't you think?" Toby asked with a smile as he touched the red-painted wall. The person who was showing us around had to raise their voice a bit to draw our attention towards the kitchen area they were standing by. I smiled at Toby, before turning towards the guide to watch him explain the make of the kitchen counters. I really didn't understand anything that was being said, but Toby seemed to since he was talking to the man and asking him questions along the way.

After a while the red-haired man in a suit left to go get something, leaving Toby and me alone in the kitchen.

"You didn't answer my question."

"What?" I asked, looking over at Toby. He seemed to be checking the tile work on the walls around the cupboards.

"A while ago I said this place was great, don't you think it is?" he repeated, turning to face me with a smile. I muttered an 'oh' before agreeing with him and walking over to stand beside him. We'd found this place online, and had only got to see it today.

My parents had driven off to drop Xander at his college residence while Toby and I had driven over to look at the apartment we were planning on getting together. I liked the place. It was cozy, smallish, and was also part of a better-maintained building compared to the apartment Toby was currently living in.

"Would you like to check the bedrooms?" the man that had been showing us around asked as he poked his head into the kitchen.

"Yes, of course," Toby said with a smile, walking over to me before taking my hand in his. We followed our guide to the presently empty rooms with grey tiled floors and blue painted walls. One was larger, and I guessed it was supposed to be the main room, and the other was smaller, and the guide pointed out that it was envisioned to be a guest room.

After a while, we thanked the man for showing us around before we headed downstairs, and out the main building. We then walked to Toby's car, and he started the engine when we got in. he put on the radio, letting the instrumental music he loved to listen to fill the car. I recognized the piece that was playing. It was a classical string arrangement that Toby usually played while doing watercolor paintings.

"We're turning the extra bedroom into a small art studio, right?" Toby asked me as he drove out of the apartment complex's parking lot, and then into the road. I smiled, nodding at his words as I muttered an agreement. The place was a small two-bedroom apartment, and since we were going to share a room it made sense to create an art studio for ourselves. The place was also cheap, considering it was mostly students from the two nearby colleges that rented apartments around the area.

I watched as Toby drove us towards Xander's college, we passed the college's welcome sign, and Toby eventually made a stop in front of the first-year residential building that Xander would be living in.

"It's here, right?" Toby asked, trying to look out my window since it was facing the building.

"Yeah," I replied, noting the crowd around the building's area. Most people were carrying boxes, appliances, and luggage. It seemed that pets weren't allowed since I didn't see any animals nearby. All in all, it looked like a busy move-in day.

"Are you going in?" Toby asked me.

I turned to look at Toby, smiling at him. "Yes, I promised to help Xander unpack."

"Okay, I'll wait in the car at the parking lot, or take a drive around, go ahead," he said, making my smile widen. I leaned into him, kissing him lightly on the lips before turning around to open the door. I came down from the car and closed the door before waving at Toby's car as he drove off to find a parking space.