Wood was fighting to hold back the emotion he was feeling now that he’d come face-to-face with all he’d lost. A split-second accident had altered the course of his entire life. Talking like this with someone who was so close to Gary was putting that heavy weight in the pit of his stomach again. The one where he wanted to curl up into a ball of depression for how badly he’d screwed up. That’s what reminiscing about the good ole days did. Brad smiled and went on jabbering as if Wood had just been away on an extra-long sabbatical and not rotting away in a cage. He’d thrown his life away!
“Unc, why don’t you go grab us a couple bottles of water, and I’m gonna show Wood where we moved his sacred garden,” El said. Brad gave him a confused smile, but at least he stopped talking and went to do what El asked.
Wood dipped his head and mumbled, “Thanks.”
“So how long were you in?” El asked as Wood glanced around the small lobby. “I know the look, y’know. When someone starts droning on and on about how amazing you were.”
Wood stopped and listened to what El was really saying.
“I did two and half years in Greensville for check fraud in 2013. I made a killing too before I… y’know…”
“Got caught,” Wood finished.
El laughed smoothly and ran his hand through his long hair. Now that he was around the corner, Wood could see the younger man was almost as tall as him, but not near as muscular. His short nails were painted a dull black, and he had tattoos of budding roses on the backs of his hands. He wore ripped jeans, a long-sleeve hoodie, and silver rings on every finger. Wood had never seen such a style, but he found he liked it on this guy. El had light-colored eyes and tan skin despite it being the middle of winter. His goatee was dark and trimmed neatly around his wide mouth. Wood realized he was staring when El’s tongue snaked out to play with the barbell pierced through his bottom lip. Holy crap. Wood was noticing way too many young men since he’d been out. He needed to find a mature lounge where the men were grown and skilled… soon.
“I moved your painting to the lounge room in the back. That’s where everyone sits while they’re waiting for their appointment or looking through portfolios for ideas. Follow me.” Wood fell in behind El, making sure to keep his eyes up and straight ahead. “It’s not usually so slow in here. I had a couple walk-ins earlier. The shop is doing well. Operating in the green. Brad will kick my ass otherwise. He constantly says Gary and Wood left us a gold mine, but it’s up to us to keep it that way.”
Wood was surprised at the setup in the back of the shop. It used to be a drawing room for him, but El had converted it into a comfortable lounge with plush couches and chairs. There were two flat-screen televisions mounted on each side of the room, and the long bar in between was littered with albums and drawings.
“Damn. This is nice. I like it,” Wood said honestly.
“Really?” El asked as if Wood’s approval actually meant something to him.
“For real.” There were years of changes made to his place, but some things were still the same. Like his painting hanging in the center of it all. Surrounded by an expensive cream custom frame, with a signed posted beneath that read “Not for Sale.” Wood stood in front of it and stared for a long moment, and El didn’t disturb him. He got lost in the colors of the petals and the strokes of green in the lush garden. He recalled every thought he’d had when he created this painting. Every emotion he’d felt with each stroke of his brush. Adam—his ex—used to like to come into his studio and make love to him in front of it. This piece had been his pride and joy, his only artwork he’d allowed to hang in a real gallery. He’d even gotten multiple offers for it, though it was never for sale.
“I better get going. My friend’s out front waiting for me,” Wood said, his voice sounding raw and tortured.
“Yeah, sure,” El said. He followed Wood toward the front, speaking to his back. “What shop are you at now?”
“I’m not at a shop. I haven’t been out long, and I wanted to see about maybe picking it all back up again. Starting over…” Wood wasn’t sure about asking for what he wanted any longer.
“You got your license renewed and all that?” El asked, standing back behind the counter.
“No. Not yet. I’m just really getting started to be honest,” Wood answered.
“Look, um.” El started to fidget with his jewelry, spinning the thick band around his middle finger. “I feel kind of shitty asking someone like you this, but I know what it takes to start over in the business… and… and I just got rid of three of my artists a couple weeks ago. They got caught doing some underhanded shit, so I’m cleaning house, getting ready for this summer.”