Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
And I’d never seen a look on Ori’s face like the one he made when he saw their modern paintings room. It was big, beautiful, and seemingly endless, and we were shown around corner after corner, each one having better paintings than the last. I didn’t know shit about art compared to Ori, but I could tell the place was impressive, and when Ori got into conversations about the artists with the tour guide, his face lit up.
My heart soared inside me.
He likes it.
He actually fuckin’ likes it here.
I was a simple man, and if someone I loved was happy, that was going to make me fucking ecstatic. I knew Ori felt like a failure after leaving LA, but if he could work in a place this nice… maybe he could really be happy, too.
There were three levels, and the photography portion and the prints and sculptures area were my personal favorites. The tour guide told us that they rotate their collections frequently, and there would always be new art making its way in.
When we stepped out of the place an hour later, Ori looked like he’d just been on a roller coaster. We got in my truck and he sat in the passenger seat, looking out the front window, dazed.
“Honesty time,” I said. “What did you think?”
He shook his head. “It was incredible,” he said.
But there was a look on his face that… wasn’t exactly happiness.
“So what’s got you lookin’ like you just got bad news?”
A flare of worry sprung up in my chest for the first time all day.
Shit.
What if it wasn’t good enough for him? What if he was already regretting everything, thinking of how much better the places were in LA?
What if my dream was just a fantasy, after all?
“I’m nervous,” Ori finally admitted, looking over and giving me a sheepish grin.
“What for?”
He chewed on his lower lip. “Because I really liked it. And now I’m suddenly afraid I won’t be able to get the position here. It’s paid, and I even got rejected from a volunteer spot at the other place.”
Relief crashed down on me like a fucking avalanche.
All at once I realized the truth: Ori wasn’t getting cold feet.
He really wanted this.
I leaned over from the driver’s seat and immediately pulled him into a kiss. “I love you,” I said against his lips. “And that’s why I’m going to say what I’m about to say, okay?”
I kissed him once more, and he smiled. “What?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
His smile got wider. “Finn—”
“Shut,” I said firmly, “the fuck. Up.”
He was laughing now, finally breaking the nervous tension he’d had since he left the museum.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I know you’re going to get this position,” I said. “That tour guide got along with you so well I swore she was going to give you the job on the spot. And I know that even if you don’t get it, you’re going to find something even better.”
“She did say the director was going to love me,” Ori said, looking out the front window again.
“Damn right.”
“You want to know something?” I asked him. “That video I had go viral last week has over two million views now, and it’s still rapidly growing.”
“Whoa,” he said, his brow furrowing. “Finn, that’s seriously good. I didn’t know it had that many.”
“But you know what?” I said. “I didn’t think it was a good video. I almost didn’t post it.”
“No way.”
I nodded. “Thought the angle was weird, and my voiceover narration was too talkative. But people are loving it. All I’m trying to say is that sometimes the best things come out of nowhere.”
“You’re tellin’ me,” Ori said, reaching over and squeezing my thigh. “Finn, I think I could even be happy working at the diner forever, if it meant I get to suck your dick whenever I want.”
I burst out laughing, leaning back in my seat. “Me too, Ori.”
“Nothing is ever going to be guaranteed,” he said. “But I’m still happy. I’m so happy, and it’s been so fucking long since I could truly say that.”
We gazed out the window for a moment, looking at the cloud-dappled blue sky. It was like a painting in itself, with fluffy white clouds and sweeping views of the far-off mountain range.
I let out a long sigh. “My life really was like black-and-white before you got back. Now it’s all in full color.”
“You’re so kind to me,” he said.
“It’s real,” I told him. “All my days felt the same. The color is back, now, Ori.”
He leaned against my shoulder and I pulled him in close, pulling in the scent of his shampoo.
“More good things have happened here in Bestens than ever happened to me in LA,” he murmured. “Something’s got to be right about that.”
We were at the Hard Spot a week later, shooting the shit with Max and Kane, when Ori took a phone call outside.