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"To go home," I said making the same mistake again. "I mean your place. Let's go back. I think I know what I want to paint."
Sebastian glanced longingly at his coffee. "Okay."
I flung my arms around him. "Ahh, thank you. I think I'm ready to paint and I don't want to lose this feeling, you know?"
He didn't return the hug at first but then as I started pulling away, he wrapped his arms around me too. I could have sworn I heard him inhale sharply, but I suppose that could have been the steam wand on the espresso machine.
I tried to stave off the warm satisfaction that came with thinking he might want me like that. Could he tell that my pulse quickened when we were alone? Could he hear my heart beating in my chest when we're wrapped in each other's arms? Did he know how he made it zing between my legs?
We parted and Sebastian grabbed his coffee and the food while I grabbed the other to-go cup shivering because of him and not because of the frosty air that hit us as soon as we stepped outside.
This was better than a cold shower.
"I take it my idea to get you out of the house worked," he said as we got back in the car.
"Let's not count our chickens before they hatch."
"Well at the risk of jinxing things, I hope it worked."
I was practically bouncing in my seat but the sincerity in his voice made me look over at him. "Me too."
* * *
It didn't work.
I was so certain it would work.
I looked at the brush strokes on the canvas. They were lifeless. Boring. Uninspired.
The photo on my phone was objectively stunning. I'd captured a sunset between buildings in the city. The sight was a rare one, and I'd been lucky to snap it. But even with my inspiration, I couldn't manage to make art. That mental block remained firmly in place.
Besides that, my body was getting tighter by the minute. Sebastian was right and I should have staved off the soreness with another run.
Feeling like this was a lost cause, I decided to take a walk and call Daisy. I figured Willow might want to come with me, so I searched the house for her, finding her on the floor in Sebastian's office. His door was mostly closed, but I peeked in to see him hunched over his keyboard, typing what seemed to be a hundred words a minute.
"Knock knock," I said, tapping on the wood.
He startled, and I held up my hands. "Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt you. I just wanted to see if Willow wanted a walk."
Hearing that word, the lab's ears perked up.
Sebastian shook his head. "I don't think she'll turn you down."
"Excellent. She can help lead the way." I patted the top of my thigh. "Come on, Willow."
The lab bounded towards me. After stopping in my room to grab a jacket, I headed outside, Willow at my side.
I marched away from the house and put my earbuds in. It wasn't that I couldn't call Daisy with Sebastian nearby, it's just that I wanted a little bit of privacy.
Daisy picked up on the second ring. "Finally! How's it going over there?"
Willow and I headed for the same trail we'd taken yesterday. Perhaps the walking would help with the stiffness that had set in.
"Meh, I haven't painted anything good." Anxiety clawed at my throat, but I didn't want her to know how much this was getting to me.
"Oh, well you just got there and a lot's happening."
"I suppose." The trail disappeared into the tree line, giving us lots of cover. Willow stuck close by.
