It was all happening too fast, their privacy vanishing as they approached other people out for a stroll late at night, wild and laughing with wanton regard for who might be watching.
What luxury, Juniper thought.
But, at least he was not alone in the sensation. Juniper was certain that Cory felt it too, the palpable closing in of the public view.
"It's been an absolute delight, Juniper," Cory said with his head turned away, his whisper full of breathless emotion that the crowd could not possibly hear. It was the most intimate thing Cory could have done without notice, and Juniper savored it in his chest.
It didn't seem wise to linger in their goodbyes, so Juniper nodded at the man once they had arrived, and no words needed to be spoken that weren't already said. All Juniper could hope for now was that Cory did, in fact, decide to leave a letter.
Before he did something he would regret, Juniper turned around and walked back the way they had come.
Juniper's decision to cut through the park on his way home was partially motivated by the shorter distance and partially motivated by a desire to reassure himself that what happened had actually been reality. He didn't go so far as to walk along the same path that he and Cory had taken, but he did sit on a bench facing those maples for a few moments, trying to burn everything he remembered into his mind for later. Without Cory directly beside him, it seemed impossible that he would go so far as to brave a letter, but maybe that didn't matter. They had made beautiful memories here, and those, at least, were real.
When the chastisement began to settle in--about whether it was wise of him to pursue this sort of thing at all--he stood from the bench and kept walking. Surely, it was possible to keep it a secret but still experience what he wanted to explore with Cory. But, then again, what if it went terribly wrong and out of spite he...
No, just because past lovers had played that card, that didn't mean that Cory would also. And, besides, both of them had something to lose. Henry had already been out, then, and...
But Juniper didn't want to dwell on the past or, at least, not the far-back past. Better to think of the gallery, of the moment when Cory's hand first touched his, of the breathless way Cory found to slip Juniper's name onto the end of his sentences. Absentmindedly, Juniper pressed a hand up over the shoulder of his jacket. Underneath, on his pressed shirt, Cory had cried on his shoulder. The smell of the man likely still lingered there, mixed with the sweet smell of the maples and the lightness of the breeze. Briefly, Juniper imagined cooking and plating an extravagant meal for Cory inspired by that evening, thinking of where he would source each of the ingredients. He wanted to impress Cory, to delight him yet more.
Juniper smiled to himself, thinking of Cory's goodbye,
It's been an absolute delight, Juniper.
When he made it home, he travelled through many rooms and up the staircase toward his bedroom, where he undressed in front of the mirror, shrugging his jacket off the same way he had down in front of Cory, wondering what that had looked like to the man. Dashing, entrancing, he hoped. His hair was still curled nicely off to one side, and he was grateful it had survived the evening.
There were, indeed, salt stains on the shoulder of his dress shirt, but it likely wasn't something dry cleaning couldn't handle. He touched the spots, wondering if Cory was thinking about him at exactly that same moment.
Juniper stayed in front of the mirror as he continued undressing, imagining that Cory and he had been in a private enough space to do so. Once he had opened each of the buttons of his shirt, he looked at the line of exposed skin and ran his fingers slowly from top to bottom, imagining it was Cory's hand. Juniper's breathing hitched as he remembered his own hands against Cory's low back, teasing themselves around the waistbands of Cory's pants. And, dear goodness, what would it have felt like to have his hand around Cory's backside?
His breath shuddered as he slid his long-sleeve shirt off his arms and looked at himself. He perhaps wasn't as muscular as he would have liked, but the flat plane of his abdomen as it reached toward his belt pleased him. He turned his back on the mirror as he unbuckled his belt and slid his pants down, too embarrassed to keep watching himself. But, still, he undressed as though someone were watching, trying to be as graceful and enchanting as possible here in his closet. He smiled bashfully, though it was a full, wide smile, thinking about Cory looking on at him from the bed. Juniper hummed in his throat as he moved his hips softly from side to side and pulled his underwear down as well, fully nude.
At that point, he did turn back to the mirror, examining himself, on the whole rather pleased with how he looked. He hoped Cory might think the same. The artist offered to draw Juniper nude, after all. Bringing an ottoman and a towel from the bedroom in front of the full-length closet mirror, Juniper experimented with some of the poses he had seen in Hopper's nude drawings. Several of them felt terribly awkward or difficult to maintain. Finally, Juniper closed his eyes and tried to think of how his
body wanted to pose. How did he want Cory to see him?
Did he want to pose nonchalantly? Maybe reading a book? No, perhaps not. That seemed pretentious somehow.
Did he want to sit on the ground in a twist so none of the explicit parts of him were on display? Something about that was unsatisfying, and he didn't want to come across as cowardly.
He suddenly had an image of himself standing at the kitchen corner, studiously chopping vegetables in the nude. A smile brightened his face. It was probably too elaborate for Cory to set up, but he appreciated having thought of something he liked the idea of. And, really, maybe he was putting far too much thought into it. Perhaps Cory would choose a pose for Juniper. Perhaps Cory wouldn't draw Juniper in the nude at all. Perhaps there wouldn't ever come a letter and life would go on utterly unremarkably.
That was enough to make Juniper dress again in his bedclothes and lie down, though his thoughts still strayed to Cory.
Lightly massaging his back, whispering his name, holding his body closer...
Before Juniper knew it, he was dreamlessly asleep.
Juniper only allowed himself to check his mail as often as he normally would in the following days. Fortunately, there were many details to sort through with Mr. Kade regarding the lounge to busy himself with. Mr. Kade had found a location and had found a bank to draft up agreements for the space. Together, they toured it once more to confirm that Juniper liked the layout. There was some construction that would need to be done to turn some of the larger back spaces into smaller rooms, but Juniper definitely saw the appeal. The front had previously been a high-class restaurant, which appealed to Juniper greatly. He delightedly imagined the potentiality for choosing the menu.
As they went to lunch to talk it over afterward, Juniper asked, "Does it seem overdone? A restaurant with more going on in the back?"
Serio looked thoughtfully at his drink for a moment, "Well, if not that, it would need to be a place people might theoretically go late at night, if we want to be discreet."
Juniper nodded, looking at his hands, "I like the idea of a clothing or fabric store, but that doesn't exactly fit the criteria."
Serio tilted his head slightly and asked, "What about a bookstore and tea house?"
Juniper considered this. He liked the idea, but he wasn't fully certain that he could source all the books quickly without depleting his personal library, and he was loathe to do that. Although, he did enjoy the idea of a book as some sort of secret password to entry.
Then, it came to him. "What about dessert?"
Serio's eyebrows lifted, which seemed a good sign. Juniper went on, encouraged. "Then there would be no need to take out the kitchen equipment, and we could serve desserts in the back as a sensory experience."
"I'm already thinking of delightful name possibilities for the crossover. I think it would be perfect," Serio said. Juniper thought of the moment that Cory put the strawberry to his lips at the party, and Juniper's stomach did dramatic flips. Yes, it did seem perfect.
"Shall we sign the agreements, then?" Juniper asked, fully prepared to get going.
"Sleep on it for me," Serio offered wisely, "And give me a call tomorrow if that's still in the cards for you. It is a substantial investment."
Juniper appreciated Serio's thoughtfulness--it was a significant amount of capital that Juniper was putting up for this--but he had enough to spare without cutting too much into his bottom line, and he couldn't imagine a more enjoyable way to put it to use.
The pair spent the rest of their lunch excitedly talking about theme and décor possibilities, many with corresponding desserts, and Juniper noted them down studiously, enjoying that this dream of a space for people like him felt more fully within grasp.
But, in the evenings, when Juniper returned home from his outings, his thoughts frequently returned to Cory. He wondered how long he was prepared to wait until he gave up on the whole endeavor. A week? Two weeks? A month? He wasn't sure, but it wasn't as though he was holding out for other prospects. Juniper could be patient, even if his thoughts tried to convince him otherwise.
He called Serio to confirm the location for the lounge and spent the day re-organizing books in his library as he waited for a recent shipment to come in.
When he went out to check his mail, there was a plain enveloped letter from a Mr. Carter, and Juniper nearly dropped it, his fingers shaking.
He brought it inside, going through all his other mail first--business accounts and invoices mostly--before he sat at the table staring at it in front of him. He wasn't sure he could open it. It seemed equally likely that it could be a kind denial as it could be an invitation. Was it better not to know?
Of course not.
He picked up the letter and brought it to his bedroom where he would have more privacy.
With a shaky breath, he opened it.
Dear Mister Lane,
Thank you for the invitation to the art museum. I had not yet been since arriving in New York, and it was a delight to see. I appreciated your insights about the art as well.
I've included the details on my gallery show coming up, which I would certainly love for you to attend.
I also wonder if you might join me at my studio soon to have a look at some of the other art I'm working on, and perhaps I could steal some of your thoughts?
In any case, I look forward to talking with you more, whatever the occasion.
Yours Truly,
Cory Carter
Beneath the letter was a painstakingly drawn maple leaf in graphite and watercolor, easily reminiscent of the maple trees they had stood under together, wrapped in each other's arms. There were addresses and dates for the gallery showing as well as two options for the studio appointment: this Saturday or next at 2 p.m.
Three days from now, Juniper thought. Absurdly, he wished it were sooner. Although, should he wait and come during the second option to not look too eager? Juniper didn't think he really had the patience for that, and he hated the idea of Cory waiting for him to show up to no avail. No, if Juniper wasn't going to attend this Saturday, he should at least send notice.
Juniper touched the leaf with a finger, imagining how long Cory must have spent drawing it. Was it possible that Cory had thought of Juniper as often as Juniper had thought of Cory?
If Cory was genuinely offering a time three days from now, Juniper was inclined to trust it.
((OOC: I think this would be a good time for Cory to set up how he wants the next scene to start? Where does he meet Juniper when he arrives?))
Continued in
Cory's Art Studio