Living In a Place Where Soul Meets Body

Next I traveled to the oil paint section, selecting about 6 different colors as I contemplated my next masterpiece. I picked a wooden palette and made my way to the drawing section. I was in desperate need of some new charcoal and I wanted a new artist pad with the slick waxy paper that was my favorite to draw on. I finally headed to the front, handing over my purchases to Ashton to scan. “So… um there’s this party on Saturday… I was wondering if you wanted to go?” Ashton looked hopeful and embarrassed at the same time. His cheeks held a slight blush and his eyes were downcast as if expecting a quick and heartless no right off the bat. I knew that parties Ashton attended would not hold any of my usual crowd so there was no harm in accepting. “Uhh.. yeah that’d be great! Where should I meet you?’ I was really excited by this guy. He wasn’t like anyone else I knew. He didn’t care about football or soccer, nor the latest hookups. He didn’t wear sweatbands around his head and think it looked cool. He was witty and sweet and amazingly funny. He was shy at times but then again, aren’t we all? “I could pick you up from your house at like… eight?” This was a completely normal question and a completely normal idea coming from a completely normal thought process. But I hadn’t even considered it. No one knew that art chick Carson and Little Miss Popular Riley Watts were the same person. Most people didn’t even know Carson existed. It was only at the art store that I felt comfortable enough to be myself. Home didn’t even allow that comfort. “No no!” I said quickly, wrenching myself out of my own world and into the one much closer at hand. “I’ll just meet you somewhere. It’ll be much easier!” There was a small hint of desperation in my voice and I think he caught it. “Okay Car, no worries. How bout we meet at the park on Raymond? The party is only a few blocks from there.” Ashton smiled at me, looking hopeful. “Oh yeah! That would be great! I cant’ wait!” My cheeks flushed as I imagined the possibilities. Ashton was cute, he was nice, and we could actually carry on an intelligent conversation. He was everything I looked for in a boyfriend. “Cool. Well… I guess I’ll see you then! Um can I have your number? Just in case anything changes…?” His eyes told a completely different story but I didn’t question him. “Sure.” I answered, sticking my hand out for his phone.