Chapter 8

"The only way to take control of your life is to let it go." I took a deep breath as I started my ritual. I took a moment to really think about the words plastered on my mirror. Letting things go didn't seem like the best move for me at the moment. Then I thought about Vincent's words on how I just need to stop thinking too much on things and just let them be.

"Okay, I can do this." I said to myself. I studied myself in the mirror and felt content with what I saw. I didn't feel the need to hide in shame or change my clothes. I did my hair in loose curls and let them hang down. Vincent told me to dress comfortably, yet to wear something I wouldn't mind getting dirty. I wore a pair of faded jeans and a plain blue shirt.

"I really need to buy a pair of tennis shoes." I laughed as I realized none of my shoes are casual enough for the outfit. I had on light makeup just enough to accent the outfit since I still was unsure of what we were doing today.

Friday, our last planned hangout day. These last few days with Vincent have been wonderful. Wednesday we went to a small cafe and watched a few people do different styles of the spoken word. One person even had a painter in the background. It was beautiful to watch the woman work the strokes of the brush to the speakers' words. In the end, it turned into a beautiful field of daisies.

Thursday, he had taken off from the diner and we spent the entire day together. Ate breakfast across town, then went to a jazz concert. It was something new for us both and I really enjoyed it. At the end of the night, we went back to the bar lounge area so he could do his weekly show. I had invited Megan and Lenny to come and they both made fun of how happy I seemed.

"Did someone get a visit from the 'O' gods?" Meg teased. I stared at her confused until Lenny started making obnoxious sex noises. It was horrifying. No matter how many times I denied anything remotely romantic going on, they refused to listen. We were just friends, and I quite enjoy having more than two friends now. He showed me a lot of different things I wouldn't have even thought of on my own.

"Emory I think you're finally coming out of your shell." I said to my reflection. "Why thank you Manuela, you don't look too bad yourself." I grabbed my phone and sent him a quick text seeing if sandals were appropriate for the day.

'For the first part, yes. We can stop and find you some if you want? Or I can find something else for us to do. I have a long list.'

I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. I typed out that it was okay to stop before throwing on a pair of sandals. I grabbed my suitcase from the back of my closet placing it on top of my bed. I needed to get started on packing for my work trip next week. We were leaving next Friday. I still didn't think I was ready, but the more I thought about it, the less hurt I felt.

I finally came to terms with what happened. Writing in the journal I had found in the shop helped to put things in perspective as well. I wrote about everything for the last few days. My outings with Vincent, my fear of going home, the hurt I felt, the pain I endured. All of it. I've felt much better since then.

I checked the time and saw I still had some time before I was to meet with Vincent. I searched my closet or the perfect evening gown to wear to the charity ball but had no such luck. I really needed to go shopping and upgrade my wardrobe. I then moved onto packing a few casual outfits for in between meetings and on the days we'd only be traveling. Mr. Jones always liked to have at least a day in between traveling to rest.

After I had carefully packed the few outfits I grabbed my things and headed out. I stopped by the post office first to send my mother the items I had found for her. I even added a card just because. I looked down at the GPS again as I made my way to the address Vincent texted me. It was a small class where people can sip wine and paint. I finally pulled up and found Vincent waiting by his car.

"Hey am I late?" I asked looking at the time. It was exactly noon.

"No, I'm just really early." He laughed. "So I wasn't sure how you felt about wine, so I bought us a bottle of sparkling cider." His smile was bright and contagious as I found myself smiling back.

"Sparkling cider is perfect." I followed him inside the building and he checked us in.

"Welcome to Painting With A Twist." The host greeted us. "Please feel free to grab anything you'd like to paint on. The paint station is over in the far left corner. All the materials you need are there. You can sit in any open seat. Enjoy and we'll get started in just a few moments."

"This is really cool." I said excitedly. We walked over to the stand and found various items to paint. Wine glasses with or without stems. Coffee mugs, hats, shirts, medium-sized canvases. There was even a shoe. I chose to do the canvas and Vincent went with the hat. I found us a table with one other couple taking the seats right across from them. After gathering as much pain as we could we sat back down.

"Okay, so it looks like we have everyone here. We're going to take about ten to fifteen minutes to allow you guys to search online for what you want to paint, or you can freehand it if you'd like." The host called out.

"So what are you thinking of doing?" I asked as Vincent pulled up a picture of some graffiti.

"So I was going to try and recreate this for my little brother. It's something he drew last year. He's a really great artist in the making. He doesn't believe me though." He said, showing me the picture. It was filled with a lot of different colors and shapes, but if you looked close enough you could make out the word 'Family'.

"Wow, that's really good." I handed him back his phone and began searching for a good silhouette of a couple for me to try and draw. "How old is he?"

"He's turning 18 next month. What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

I shook my head as I found the perfect picture to draw. I took my pencil and began to sketch it out to the best of my ability.

"Sadly, no siblings for me. I guess my parents felt I was enough. I would have liked to have a sibling though. I've always wanted a brother though."

We sat and continued to get to know one another as we went from sketching to painting. We even got to talk about what piece we were doing and why. I was doing the silhouette to honor my parents. One lady was doing one to surprise her husband and tell him they were having a baby. It was really fun.

By the end of it, I had learned so much about him and he made me feel comfortable. *"Alright are you ready for your next adventure?" Vincent asked once we got back to our cars. I placed my canvas in the back seat laying flat.

"I actually think I am." I was curious to see what he had for us next.

"First we need to get you some shoes. How high is your pain threshold? Like physical pain?" He asked curiously.

"I think my pain threshold is okay."

"Great! We're doing paintball!" I stared at him in disbelief.

"Really?" This was really about to be fun. At the nod of his head, I quickly climbed into my car ready for the next stop. "Let's hurry and get shoes!" I've always wanted to try paintball but was always too scared to do it.

I followed behind Vincent's car as we stopped at Payless. I found a nice pair that looked comfortable enough to play in and I wouldn't mind getting messed up. Once we had paid for them I changed out of my sandals before we made it to our final place. When we got out. I took in the obstacle course they had set up to my left. There was a group already in the middle of their game.

"We have to sign waivers and get geared up. We're joining the next group." Vincent watched as I stared at everything in awe.

When we got our gear one of the workers went over safety rules and regulations and explained how it all worked. They demonstrated how to work the guns, and the other equipment we'd need. My stomach began to knot with the excitement of the unknown.

Finally, it was our turn. To make it more exciting we agreed to play on different sides and see who can shoot who the most. We all scattered around the field finding different areas to hide. Soon the buzzer sounded and we all went out aiming our guns ready to fire.

My first hit was in the leg and boy did it hurt. I didn't see who it was as they had ducked out of the way. I searched high and low for Vincent as I was able to shoot a few other opponents. It was really exciting once you got past the shooting pain of getting hit. I already knew I was going to have a bruise or two once this was over.

By the end of it, I had managed to get shot a total of twenty times. I did get Vincent about five. He was really good at hiding. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one that shot me all those times. We took off all our gear and met back at the cars.

"So losers have to buy lunch." He laughed jogging back to his car as I waited. "If my calculations are correct I got you six times. You move very fast." He laughed.

"Looks like lunch is on me. I believe I shot you five times. You were a good hider. I think I know a great place we can try over here." Even though I wasn't too familiar with the town, I did recognize where we were and knew a great restaurant I had wanted to try. I looked up the address as we got in our cars. This week turned out to really be amazing. Something I'd never guess would happen for me.

At the restaurant, we got to know more about each other's families and how we were raised. His parents were strict with him and his siblings growing up whereas my parents gave me free rein to do as I pleased. Yet, since I was such a loner most of my life, they didn't have to worry about me doing anything bad.

"One time when Jake was six he broke my mother's favorite picture frame with his ball. He had gotten the beating of his life that day, yet he couldn't bring himself to cry real tears." Vincent laughed. "All he did was cry about every little thing. Most of the time it is about nonsense. So now when he really needed his tears they wouldn't come, so it only made it worse. We all still laugh at him to this day about it."

"That is horrible." I laughed.