Outside the Lines(26)

Ben is smiling. “You’ve got the wanderlust bug.”

“I do,” I agree. “I like traveling and going new places.”

“So do I.” He dips his bread in oil and takes a bite.

I take another drink of wine. “Have you always been here?”

“I grew up in Detroit,” he says. “My father was in the military so we moved around a lot until I was a teen, and he was done with the army for good.”

“That must have been hard,” I reply, knowing how hard middle and high school was for me and I had the same friends throughout both.

“It wasn’t so bad.” He shrugs. “When you’re constantly going somewhere new it forces you to not be shy. I think it pushed me to be an artist too.”

“Really? How so?”

“I liked sports, but you can’t join teams mid season,” he starts to explain. “Which makes it harder to make friends. But you can always join art clubs no matter what point it is in the school year.”

“I wouldn’t have taken you for an art club type,” I admit. “You don’t look the type.”

“You said it: looks can be deceiving.” He lets out a breath. “I always liked art, liked being able to get lost in something.”

That’s how I feel about Cosplay and fantasy. I feel another connection to Ben. “And you’re good at it, right?”

He smiles. “That too. I really don’t think anyone can be bad at art. It’s expressing something. If you can’t paint landscapes, sculpt. There’s always another way to get what you feel on the inside onto something on the outside.” He shakes his head. “It wasn’t always easy moving around, and art gave me that outlet.”

I like seeing this deeper side to him. “That makes sense.”

“I did eventually get used to moving, and used to making new friends. And that’s how my parents met,” he goes on. “My dad was stationed in Japan for a while. Brought my mom back with him.” He laughs softly. “I think my grandparents are still pissed about it.”

“Have you ever gone there to visit them?”

He moves his head up and down as he finishes chewing. “A few times. I haven’t been there in years though, and I’m wanting to go back.”

“I’ve never been there,” I say. “I’d love to go. So much.”

“It’s beautiful. My grandparents are a bit old school too, so it’s almost like going back in time. And Tokyo is just … so much. There are so many people and there’s always something going on. It’s nonstop, but it’s awesome.” His eyes grow big as he talks, and the passion and excitement takes over his face. “It’s easy to get that lost in the crowd feeling when thousands of people pass you buy unnoticed, but it has an energy about it that’s just contagious.”

“Why haven’t you gone in a few years?” I ask and hope it’s not prying.

“I opened the gallery here a few years ago,” he says. “And it’s kept me a lot busier than I expected. But I love it too.”

I don’t really know what being an artist entails, though I imagine it’s pretty fucking awesome, like getting paid to get up and do your hobby. Making websites isn’t art, but it’s creating something, and seeing something come from nothing.

“I like to sew,” I declare. “Not really the same thing.”

“I’ve never attempted sewing,” he says. “What do you like to sew?”

“Costumes,” I answer. “I like to Cosplay.”

“So you’re one of those people who go to Comic Con all dressed up?” There is amusement in his voice, but it’s not judgmental.

“I am. It’s so much fun.”

“I’ve never been to Comic Con.”

“Wizard World in Chicago is coming up at the end of summer,” I tell him. “My friend Erin and I are going. We go every year.”

“Are you dressing up?”

“Of course.”

The smile is back on his face. Before he can ask me anything else, the waiter comes over to take our order. I hadn’t looked over the menu at all, so I order the same thing Ben does.

“So,” I start once the waiter leaves. “What do you do other than paint?”

“Hang out with friends, work out.” He shrugs. “Usual stuff. I’ve been going to a lot of galas and art shows lately,” he says almost like it’s a surprise. I nod like I have no idea either, although his pictures came up when I searched him on the internet, smiling next to one of his paintings, with the buyer on the other side. And the buyers ranged from politicians to CEOs of huge companies. He hasn’t said it out loud to me—yet—but I know he has a piece in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Once that went up, his popularity increased tenfold … and then he moved here. Weird. Or at least that’s what the research says. “And I like to read.”