A waiter walked to their table to deliver their drinks, Juniper’s looking quite plain while Jack’s looked quite fancy that even the seasoned actor had to admit it had presentation. Picking up his scotch as the ice clinked against the glass, he took a light sip of it, his lips pulling back as the liquor burned down his throat.
“Only a few weeks really,” he answered as he eyes wandered around at the other patrons in case any of them wanted to approach them. “Was too busy shooting to explore until recently. I’ll say though that this is the first time I’ve made some connections in a city and wished to stay.”
He chuckled lightly and sipped his drink again. He never drank too much because he didn’t want to get drunk but he was with a rather shy, new friend and figured one night buzzed wouldn’t be so bad if the man loosened up.
Jack took a few sips of his own drink, then set it down again. The cool, sweet burn of the lime and rum was nice, but he knew he didn’t have much tolerance for alcohol, and it wouldn’t make a good impression for him to get drunk in front of the sophisticated actor.
“Heh, I can understand that.” Now that he was a bit more relaxed, his stutter had faded. “I only moved here myself last November, from Anderson’s Field.” He gave a weak little chuckle. “Just a simple country boy, on his own in the city for the first time. Fortunately it’s turned out very well.”
“Tell me about it?” Juniper dared while he rested his elbows on the table, fingers laced together. “I mean if you want to – I don’t want to pry but it sounds like a good story.”
He figured they may as well share stories if they were going to become friends. Juniper had few close friends, mostly famous ones but they tended to be superficial and he doubted any of them would risk anything for him. He just wanted real friends.
“Oh, it’s all right.” Jack took another sip, smiling faintly. He didn’t mind talking about his past (the recent parts, anyway), and it was kind of flattering to be the focus of the actor’s attention. “I d-don’t know if it’ll be very interesting to someone as well-traveled as you, though."
He told Juniper about his career as a painter, and how he’d moved to Metro City in the hope of finding new opportunities – and of forcing himself to be braver and more outgoing. "It d-didn’t work very well at first. I was still a recluse, b-barely speaking to anyone except clients.” His smile grew. “But then I met Katelynn."
Jack Maple 
