Page 25 of Best Served Cold

“The spark, that’s what you call the overwhelming need to get what’s in your head on paper?”

He grinned. “Yup. Only other artists get it.”

“Can I?” I lifted the corner of the page.

“Sure. But some of the later pictures are kinda…spicy.”

“Spicy?” I quirked an eyebrow at him. “You know I need to look at them now that you’ve dangled that in front of me.”

He chuckled. “I realized as soon as I said it.”

I flipped the page. “Is this your buddy’s guy?” I studied the portrait. The detail was insane, but at the same time, it looked like a sketch. Like he’d drawn it quickly. What kind of art could he do when he took his time?

“Yup. That’s Alex.”

“And they’re moving away?” I turned to the next page.

“Just to Seattle. They’re both going to grad school.”

“When is he leaving?”

“A few weeks. Actually, not even. Like ten days.”

I kept flipping through the sketchbook, studying the drawings.

All were in that same hyper-realistic style, and there was a little bit of everything including portraits, animals, still life, and landscapes.

“Hello,” I said involuntarily as I flipped the page to a photo of a guy in a tiny pair of briefs and striking a pose that would make a pornstar blush.

“Told ya it got a bit spicy.” His cheeks went ruddy.

“Is this someone you know?”

“A guy from…my other job. He does porn, or is in porn, however you say it.”

“Porn?” I looked up from the sketchbook.

“Yeah. I want to give it to him as a gift because of a misunderstanding we had, but I haven’t gotten the chance yet.”

I was about to ask what the guy’s name was but stopped myself at the last second. River was being cagey about his other job for a reason, and even though it made my brain itchy to not get answers, I didn’t want to put him on the spot if giving me his buddy’s name would somehow tell me where they worked.

“Is it okay if I keep looking?” I asked instead.

He nodded, but I could see his reservations.

Schooling my face into a neutral expression, I turned the page.

This sketch was far spicier, but not exactly erotic. He’d drawn a couple having sex. But what stood out wasn’t their nudity or the position they were in, it was how he’d drawn their faces.

They were staring at each other adoringly, the love between them palpable even through the page.

The next few sketches were of different couples, all of them wrapped up in each other and so obviously in love it elevated them from pornographic to sensual.

I flipped to a new page, expecting more of the same, but was greeted by a sketch of two men. One was leaning against a wall while the other knelt in front of him. They were obviously engaged in a little oral action, but since he’d drawn it from the front, it was implied, more so than explicit.

“Is that…” I peered a bit closer at the drawing.

“Kai?” He laughed nervously. “Yeah. Him and Alex.”

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