Page 43 of Painted

“I’ve just had a splendid idea,” Janice said, clapping her hands together.

Everyone in the class paused what they were doing and waited for her to go on.

“What is your good idea?” Rhys asked, like he knew that was what he was supposed to ask.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Janice said with a mischievous wink for Early. She stepped back over to Rhys, kissed his cheek, then headed for the door. “Goodbye, all,” she said, waving to the class. “Carry on. Do the very best work you can with what you’ve got.”

Those words definitely felt significant, but before Early could puzzle out what she might mean by them, Janice was gone.

“Apologies for the interruption,” Rhys told his class, his face coloring. “We all know how my mum is.”

“She’s lovely,” Jim said, chuckling. “There’s never a dull moment when Janice is around.”

It was a small interaction, but the reminder that the people standing at the easels staring at them were people, nice people, and not strangers set Early at ease. They could relax and settle in for the rest of their class. Everything else slowly drifted away as the reminder that they were safe, that Hawthorne House was safe, returned.

More than that, they regained the courage to look at Rhys, who now seemed more interested in his painting than in his class. He was definitely working and not just slapping paint on a canvas for the benefit of his students. Early could tell by the concentration that had come into his eyes and the way he really and truly studied them each time he looked up instead of just throwing emotions their way.

It came as a shock when one of the students cleared his throat to draw Rhys’s attention.

“Oh,” Rhys said with a jolt. “Class ended five minutes ago. I’m so sorry for keeping you all here past our time.”

“It’s not a problem, love,” Violet said with a kind smile. “We can all tell your mind is somewhere else today.”

Early got up from the block and threw on their robe without checking to see if Violet was referring to them. They had a feeling several of the older ladies in the class at least had picked up on the undercurrents. Age brought perception, after all.

They were happy to slip into the closet and close the door. Before shrugging out of the robe and dressing, they took a moment to breathe. They’d done it. They’d posed nude for an art class. That was something they could check off their bucket list.

It didn’t feel right dressing in their khakis and button-down, but then, nothing felt right for them anymore. They put their hair back up in a ponytail instead of tucking it away entirely, but that didn’t make things feel right either. They didn’t really want to leave the closet to go back to work, but work was the sort of thing people didn’t have choices about. Especially when the Hawthornes had been so kind to them.

When they opened the door, the classroom was empty, the classroom door was closed, and Rhys was sitting on a stool only a few feet away from the closet. The suddenness of what was bound to be a confrontation had Early flinching.

“Sorry,” Rhys said with a wince. “I probably shouldn’t be up in your face so suddenly like this. I wanted to say a few things before you go back to work, though.”

“Oh?” Early twisted to shut the closet door, then felt supremely awkward as they just stood there. “Okay. I’d like to say a few things, too.”

That seemed to surprise Rhys. “Alright. You go first.”

“I—” Early’s heart started to race, and they came over all hot and cold. They let out a tight breath and said, “That’s not fair.”

Rhys pinched his eyes closed for a moment. “You’re right. This is all my doing. I can’t ambush you like that.” He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes.

And said nothing. He just stared at Early.

The waiting was unbearable. Early couldn’t stand just waiting the way they had been for a second longer. “I’m sorry for being rubbish in bed and for disappointing you,” they burst. “You don’t have to feel bad for wanting nothing to do with me anymore. I shouldn’t have gotten above myself and reached for something I’m not supposed to have, but?—”

Rhys stood there while their mouth was running away with them, and he silenced their babble by clasping their face in both hands, then leaning into kiss them.

The entire world screeched to a halt. Early was so surprised to be kissed that they couldn’t move for a moment, their brain short-circuiting.

Rhys leaned back, gazed into their eyes, then stole a second, lighter kiss. “I’m not disappointed in you,” he said, barely above a whisper. “I could never be disappointed in you. You’re wonderful, and I’ve done a terrible job of letting you know just how wonderful.”

“But I—” Early silenced themself, no idea what to say.

“I’m a mess right now,” Rhys admitted. “I’m letting a lot of things get to me that shouldn’t and I’ve stopped a lot of good things from getting to me that I can see now I need.”

Early could only blink at that.

“I have a lot of amends I need to make to you,” Rhys went on. “But I want to start by saying I’m sorry I lost my temper in your direction over Raina’s jumper. It wasn’t about you, it was about this fundraiser I’m being forced to endure.”

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