Page 66 of Painted

For all the angst the event had caused Rhys, it was wonderful how the whole thing was bringing people together and showing them that no matter what people’s differences, as humans, people shared more things than those that divided them.

Rhys must have felt them watching him. He glanced Early’s way while still talking to the CADD people. Even though they were too far away to hear what Rhys was saying, the way his mouth stopped moving as their eyes met told them Rhys had lost his train of thought just by seeing them. They returned his look with a coy, flirty smile that had color splashing across Rhys’s cheeks. That made them feel like the most important person in the room.

“Those paintings of you are a sight to behold,” Nancy said, pulling Early away from eye-flirting with Rhys.

“I beg your pardon?” they asked, giving Nancy their full attention.

“That is you in those saucy paintings, isn’t it?” she asked.

A shivery knot formed in Early’s gut. Janice had said something about a surprise idea while they were posing that day. Just days ago, she’d asked them about displaying artwork from the school as a way to advertise the classes that were available. She’d asked if that would be alright with them, but only now did Early realize what she’d meant by that question.

They whispered a quick, “Excuse me,” to Nancy, then hurried over to the side of the room where the student art was displayed.

There they were, hanging right at eye level for all the world to see. It wasn’t all of the paintings of them in the nude that Rhys’s class had worked on the week before, but it was enough of them to form a display. Some of the works were good enough that people would be able to tell it was them posing.

They waited for the shame and embarrassment of seeing their naked body on public display like that to hit them. They should be mortified and maybe even angry that Janice didn’t make sure she was clear about what she was asking when she’d planned to put up the display. But they were so captivated by the way that other people had seen them that they could only stand there and stare.

None of the paintings showed an ugly, shy aberration. Even though they were student work, each of the works showed grace and poise. Early didn’t remember exactly how they’d held their body or what their facial expression had been. Each of the artists had painted them with a different sort of emotion. Some of the paintings made him look sad, but some of them had a decidedly naughty feel to them.

The strangest thing of all was that all of the paintings seemed true. They were all them, just in different moods. It was wild to see what other people had seen in them, what they’d thought they were all about. Wilder still was the fact that all of them had made them look lovely.

“What the bloody hell is going on here?”

Early jumped and pivoted to find his mum and dad, dressed up for a change, heading straight toward them. They weren’t aware that their parents had been given an invitation to the event, but plenty of people had shown up uninvited because they’d heard the evening was a tribute to Raina.

“Mum, Dad,” they greeted them, fighting hard against the withering feeling that being around their parents always gave them. “What are you doing here?”

“We just wanted to check up on you, sweetheart,” their mum said, glancing around with nervousness that bordered on panic, like she expected someone to throw her out at any moment. “You haven’t been answering your phone.”

“I’ve been busy preparing for this,” they replied, holding their back stiff.

“So busy that you can’t be bothered to speak to your parents?” their dad demanded. “And what are these?” He gestured to the paintings.

“I—” Early glanced over their shoulder at half a dozen nude images of themself. The urge to fall into old patterns and to bow to their parents’ wishes was strong. But for a blessed change, it wasn’t as strong as the confidence they had in themself. “I filled in as a model for Rhys’s painting class at the last minute,” they said, turning back to their parents. “I think they’re quite good. The class has a lot of talented people in it this session.”

Their mum smiled timidly, but their dad frowned.

“You think this is a fun way to spend your time, boy?” he demanded. “Flaunting yourself like this?”

“Early is an adult and free to do whatever they want with their body,” Rhys said, striding quickly up to the conversation.

Early was so relieved to be rescued that they sagged a bit. When Rhys slipped an arm around their waist in a show of protectiveness, they leaned into him entirely.

“Mr. Stevens, Mrs. Stevens,” Rhys greeted their parents after the fact.

“Are you responsible for this?” Early’s dad demanded.

“Responsible for what?” Rhys asked, as casually as you please. “For Early coming to my rescue when I needed them? For allowing them to express themself and do something daring and exciting?”

Surprisingly, Early’s dad didn’t fire off some sort of sharp reply. He only glared between them and Rhys before saying, “Is there something going on here that I should know about?”

“There is something going on here,” Rhys confirmed at once, “but you don’t really have a right to know about it.”

“Rhys and I are dating,” Early explained, mostly to their mother. “I’ve actually moved into his flat.”

“Oh,” their mum said, actually smiling. “I, er, I suppose that’s nice.”

“I, for one, have never been happier,” Rhys said, smiling proudly at Early.

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