Page 9 of Painted

THREE

Asking Earlyto pose for the class was a terrible, terrible idea. Rhys had known it from the moment Early stepped out of the closet, hugging their robe around them. His first thought was that it was far too much to ask the sweet, shy young person to get naked in front of people. Rhys was aware that Early was dealing with a lot at home, and Hawthorne House was supposed to be their safe space. That was the initial reason Rhys’s dad had hired them in the first place.

That was Rhys’s first regret, but it was quickly overpowered by his emotional and physical reactions the moment Early took off their clothes.

He’d been standing in the corner, helping Violet attach the newsprint to her easel. Bob Alsop had needed his help to know which was the right charcoal stick to use. Everything had been business as usual, until he’d glanced up and seen Early sitting there with the front of their robe open.

It wasn’t quite right to say Early was hot. They weren’t buff or built at all, nor were they shapely in any sort of feminine way. They were just so…appealing. Against every ingrained rule of professionalism as an artist that Rhys had ever had, he’dimmediately imagined Early naked and open like that in his bed. He’d started to get hard, too, until Violet sniggered and gave him a look that said she’d noticed him peeping.

He'd stopped, employing every power of concentration that he had to remain professional and teach the bloody class, but it had been hard. In both senses.

“Is there something you need in here before I lock up for the evening or are you just wandering aimlessly, like the estate ghost?” Rebecca asked, snapping Rhys out of his thoughts.

He’d been standing there in the front of the office, completely oblivious to why he’d walked in there in the first place, caught up in his memories of the morning.

“Hmm? What? Oh.” He blinked and glanced past Rebecca to the back of the office before he could stop himself.

As soon as he realized what he was doing, he cleared his throat and focused on his sister again.

“I came in to ask if you wanted to have supper tonight,” he lied.

Or maybe it was the truth. He couldn’t remember anymore.

Rebecca sent him a sly look as she walked past him, gesturing for him to get out of the office so she could turn off all the lights and lock the door behind her. There were a few evening classes later that night, but the office was closed, and they tended to lock everything up and turn off the lights, just in case.

“Early left about forty-five minutes ago,” Rebecca said, as if she knew more than she should. “They had some things they needed to take care of at home.”

Rhys frowned and followed his sister away from the office. If she had said anything else, he would have jumped to defend himself against what was clearly an insinuation that he was fascinated with Early. The mention of having something to take care of at home, however, had Rhys jumpy and his protective instincts flaring.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, trying not to be jealous that Early would confide in Rebecca instead of him. Then again, why would they confide in him over Rebecca? They worked with Rebecca every day and only saw him occasionally.

Rebecca made a noise as she headed toward the front door instead of the corridor that led back to the family’s flats in the east wing. “You know their parents aren’t supportive of the way they’re exploring their non-binary identity, right?”

“Yes,” Rhys said, a protective rumble in that single word.

“Their dad has been texting them all day, saying they need to talk,” Rebecca went on.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Rhys said. “Do they need our help? Is there anything we can do?”

Rebecca turned to smile at him as they reached the front door. “Look at you, being all concerned and possessive.”

“I am not being possessive,” Rhys argued, crossing his arms. “Early is more or less a part of the family these days. They’re like a sibling.”

“Right,” Rebecca said in a flat voice. “Asibling.”

“Well?” Rhys said, though he didn’t have a damn thing to back that single word up with.

Rebecca laughed. “You’re cute when you’re smitten,” she said, continuing on to the door.

“I’m not smitten. It wouldn’t be appropriate. I’m too old for them. They work for the family. They’re innocent and young and confused about life. It would be taking advantage.”

Rebecca’s grin turned wicked. “The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” she said.

“Fuck you,” Rhys replied.

Rebecca laughed even louder, then continued on. “Anyhow, no, I can’t have supper with you tonight. I’m going out with Nigel and Claudia.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Rhys smirked and shook his head. Early might have been experimenting with identity, but Rebecca was currently exploring being part of a polycule. Last he’d heard, she was dating both Nigel and Claudia, who lived together, along with someone named Dara. Whatever his sister wanted to explore was fine with him, but he’d always had enough trouble keeping track of one partner at a time.

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