Page 105 of How to Get Even

‘Do you trust me?’ she asked.

He looked at her, his gaze losing some of that humour. For a moment she thought he might say no.

He nodded, slowly. Carefully. But at least he agreed.

‘Will you take your jacket off?’ Bella asked, not wanting to get paint all over the rich piece of clothing.

He did as she asked, without taking his eyes from her and threw it over the back of the chair in the corner of the room. He undid the sleeve button and rolled the cotton back over his forearms, and Bella nibbled her top lip to stop herself from giving in to temptation and letting him call the cab.

He smirked at her as if he knew what she was thinking and she let him, because really this could only be incredibly painful for him. And if it didn’t work… it could just make things worse. That had to be on his mind as much as it was on hers.

She went to him and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips as she slipped the silk over his eyes and heard him inhale, felt the change of air at her collarbone as she came off her tiptoes from reaching to tie the silk behind his head.

‘So what’s the plan, I just pick up a brush and start painting with wild abandon?’ he snarked defensively.

‘No,’ she replied simply, reaching for an orange piece of charcoal. She’d decided that she didn’t actually want him to pick up anything he didn’t want to. She knew that had to come from him and wouldn’t force that on him. But that didn’t mean he still couldn’thelpcreate something.

She reached for his hand and wrapped it around hers, pulling him against her back so that they could move together, as one. He could simply let her draw, or, if he wanted to, he could guide her hand. He could also remove his hand any time he wanted to.

But she hoped that he’d give this a chance.

She started off with a wide arc of her arm, heavy with the weight of his hand on hers.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked, the puff of his words cresting against the sensitive spot just behind her ear. She hoped he didn’t feel the shiver ripple through her body but the way he stiffened behind her told her that he had.

‘I’m drawing…’ She narrowed her gaze at the thick line of chalk. ‘Kind of,’ she admitted with a laugh. And she bisected the arc with a long vertical line down the centre, the movement catching Chase by surprise as his hand nearly slipped from hers. Then he tightened his hold a little and hope flared deep down inside her.

She wasn’t a huge fan of the luminescent colour, but it didn’t matter. She just wanted to mark the paper. To leave something behind. To be seen, or to at least leave something behind thatcouldbe seen. Was that what Chase was missing? The feeling of being seen and understood. The knowledge that he had made a literal mark on the world.

‘I don’t think I like the charcoal much,’ she admitted, the flecks of tiny bright orange colouring the large white paper-covered wall.

‘It’s not the easiest,’ he admitted.

She bit the inside of her cheek. No matter how much this was for him, she couldn’t help but think that if he saw it, he’d think all this was childish and silly. Bad. Not good. Certainly not good for him and she tried to ignore the discomfort of failing, of not doing something perfectly.

‘You’re thinking again,’ he whispered into her ear. ‘Know what youcouldbe thinking about?’ he teased. ‘You in that blindfold, stripped bare, while I?—’

‘Paint! I want to try some paint,’ she cried and he laughed gently behind her.

She reached for the cheap acrylic that Sascha had given her. The point was not to have him worry about anything remotely artistic, and she needed to get over herself if she was to help him achieve it. Only Sascha’s encouragement with her plan had given her enough confidence to get here. Now she just needed to keep going.

They were beginning to move more easily now; she’d adjusted for the weight of him, and he’d relaxed enough to let her guide him. She didn’t bother mixing paint, it wasn’t about colour, it was about feel as she loaded a brush and swept it across the page, zigzagging to catch him by surprise, and dotting and stabbing which made him laugh.

She turned, because it was easy, because he was there, and because she couldn’t stop herself, and pressed a kiss to his lips, half wrapped in his arms and tucked against his chest. He tried to deepen the kiss, but she leaned back, the smile on his face that matched her own made her heart flutter. She picked a thick marker and drew circles and stars, and coloured them in with splodges of highlighter pens. When Bella returned to the paint though, she began to feel the smallest of guidance from his hand. And she let him pull a little more, loosening her hold as he strengthened his.

The only sound was of the brush against the paper, different streaks and slashes, all in the same colour, because Bella didn’t dare break the movement. It was something else entirely feeling the change in his grasp, the turn of his wrist, the movements that were a physical memory for him and nothing to do with sight.

The paint had run out but the brush still mixed what was already on the page. The rhythm of Chase’s breathing changed as his gestures became more like movements, and the movements became more determined.

‘Do we need more paint?’ he whispered into her ear and she nodded, Chase slowly stepping back to allow her to cover the brush. ‘Grab a pallet and put some paint on it,’ he said, clearing his throat, his tone reluctantly dark.

She did as he said, and he let her lead him over to a new fresh wall of paper. She dipped the brush in a rich green and made the first mark on the paper. She’d expected to have to lead him into it, but he instinctively took over. He swirled the brush into shapes and shades, letting her choose the colours, but creating the patterns and textures.

‘Was there spray paint?’ he asked as if excited by the prospect.

‘Yes, but please remember that I’m not wearing overalls,’ she groused as she walked them back to the table. She wouldn’t have cared a bit if she got paint everywhere, but he took her words as a challenge.

‘Poor Bella, we wouldn’t want you to get all dirty now, would we?’ he teased into her ear.

---