Page 11 of Becoming His Muse
“What was the first material you learned to sculpt with?” Olani questioned after several minutes into the silence.
“Clay,” Elion responded. “It’s pretty easy to mold and manipulate while also being messy. So, as an eleven-year-old boy, I was all for it. It was fun.”
“Sounds like it.”
Elion watched her for a moment. “I could give you a lesson on our next date. There’s a studio in town, and we could reserve one of the spaces.” He’d done it. He’d brought up a future date and had no regrets about it, even if she told him no. He was having more fun than he thought he would, and they were only talking. It was the standard “let’s get to know one another dinner” that often seemed bland, but that wasn’t what he was feeling at that moment.
Olani smiled at him, and Elion felt like he’d been winded. He’d thought she was beautiful when he first laid eyes on her: deep whiskey-colored doe eyes and full lips. Natural hair pinned like a crown. “I’d like that.”
They finished the rest of their dinner as the subject shifted to things they liked to do in their spare time and questions about their favorite movies, music genres, etc.
By the time they finished, Elion had no doubt he’d be on the website when he got home to request a second date. Since the dates they went on had to be arranged through the site, Elion was sure it was to give both parties peace of mind until they were ready to communicate outside of the website.
When the check came, Elion reached for it, but Olani beat him to it. However, he held his hand out for it.
“Please, let me.”
She shook her head at him. “No, I’ve got it.”
“Really, I insist,” Elion attempted.
“The site pays for the first few dates,” Olani informed him. “They’ll reimburse me, so it’s fine.”
Elion paused for a moment, a protest on the tip of his tongue, but he got the distinct feeling that she wouldn’t budge even if he insisted on paying himself again. He didn’t care if the site reimbursed him. In the end, he decided to allow her to pay this time. Knowing himself well enough to know he’d be paying for their future dates.
Once the bill was settled, Elion walked Olani out to her car. When she unlocked the driver’s side door, he opened it for her, and she turned to look at him.
“This was nice,” she told him.
“It was. I’ll be honest and admit that I didn’t know what to expect and hadn’t really expected much, but I’m glad I came.” Elion took her hand in his, placing a kiss on the back of it. “Get home safely, Olani.”
“Goodnight, Elion.”
He released her hand and watched her slide into her car as the sound of his name rolling off her tongue echoed in his ears. It was something he could get used to hearing.
Going to his vehicle, Elion slid behind the wheel and headed home. Yes, he’d definitely have to get Clara a just-because gift.
6
Elion smoothed the edges of the sculpture he was working on. He’d been inspired after his date with Olani and hated to say it, but Clara may have been right. Going out and getting his mind off of things helped get his creative juices flowing.
His date had gone well. Elion couldn’t remember the last time one had been that fun with the traditional dinner and conversation. He hadn’t wanted to seem too eager for a second date, so he’d waited a couple of days before requesting another one through the app. He requested another Wednesday evening; that way, he still didn’t have to deal with Clara. He wasn’t ready to let her know she’d been correct.
He also hadn’t received a response yet, but he’d only sent the request yesterday. So, he still had time for her to accept or decline if she wanted to do that.
Elion turned the sculpture, looking at all sides. He was close to having it the way he wanted. Though he knew it would take him a couple more hours of smoothing before he could give it a finishing polish. He wasn’t sure if it would be a part of the collection for his next showing or a stand-alone piece that he would sell. Either way, he was glad he was over his mental block.
Deciding to take a break from sculpting, Elion went to his bedroom. He figured he’d go for a swim. Clara would be back from one of her study groups that met on Saturday mornings in about half an hour, and as their Saturday afternoon tradition, they always had lunch together.
Once changed, Elion went to the pool, diving headfirst to ward off the cold water’s initial shock. Surfacing, he wiped a hand over his face, getting rid of the excess water, before turning on his back and doing the backstroke from one end of the pool to the other.
Time got away from Elion as he swam, and by the time he got out of the swimming pool, he was sure Clara was home. After drying himself and running the towel briefly over his hair, he draped a towel over his shoulder.
Elion returned to his bedroom and continued to his en suite. He started the shower, and as he waited for it to heat up, he placed his towel on the floor beside his hamper before taking off his swim trunks and placing them onto the towel.
Stepping into the shower, Elion allowed the water to run over him for a moment before he began to wash the chlorine from his body. He then washed his hair a couple of times before rewashing himself.
Once he’d rid his body and hair of chlorine, Elion stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel to dry himself off beforewrapping it around his waist. He went back into his bedroom and over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of boxers and a gray V-neck tee shirt before laying them on the bed and entering his closet. He grabbed a pair of dark jeans and placed them with the rest of the clothes.
