Page 19 of Paint Me Love
I flush when our eyes meet, caught in the act, but that just makes him give me a rare, real smile that I know will haunt my dreams tonight. My stomach flips when he starts walking toward me, but I’m rooted to the ground, unable to look away or run away even though my heart is trying to burst out.
“They look like real paintings,” I blurt out as he comes to a stop in front of me, my voice a little shaky and my nerves too much to handle.
“Theyarereal paintings,” he counters, raising one eyebrow. “They already were before they got framed.” He pauses, the determination in his eyes intensifying. I feel like I’m about to be hit by a storm. “I never doubted you could do this, Daniel, or I wouldn’t have encouraged you to sign up for the competition.”
I blanch. My brain struggles to compute. What did he just say? These words… This means… My head spins, more confused but also excited. There’s no way… I search his smiling eyes, which only makes the shivers worse. My stomach twists and squeezes and fills with all kinds of fluttering things. Holy shit, there’s no way! He can’t be… This kind of lines up though, and that’s crazy. But I mean, surely this is one big coincidence and Derek Salinger can’t be the Mystery Guy I’ve been texting… right?
10
Derek
Daniellooksshocked.Understandablyso. I would be too, but I did say in my text we’d meet today.
As I watch him frown and try to put together how this happened, I kind of get second thoughts. Fuck, should I have done this? But it kept bugging me and besides, how am I supposed to flush him out of my system if I have to keep hiding who I am. Honestly, it’s terrifying, but I had to do it and I wanted to see his reaction—will he change his attitude now that he knows who I am or will he not?
It’s a gamble, as usual, because you can never know until it’s too late if someone likes you or just wants your money.
“Is it really you?” he asks, his voice dropping to a whisper.
His pretty face scrunches slightly, his eyes twinkle. He’s so damn expressive.
“It is.” I offer him my hand. “Derek Salinger. It’s good to meet you in person, and officially, Daniel.”
Awkwardly, he shakes my hand. His grip is firm if a little wary, which I don’t blame him for. He’s probably still processing.
“No way…”
I smirk and incline my head toward the restrooms. “Should I show you my dick as proof?”
He goes beet red. “No! That’s—There’s no need! I believe you!”
He’s shier in real life than he’s online, which makes me want to tease him all the more. To see his adorable reactions, to knock him off balance. But I’m also intrigued by his works, so I better satiate my curiosity now that I have the chance to do so.
“This one”—I point at the marina with the storm clouds and high contrast—“is this really how you saw it when you painted it?”
He studies the dark sky warring with the sun, the rich green of the grass and turquoise water, the white boats and the dull wooden pier. “No. I… It got cloudy on the first day and rained on the second day, so I couldn’t go back to finish it. I drew from memory and tweaked a few things to bump up the contrast.”
My blood thrums. “You used no references?”
Shaking his head, he averts his pretty eyes from me. “None after the initial block in of shapes and values. The rest I had to make up.”
“Why?” The question shoots out of me.
He blushes a little, but his attention returns to me, so I count it as a double win. “I wanted to challenge myself and… to make it look happier, I guess.”
Humming to myself, I try not to grin. This is so Daniel. “Where is that anyway?”
He glances at his work, a small sad smile gracing his pretty features. “It’s a small marina south of Takoma. I used to go there a lot as a kid…”
I sense there is more, but he trails off and doesn’t finish the sentence. As much as I want to probe, I rein myself in. Now is not the time—I don’t want to scare him off. The atmosphere getsa bit awkward as a result of my silence, and so I decide to change the topic. I might be an asshole, but I am not entirely insensitive.
“Are you working on anything right now?”
He watches me for a few moments before he nods. “As a matter of fact, I am.”
My heart suddenly beats faster. “Can I see it? In person, if that’s alright with you.”
Is this too much? His apprehensive gaze certainly suggests so.
