Page 42 of Voyeur

“Hold that thought,” Silver said. “This is my place. It’s an old artist’s loft, so it’s not exactly the most modern apartment in the world; I still have to wash my dishes by hand. It’s also a walk-up without even one of those really cool old-timey elevators, but it’s home, and it’s rent-controlled.”

“How long have you lived here?” Honor asked.

“Since I moved back after school. A friend of mine was renting it first, and she sublet it to me for a year. Then, I got the lease in my own name. The landlord is an artist, too, so he gave it to me for the same price with the same rent control locked in, which is unheard of. I’ll probably never give this place up.”

“No?” Honor asked, taking a look around from where she stood. “I get it. It’s nice. That window has a good view.”

“It does, yeah,” Silver agreed. “That’s the warehouse, by the way.” She walked to the window and pointed.

Honor walked over and followed her finger, trying not to stare at it, remembering how good it had felt inside her body just the other night.

“You can walk to work from here if you want.”

“I can. I don’t usually because I’m generally always running late, and I have a parking spot at the back of the building, but I could.”

“Why are you always running late?”

“I wake up at the last possible minute.” Silver laughed a little. “And I shower at night usually, so I can just get up and go. We have a breakroom there, so I can always get my coffee when I get to work, even if it’s not the best. Luckily, my hair is short, so all I have to do is brush a little product in it, and it’s good to go. I like to keep things easy when I can.”

“Then, why am I here, at your apartment, when you probably could’ve invited anyone else and be in bed with them right now?”

“Because I didn’t want to bring anyone else here,” Silver said, turning toward her. “I wanted to get to know you. Now, tell me about these discoveries you’ve been making while I get us something to drink. I’ve beer, water, soda, I think, and I can make coffee if you want. It’s not decaf.”

“I thought you got your coffee at work.”

“I do. I don’t only drink coffee at work, though.”

“Just water is fine,” Honor replied.

Silver walked into the kitchen, which was only separated from the rest of the space by a counter in the tunnel-style space. Honor’s eyes took in the expansive room, and she noticed it was different than she’d pictured. For some reason, she’d had the idea that Silver lived in squalor or something close to that. She’d pictured a mattress with thread-bare sheets and one pillow, and an old sofa, like the one in the office, with a mismatched chair and empty beer bottles on the coffee table.

Instead, Honor found a remarkably clean apartment with a sofa and chair in soft leather that matched, a dark-wood table that looked expensive, and a large flat-screen TV mounted to the brick wall in front of the table. There was a trifold divider that rested against the wall with the huge window overlooking the city, but it wasn’t pulled out to separate the bedroom from the rest of the space. The bed was made, and the comforter was black with matching pillowcases and, likely, sheets underneath. There were two bedside tables and some nice artwork hanging over the bed.

“Yours?” Honor asked, pointing at the painting of the naked woman.

“Yeah, that’s mine. I have some more in the corner over there. I don’t really use the kitchen table I bought to make me feel more like an adult, so it’s usually just covered in paint and art supplies, but the ones I’m working on are against the wall or by the easel by the table.”

“If it’s usually covered in paint, why isn’t it now?”

“Because I knew you were coming over. I cleaned up,” Silver replied and walked out of the kitchen to hand Honor a glass of water. “It’s filtered.”

“Do you think that matters to me?”

“You seem like the kind of woman who would only drink bottled or filtered water, yeah.”

“Tap water isn’t exactly clean,” Honor defended.

“Which is why I have a filter on my faucet,” Silver noted, placing her hand on the small of Honor’s back. “What do you think?” She nodded toward the painting on the wall.

“You’re very talented. Do you ever show your stuff at the warehouse?”

“I did last year, yeah. Sold a few, which was a nice boost to my ego. It also helps me afford to buy the things I need to keep painting, but I really like my job as the show director, so I don’t know that I really plan to do my own shows regularly or anything. I get commissions sometimes, so I do those. Other times, I just paint what I want.”

“Naked women?” Honor smiled and took a drink of her water.

“Yes, I do love naked women,” Silver stated before taking a drink of her own water. “A woman’s body is just perfect, no matter its size or shape. The curves, the lines, the look in her eyes sometimes – it’s all just perfect to me. Watching a woman I’m painting start tense and nervous before going from that to free and open is a major artistic turn-on.”

“Do you sleep with the women you paint?”

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