Work of Art (Repub!)

Chapter 1

Nate checked his knapsack for essentials. Various graphite pencils, some erasers, charcoal sticks in a little baggy, a small notepad, and the much larger sketchpad.

All set. 

"Don't forget our deal, Saunders! My mom's wondering when a masterpiece is gonna happen." his coworker Casey called out. They made an agreement with that with each afternoon Friday shift she covers for him, she gets the fruit of the harvest from whatever life study he did that day.

"Got it!" he called back. "Thanks a bunch, Case!"

She stuck her tongue out jokingly at Nate as he left through the back door of the cafe, chuckling. Making subs wasn't the worst work around in a small town, but it covered the share of the rent. He made his way down the road, to the newly built community center.

It was on this special day of the week that he flexed an artistic muscle in his life drawing classes. Each Friday, the various artists, both novice and experienced, sat in one of two of the rooms, all in a circle. They each had a stool and an easel to prop up their pads and paper. The walls were freshly decorated with some watercolor flowers done by a younger group. Yet the spotlight was on the single mattress in the center of it all.

Here sat, lounged, or posed the model of the week. Usually, there was one male and one female model in either room and of different ages and backgrounds. Sometimes it was a young male, of shorter structure, or even a plumper woman of ripe old age. No matter who, it was the task of the artists surrounding them to capture their angle of perspective in short to long timed periods.

Nate had practiced from time to time, but this was a day where the work shined through. He settled across from the side of the mattress. Depending on where and how the model settled, he was either going to capture the front or the rear. It was usually hard to obtain this position, but today he felt rather lucky.

Everyone around the room took their seats and assembled their various canvases. Nate took a deep breath and looked at the doorway. For anyone new to the class, it was quite a shock to see a stark naked person simply stroll in and greet the class as though it were commonplace.

But even he wasn't ready this time.

The model came in, and the small chatter to the sides had hushed suddenly. (Y/N) looked up with curiosity and couldn't hide the small gasp past his lips.

He stood about 6 feet high, rather tall compared to most, and his build was finely toned. His facial features were sharp, with arched cheekbones. Dark, wavy curls adorned his head.

What had Nate's attention was his eyes. One could only describe the mix of blue and green as a warm Mediterranean sea. He saw his eyes meet his, and Nate blinked downwards, as they caught.

"Good afternoon," he said with a brisk but friendly tone.

Nate had to focus again, as he began to take his place on the mattress. The man lounged back, the sheets forming folds by his body. His left arm bent and casually went behind his head, while the other had been outstretched...almost a teasing invitation.

He felt his face heat up looking at the knowing glimmer in his eye.

That bastard...

The instructor near the wall announced there would be a 5-minute warmup, then some short 3-minute studies before the optional 10-minute study, where they would switch models.

He got his pencil and charcoal ready, and when the timer beeped, he went to work. Nate did the usual glance and sketch, but he found it hard sometimes to pull back to sketch. The model wasn't staring directly at him, yet the thought of it made him anxious as he drew.