Touched

5

"So, is this gonna be fully nude, should I pose like Adonis?" Carter stood at the entrance of my shed with a boyish grin on his face. 

"Are you done? Or should I ask the second graders if they want their friend back?" I'd just finished setting my work space up as he plopped down on the futon.

"Har har Miss Char. This is a pretty dope spot you've got here." His eyes gave the place a once-over in a matter of moments. 

My cheeks  did their best not to warm as I picked up my pallet. "Thanks, are you sure you know how to sit still for extended periods of time?" I laughed while noting the fact that he was definitely fidgety. Between constantly running his hands through his hair and pulling his bottom lip between his teeth I wasn't sure if I'd be able to focus either.

"You kidding? Watch me become the perfect embodiment of a statue, here, just make sure you get my good side..." His outrageous pose left me giggling as I rolled my eyes.

"How do you expect me to capture your essence if you can't even be serious?"

"Okay, okay fine. Seriously, how do you want me to pose?" He cracked his knuckles before settling into his spot, picking up a throw pillow before throwing it back and crossing his legs, only to shift and pick up the pillow again.

"Carter, relax." I laughed. I could barely get an outline started. "You don't have to pose or anything, just...be you, pull out your phone, grab one of my books off the table or something. Just...sit still." I softened my smile while searching his face, looking to find a good starting place. 

It was no surprise that he was slightly uncomfortable, because who wouldn't be? Here I was, practically a stranger asking a guy to let me capture every detail of him, to sit and look into his eyes, to take in everything I saw and depict him in the way that I saw him. The exchange was practically intimate and could leave anyone feeling vulnerable as you painted away the person you saw in front of you.

My brush moved against the canvas in a way that almost made it seem as if it had a mind of its own. Each stroke came without a second thought as I watched him, he'd finally dropped his nerves as he laid back on the futon with his head resting against its frame. His entire body relaxed as he tapped his fingers in time with the quiet jazz music. We'd barely exchanged a word in the half hour that passed.

Something about him left me wondering if I'd even be able to capture him in a painting. My canvas was larger than I was used to working with, its size practically intimidating , but something told me a portrait of Carter deserved as much detail as possible. His face may have been relaxed, but as I studied him I realized there was something more under the surface. I wasn't sure what it was, but I'd do my best to capture it.

A yawn escaped his lips as he stretched another half hour later. "Boy, you didn't tell me this would be like watching paint dry."

I gave him a dirty look while peering around my easel. "We can be done for the day, I could use a break."

"Are my good looks that exhausting?" The smirk on his lips made me pause for half a millisecond, if only he knew how on target he was. If it weren't for me constantly being lost inside my own head, I would've gotten lost in his gaze a long time ago.

Every time he laid his eyes on me while I painted, my body knew it. I had to take a deep breath and reposition myself quite a few times.

"No, but the fact that you sit about as still as Jasmine is." There was no way I was gonna let him see how much his presence affected me.

"Yeah yeah." His chuckle was low and enticing. "Can I at least see your masterpiece?" He tried to steal a look as I quickly picked the canvas up and sat it backwards in a corner to dry.