It was almost the end of summer when Claire gave her word to model for Luca. The scorching weather was receding fast and he knew they had to work fast.
When they arrived at the beach, there was barely enough light to lit the path but he manoeuvred his way around expertly, having scouted the beach for the past two mornings. Claire trailed behind him and both had a luggage each in tow. She had donned on a white halter-neck Maxi dress and a thick cardigan over it. Her luggage consisted of some beachwear that he had selected (and put on Rafael's tab) from some upscale department store and Claire was stunned when she tried it on at his place.
It took roughly fifteen minutes before they reached the location. The waves were breaking against the slabs of ragged stones just twenty metres ahead and Luca watched some of the waves swept further inland, dragging the sand with them. He could picture her draped on the slanted smooth rock with one hand reached out as if to hold the white horses in the background. The sun would have to be just above her head to make it work.
"What do you think, Claire?"
She dragged her gaze from the open sea beyond when he addressed her and bit her lips before responding, "I'm doing it."
She slipped off her cardigan and rubbed her shoulders uselessly.
"How do you feel today?"
Luca noticed she was taking far too long for a response.
"If you don't know how you feel, then just say you're alright."
She opened and closed her mouth. Then she nodded.
"I'm alright."
"Good," he moved forward and Claire followed closely, "Now, you'll have to lie against this stone here. Imagine you were shipwrecked onto the shore."
A wave hit her bare feet and the hems were immediately soaked. Claire slowly knelt beside the stone and leaned against it.
"Do you feel comfortable?"
"Just really wet," she attempted to joke.
"Now, usually, it's not good to stay too long in the water but we're working with a rising sun and the painting had to commence then."
"At sunrise."
"On the dot."
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"We'll stop now."
Luca began to feel agitated. The sunrise drawing had not worked out. He looked at his watch. Claire had been in the water more than half an hour and he was surprised she had not complained.
"Is it not alright?"
He did not respond. When he could not think of something good to say, he would rather not say anything. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed she had stood up. He flicked his gaze over to her form. Her cheeks were flushed and some of her matted darkened hair plastered on the underside of her lips. The dress was sticking to her like a second skin, outlining the white swimwear underneath. Her hands were fisted at her side.
"I don't know what you want. Perhaps you should be clear with what you want."
Then the tears slid down and she wiped at her eyes with one arm.
"Please excuse me."
Luca did not stop her as she walked past him.
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A few hours later, Luca had finished his first painting of the ocean when he heard her footsteps as she made her way over.
"I thought you would not return."
When she finally stood beside him, he turned to look at her. Her cheeks were dimpled where she was chewing inside.
"I agreed to do this. I'm not backing out."
He thought for a while before asking, "Is there a reason why you are feeling uncomfortable at this beach?"
She took a step back at this and started chewing at her lips. She opened to speak but closed it after a while. This time, Luca allowed her to take her time to formulate a response.
"My ex and I first met at this beach."
Luca was unsure if he wanted to know the details but he would listen if it made things easier for them. The myriad of emotion from the confession intrigued him.
"I was so in love with him. Asked him out and when he said yes, I was really happy."
She exhaled deeply before continuing.
"But he was always so quiet. He never told me things. I felt like he doesn't care. I was always trying to get a rise out of him."
"It was not what you expected."
A small smiled quirked at the corner of her lips.
"It wasn't. A very one-sided relationship to me. Maybe I am in love with the idea of being in love."
"You'll be fine."
She seemed surprised at the comment but nodded in response.
"Okay."
Luca stood up and walked over to the luggage case.
"Let's try something different," he grabbed a purple gypsy-print dress with long angel sleeves and handed it to her. Claire took the dress and looked at him quizzically.
"Get changed."
He turned around and rummaged for some accessories.
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It took another three hours before they finished.
"This is really… lovely. Can I touch it?"
Claire squatted beside him.
"No, not today."
Luca was very pleased with the finished product as well.
Jade green eyes were staring back at him, her playful smile painted a soft pale pink and her mahogany locks fanned around her. Both her hands were raised above her, the angel sleeves creating its desired effect with the help of the ocean breeze. The long amber-beaded necklace around her neck glittered in the sunlight while the dress's rather scandalously high slit revealed a tantalising glimpse of her left leg. She was like the Dawn Goddess among orange-tinged white horses.
After a while, Claire stood up and beamed at him.
"Thank you.
