Insecure Too (Completed)

27

Yazmine

Art After Dark was something I started doing shortly after Devonte and I broke up. It gave me another creative outlet, and it also expanded my friend circle. Now I had my girls, and my artsy friends. Basically, we would meet up at this park with a fire pit around sunset, bring some lanterns and candles and shit, along with some weed, and some canvases, paint and brushes. I liked painting by candlelight and firelight. It gave my works a haunted quality that no other method did.

It was a mix of folks who came out too, between the hippie, laid back White guys, the uptight Asian girls who would become wild after a couple beers, and the Black folks with hella piercings and tatts.

That's how I met Michael and Blake, these two White guys. They weren't hippies though, they were-well Blake was very mellow and chill, and liked to paint naked women and Michael was an Irish hothead who drank too much and painted frustrated looking pieces. They were good guys though, and along with Sammi, who was pocket sized, Asian, and beautiful, made up my artsy friends.

When I arrived, slightly late, everybody was already buzzed or high or both. Someone brought snacks, but I already knew they were laced and I wasn't trying to get gone off edibles tonight, for once. The fire was blazing, canvases were propped, and people were either painting or posing.

I quickly navigated over to my friends. "Hey guys," I was out of breath from hauling my canvas from the car.

"Yazzy!" I could tell from Blake's over enthusiastic greeting he was kite high. I allowed him to hug me and he mostly hugged the canvas. Blake was a guy with hair that was just long enough to tuck behind his ears, moody blue eyes, a frequent grin, and he always came to a paint sess in designer jeans and plain t shirts. And he always kept them spotless.

"Soooo now you wanna come back to Indy, huh?" Michael smirked at me.

"Boy please, you knew I was coming back after the summer."

"You're always abandoning us for your boo, but it's cool." Sammi was speckled in pink and blue paint, but she wore it well. She was otherwise a vision with her bone straight platinum blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail and a Unity U t shirt tucked in mom jeans. Her skin was flawless and closer to olive than ivory. She gave me a quick hug and after I noticed I had pink spots on me.

"I do not," I protested. "It's not my fault none of you people go home for the summer."

"Oh so we calling Devonte Taylor's condo home now?" Michael retorted. He hadn't made a move to greet me, just hung back. He was tall, and solidly built, with skin that tanned occasionally so he wasn't pale as fuck. His eyes were gray, his hair was brown. He was really standoffish, and I got the sense he ain't really like me when we first met, but when Blake befriended me, he warmed up. He would have been a really attractive guy if he wasn't always angry about something. And if White boys were my type.

"I mean..." I casually allowed my ring to flash.

"OH MY FUCKING GOSH is that a ring?" Sammi was freaking out. "WHEN did this happen?"

"Damn look at the size of that thing. Do me a favor, hide that shit from Mel because I don't want her getting any ideas," Bake said.

I giggled. Honestly, Mel already had ideas about hers and Blake's future so it really ain't matter. I started laying out my paint supplies while Sammi and Blake gushed their congratulations. Michael ain't say shit, just stayed to himself brooding. I shrugged it off; his ass was moody as fuck.

Once I got everything set up, I started to paint, the firelight and lantern light casting a shadowy glow to everything. As I got more into the painting, I zoned out, the chatter becoming background noise. That was the thing about Art After Dark. Everyone's process was different. I liked hanging out with other painters and talking to them about technique and networking and even just socializing, but when I got inspiration everyone disappeared and it was just me and my idea.My friends here were used to it, and they would just leave me alone until I was done.