by Simply BWWM
Chanel couldn’t stop the smile that spread wide over her face. “Oh, Chris,” she sighed happily as she stared at the painting before her and sank down onto the sofa behind her.
“Oh, no… what happened? You never sound like that. I haven’t heard you sound like that in… since… oh no. You didn’t.” His voice took on an edgy tone.
“Ohhhhh, Chris,” she cooed to him. “I did.”
“You did not,” he defied her in stunned disbelief.
“Yeah, I really did. But, it wasn’t me who started it. I mean, I wanted to, because when I got there, he was not at all what I expected. I guess I expected some upper-class businessman who just wanted a portrait done and that was that, but it wasn’t like that at all. He’s amazing. First, he’s ridiculously beautiful and it wasn’t a regular portrait. He’s been body building and he’s into his health and into fitness, so he looks like some Greek god that one of the renaissance masters chiseled out of pure marble. I mean, the man is gorgeous.” She felt excitement bubbling up in her as she described it all.
“You’re killing me,” Chris intoned with a level voice as he listened intently.
“So, I wasn’t expecting that. I asked him what he wanted, and he said he wanted a portrait of his body: full frontal, minus the groin area, so that later on when he’s older he could look back and see how much he accomplished with his body building and hard work. I get that. If I worked as hard on my body as he does, I might want it immortalized too. Anyway, that was just the initial work part of it. The whole time he was talking when I met him, everything inside of me practically caught on fire. I was so unbelievably attracted to him. I’ve never been that attracted to anyone, ever, and it was so bizarre for me. I kept trying to reason with myself and talk myself out of it, you know, find some common sense in my head, but it just wasn’t happening.
I just couldn’t stop the draw to him; it was like some powerful gravity that I wasn’t strong enough to resist, and I thought great… how am I going to spend two days getting this painting done, looking at him standing nude before me, all the while wishing I could just eat him whole?”
She sighed and looked up, almost rolling her eyes at the thought of what it would have been like if things hadn’t changed between them. It would have been the most difficult job she’d ever done, and there would not have been a way out of it for her.
“Oh! That’s wretched! So rough,” Chris sympathized with her immediately. “So, then what happened?”
“Well I guess he was feeling the same crazy draw to me that I was feeling for him, except I didn’t know it. He started asking me if I was single and kind of getting a feel for what was going on with that, and then when he found out there wasn’t anyone in my life, he kissed me. I thought I was going to melt through the floor right there.
It was one seriously hot kiss, and well… we both wanted each other so much, and one thing led to another and… yeah, we had an amazing weekend.” She was grinning again, and she felt her cheeks warm as she looked at the painting she had done of him and remembered what he felt like, what he tasted like, and how the scent of his skin filled her nose and gave her such comfort.
“Honey, that sounds like the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard. I can’t believe it! It’s been… what… four years? Something like that?” Chris was astounded, but completely thrilled for her as well.
“Five years,” she corrected him, in surprise herself that it had been that long since she had been with anyone.
“Right! Five years. My god! I don’t know how you managed it for so long. I’d have gone crazy.” He sighed in wonder. “Anyhow, I’m so happy that you finally got to spend some time between the sheets with some hot man, especially one that beautiful. So, how was he? I know it’s crass, but I’m dying to know. How was he, after you waited five years for a night with a lover?” Chris’s voice took on a naughty tone.
“It was incredible. Best I’ve ever known, and not just because it’s been so long. He was just really amazing. I didn’t know it could be like that.” She sighed happily and gazed with a dreamy look over at the image of Nick staring back at her with those beautiful blue eyes.
“Oh girl, I could not be happier for you! That is the best news you’ve had in such a long time.” Chris sounded genuinely pleased for her, and she loved that he was. “Did he pay you?” he asked warily.
“Yes, he sent me an electronic deposit when I left,” she replied, not thinking about the money but rather about the man who gave it to her. “Do you know what he did? He taught me how to fish, if you can believe that! I fished off of the back of a yacht out in the Atlantic Ocean! I thought we were going to do this painting in town, but no. When his assistant came to pick me up after I got off of the phone with you, we left the studio in a limousine, drove to some big building in the city, and then took a helicopter from the roof of that building to the biggest yacht I’ve ever seen in my life, out in the ocean.
I couldn’t believe it! But there we were, and things got hot for us, and he asked me to stay the whole weekend, and of course I did. And while I was there, he decided that I needed to learn how to fish, like deep sea fishing.” The words sounded strange coming out of her mouth, but they were the truth, and she had definitely done it.
“Okay. Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” Chris asked only half-jokingly.
“No really! I know it’s the last thing that I would ever do, but I did it, and I caught a huge fish! I’ll send you the picture. I caught a swordfish.” She laughed at the memory of it in disbelief.
“You caught a swordfish.” He couldn’t believe it either.
“Yes.”
“And what did you do with the poor thing once you caught it? Did you put it back in its little home under the sea?” he asked expectantly.
“Nope… I’m sorry to say, he did not ever make it back to his little fish friends. There was a chef on the yacht, and the chef turned the fish into the best swordfish steaks I’ve ever had. I brought one back for you, in case you’d like to enjoy some of my fresh seafood catch.” She laughed a little. It might seem strange to her best friend that she had gone fishing, and she knew that he didn’t like the idea of catching a fish and killing it, but ironically, he was all for eating seafood; it was one of his favorite dishes.
“You brought me back a swordfish steak that you caught.” He was still in disbelief, but he was warming to the idea. “That actually sounds amazing. I can’t wait to try it.” He laughed then and she knew that he was won over.
“We also checked out this little island and swam in a natural spring on it, and he danced with me under the stars on the deck of the yacht…” she trailed off, remembering how sweet and special all of it was.
“I should have gone with you. I can’t believe I stayed here, drank too much champagne, ate Chinese delivery, and watched old movies. What was I thinking? Next time, I’m going with you.” He sounded adamant, and she didn’t have the heart to remind him that it was supposed to be a business trip originally, and it wouldn’t have been possible for him to go along with her.
“You love old movies and champagne, though,” Chanel teased him a little.
“Yes, yes I do. So, are you done with your fling or are you going to see him again? Please tell me that you are going to see this man again. I haven’t heard you this happy in far too long, and I would love to hear you this happy for a long time to come. So, are you seeing him again? Hmm?” Chris drawled out, waiting for an answer.
“Yes. We both decided that we want this to continue, because while neither of us was expecting it, it’s really such an incredible thing, and we love the bond we’ve made, so we’re going to keep seeing each other here.” She couldn’t be happier, and it was evident in her voice.
“I cannot believe that you are dating a hot billionaire. Sometimes every planet in the universe lines up and things are just amazing, aren’t they?” He sounded enormously pleased for her.
“They really are,” she agreed. “I think I’m falling fo
r him already. It was so perfect. It’s never been like that for me before, and I know it’s fast, but I think I’m seriously falling for him.”
She had only just realized it herself and had come to terms with it as soon as she realized it, because there was just no way to deny it. The feelings that she had for him were morphing from lust to crush in record time, and while she knew that there would be no way to stop them, she also knew that she didn’t really want to stop them. She wanted to keep seeing him, and she wanted to keep feeling what she was feeling. She wanted to know where it could go, because he was feeling much the same way that she was, and it could turn out good, if they were lucky. She was willing to give it a shot and see where it went.
“Oh no,” Chris suddenly sounded worried.
“What oh no?” she asked, with some worry at the edge of her voice as well. He had a great deal of logical, common sense that she oftentimes needed to hear.
“It’s too soon honey. You can’t fall for him right now. No, no, no. You just met him. You just met him, and you went right to bed with him, which I can’t fault you for. Now you’re going to keep seeing him and that’s fine; that’s good even, but you cannot fall for him so quickly. You keep those emotions in check, Missy. I don’t care what you have to do, but you keep those emotions in check. This is much too early for you to feel anything for him. You barely know him.” He sounded adamant.
She knew that he was probably right, but there was no stopping it. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”
Chris sighed. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt again. That’s all. It was so bad last time, and you were really devastated. I don’t want that to happen again. It’s early still. Just… just promise me that you’ll take your time and be careful, and don’t get too wrapped up in him too soon. Okay? Will you promise me that please?”
Chanel pressed her lips together into a thin line and nodded though she knew Chris couldn’t see it. “I promise,” she replied, and she meant it. She would try to keep herself in check and not fall too hard and too fast. He had been right; she had been devastated before, and she didn’t need to go through heartache again the way she had the last time. Not ever again.
“Oh!” she brightened, wanting to change the subject. “I forgot to tell you, I got a job offer teaching art to a private class at an artist’s retreat.”
“No kidding!” Chris went right along with her while she changed the subject. He did sound interested in the job offer she had just told him about. “That’s great! Where is it?”
“It’s in Santa Fe,” she said with a touch of disappointment.
“Oh… wow, the desert. Isn’t that… isn’t that kind of cowboys and Indians out in that part of the country? I don’t know. I’ve never been anywhere west of the Mississippi except for the motherland in San Francisco for Pride.” He sounded uncertain about the location of the class.
“It is out in the desert, and there are Native Americans there, from what I gather, but I don’t really know too much about it. Anyway, the lady who offered me the job, her name is Diana, she said that I was at the top of a wish list for her art people, and they wanted to take a six-week intensive class from me.
I said I’d think about it, but now that things have changed between Nick and I, I really don’t want to leave. Six weeks is a long time and this thing with him is brand new. I really don’t need the money, especially after Nick paid me, so I think I’m going to hang out here in Boston for a while and see how things go with him and me. I think I’m going to call Diana and tell her I can’t do that class. I feel a little bad about it, because she sounded so excited, but I’m going to put myself and Nick first on this one.” She felt a little disappointed, and she felt sure that Diana would also be a bit disappointed, but that was the way that it was going to have to be.
“I understand. I think you’re making the right decision, though it might have been interesting to get out to the west and see what’s going on out there. Maybe you could see a cactus or something,” he mused, and in her mind, she could see the intrigued smile on his face.
“Actually, Santa Fe is really big in the arts community. I’ve heard people rave about the light there, so it’s definitely on the map, and being an opera lover, you’ve probably heard about their opera company there. It’s supposed to be really good too,” she suggested lightly.
“Yes, I have heard that. I haven’t ever thought about going out to see it. I think it’s outside… like, an outdoor theatre where the operas are performed, but I’m not sure. I’m a little more into putting on my pretty suit and going to the Met, but good opera is good opera, and I’d never turn my nose up at it.” He sounded certain about that.
“I know you wouldn’t. Anyway, we don’t need to worry about it, because I’m going to stay here and see what happens with Nick.” She swooned, and it was clear in her voice.
“And you’re going to take your time,” Chris added meaningfully.
“Yes.” She blinked and gave her head a nod. “I am going to take my time and make sure that I don’t fall too fast and too hard. I promise.” She meant it, but there was no guarantee. Nick had taken a hold on her faster than anyone else ever had.
“Good. Well let’s have dinner this week. Let me know when you’re free. We’ll sort it out,” he chimed happily. “Can’t wait to see you and taste this fish you caught.” He laughed and she laughed with him.
“It’s so good. I know you’ll love it. I’ll message you,” she promised, and they said goodbye.
After giving the painting before her a bit of a longer look, she got up, put it in her car, and drove herself to the studio. She poured herself a cup of hot tea, turned on the stereo, and old jazz began to pour out of the speakers. She fit the canvas on her easel and picked up her paint brushes, getting back to work on the finer details of the portrait.
When she had painted most of the afternoon away, she put the brushes in water and picked up the phone to give Diana Harris a call. She hadn’t been looking forward to doing it, but she knew that it had to be done.
Diana answered with the same bubbly, happy, pleasant voice that she had had the first time that they had talked. “Hello Chanel! It’s so good to hear from you!”
Chanel felt her stomach tighten slightly, knowing that she was going to disappoint the woman she was talking to. “Hi Diana, it’s nice to talk with you too. I wanted to call you because I gave some thought to your offer, and since we talked on Friday, things have changed here a bit. There are some developments here that are going to require my attention for a while, and I’m not sure how long that will be, so unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to come out to Santa Fe and teach the class for you. It’s a lovely offer, and I wish I could do it and help you out, but it’s just not a good time for me to try to fit that into my schedule right now. I am really sorry about it.”
She could hear Diana’s disappointment clearly in her voice, but the woman did maintain her positive spirit. “Oh, I am sorry to hear that. We were so hoping that you would be able to join us, but I do understand. I’ll tell you what. I’ll leave the offer open for you, and you’ll be welcome to come anytime to teach it. Perhaps things will change. Life sometimes turns on a dime, and you never know what will happen.”
“That’s certainly the truth!” Chanel laughed softly, thinking of how quickly her life had changed just that weekend. “Thank you so much, I do appreciate it. Take care, Diana,” she said with a big smile.
They ended the call, and she felt a sense of relief that she had let go of the offer and could focus on her work, her studio, and her new love interest. There was nothing she wanted more than that, and the very thought of it filled her with enormous happiness.
She was nearly ready to close the studio when there was a knock at the door. She went to answer it and found Nick standing there, looking even more delicious than he had on the boat, with his button up shirt and a pair of well-fitting jeans. The sight of him took her breath away, and she felt butterflies in her belly, all of them danci
ng as if life had suddenly been breathed into them.
“Hello!” she greeted him in surprise as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. He kissed her in return for a long moment before he looked down at her and sighed happily.
“I have been waiting to do that all day. It’s so nice. I’m really glad that we decided to continue this.” He leaned forward and kissed her again, then let her go, taking her hand in his. “I was wondering if you were free this afternoon and evening. I want to spend some time with you.”
Chanel nodded. “I am free, and I would love that.” Then she laughed a little. “You aren’t sick of me yet? I mean, we just got off of the boat this morning.” She was a little leery of doing too much at the start, but the look on his face diffused that worry immediately.
“Not at all. I could hardly wait to see you.” He grinned at her and kissed her again before stepping away from her so that she could close up her studio and get her purse. A short while later, they were walking out into the streets of Boston.