AUD’S COMPUTER gave its customary starting beep as he walked from his kitchen with a bowl brimming with salad. The older machine booted slowly enough he had time to fix a quick dinner while it started up. He settled into his desk chair and pulled up his e-mail. Even though he’d only been away from the gallery for a few hours, he always made sure to check and see if anything needed his attention. His customers spent loads of money with him every day and if something came up, he did his best to be reachable, except when he was at the gym or driving.
The first e-mail that caught his attention was from Heather and went on about how Leo had come in and was going to call to pose for him. Aud stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth as he read the message twice. He came in. Cool. Now, can we actually make time for a sitting? What happens when I make a complete fool of myself with the sketch?
Shaking himself, he closed the message without replying. I’ll see her tomorrow. He went on to check the rest of his mail. There was nothing else he needed to address, so he finished his salad while he checked social media.
After scanning a blog post that claimed Cubism was going to be making a comeback in the next five years, he decided there wasn’t anything interesting. He hadn’t really been seeing anything he’d been looking at. Leo’s cute face with his wire-rimmed glasses kept popping into his mind.
He stood and carried his empty salad bowl to the sink. With only the briefest rinsing of the dressing so it wouldn’t be difficult to get out, he finally decided to wash his minimal dishes. What do I want to do? I don’t have anyone I need to call. Plus I want to be available in case Leo calls…. Now I’m being pathetic. I don’t even know if Leo’s gay, although his friend Felix most likely is, and Leo didn’t seem romantically attached to either of his friends. But I don’t know if he’d be interested in me. But if he’s gay, would he have come by the gallery if he wasn’t interested?
Aud’s phone rang and he jumped slightly. He didn’t even remember sitting down on the couch. He glanced at the screen and didn’t recognize the number. With a swipe of his finger, he answered the call anyway.
“This is Aud.” God, I must sound like a professional prick.
“Hi, Aud.” He recognized Leo’s voice. “This is Leo, from the drawing class last night.”
“Hey, Leo. I just got a message from Heather at the gallery, and she said you stopped by.”
“Yeah. I’ve been thinking about you wanting to draw me… sketch me… whatever.” He sounded nervous.
It made Aud smile. “Sketch you. Yes, I would still like to do that.”
“Cool. ’Cause I would like you to do that to me.” Leo sighed. “I mean, I’d like to do that with you…. Aah, what’s the proper term here?”
“You’d like to sit for me.” Aud bit back a chuckle. With every word, he was drawn to Leo more and more.
“I guess so. We need to work out a time for that. How long do you think it will take?”
“I can do a preliminary sketch in a few minutes, but to truly capture the real you, it could take a little while. If possible, I’d like to set aside an afternoon or evening.”
“A whole evening?” There was a slight hesitation in Leo’s voice.
“Or we could do it over several sessions.” Aud wanted to get off the couch and pace but made himself sit still as his excitement grew.
“So it would be better on one of my days off. I’m only off on the weekends. Would that interfere with your gallery?”
“Not at all. But what about a Friday evening? We could go for some dinner and talk a bit. That will let me get to know you better and have a good idea how I want to capture you… on paper.” Yeah, now you sound like some kind of S&M guy. Don’t scare him off.
“That would be good. When would you like to do that? Right now, my Fridays are open.”
“It’s Wednesday, so why not this week?”
“This week?” The hesitation returned.
“We can put it off a week…. Oh wait, we’d have to put it off two weeks since next Friday is First Friday Art Walk. We’re open late that night.”
“First Friday Art Walk? What’s that? Sorry, but the drawing class last night was the first really creative thing I’ve done in ages.”
“It happens the first Friday of every month, and all the galleries along Colorado Avenue stay open and serve hors d’oeuvres and wine while we entertain clients. It’s fun. You should come and expose yourself to more art.”
“Might be fun. Sounds like something Julie would enjoy. But back to my sitting. I got it correct that time, right?”
A warm smile spread across Aud’s face and into his heart. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“Good. So back to my sitting. I guess I can do that this Friday.”
“Excellent. Would you like to meet me at my place or the restaurant?”