A genuine smile crossed his face, transforming it into boyish excitement. After choosing the equipment he needed, he went to sit down. To my surprise, he sat opposite me but to the side in order to avoid obscuring my view.
I turned my head, eyeing the back of the log cabin with its beautiful porch. "You got something in mind you wanna draw?" I didn't want to pry too much. Art was personal for some people, so I didn't want him to feel obligated to share it with me.
"Mmm hmm. Lots of beautiful inspiration to draw from."
I watched his furrowed brow as he carefully selected his pencils. He glanced up and met my eyes. His lips quirked. "You're gonna give me stage fright."
"Sorry," I giggled.
I picked up my pencil and resumed shading the sky, taking care to blur the lower edges around the peaks of the mountains. It wasn't long before I was swept away in my drawing. It was always like this when I drew or painted. It was easy to get lost in my subject, my inner creative juices flowing as I hand-scribbled and worked across the paper. Every once in a while, the sketching sounds coming from across me would pull my gaze up. Simon's face was concentrated as his hand carefully moved across the pad. The silence that hung between us was comfortable and soothing.
Before I knew it, a good hour had passed. Gabe poked his head around the corner, his eyes bouncing between us as his mouth fought a grin.
"Hey, you two, dinner's almost ready."
Simon glanced up in surprise. "Shit, is it that time already?"
I stood and stretched. The bottom of my T-shirt rode up, causing a sliver of skin to show. Simon eyed my body with restrained hunger before meeting my stare with a smirk, uncaring that he had been caught.
I rolled my eyes before yanking down my top. Some things never changed with him.
"So, have you finished yours?"
I nodded as I observed him place the pencils back in the case. He held his pad close to his chest, so I couldn't see what he drew.
"Pretty much. Just have to go through and do some more shading to finish it off, which won't take long."
Simon nodded as he slipped the pad under his arm. The suspense was killing me. "So you gonna play coy, or you want to show me what you've done?"
Simon tilted his head briefly as he regarded my question; before giving me a cheeky grin. "Sure." He flipped through the pad and turned it around to face me.
I frowned at the image, unable to decipher what I was looking at. Once it registered, I let out a loud bark of laughter. "Are you freakin' kidding me?"
On the pad, as clear as black and white, was a picture of an erect penis. The balls had little black hairs, and a stream of come was shooting into the air. It had taken me a while to realize what I was looking at because even though it was basically an ejaculating penis...it was still very well drawn.
Simon threw his head back and laughed. "I'm just kidding. That was for fun. My real drawing's not done yet. Just need to add a few more touches before I show you. You mind if I keep this just for tonight until I'm done?"
I waved him off. "Of course. Take your time."
"Thanks." He stared down warmly at me.
"This was great, Sofia. Thanks for sharing with me."
Words were stuck in my throat, so I could only nod like an idiot as he strolled back to the house.
After dinner, the boys again commandeered the TV with another round of shooting games. This time they decided to let Gabe join their fun.
Ryan, Eden, and I tried to join in but were soon bored by the blatant hogging, so we took the party to the living room.
We decided on a game of Monopoly, but after having every intention of playing a serious round, we soon abandoned it in favor of wine, cheese, and gossip.
It was a few hours later, while Eden was in the middle of telling a story about a well-known model who was sleeping with a married actor, when Ryan popped up from his spot on the floor with a dramatic gasp.
"Oh, my God," he excitedly exclaimed, bouncing in his seat as he stared at his phone.
"What?" Eden grabbed her own phone, ready to take on whatever gossip he had.
"Check Simon's Insta." Was all he said, amusement dancing in his eyes.
