“No, I’m good.” She jerked her head toward the dance floor. “It’s him you need to keep an eye on.” She walked away, wobbling slightly on her heels, and raised one hand in a good-bye salute, leaving me with one thought circling my mind like a vulture.
Who the fuck was Simone?
7. Company
WE SHUTdown the club, then grabbed pizza-by-the-slice from one of the late-night vendors, and walked around until I was sober enough to drive. By that time it was nearing dawn, so we headed down to the beach to watch the sun rise. Andre had never seen the sun come up over the Atlantic.
“Man, that is fucking beautiful.” Andre spread his arms wide as if to hold on to the sun. While his gaze was on the awe-inspiring celestial body before us, my eyes were on him.
“You do sunrises, Martin?”
I assumed he meant paint them. “I used to do more. I’m into portraits now.”
“Naked people?”
I laughed. “Sometimes naked, sometimes with clothes on.”
“Isn’t that weird? People just coming over and taking their clothes off?”
“It was weird at first, but they’re professionals. And I pay them.”
His eyebrows quirked, and he glanced over at me. “Really? How much?”
I shrugged. “Thirty to fifty bucks per hour, depending on their experience.”
“You have to have experience to take your clothes off?” He looked offended.
“Some people are naturals, but yeah, there is some technique to it. Angles and positioning.”
He pursed his lips, considering it. “You think I could be a model?”
I laughed, a little embarrassed for him, that he was so open about it. People in the city weren’t usually so transparent about their ambitions, but maybe they should be. “Yeah, you could definitely be a model. You’ve got great bones.” And skin and muscles, lips, eyes, hands… the list went on and on.
“Sure would beat washing dishes.”
“I know a photographer. He could snap some pictures, get you started.”
Andre shrugged. “Maybe. You ever hook up with the models later?”
I laughed, embarrassed. He had no filter or sense of boundaries. If he wanted to know it, he asked it. “Not as, like, part of the session, but I have hooked up with some of the people I’ve painted. It doesn’t usually start with posing, though. It’s usually the other way around.”
“Huh,” he said leaving me to wonder what all was contained in that one utterance.
We drove back to my apartment with the morning breeze on our faces. Being in his company, I felt content in a way I hadn’t in a long time. I liked him. Just having him around made me feel at peace. Being able to admire him was an added bonus.
Once home I hit the shower. I had about eight hours before I had to be at work, and I was hoping to take a nap at least. While rinsing off I heard the door to the bathroom open.
“Andre?” I called out.
“Yeah.”
I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. “You need something?”
“I just thought….”
I turned off the water, thinking maybe I hadn’t heard him. “What’s that?”
“I thought you might want some company,” he said in a quiet, tender voice.
