Taking extra care not to wake him up, I began scooting over to the side of the bed to make my escape. I felt a sense of success as my feet touched the floor next to the bed. Slowly, I slid my body down the side of the bed and just when I was about to land safely in a standing position, a sharp tug pulled at my arm.
"Where do you think you’re going?" Hayden spoke up suddenly.
"Umm..." I made a thoughtful sound as I began feeling very nervous.
"Leaving without a word?" he asked casually although his words were accusatory.
"I...just wanted to head back to my room..." I replied in a small voice.
"Don’t sound so nervous. I caught you sneaking off, I didn’t catch you stealing anything from me. Come back to bed," Hayden said lazily.
I didn’t have to reply or state my preference in the matter because his arms were around my body, and I felt my body being lifted back onto the bed. So much for my elaborate plan to make a silent escape without waking him.
"Are you still sleepy? You can sleep in..." I asked curiously.
"Sit there," Hayden said as he pointed with a finger to a spot on the bed.
"Ok..." I mumbled before scooting over to the spot that he had indicated.
Suddenly, Hayden lay down with his head on my lap. He had a comfortable look on his face as he snuggled his head into my lap.
"Look at me," Hayden said softly as his hand reached up and began playing with my hair.
I looked down at him and he rewarded me with a very charming smile. My heart definitely skipped a beat just now. That smile is truly not fair.
"So? Did you enjoy my training from last night?" Hayden asked before laughing softly.
I blushed, knowing immediately what he was referring to.
"Well, maybe it’s because you are to blame for this whole situation that I’m in right now? I gave that drawing to you and you were the one who put it on the front cover of that magazine..." I replied.
"Yeah, along with other websites and stuff..." Hayden added shamelessly.
"Right. So, sit in that chair over there and stay still...please," I said as I pointed to a chair that I had prepared.
We were in the art studio and since it was a Saturday, Hayden didn’t need to go out to work. Perhaps it was the effect of Hayden’s lesson last night because I had a lot of courage this morning. Enough courage to demand that he pose for me as a model so that I could practice sketching and painting a man’s portrait. A very good-looking man in this case was a bonus.
"Is this going to take all day? You want me to sit here all day..." Hayden complained grimly.
Despite his complaint, he sat down on the chair as I had instructed. I had chosen the position of the chair so that the natural light coming in would hit his face at an angle that would produce some interesting shadows. When he sat down and looked straight my way, I found out that I had made the perfect decision in placing the chair there.
The light casted a shadow over around a quarter of his face and that worked to show off the beautiful sculpture of his face, straight nose, and firm lips. His eyelashes were long enough to cast a shadow as well and I would be sure to capture that in my work.
Hayden is truly a beauty.
"Has someone told you before that you look beautiful?" I asked as my hands busily prepared the canvas and other materials.
"Yes...when I was a kid, I got that a lot..." Hayden murmured.
It didn’t seem like it was something that he was proud of.
"As a kid? I think you still look very beautiful now," I said as I focused on his face from various angles, thinking of the best way to capture his beauty on paper.
"Is that supposed to be a compliment for a man?" Hayden asked teasingly.
I knew that it didn’t bother him because he still smiled at me. My eyes continued to watch his face while my mind debated with myself on how I wanted to approach these portraits as a whole. Usually, people have two preferences for portraits.
--To be continued...