Canvas Of Desire

"I can understand her reaction now," she said as she glanced back at Gabriel, trying to sound as calm as possible.

Gabriel nodded. "I could not get that picture out of my head for two weeks, so I decided to draw it to ventilate it."

Julia exhaled slowly. "I would like to look at the oil originals, but I will most likely take the first one and the third. Five thousand each?"

Gabriel's eyes widened. He knew that the quality of those four paintings was not on par with his latest one, yet Julia was willing to pay the same price.

"Yes, of course," he said.

Julia knew what was going thru his head. "There is a reason for that price. Consider it an advance."

"Advance?"

"I would like to commission you to do a painting for me," she said.

Gabriel looked confused. "I had never done any commission," he said. "And it was you that complained about the painting without emotions. How can I be emotionally invested in a commission."

Julia smiled. "It's my plan to find out if we can do anything about that. What do you say?"

"I need to prepare my place for that, and..."

"No," said Julia, interrupting his line. "All painting will be done in my atelier, and artwork won't leave it. Those are my conditions."

Gabriel moved on the chair a bit. "I don't know, I have to prepare colors, canvas."

Julia leaned toward him. "Gabriel, if you want to become a professional artist, you need to be flexible."

She pulled her business card from a box. "If you accept, send me a list of things you need, and they will be ready in the atelier. I will then send you instructions with an address and date back to your number."

"What about those paintings you want?"

"You can bring them with you to that address."

Julia packed the papers back into the folder and handed them to Gabriel. He sat there staring at Julia as the reality sunk in. Gabriel won't sell the paintings unless he accepts the commission and brings them to her.

Julia stood up and walked around the table. Gabriel straightened up as well.

"We will know if it works in no time," she said. "If not, you will be compensated for your time. Should I be satisfied with the result, you'll get twenty thousand US dollars."

Gabriel's mouth opened in shock. Julia smiled and pressed his chin with an index finger, forcing the mouth to close. She had no intention of stepping down from the pedal.

"Think about it and let me know till midnight," she said.

Gabriel was like frozen. Julia snapped her finger in front of his eyes, and he twitched.

"This meeting is over," she informed him and gestured toward the door.

"Ah, yes, sorry," he shuttered. "Good night."

Then he turned and left.

***

It was almost midnight when Gabriel got back home. He went to the basement, where he stored his paintings and pulled four paintings that Miss Kane picked.

The oldest one he painted seven years ago, and the newest was one year old. The difference in craftsmanship was noticeable between the first and the last. But emotions were in both of them.

Gabriel saw that Miss Kane was onto something. He knew that working with her might help him improve, and it also meant that he would have more opportunities to be close to her. Gabriel realized that he no longer cared about the fate of Hannah's painting. He just wanted to see Miss Kane again.

He sent the message. A few minutes later, he got the response.

***

Gabriel arrived at the address Miss Kane gave him. He stopped next to the three-floor house overlooking the San Francisco Bay with The Presidio Park just around the corner. For a moment, he was not sure if he got the correct address, but then massive garage doors opened, and there stood Miss Kane, right next to the parked Porsche. She was wearing a white button-down shirt and blue sweat pants with gray slippers.

Miss Kane gestured to the empty place next to the car, and Gabriel carefully parked his step-fathers Toyota there. Garage doors closed behind, and a big red hair man appeared next to Miss Kane.

"Hello," said Gabriel as he left the car.

"Good afternoon, Gabriel," replied Miss Kane. The big man just nodded.

Gabriel walked around the car and opened the back door showing the carefully wrapped paintings on the back seat.

Miss Kane looked into the car and sniffed. "Cats? Dogs?"

"My step-father is a vet," explained Gabriel.

"Ah," said Miss Kane and stepped back.

She then looked at the ginger man. "Take those to the atelier, Mike."

Mike just nodded.

Not the talkative type. Gabriel thought.

"I can help," said Gabriel.

"Sure," agreed Miss Kane. "Just follow Mike."

Gabriel grabbed one painting and waited for Mike to pick another. He then followed him into a big entrance hall faced with dark wood that gave it a cozy feeling. There was a staircase, but Mike stopped and looked at Gabriel.

"Shoes," he said and gestured toward a place next to entry doors where stood shoe rack.

Gabriel carefully propped the painting against the wall and took off his shoes.

"Pick any slippers that fit," suggested Miss Kane.

Gabriel looked at the offering, and only slippers big enough were pink. He chuckled and put them on.

"Fancy," commented Miss Kane with a smirk.

Gabriel left it without a comment, quickly picked the painting, and followed Mike up the staircase.

***

While Mike and Gabriel went for the remaining two paintings, Julia placed the first and second one on easels that she prepared close to the wall where she hanged her favorite pieces.

Her atelier took the majority of the top floor. It was almost 700 square feet of space. Around the walls hung works of art that were part of Julia's personal collection, and in front of them on pedestals stood sculptures she made herself. There was a big window taking the majority of a northern wall. Behind it was the terrace overseeing The Presidio and Golden Gate Bridge.

All paintings had point lightning aimed at them, so Julia just placed easels in front of them to get the familiar lightning when evaluating them.

As the men returned with the remaining canvases, Julia stood in front of them, studying the details. Mike stood aside in the door, waiting for new orders. She saw Gabriel going around all the pieces of her collection, evaluating it in a very similar fashion she did to his pictures now.

"Holy s...!" Gabriel shouted. "That's Pollock! It's not original, is it?"

Julia glanced at him.

He's cute.

"Everything here is original," she said, returning her focus to Gabriel's paintings.

She turned to Gabriel and saw him studying one of her sculptures.

"I've changed my mind," she said. "I will take number four and not number three. And the first one, of course. Is it okay?"

Gabriel rose his head. "Yes, of course."

"Good," Julia said, looking at Mike. "Mike, please, help Mr. Jang and take the remaining ones back to his car. Then you can go. We need to discuss other things alone."

Mike nodded and carefully wrapped one of the canvases before picking it up. Gabriel joined him with the other.

"Miss Kane," Mike said his goodbye on the way out of the door. Julia bobbed her head and returned her attention to the paintings.

A few minutes later, Gabriel returned and stopped at the door.

Julia looked at him and smiled. "Don't stay there," she said, and Gabriel moved into the room slowly as if he was not sure what to do.

Julia gestured at him to follow her and went into a corner of the room, where there was furniture covered by a white cloth. She pulled off the fabric, uncovering an oversized club chair with black leather upholstery and two rolling tool cabinets.

"I prefer to have an option to work anywhere in this room," she said. "So all my tools are in those two cabinets. I believe you will find everything you need for an oil painting in the right one, but of course, if you need anything else, just bring it or buy it -- I'll cover the expenses."

"Excuse me, Miss Kane," said Gabriel. "I still don't know what do you want to draw."

Julia sat down in the club chair. "Well, me, of course. I thought that I can sit in the chair, but I want to give you the liberty to bring your own ideas."

Gabriel looked around and found a barstool next to a wall. He took it and placed it ten feet from Julia and took his backpack down, pulling his sketch board from it. He sat on the stool, took the crayon, and stared at Julia.

She stared back with curiosity. It was a long time ago -- in another life -- when she sat as a model. Julia was not sure she'll be able to do it again, but she used to sat unmoving in this chair a lot. The chair was her favorite place when she had to think hard or meditate over some issue. She would just move the chair in front of some painting and then plunged herself into it.

"Should I pose myself?" She asked.

Gabriel shook his head. "Not sure. You want emotions, right? If you pose yourself, it will be just another lecture in the school with an emotionless model."

He rubbed his cheek then started to sketch. "I will just measure the space for now," he said. "Then hopefully, something will come."

Julia nodded. She, too, was not sure how this should work. The logic was telling her that this is a dead-end, but she felt like she was supposed to sit here with this young boy.

Who am I kidding? He is half my age. We have nothing in common.

"That sculpture there," said Gabriel, pointing to the work he has been studying earlier. "It's fantastic; who did it?"

***

Gabriel was sketching the chair and the wall behind it with paintings. He drew the contour of Miss Kane in it but felt nothing. And that puzzled him.

She was beautiful; he loved her smirk, sparkle in her verdant eyes, her neckline and collarbones. She had thin hands with long fingers and no jewelry apart from the watch. In fact, she didn't even have an earring, he noticed.

Yet, he didn't have any idea what he should do. How to convey his thoughts and feelings into the painting. What Gabriel knew, however, was that he didn't want to be anywhere else.

"That sculpture there," he said. "It's fantastic; who did it?"

Gabriel didn't know much about the art of sculpture. He had some classes in college, so he was able to recognize the craftsmanship and complexity but didn't study history or works of masters.

"I did," said Miss Kane. "When I returned from a trip to Africa a few years back."

Gabriel was astonished. He knew that even the example works of his teacher in college were not close to this sculpture.

Miss Kane really was something.

What am I doing here? She's out of my league.

"It should be in a gallery, not hidden here."

"Thank you."

"You won't do it, right?"

"No, I won't," said Miss Kane with a smile.

"Why? You have a gallery."

"It's the same as with the picture of your girlfriend."

Gabriel was confused. How a sculpture of a mother and four childer was the same as a private erotic moment exposed?

Miss Kane shifted in the chair. "It was a knowledge of what is really in the picture that drove your girlfriend to tell you to pull it. It's the same for me and that sculpture."

"Ah, sorry," said Gabriel. "I understand."

"No, you don't," said Miss Kane and shook her head.

She gestured toward the sculpture. "It's a mother that is leaving her fourth child in the orphanage because she doesn't have enough milk to provide for it. It's a sad reality in Africa."

Miss Kane paused for a moment, closing her eyes and exhaling. "I'm the one paying for that orphanage. I'm the one that is helping to separate children from her mothers."

Gabriel shook his head. "No," he protested. "You are providing the care that those mothers cannot."

"I'm providing an easy solution!"

Miss Kane raised her voice but then quickly regained composure. "What needs to be done," she said in a calm voice. "Is to make sure that mother never has to think about leaving her child. And that requires an effort that is just beyond what I can do."

Miss Kane shook her head. "No," she corrected herself. "It requires an effort that I'm not willing to put in. And that is the reason why I'm ashamed to exhibit this sculpture."

Miss Kane suddenly stood up.

"Let's finish for today," she said, and Gabriel stopped sketching.

She didn't say a word and walked out of the atelier. Gabriel was sitting there looking at her back.

I fucked up.

Gabriel quickly followed her down to the entrance hall, thinking that he just lost an opportunity to make some money and be with her.

"A paperwork for those two paintings should be ready on Wednesday," she said while walking down the staircase. "Stop by in gallery then."

"Okay."

Down in the entrance hall, Gabriel took off the slippers and laced up his Converse boots.

Behind him, Miss Kane sighed. "It's hard for you to draw an old woman like me, right?"

"Nonsense!" Exclaimed Gabriel and straightened up and turned. His movement was so fast that he almost collided with Miss Kane standing behind him.

Gabriel felt like something was slipping away. If he didn't do anything, he would have had ten grand and won't embarrass himself with some second-rate portrait. But he will most likely never see her again. His heart started to race as he realized that he has the last chance to confess his feelings... and probably embarrass himself.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met," he said as calmly as he could, failing spectacularly as his voice screeched last words. "And I'm really sorry that you ended up with such a lousy painter to draw your portrait."

Miss Kane was staring into his eyes without a blink. Then suddenly, she moved her head forward, and their lips met.

Gabriel's pulse went thru the roof, and his body froze. Then he slowly returned the pressure on her lips.

He didn't know how long they stood like that and was afraid to interrupt the connection by moving. He contemplated whether he should do one more step or if this is as far as they can get.

Gabriel started to slowly spread out his lips, carefully assessing the reaction of Miss Kane's lips. There was no resistance to spreading, neither was she pulling apart. After a moment, he felt a faint touch on his inner upper lip and stretched his tongue to investigate.

Their tongues met and started to probe themselves. Soon after, Miss Kane made a small step forward. He did one step as well. They were staying inches from each other. Gabriel slowly put one hand on her back and almost immediately felt her hands on his back.

***

As they embraced each other, Julia pressed him on her with strength. She could now feel his beating heart that felt like that he had a heart attack. She knew he meant it. She didn't care about appearances now; she just wanted to kiss him and cuddle him.

Julia closed her eyes and tilted her head, enabling her tongue to get deeper into Gabriel's mouth. Their tongues were now caressing each other, and her head was spinning from the waves of endorphins.

A slight cramp in her neck told Julia their moment is ending. She slowly withdrew her tongue from Gabriel's mouth and unstuck their lips. Their hands stopped the pressure and dropped down. Both of them were breathing heavily, staring into each other's eyes.

"We can make the next session on Thursday at 8pm," she said. "Will you have time?"

Gabriel nodded. "Yes. Will be here, Miss Kane."

Julia stepped aside, clearing the way to the garage. Gabriel walked past her and stepped into his car. As she opened the garage doors, he pulled down the window.

"Good night, Miss Kane."

She smiled. "Good night, Gabriel."

After he drove away, Julia left the garage and went right into a bathroom. As her bathtub was filling with water, she undressed into underwear. When she took it off, she watched herself in the mirror. Even after 5 minutes, her nipples were still erect. Plus, her panties were damp.

She shook her head in disbelieve.

Is this just a consequence of two years without sex? Or am I going crazy?

***

Gabriel arrived home and went directly to the shower. He was thinking about turning on just the cold water. Instead, he placed himself under the stream, leaned against the wall, and started masturbating while recollecting his kiss with Miss Kane.

When Gabriel entered his room fifteen minutes later, he didn't feel sleepy at all. He sat down on his chair, put a stack of papers on the drawing board, and started sketching. This time he was drawing scenes from imagination.

***

It was Wednesday afternoon when anxious Gabriel arrived in the gallery office. Unfortunately, Cathrine -- Miss Kane's assistant -- was only one present. Miss Kane was in Washington. Gabriel's contracts were ready, and he signed them.

Since Cathrine was not optimistic that Miss Kane returns anytime soon, Gabriel left the thick envelope for Miss Kane to take a look at.

***

Julia arrived in the office just after midnight. She spent ten hours on the plane and another six with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All she wanted was to fall down into the bed but had to download some documents from her office computer first.

On the desk lay the envelope with Cathrine's stick-it note that Gabriel left it here.

She opened it and pulled out a stack of sketches of her in the club chair.

Gabriel had to cover every position, dress, and facial expression there was, Julia thought when she browsed thru the pictures. Most of the sketches were just outlines, but some had a high level of detail, and she also felt quite an erotic energy from those.

As Julia examined those detailed images, she couldn't help herself and feel flattered. She remembered the kiss and once again experienced the warmth spreading in her body.

After returning home, she forgot about any sleep. Instead, she spent two hours going thru a set of selected sketches till she settled on one of them.

Satisfied and with an idea for the next drawing session, she went to bed.

***

Gabriel arrived at Miss Kane's place using Lyft. He pulled his newly primed canvas from the back seat and noticed two ladies leaving Miss Kane's house carrying a massive case. They loaded it into a minibus and departed before he got to the doors.

Gabriel took a deep breath. He spent the whole day ruminating about his decision to give Miss Kane the sketches without any comment. The closer the evening was, his fear that he messed up was getting worse. He considered running away when the doors opened. There stood Miss Kane with a smile.

"Right on time," she said and gestured at him to enter.

"Hello," Gabriel said, unable to come up with anything more complex.

Miss Kane pointed to the staircase. "Go to the atelier. I'll join you soon. I have to take care of something first."

Gabriel nodded and watched Miss Kane's perfectly sculpted butt going up the staircase. She was dressed the same as four days ago -- in sweatpants and a button-down shirt, but this time she exchanged her simple ponytail haircut for crown braid, which underscored her long neck. Plus, she had three huggie earrings in her left earlobe that were not there previously. Gabriel had a feeling that something is up.

He walked to the atelier, where he unwrapped his canvas and placed it on a drawing stand. He checked moving tool cabinets. Everything was there—top-of-the-shelf oil colors, solvents, mediums, complete set of brushes. Gabriel moved the cabinet next to the stand and pulled his own brushes and pallet from the backpack.

Then Miss Kane came.

She was wearing a crimson satin bathrobe ending just above her knees. She had the same color stilettos, and a black lace bra could be seen due to the top part of the robe being quite loose. Gabriel gulped and immediately started to feel the tension in his crotch.

Miss Kane stopped at the HVAC control panel next to the door and changed the setting. Then she walked to the chair, sliding into it.