Painting Sky (6 page)

“Were you deciding between the cookies, the canned peas, or the rice? Because I can help with either one of them, just not sure which one you get in the morning.” Keith snickered. I could smell him, and the fact that such a pleasant smell could come from such an unpleasant person puzzled me.

I had the strong urge to turn and flip him the finger. I had never done that in my life, but could now understand why people did it. Instead, I turned slowly, thinking about how to have the upper hand this time.

I was right about the personal space: I leaned back and rested my hands behind me on the counter. He was standing so close to me that I had to look up to see his eyes. For a second, I saw the indecision there, as if he knew he should step back.

I had to think of a witty response fast, but then I noticed he had shaved—that was where the amazing smell was coming from. He had a small cut on his throat.

Keith wasn’t smirking now; he was genuinely waiting for me to do something. I wished I could read his thoughts so I could do the exact opposite of what he was hoping for.

I quickly took the wish back. It was my birthday, after all, and we never did know when a wish would be granted. This was one I really didn’t want to come true. Hearing his words hurt enough without having to hear his thoughts, as well.

“Next time you shave, try standing an inch or two closer to the blade,” I whispered, leaning closer to his shoulder.

I was so pleased with my joke that I pondered going upstairs and writing it down. I smiled triumphantly at my quick response and did a little happy dance inside.

“Did you have to think on that one this whole time, or were you just checking me out?”

My smile faltered and then completely disappeared. That had been a good one. Okay, I must have thought about it a little longer than I realized. Maybe I had been kind of checking him out—not in a “you’re so hot” way, but more of a “if you could just be a statue and never speak or move, I would thank the powers that be” way.

I stuck my chin out to try to appear taller. “That was a good one and you know it.” I crossed my arms again and brushed against his chest in the process. Maybe I needed a little more space to think clearly, but never in my lifetime would I be the first to move—not even if I had to miss class to win this staring contest.

He laughed this time; it wasn’t just a chuckle, but a resounding laugh. I felt like he wasn’t laughing at me, but with me, and that was major progress. “Yeah, that was somehow fitting.” He scratched his neck near his cut, and I had the urge to move his hand away so he wouldn’t scratch the already forming scab. I didn’t, though.

“You need to take care of that cut. Don’t touch it.”

His face changed: the playful look was gone and his eyebrow piercing lifted. How he could move one eyebrow without the other was beyond me, but I thought it was extremely… cute. My friends had classified that expression as sexy, but I couldn’t use that word with Keith. He shifted his feet and reached for the cookie package. He then ripped the plastic and set it on the table after taking the first cookie.

“I won,” I whispered, more to myself than to him. He looked at me and stopped chewing. “You moved first: I won.” I was beaming now, seeing how upset he was about it.

“Yeah, you did,” he mumbled to the table, while scrolling on his phone. He was probably checking texts or e-mails, but I was curious, so I leaned over the table. He immediately covered his phone.

“I’m not interested in your social life. You can relax.” I sat straighter on the stool, trying to look indifferent.

“Cody told me he wanted the house to himself tonight.” He said it so out of context that I had to think for a few seconds before I could come up with why this had anything to do with me.

I suddenly choked on the cookie I was chewing, which attracted Keith’s full attention. “I, it’s just…” I stuttered, looking everywhere but at Keith’s face.

“I don’t care,” he said, more rudely than necessary, “I was just wondering how long it’s going to take. I want to sleep in my bed.”

He was back at his phone, maybe making plans for his night, while I thought about how to answer him. I had no idea how long it would take to… finish things.

The knot in my stomach intensified. Since I had gotten to the kitchen, tonight had been the last thing on my mind. Now, however, my resolution was flying out the window.

I was going to lose my mind by stressing. I had convinced myself that, with some settled date, it would be easier. How wrong I was. I should have just jumped on Cody as soon as I realized I was—kind of—ready.

“It’s just a romantic dinner. He’ll text you, or something.” I shrugged, trying to look composed.

Keith jumped off his stool and glared at me as if I had said Cody was going to shoot him. “Really tacky, Skylar. That’s exactly what Cody will be thinking about: texting his brother,” he spit the words, shoved the phone in his back pocket, and turned to leave, only to turn back when he’d gotten to the door. I waited a few seconds, my cookie forgotten.

“Happy birthday,” Keith spat.

He turned and left.

The first person wishing me a happy day was the one I thought hated me the most. This was one promising day, no doubt.

Of course, my professor had to pick on me—she wouldn’t have been happy without the usual pick-Jane’s-drawing-and-show-the-class-how-wrong-it-is. It was starting to get on my nerves. I would have to do something quickly. Next week, we would start with the human form; she had told me, quite explicitly, that I would fail if I kept going on like this.

I looked at the complex scene in front of me and then at my drawing and saw nothing short of accurate. Everything was there: the proportions of the drawing were correct, the colors were pretty much the same, and the shading was the only thing left for me to do. The human form would be terrifying. Not only had I never seen a man naked in person, which would change tonight, but I had also never been good enough with human features. The only thing I thought I was good at were hands.

I loved to draw hands. I had done dozens of drawings of Cody’s hands, but I would never ask him to pose for me naked—not in the near future, anyway.

“You’re dismissed. Don’t forget the supplies I told you to buy.”

The supplies were going to hurt my wallet. The set required was expensive, and the money my parents had given me was running low. I could always wait for their present, though, which would be money. I had visited a couple of stores in the past week looking for those damned pencils, but they were out of stock. I had just one option: asking Cody to drive me to the next town to get them. The other students already had everything required for this class; I had just thought that buying them as needed would be less painful.

I dragged my feet over the sidewalk until it changed to gravel. I was almost shivering with anticipation—it was starting to feel ridiculous. I inhaled and opened the door. No one was home, I hoped: I wanted to get ready alone. Cody would be home in two hours and then we would be headed to town. I had found a cute Indian restaurant and was hoping the spicy food would get me a little more in the mood.

I took my time in the shower, shaving and washing every part of my body. I put on makeup and pulled my hair into a sophisticated bun. The dress was a little shorter than I had intended, but maybe that would please Cody. My only nice shoes were a pair of gray heels, which I put on. Sneakers would have ruined the outfit, even though they would have been my first choice.

My mother called when I was almost finished getting ready. “Hello sweetie. Happy birthday honey!” I heard my Dad next to her wishing me a happy day, as well.

“It’s going well. I had class and now Cody’s going to take me out to dinner.” I answered, as I opened my jewelry box.

“Oh, I’m so glad.” My Mom beamed with delight. “I sent a care package through the mail, you know, just a few things so you won’t starve there.” I knew my mother well, a ‘few things’ would end up being boxes of homemade food, as if I didn’t know how to cook.

“Did Matilda call you?” After reassuring Mom that my sister had texted me this morning, as well as Ryan, my Mom gave the phone to my Dad so he could wish me a happy day and to be careful tonight. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

Cody barged into my room as I put on a necklace and picked me up.

“I missed you. So sorry I had to leave so early in the morning. I wanted to wake you up to wish you a happy birthday, but my brother was right.”

“Keith? About what?” I stepped out of his embrace.

“He was coming down the stairs and said you would be happier if I let you sleep. He was right, but I still felt like I was forgetting about you.”

“Don’t worry. Next time, wake me up.” And don’t listen to anything your brother says, I wanted to add, but I bit my lip, instead.

“Keith was up that early?” I joked.

“Yeah, he had an early class. Must’ve left shortly after me,” Cody pulled me against him again and his lips met mine, hungrier than earlier. I couldn’t shake what he’d said from my head.

If Keith had a class at eight and woke up that early to go, why had he been at the kitchen table at nine thirty, as if he had just woken up? I knew I shouldn’t tell Cody anything. I kissed him back, at last, and he sighed against my lips.

“I was starting to think you were sleeping,” he joked. He gave my body an appraisal and murmured, “That’s all for me?”

“No, the restaurant employees were my first thought, actually.” I smiled back at him. This was easy, this carefree teasing. Kissing and holding hands—that was natural to me.

“This is for you.” He handled me a small gift and I couldn’t unwrap it quickly enough. It was a simple, but beautiful bracelet with my name on it: Jane. I lifted on my toes and kissed his lips, softly, while whispering a thank you.

“I’m going to take a shower and then we should head out, okay?” He kissed my forehead and my heart squeezed.

It was little things like this that made me love him. I put on the bracelet and went downstairs. I sat on the couch, trying to relax and enjoy a TV show, but my racing heart was in the way.

“Let’s go!” Cody stepped in front of me, doing a little dance. He had dressed up, too, in dark blue jeans and a button-down white shirt with a black jacket on. What disturbed me the most was the fact that my second thought—after how attractive he looked—was that he was wearing Keith’s favorite jacket.

I almost slapped myself. Instead, I pretended that the little episode had never happened and I put my hand on Cody’s extended arm.

The late afternoon air was cold and my bare legs instantly got goose bumps. Once I was inside the car with the hot air turned on, I relaxed a bit. I decided that I should take this night minute by minute and not wonder about my first time. When Cody put his hand on my knee, I jumped and bumped my head on the window.

“Relax, baby. We’re celebrating your birthday, not your funeral.”

I tried to smile and failed miserably; he just shook his head. This was a celebration that had nothing to do with the day I was born, but I refrained from saying so. Cody was so sweet and he had waited all this time for me. I should have been grateful.

The dish I ordered was too spicy for me. The waitress had advised me against it, but, lost in the wrong thoughts, I had dismissed her warning. I ordered a second pitcher of water when I decided I couldn’t take anymore. I already had tears in my eyes, which were going to smear my makeup. My lips felt swollen and my cheeks were red.

“Do you want to order something else, Jane?” Cody was starting to notice that I wasn’t into this at all. I had been trying to talk about anything but our plans for later.

“No. I can’t eat any more food.” I wasn’t exactly full, but the thought of throwing up and wasting more money was clouding my head.

We asked for the bill after our main course, uninterested in desert. I didn’t want to go home just yet, but I couldn’t find a way to postpone, and Cody was more than eager to get back.

The night had gotten even colder, so my perfect boyfriend placed his jacket over my shoulders. I was openly sniffing it when I realized the smell was of Keith. Cody didn’t notice, though, and opened the car door for me.

My cheeks couldn’t have turned redder. Now, beside the thoughts of getting home, I was mesmerized by Keith’s smell. Fate was doing a great job of getting me in the mood.

I had pulled the coat off my shoulders during the ride but had to get the jacket again when we arrived home. I would be willing to go into the cold without it, but Cody would find that odd, surely. So, I pulled the jacket tighter against me and placed my hands in its pockets to keep them warm, too. I felt a small, crumpled paper and squeezed my hand around it. My curiosity was strong. It was probably some girl’s phone number, or some message from one of them.

Cody opened the door, already frowning. Leaving the music and lights on when no one was home wasn’t that rare, but tonight it was, at the least, strange.

Of course the disastrous night wasn’t over—why we had bothered talking to Keith was beyond my comprehension. We could have asked him to be home tonight and I’m sure he would have found something amusing to do on the street.