Chapter Nine Carden #2
Carden opened his mouth and then closed it. He was sure he misheard. Because Adam could not have said what he thought Adam had said. That was a life-changing sum of money. No way was his painting worth that much. “Come again?”
“He offers you 10,000 for the painting. I told him you want to give it to him for free, so don’t even start, but he insists on paying for it.
So, I said, "Fine," but Carden didn’t give me a price, and he said, "Well, I think 10,000 is fair, don’t you?" And to be honest, I have no idea. What is art even worth, right? I guess it’s worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it, and ‘Boy and Moon’ is worth 10,000 now, because that is the sum Sebastian Winter is willing to pay for it,” Adam finished and then finally took a sip of his tea.
“Adam, that’s living expenses for six months,” Carden said.
“So, I can tell him it’s a deal?”
Carden wanted to tell him no, because Sebastian was his friend and that was a lot of money, but he bit his lip instead.
Thought about it. He didn’t think Sebastian was offering that much because he felt sorry for Carden and his less-than-ideal financial situation.
If that were the case, he would have offered even more money.
Adam was right; art was worth what someone was willing to pay for it; it had always been that way.
“Don’t even start with this he is my friend shit, Carden,” Adam said as the silence stretched between them.
“I. It’s a lot of money,” Carden said, but he wanted to accept it. If he was honest with himself, he needed to accept it.
“It’s a lot of money to you, because you’re a starving art student,” Adam corrected.
“It’s not a lot of money for Bastian. Do you have any idea how much he and Chris are making?
And once they start filming season three of ‘Kawpow!’ it will be even more.
Also, merchandise deals. Dear God, his lawyer is a fucking shark.
My boyfriends will be swimming in money soon enough.
And they aren’t by any means poor now. I’m not saying it’s pocket change, because 10,000 is 10,000, but he won’t go without because he wants to buy ‘Boy and Moon’.
To be honest, he will hardly feel it. Besides, he almost never buys anything for himself… ” Adam trailed off and looked at him.
Carden heard what Adam didn’t say. That this painting meant something to Sebastian, that it had moved him so much, that he wanted to have it. “Okay. I understand. Tell Sebastian the painting is his, yeah?”
“You can tell him yourself. He and Christ want to meet the rest of the band. I think Chris is a fan. He downloaded the album this morning and had been listening to it nonstop,” he said, sounding fond.
“How do you know that?”
Adam took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to him. “The first few messages are all from Christ.”
And as he scrolled, he could see that all these messages were mostly lyrics. Some Carden recognized, others he didn’t, but he was sure they were all from Citizen Clash songs.
“Oh,” Carden said and grinned. “He really likes the songs.” It made him happy. Happy for Marius, who wrote the majority of the songs on the album.
“I’m sure the band will be delighted to meet your boyfriends,” Carden said as he handed the phone back.
“Look at us, shaking hands—”
“And dicks,” Carden cut in. He couldn’t help himself; he was feeling giddy.
Adam laughed. “And dicks, with the rich and famous.”
“Yeah, it’s…not how I expected my life would turn out, but I’m not complaining,” Carden replied.
“It’s good, right?” Adam asked.
“Yes, it’s good. Very, very good.”
“Okay then, if you can arrange it, it would be nice if Christ could meet the band before they go on tour, yeah?”
Carden nodded. The tour to promote the album would start in two weeks.
The tour was only going to be five months long, maybe six if it went well and the label decided to add dates to it.
Carden was pretty sure that it would go well and he wouldn’t be able to see his boyfriend for half a year, but such was the price of fame and fortune.
Besides, they had made plans to meet up as much as was possible.
It was going to be hard, Carden had no illusions about it, but a few dates were doable.
Now with the money from the painting, he might even add a few more concerts to his schedule.
“I’ll try, Adam.”
“Good,” Adam said.
“So, when will you claim your boyfriends for the whole world to see?” Carden asked.
Adam shrugged. “I don’t need to claim them that way.” He grinned. “I claimed them both many, many, many times in private.”
Carden’s mind flashed to that cock cage Adam had wanted an opinion on, and then he shook it off.
No, he was not going to think about what the hell Adam was making Sebastian Winter do in their bedroom.
He and Adam were best friends, yes, but Carden didn’t need any details about Adam’s sex life. Thank you very much.
“Stop, it’s too early for that, and I didn’t have any breakfast yet either.”
“Put on some clothes then,” Adam said.
“Why?”
“Because I am going to take you out for breakfast. To celebrate, of course,” Adam answered.
“Oh. Thank you, Adam. That’s nice of you. I would have offered you something, but I wasn’t grocery shopping because—”
“You’ve been over at Marius’ place, fucking like rabbits, and he fed you?”
Carden nodded, a smile settling firmly on his lips. “Yeah.”
“Go on then, shower, put on clothes, maybe sunglasses as well.”
“Oh, shut up, Adam,” Carden said, laughing. He put his mug in the sink, grabbed some clean clothes, and went to his tiny bathroom to shower and change.
When he came out all dressed and freshly scrubbed, Adam was on his phone. He looked up and smiled. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” Carden answered.
“Good. I just texted Bastian that you accepted his offer of 10,000. He said he will call you to arrange pick-up and delivery.”
“Oh, okay,” Carden said, grabbing his keys, wallet, and jacket.
As they left his studio, he felt giddy. He had just sold his first painting, not a print on a website, but a painting, and he was in love.
And later he would meet up with Marius. His life was finally back on track, and it couldn’t be any better.
It was a bit like a fairy tale, but with porn.
◆◆◆
After he came home from his breakfast date with Adam, he felt energized.
It might have been the breakfast or the fresh air or the simple fact that he was in fucking love with someone who valued him.
Who adored him and loved him back. He didn’t know, and he didn’t care.
His fingers itched for his brushes and paints.
He was cutting it close, and he knew it, but sometimes you needed to wait for the right moment to create something beautiful and worthwhile.
It seemed this moment had finally arrived.
He got out his phone and pulled up the picture Marius had snapped of him days ago.
His shoulders looked like they were dipped in gold, and Carden liked that effect.
He was finally ready to paint his self-portrait.
He texted Marius that he was going to work all day, so they had to postpone their date tonight, and Marius sent back a smiley and a thumbs-up emoji wishing him good luck with his project.
God, Carden loved that man so fucking much.
He got out his canvas and materials and got to work. Soon he lost himself in it, humming a Citizen Clash song under his breath.
◆◆◆
“What?” Marius asked as he stared at the painting.
Carden had invited him over after three long days in which they hadn’t seen each other.
He had been in a creative haze. While one painting was drying, he had started on the next one and then another one.
In the end he created three large-scale paintings in those days.
One of them was the self-portrait. The other two were something else entirely.
“That’s me being fucked by you,” Carden said. He thought it was pretty self-explanatory. Well, maybe not that it was meant to be them, as Carden had not captured their faces in this one, but the rest? Totally self-explanatory.
Marius blinked. “It’s hot. It really fucking is, and it’s hotter knowing that it’s you and me—fuck, it is you and me. There is that little birthmark that you can only see from a certain angle.” He reached out and brushed his fingertip against the birthmark.
“Yes,” Carden said, feeling very accomplished. It was one of his best works to date, if he should say so himself.
“You’re not going to show this to anyone, right? I mean, you called it your self-portrait, but it’s not going to be part of the exhibition, right?”
“Well.”
Marius grabbed him around his waist and pulled him close.
He pressed his hand against Carden’s mouth, which—why did that give him such a rush and makehis dick perk up?
Probably because he hadn’t been touched by this man in days, and he craved it like he craved oxygen.
He needed to speed this up so they could get naked.
“You better think hard about what you’re going to say next.”
“I feel like this is the true me. The best me. The happiest me,” Carden said when Marius pulled his hand away, cupping his face, and Marius groaned.
“Fuck you…you fucking miracle of a person.”
Carden blinked. “Thank you?”
“Back to the painting,” Marius said.
Carden grinned. “No, I won’t hand it in. This is not the one I want everyone to see and judge by my professor. This one is too private. It’s only for us to see.”
“Good.”
“I painted another one, one that…that picture you took of me, I made a painting out of that, because I think I looked beautiful through your eyes.”
Marius kissed him. It was a slow kiss, tender and loving. It made Carden feel cherished. He stepped away once the need to breathe became more pressing than having this man’s lips pressed against his own.
“Okay, this one, this one is the one I will hand in to be judged,” Carden said and turned the canvas around.
“It’s…” Marius stepped close to the painting. “It’s gorgeous.”
“That’s how you see me,” Carden said, sounding a bit shy even to his own ears.
“That’s because that’s how you look. I want it. Once you get it back from your professor or whatever, I want it.”
Carden blinked. “You want to hang it in your apartment?”
“Yes,” Marius said. “This one too, but I won’t hang this one in the living room,” he added, gesturing to the one of the two of them fucking.
“I.”
“I’ll pay you what Sebastian Winter paid you for ‘Boy and Moon,’” Marius said.
Carden shook his head. “You don’t have to pay me anything for it. And I would feel weird about it because it’s me, so…you paying for me is weird.”
“Fine,” Marius said. “You know I don’t want to own you, right?”
“I know,” Carden said, stepping into Marius’ arms. He really liked how warm Marius was, how his soft belly felt against Carden’s bony hips, and how Marius smelled. He wanted to eat this man up.
“Good,” Marius said, and then kissed him.
◆◆◆
“Well, you finally did it,” Pearl said as she looked at the portrait. “And you sold your first painting too.” He had invited her over to look at it before he would hand it in tomorrow. Adam promised to lend him his car for the task.
“Did Adam brag about that?” Carden asked.
Pearl nodded. “Yes, of course he did. I bet once word gets out that Sebastian Winter is a fan of your work, you’ll sell a lot more paintings. I am happy for you. You deserve the success, but be aware that some people might be nasty about it.”
Carden nodded. He had already felt eyes on him when he wandered the halls of the academy.
People recognized him from the photos in gossip magazines.
He hoped it would get better with time. Carden had only one semester left, and then he would be done.
His education would be completed, and his future suddenly looked very bright too.
“Once you’re rich and famous, you better remember your friends, Carden Temple,” Pearl said. She was teasing, and he knew it.
“It’s a good thing I don’t have that many friends,” Carden said with a grin.
Pearl shook her head. Her long, dark hair was in a braid that looked soft and shiny. Carden had never really wanted to draw women; he’d done it for class, of course, but in that moment he thought maybe he should ask her to sit for him.
“What?” Pearl asked.
“Sit for me,” Carden said.
She looked at him like he lost his mind.
“I will be famous soon. You could sell your portrait for millions down the line,” Carden added.
She laughed. “Yeah, sure. Why not? I’ll sit for you.”
“You’ll be the first woman I’ll paint,” Carden said.
She smiled gently at him. “I know, and I am honored.”
“It’s a date then,” Carden said.
“Yes,” she answered and hugged him.
◆◆◆
“So,” Marius asked.
“So?”
“So, did you pass? Was everyone enchanted by your self-portrait?” Marius wanted to know.
“I passed, and yes, my professor liked it,” Carden said. It was a relief, really, but mostly he was glad he had been able to see himself through Marius’ eyes. Was glad he was done with it. While he had enjoyed the painting process, he didn’t want to paint another self-portrait ever again.
“So, when will it be delivered to my apartment?” Marius asked.
“Probably after you’re back from tour,” Carden said. “It’s going to be in a joint exhibition for the next three months.”
“Did you put a little ‘sold’ sticker on it already?” Marius asked.
Carden nodded. “Of course. No one is going to snatch it away. It’s yours. Just like the real thing.”
Marius kissed his cheek and then his lips gently. “God, I will fucking miss you when we’re on tour.”
“Well, same. But I’ll come and visit, and we’ll make out backstage and then rip our clothes off as soon as we close the door of your hotel room behind us,” Carden said. It was a promise he intended to keep. “And we’ll talk on the phone a lot,” he added.
“Once the tour is over, we should go on vacation,” Marius said.
“Yeah?” Carden asked playfully.
“Yeah,” Marius said.
“Looking forward to it. You have to be somewhere tomorrow?”
Marius shook his head. “I’m all yours.”
“Good,” Carden said and dragged him to the bed.