Chapter 3
WILL
The sky I was painting was inspired by her.
I used light blues and grays, and white for soft clouds, and where the sun was going down, I added hints of the lightest orange and purple. The whole painting was finally coming together the way I had imagined it, but it was more beautiful than I had hoped.
And it was all because of Ivy.
I never expected her to come back tonight, but deep down, I hoped she would. Getting involved with students was never something I intended on doing, but Ivy intrigued me. She challenged me. Made me calm down by simply being around.
I noticed it the first time a few weeks ago in class, when she presented her artwork.
It was an oil painting of a forest. It was fucking beautiful.
And the way she spoke about it, the way she explained why every brushstroke was done the way it was, only made me appreciate her even more.
She wasn’t just creative. No, Ivy was a whole damn force.
One you wanted to be around, to see where her exceptional mind would take her next.
She often expressed how my class was her favorite, and in the beginning, I knew it was because she appreciated me as an artist. She looked up to me, and she often took inspiration from my art. But, lately, she watched me with different eyes.
It didn’t bother me when it definitely should’ve.
I was still her professor, after all. And getting involved with a student would get me fired.
Frankly, I thought about quitting a while ago, simply because I was close to reaching my next life goal which was to open my own studio and art gallery.
I had too many students who would be upset about that choice.
Especially Ivy. But they’d always be welcome.
For now, I was staying.
Ivy had dropped her brush almost an hour ago. She was sitting on the stool, leaning forward with her arms folded on the table. Her head rested on top of them, turned slightly to the side, brown curls falling over her face. She was still, her eyes were closed, and her breathing steady.
I didn’t want to wake her, but it was almost five in the morning, and I wanted her to sleep comfortably.
Setting my palette and brush down, I took the two steps to her and placed a hand on her back, gently caressing her. “Ivy. Come on, let’s get you home.”
Her shoulder twitched slightly under my hand, but she didn’t move right away. For a second, I thought she might already be too far gone in sleep to hear me.
“Ivy,” I said again, softer this time.
She stirred, shifting her head so her cheek pressed more firmly against her arm, and then her hazel eyes blinked open slowly. Groggy, unfocused at first. When she saw me, her expression relaxed. She didn’t lift her head, just looked up at me from where she lay.
“What time is it?” she murmured, her voice low and raspy.
“Almost five,” I said, my hand still resting lightly on her back. “You should sleep somewhere with a mattress.”
She exhaled a long, slow breath and closed her eyes again for a moment. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“I know.” I smiled, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze to encourage her. “But you were tired, so it’s okay.”
Her brows furrowed as she sat up, rubbing her face with both hands before brushing the hair from her eyes. The cowboy hat she’d been wearing earlier was on the floor by her feet, the words “BIRTHDAY GIRL” still blinking faintly.
“I wanted to stay up with you,” she stated, her gaze moving to my almost-finished painting. “It’s finished?”
“Not yet. It needs a few more strokes,” I told her, smiling at her again. “Come on, now. I’ll walk you home.”
“You don’t have to.”
“But I want to.” I didn’t give her the chance to fight me on this. I already hated the thought of her walking to the studio all by herself in the dark earlier, and I wasn’t going to let her walk across campus and to the apartment buildings on her own again.
She looked at me for a second, like she was weighing whether or not to argue. But she didn’t. Just nodded quietly and pushed herself off the stool.
“Alright,” she said, her voice still sleepy.
I picked her hat off the ground and handed it to her. She took it with a small smile, then turned to our paintings. “I’ll have to finish it another time. I liked painting with you next to me,” she told me, her eyes meeting mine again.
Her words shouldn’t have sent shivers down my spine or make my heart beat faster. But they did. The smallest smile touched my lips. “I enjoyed it too.”
We were both silent for a while, just looking at each other the way I had caught ourselves looking at each other a few times before. Something was growing between us, and while I knew it was wrong, I had no intention of stopping it.
The lights in the studio were dim, and the air smelled of paint and paint thinner. And her. So damn sweet, so damn calming. I switched off the lights over the workspace, leaving just the hallway glow to guide us out.
We walked in silence down the corridor, our footsteps echoing faintly.
Ivy pulled her jacket tighter around herself as we stepped outside.
If I had mine with me, I would’ve given it to her.
Or maybe I would’ve changed my mind, not giving into the idea of getting to touch her even for the slightest moment.
The sky was starting to shift now. Dark blue bleeding into something lighter near the horizon. It looked like her painting, though it was water, not a sky. Still, it was yet another thing that reminded me of her. It was quiet out, just before the sun would rise.
“You really don’t have to walk me all the way there,” she said as we passed the campus library.
“I know,” I said, pushing my hands into my pants pockets.
Silence came between us, but only for a second. “But I’m glad you are,” she added.
I glanced at her. She wasn’t looking at me. Just walking, slowly, with her arms crossed over her chest like she was holding in something. Like she wanted to say more but couldn’t. I didn’t push.
We reached the street corner near the apartment buildings, where the sidewalk split. My instinct was to stop there, not wanting to intrude her privacy by finding out exactly where she lived. But she kept walking, and I didn’t hesitate, following her up the path.
When we reached her door, she paused in front of it. her keys were already in her hand, but she didn’t unlock it right away.
“Thanks for walking me,” she said, turning toward me.
“Of course.”
“And…for letting me crash in the studio.”
“You can crash there anytime,” I said, and I meant it.
She smiled faintly, then looked down, then up again. Her eyes a little clearer now. “You know,” she said softly, “when I walked over tonight, I didn’t expect anything. I just…didn’t want to be anywhere else.”
My chest tightened a little. There wasn’t anything romantic in her tone, but there was something real. In her gaze, though, there was more than friendly appreciation. Something romantic. Something…needy. Something that tugged at every line I was supposed to be holding.
I nodded, because I wasn’t sure what else to do.
She stood still too, but after a moment of silence, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around my neck. I held my breath as she pressed her body against mine, with one of her hands gently resting at the back of my head.
My first instinct was to push her away. To tell her we couldn’t do this here, not with others possibly seeing us. But there was nobody around, and I gave in to the temptation. Lifting my arms, I wrapped them around her waist, holding her close as we both took a deep breath.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” she whispered, her voice soft and sweet.
I smiled at her words and rubbed the small of her back with one hand. “You know we shouldn’t be doing this though, right?” I asked, my voice just as quiet.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Neither of us let go, and we kept standing there, arm in arm, with the sun slowly coming up behind us. Fuck …how was I supposed to move on after this?
“Don’t be sorry,” I told her, moving my hands to her hips to gently move her away from me. Our eyes met, and I studied hers for a while.
God, she’s beautiful.
“Just know that we can’t do that in public.” Or ever . “People will start to talk, and we don’t want to get in trouble.”
“No, we don’t,” she agreed, her smile telling me just how truthful she was. Still, there was a glimpse of mischief flashing through her eyes. “I should go upstairs.”
“Yeah, you should,” I encouraged her. “I’ll see you tonight.”
She furrowed her brows for a split second, then she remembered that she invited me to join her team at trivia night. “Right! Oh, it will be fun! See you tonight.”
I chuckled and gave her a nod. Before she went inside though, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. It was in that moment that I wanted to grab her and push her against the wall. To kiss her hard and show her just how much I wanted her too.
But I stayed composed, my jaw clenched to not cuss in front of her.
She gave me another knowing smile before disappearing, and I urged myself to walk away before I ran after her like a mad man.