34. Evan
FIVE MONTHS LATER
I hand my invitation to the hostess at the door of the Marquis Gallery . There were three of them, one for each of us. I sent Luke and Rachel their invitations as soon as they arrived. Rachel wanted to be here. She tried, but the timing was bad. Olivia has started school now, so their schedules are pretty much set.
I move with the crowd, past the bar and towards the back of the gallery where Hugo’s newest exhibit is being revealed. Entangle , that’s the name of the exhibit, and I already know there will be a painting of that day the three of us made love while Hugo sketched what he witnessed. I have had every myriad of emotions about seeing the painting. On one hand I’m excited and nervous. On the other, I’m angry that it is the product of losing my relationship with Luke .
Many times, I’ve tried to call him over the past few months. I even went home and spent time with my family in hopes of being able to talk to him, but Rachel said when he found out I was coming to Alta , Luke decided to fly to Seattle to visit some galleries there. He still hasn’t landed a showing which baffles me. When he does, I’ll be there.
Rachel was right though. The issue was less about the deal I struck with Hugo , and more about our frustration with being apart. I still have no answers as to how we solve that problem. Secretly , I had hoped that Luke would get his showing and leave Alta , bringing Rachel and Olivia with him. Maybe he’s right about me trying to manipulate the situation into making that happen.
Fuck ! I don’t know anymore. It’s all been turning over in my head for months.
I take one of the offered glasses of champagne and drink down half of it as I finally make it to the first room displaying the new exhibit. When I look across the room, my heart drops to the floor. The painting is massive. Every color of the rainbow slapped to the canvas with a reckless precision. The faces are a blur of colors, but I don’t need to see them to recognize Rachel’s ass, her pussy on full display, stuffed full with two cocks, mine and Luke’s . The angle is obscene, and I wonder at what point was Hugo on the floor close to Luke , sketching the three of us mid-fuck.
The bubbles in the champagne gather in the back of my throat, tickling and scratching, causing me to cough. I smack my chest as my eyes follow the trails of dripping cum. Luke’s cock is striped with the white sticky substance that is dripping from Rachel down onto my balls. Fuck me, his back is as big as a bookcase, hanging on the wall, muscles clenched as he works to shove his cock next to mine.
“ C’est magnifique !” Hugo says as he slaps my shoulder causing me to cough again.
“ My Lord , Hugo ! What have you done?” I ask in horror.
Stretching out his arm, he sweeps it across the room. “ Captured every moment and detail of your lovemaking.”
As my eyes scan the room, following his hand, I almost pass out. They are all us. Every painting in the room is the three of us in one moment, or another, of that day. While the details are broad strokes of paint, the emotions are there…everywhere! There is a tall vertical canvas with me on my back as I eat Rachel’s pussy. She’s on her knees riding my face while Luke is behind her fondling her breasts. Rachel looks exquisite. She’s in ecstasy, while Luke looks like a god in human form. His blonde curls form a halo in yellow paint.
I down the rest of my drink to which Hugo instantly replenishes. “ Have more, Evan . It will settle your nerves.”
But my nerves aren’t in need of settling, my heart is because it feels like it’s about to thunder out of my chest as my eyes dart around the room. Luke , Rachel and I are everywhere…fucking everywhere!
I finally turn my gaze to Hugo , grasp his fancy tuxedo shirt in my hands, twist, and yank him so we’re nose to nose. “ How many are there?”
“ All of them,” he answers as he grabs hold of my hand trying to loosen my grip.
“ How many ?!” I demand
“ Here or in total?”
I grit my teeth and take a deep breath. “ Total !” I spit.
“ There are thirty-two in the exhibit.”
“ Is that all?”
“ Three others. Thirty -five total.” The little prick looks a little scared.
“ Thirty -five paintings of us fucking?!” I yell.
He smirks at that, then laughs. “ You wanted the world to see you, Evan , and now they will.”
I throw the glass of champagne to the floor and pull my fist back fully intent on rearranging Hugo’s smug face, but I’m grabbed from behind. Someone pulls Hugo away, and a booshie- looking woman frantically smooths out his shirt and straightens his bow tie. I am being dragged away. I don’t even know by whom, but they are strong because I feel like I’m practically floating across the floor as painting after painting of my love life flips past.
All I can think is that Hugo is right. I wanted the world to see, and they are. Luke will never forgive me.
LUKE
Rachel just left with Olivia to take her to school and then go to work. I’m washing the breakfast dishes as I go through the list of things I need to do in my head before I head out to Shadow Thorne and take some photographs. The autumn leaves are in full color. The landscape will look like it’s on fire. I have so many ideas for specific pieces. It will be my first attempt at a collection. The curator in Seattle suggested a themed collection before considering my work. I’m feeling good about it. Once I thought of a concept, the ideas started flowing. The time of year is perfect too.
I’m going to stay in Shadow Thorne for several days and take as many pictures as possible. I hate leaving Rachel alone, but she assured me many times that she and Olivia would be just fine. In the spring, I am taking them both camping. I want them to see the most beautiful place on Earth . I just hope Rachel doesn’t see all the No Trespassing signs that Bridges posted. I kinda like trespassing after the way he treated Rachel . Someday I will own that piece of land. I have no idea how, but I am going to make it happen.
I hear the gravel crunching under tires before I see a white box truck pull in and park next to my truck.
Who in the hell is that?
I let the water out of the sink and dry my hands on the dish towel. Grabbing my hat off the hook, I put it on and step out onto the porch. A guy in a white cap that reads “ Global Express ” is walking toward me with a clipboard in his hand. Another guy in the same uniform is opening the back of the truck and climbing inside.
“ Can I help you?”
“ Hey ! Yeah , we have a delivery for….” He looks over the invoice clipped to the board. “ Uh , well one is for Rachel Garrett , and the other is for Luke Garrett , but they both have this address.”
“ That’s right. You can just give them to me.”
The guy chuckles. “ They’re really big pieces. The instructions are that we are to take them inside and place them in whatever room they are to hang.”
I furrow my brow. “ Hang ?” Then I see the other guy, wheeling a large wide crate that appears to only be a foot or so in depth but a few feet high.
He looks down at his paper again. “ Yeah , they are original paintings from a Hugo Marquis . He paid extra on the delivery charge for us to deliver them to the room in which they are to hang.”
He hands me the clipboard, pointing to the instructions.
“ Where does this one go?” The second guy asks.
“ Who’s it for?” The first guy asks.
“ Uhhhh this one is for Rachel Garrett .”
They both look at me. Fuck if I know where she wants whatever the hell Hugo has sent to us. If they are what I think they are, then they won’t be fit to hang anywhere in the house. I thrust my thumb over my shoulder. “ This way.”
“ Both paintings going in the house?” Delivery guy number two asks.
“ No , the one for me will go in the loft that’s in the barn.”
“ Stairs ?” Number two asks.
“ Yeah .”
“ Shit !”
“ Daryl !” The other one grumbles.
“ Have you seen the size of that thing?” Daryl asks. “ It’s going to be a bitch to get upstairs.”
I shake my head and lead them into the house after helping them up the few steps to the house. What in the hell has Hugo done? I have a feeling I will hate it.
Unsure what else to do, I take them back to my old room. We can keep this thing in there until we figure out what to do. They take it inside and move it off the dolly. They remove the crate in pieces, pile them on the dolly, and prop the canvas up so it’s leaning vertically against the wall. The thing has to be at least six feet tall and four feet wide. They start to leave.
“ Wait , aren’t you going to unwrap it?” I ask.
Not Daryl says, “ Noooo ! We were explicitly told not to unwrap it ourselves. That’s on you.”
Well shit! Now I’m curious. Guess I’ll have to wait until Rachel gets home. I lift the edge of the brown paper wrapping, thinking she wouldn’t have to know that it was wrapped.
“ I’m gonna need a hand with the second one, Tommy . If we have stairs, you’re the one walking backward,” Daryl says as they walk through the house to go back outside.
I follow them, locking the door behind me. They weren’t kidding. This thing is massive. Somehow we manage to get it up the narrow stairs to my loft. I signed for it but didn’t bother seeing them off. Nope ! I’ve been standing here looking at this brown paper monstrosity that is currently leaning against the picture window of my loft. The damn thing is almost as big as the window. It’s just as tall but only half as wide.
Might as well get this over with. Grabbing the edge of the paper, I rip it diagonally down from corner to corner. The bold colors that meet my eyes fill me with urgency, so I quickly tear open the paper, scattering it over the floor next to my bed. What I finally see takes my breath away. I take several steps back until my ass hits the arm of the sofa. I sink down, letting it hold me up. My dick grows hard as I take in the scene before me.
Rachel is clinging to my side, sucking on my neck, and barely visible. But there is no mistaking Evan and me. I have him pinned to the wall, my hand around his throat. His hair is such a hot mess, and his hand…his hand is a blur, around our stiff cocks, pressed and squeezed together, and…fuuuuck! They are dripping with precum, white strands veining our cocks. But what has me weak in the knees, is the way Evan and I are looking at one another. I hope to God our faces are not this detailed and readable in his other paintings, because there is no doubt who we are. Our foreheads are together, our lips almost touching. My tongue is curled, licking the corner of his mouth, while the tip of his touches the tip of mine. But the look on our faces is erotic as hell.
I had no idea we looked like this. I can see our love for each other and the desperate need between us. It always feels like I will never get enough, and somehow Hugo has captured that exact feeling between us. We are locked in our own little world, ruled by our desires and so full of passion it’s evident all over our bodies.
My knees do give as I plop down to the floor on my ass looking up at the three of us in utter awe.
“ God how I miss you, Evan ,” I tell the likeness of him on the canvas. Regret swells in my chest, but so does sadness because I have no idea how the three of us are going to fix this.