Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ren
Iplace the flameless candles around the living room, turning them on as I go.
I double check to make sure each setting has a palette, brushes, and different colored paints.
Each little station on the canvas blanket has a pillow for us to sit on in front of our own easels and canvas.
I check the time on my phone, noting Cole and Lucy should be back any minute.
I pick up the remote and get the tutorial on the screen for us and pause it so it’s ready when we are.
I walk over and sit on the couch next to Nash when I feel like there’s nothing more to do but wait.
I don’t know whether Lucy is going to like painting or not, but I wanted to do something different for her.
She occupies a lot of my thoughts these days, and I know I can’t make her stay when her house is done, but I want her to.
I know I shouldn’t try to sway her decision either, but I can’t help myself.
Lucy is a breath of fresh air. Her smile drives me crazy in a good way, and she makes me feel invincible.
Her laughter makes my heart flutter, and I want to hear it whenever I have the chance.
I love seeing her here every day, and when I go to work; I find myself wishing the day away until I’m in her presence again.
Lucy is a kindred spirit. She understands me in a way no one ever has, including Nash and Cole. I can’t lose her.
“Looks great,” Nash says, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Do you think she’s going to like this?” I ask, nervously rubbing the back of my neck.
“I don’t know, Ren. Has she ever painted before?” Nash chuckles as he looks over at me. My eyes plead with him not to make fun of my plan for the group tonight.
“Come here, Sweet Boy.” Nash reaches his arm out to me. I move closer and allow him to wrap me up. “Who wouldn’t love a night of drinkin’ and paintin’? Especially with you?”
He pulls back and gazes into my eyes. “Anyone would be lucky to spend the evenin’ with you. I, for one, am lookin’ forward to seein’ what we are paintin’.” He places a soft kiss on my lips.
Hearing the front door open, I pull back. My eyes are wide, and my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest.
“Let’s go get our girl.” Nash stands, pulling me from the couch. He puts an arm around my shoulder, leading me to meet Cole and Lucy at the door.
“Hi, Love.” Lucy looks up at me and grins as she takes her sandals off. “How was the creek?”
Lucy looks back to the ground, but I can still see the blush forming across her cheeks. Looking at Cole, his face gives me nothing.
“It was good. A little cold, but refreshing.” Lucy straightens and smooths out the t-shirt she’s wearing. “This little shit tried to drown me.” She hooks her thumb towards Cole, and he chuckles.
“You had it coming,” he says with a wink.
Lucy’s face flushes again as she says, “I’m going to get cleaned up. Then I’ll be ready for your surprise.” She quickly leaves us standing in the entryway, and I turn to Cole, an annoyed look on my face.
“You told her?”
“I didn’t tell her anything other than you guys were probably ready for us to come back.” He rolls his eyes as he crosses his arms over his chest.
“It’s fine. Sorry for snapping at you.” I run my hand down my face before continuing, “I’m just nervous. I want tonight to go well.”
“It’ll be fine, Ren. Calm down. Is the pizza here yet?” Cole asks, looking at me, and I feel the color drain from my face. Nash must see it too as he chuckles and retrieves his phone from his pocket, walking away.
“You forgot to order the pizza, didn’t you?” Cole smiles as he cocks an eyebrow up.
“Fuck. I was too worried about getting everything set up! There’s a lot more shit to painting than I thought.” I shake my head and pull at my hair.
Nash walks back over and pats a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. Pizza will be here in half an hour. They said it was a slow night.”
I let out an exasperated sigh as Nash and Cole both maneuver me back towards the living room and push me onto the couch.
“This looks great, man,” Cole says, looking around at the setup I did. “What’s with the canvas blanket on the ground, though?” He bends over in the chair and picks up a corner of it.
“I don’t know. That’s just what Jill at the art store told me to grab. I think she could tell how desperate I was. I have painting supplies to last us a year now.” I look around at all the supplies and chuckle.
Nash and Cole both smile at me, and we’re quiet until the pizza shows up. Going to grab it, I meet Lucy with her hands full of pizza boxes.
“Did you order all of this?” she asks with wide eyes. I can see the spark of excitement in them though. Her face is fresh, and her wet hair has been put into a braid that’s sitting on her shoulder.
“That would be Nash. Man eats more than an elephant most days.”
We both laugh as I grab the boxes from her and we make our way back to the living room.
Before we make it, I turn and step in front of Lucy, blocking her way. “If you hate this, just tell me. I wasn’t sure if you would or not, but I think it’s going to be really fun and I—”
Lucy puts a hand on my mouth. “Whatever you have planned, I have no doubt it will be amazing, Ren. Besides, we get to spend time together. Who wouldn’t like that?” She smiles as she drops her hand to her side and walks past me. Smiling to myself, I turn around to follow her.
Damn, I think I love this girl.
As Lucy turns the corner, she stops, almost causing me to bump into her with the pizzas. I come up beside her and take her in. Her hand flies up to cover her mouth as she gasps, her eyes sparkling as she looks around the living room.
“You did this for me?” Lucy asks quietly after a few moments. She’s still looking around the room when I answer her.
“Of course, Love. I’d do anything for you.”
Lucy turns to me with tears in her eyes and a soft smile on her lips.
“It’s perfect, thank you,” she whispers.
I give her a dimple-filled smile as she leans in, placing a kiss on the corner of my mouth.
“Do we want to eat first? I’m starvin,” Nash asks, taking the pizza from my hands.
“You’re always starving, man,” Cole chuckles in reply.
I take another look at Lucy and turn towards the dining room. I hear Cole whisper something to Lucy that sounds like an “I told you,” but I’ll ask him about that later. He passes me, and I stop, turning back to Lucy, who is looking around again.
“You coming, Love?” I ask, concern sneaking into my voice.
Lucy moves towards me with a smile. “Yes. Let’s eat!”
She hooks her arm through mine, and we head to where I can already hear Nash moaning as he bites into his food.
Sitting down at the table, I glance around at everyone. They’re talking and laughing, and my heart feels the fullest it’s ever been. I pick up a slice of pizza and smile to myself, basking in the bliss of all my favorite people sitting here with me.
I want this forever.
Laughter has been filling the room all night, and now we’re putting the final touches on our paintings. I haven’t seen the guys relax and let go like this for a long time, especially Cole. His normally grumpy demeanor has been light, and hearing him laugh this much has made me incredibly happy.
“Hey Ren, when can we do this again?” Lucy asks, giggling as she puts her brush down.
“Whenever you want, Love. We have enough paint to last us forever thanks to Jill at the store.” I smile at her and then return to my canvas.
“Really thought this was going to be weirder when you first brought this up, Ren.” Cole peeks around Lucy to look at me.
“What do you mean?” I ask with a chuckle.
“I saw you looking up nude painting tutorials. That’s very different from the summer landscape we did.” His comment makes us all laugh again.
“Did you want to paint a naked person?” Lucy giggles as she asks Cole.
“Only person I’d paint naked is you, Rich Girl.” Cole winks at Lucy.
“Agreed,” Nash speaks up from the other side of me.
Taking a look at my painting, I decide I’m done. I added more stars than the lady on the video did, but I’m actually a little impressed with how well our paintings turned out. Well, everyone’s but Nash’s. He is definitely not a painter.
My attention turns towards Lucy as she stands up and walks to the center of the canvas rug.
We’re all staring at her when she grabs the hem of her shirt and pulls it over her head, leaving her in just her shorts.
Our eyes are wide as she undoes the buttons of her shorts and slides them excruciatingly slow down her hips and thighs until they fall to the floor.
She stands there naked with a devious smile as she bites her bottom lip.
“Paint me,” is all she says.
None of us moves a muscle as she reaches down, grabbing a paintbrush and dipping it into her tray. Standing up, she brings the bristles across her stomach, painting herself in a green hue, causing my cock to twitch in my sweats.
“I said. Paint. Me.” Her voice is steady as she drags the brush up her outer thigh.
Nash, Cole, and I stand up cautiously before she puts a hand up.
“I want to paint you all too. Strip.”
She licks her bottom lip, and her eyes grow with excitement as we all begin to undress in front of her.
She moves only to grab a second brush and refill the first with more paint.
Waiting until she’s back in her spot, we form a half circle with me standing in front of her.
Reaching out with a brush, she gently paints a blue line across Cole’s chest, and I can see his hard cock twitch from the touch.
She leans in, placing a kiss on his lips before turning to Nash.
With the green paint, she repeats the process while Nash stifles a growl in his chest.