Page 81 of Below The Surface
The class is only two hours long and about forty-five minutes into it, Casey’s glaring at my painting. “You’re so good.”
“I do practice. A lot.” I boop a dollop of pink paint on his nose.
“Hey!” He wipes at it, but only smears the color around.
The teacher glides over with a wineglass. “Anything I can help with?”
“No,” Casey pouts and holds up his brush.
“If you change your mind, let me know.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Casey,” I whisper his name. “Come ‘ere. I’ll help you.” I sidle up behind him and help him hold his brush and make softer strokes. “Like this.”
“You get any closer and you’ll get me hard.”
“Maybe I want you hard and wanting in class,” I whisper in his ear.
“You play dirty in public when it’s something you’re good at.” He turns in my arms.
I lean in to kiss him, but he drags his entire paint brush across my face, leaving a streak of orange.
“Brat,” I say as I laugh.
“I’d rather paint you. Or you can paint me. Naked! Both of us naked, obviously.” He turns back to his painting. “I hate all the colors I picked.”
“They all work, though.”
He sighs. “Yeah, I guess.” He dips his brush into bright pink paint and goes off the prompt, making the painting his own with a pink sky and green mountains.
When the class winds down, the teacher only nods and drinks when Casey shows his painting. We’re laughing and dancing in the parking lot. Casey holds his painting up to the sky as if it’s an offering.
“I think this is the ugliest thing I’ve ever created,” he says. “And I don’t hate it.” He examines it for so long I wonder if he’s lost in thoughts of something else.
“Dinner isn’t a bad ending to the date, right?” I ask.
“Dinner sounds perfect.” Casey flings his arms out and spins a few more times before we head out for food.
26
CASEY
For days and days, Dallas and I fall into our own version of domestic bliss. We go on little dates between our work. I don’t know what I did to deserve a guy like Dallas, but I’m glad for it. Hayden’s nice too, and yes, I told him the stalker had been dealt with and he went back to his place.
Dallas stays with me most nights, but others he goes home to at least make it look like he still lives there. I haven’t brought up the idea of living together with Kendra or Dallas. This is all still so new. And I still haven’t told him about our past. That ends during the trip to Influencer Con. Kendra and I decided it’d be a good time to tell them both everything.
It’s the last Nightmare show before Influnecer Con, then it’s time to hit the road. It’ll take a few days to get to our destination and Dina decided they were flying instead of riding with us. I’m glad they had the availability. They’re my favorite safety diver and I hated the thought of hiring someone I don’t know.
“Ready when you are,” Kendra says through the earpiece. Dallas sits with her because I don’t want him in with me just yet. I want to get through Influencer Con first. Then we can teach him to stalk his prey and how to torture.
The one problem with giving Dallas a hot mic is that he tells me things.
“You look so sexy, ripping his hair out.”
He distracts me with his words and when I finally put a bullet to tonight’s special guest, I want to jump Dallas’s bones before I’m even washed off. Kendra talks sense into me, though. We don’t fuck until we’re back in my room, then it’s round after round of getting lost in Dallas’s dick. And passing out until the alarm blares.
“Fuck, five more minutes,” Dallas says.
“Mmm, not today. We gotta finish packing and head out. Gonna take a bit of time to get there, gotta set up, shmooze with everyone.”
