The girl with the bad reputation

Chapter 16

WE WERE DRIVING TOWARDS THE PAINTING STORE. The store had kept its old ramshackle look. All the stores all over town had been renovated over a few years. But the owner of Barry's paintings insisted that he didn't want to renovate. So he kept Barry's paintings the same. The sign was half broken and you could only read half of the name "ster Barry's paint". You would know the original sign said "Mister Barry's Paintings". But now the sign was broken here and there.
While we were in the car Kaden glanced through the rear mirror at me from time to time. Each time we glanced at the same time both of us would look away quickly.

We arrived after a five-minute drive. It wasn't far from my house.
I opened the door looking at the half-broken painting sign saying, "Welcome to Mister Barry paintings". But you couldn't read half of it, well not if you didn't try as hard as I did nor know what the sign said beforehand.
Mr. Handsome appeared behind me giving me a heart attack.
"Want to go inside?" he asked.
I stared at him. Why would he nearly kill me? Okay, maybe I exaggerated it. But he scared me.
I nodded, applying for us to go inside.
When we entered the store and were met with the smell of paint. Different cans of paint with different colors. The store inside didn't look ramshackle like the outside. Inside it had a nice homey feeling, decorated with a seating area where you can wait for help if you wouldn't know what to get.
We walked around looking. Kaden would disappear from time to time. checking different cans of paint. I asked whether he had found anything or not. He smiled and told me he had all the colors he needed. We went to the desk and paid for the items he found. A few pencils and paint. We ended up paying about one hundred dollars for all of it. Expensive. But Kaden insisted on paying. I hesitated a lot before he made me give in.
He smiled that pretty smile of his all the way home in the car.
He looked so handsome when he smiled like that.
The car ride home had that comfortable silence, that you see in movies where they sit through the whole car ride with that incredibly sexual tension.
We exchanged a few sentences and I started a conversation. I was curious about how he started painting.
He told me how his mother loved painting and insisted on taking him with her to her painting classes. It started his passion for art. Which is why he was planning on being an art major in college.
He visited art museums with his parents and siblings. Where they would walk around and look at different art. He explained how they would always visit at least one art museum around the countries they visited. His mom and he insisted. So he bought a souvenir from every art museum they had been to.
There was a small smile on his lips at the memory, which made me smile. I enjoyed the way he got caught up in a memory. He had told me about his parents. That's something else.
"Kaden got a soft spot." I teased him and a smile found his lips.
When we arrived at the house I ran upstairs with the paint.
He began to make the room ready for the painting.
We began moving furniture and other such things. So we wouldn't end up getting paint everywhere. We also covered the floor with blankets. 
Hours went by as he stood by the wall drawing his sketch before he began with the paint. He grabbed his pencil and moved it with soft movements.
While he was painting I was studying for an upcoming test in different subjects. My eyes would glance his way here and there, he looked concentrated while making each brush even. The focus he had and the way he was determined to do it were incredibly sexy. I don't know why.
His eyes caught mine and a small smile was on his lips. I felt my cheeks heat up. He started chuckling probably because of my sudden reaction.
"I would let you sketch me for a photoshoot, but then I need your notes for that test you're studying for." He joked. I knew, he joked. I saw how well he did in the other classes. This boy wasn't dumb. I wondered what kind of answer he would expect. Probably something like this; "Like I would ruin my beautiful wall with your ugliness." I teased.
We locked eyes for what felt like forever, when he chuckled, shaking his head, turning around continuing the not even half-done painted wall.
His hands moved so perfectly with the painting brush and softly covered his sketch with multiple colors.
He looked so peaceful, happy when he stood there painting. Which caused me to smile. I couldn't help it. Something about him was so different. He was different. Not your typical senior. Nowadays they only care about getting laid. He was focused on school and his hobbies. The memories he told me of his family as well.
He had a smile that told me he was fascinated by me. He kept glancing here and there while I was focused on my homework.
It was odd because the bad girl from LCA high school was reading her homework.
Straight A student. Who would have guessed?
I hummed along to my music while being focussed on my work. I hadn't realized he was next to me until he coughed.
My hand found my chest.
"What?" I said I was scared out of my mind. I was just in my rhythm. His smile made me calm down instantly.
I looked at him to see him chuckle "Someone feisty."
He blindfolded me and I asked myself more than him "do I trust you enough for this?".
I could hear him chuckle which made me answer my question "no, no I don't." I could feel him lead me out of my bed which was covered in blankets. As he slowly and carefully led me to the wall where the painting was. And told me that I could take my blindfold off now.
Memories flooded over me, the smell of the paint-filled the whole room. Something about the painting seemed too real and I relived the memory. It was as if the smell of the flowers was here. Something about it seemed surreal. He painted something dear to me.

He didn't paint any sunflower fields. He painted a precious memory of mine. That memory that contained my grandparents when they were still alive. It was the one with Mason and Hamilton.
All of us together smiling big at the camera, grandpa spent several minutes trying to figure out how to get it to work. In the end, Mason had stepped in teaching him how and grandpa called him such a wise young man.
This was the last picture I had with my grandma before she passed away.
She had been sick for quite some time and wished to visit the place she and grandpa had shared so dearly.
The place where they had shared their first kiss, proposal, and a lot more.
Something about the painting seems surreal. The details were at their finest. You could see every emotion in the painting. How every expression knew what was gonna happen, but enjoyed the joy while it lasted.
A single tear escaped from my eye and a thump removed it. I looked up seeing him sitting at the end of the bed staring at me with that glance that made me even weak in the knees. His touch made me crave for more, it was so soft and careful. His hands protected my face, securing my safety.
His intense glance didn't fade and his eyes asked for him. Are you okay. Why are you crying. He didn't need to say a word. Because his eyes told me everything.
More tears fell from my eyes by the affection from him. They meant a lot to me and with him recreating the memory with perfection it was hard for it not to affect me.
His hand was still on my cheek, and his eyes kept falling to my lips. I wanted to reach out and grab his shirt and throw him into a kiss, but I was scared. Scared of the feeling of failure. A feeling I wasn't used to, the insecurity.
My hand found his neck and he leaned down towards me, as I leaned towards him. He was so close that I could feel his breath on my lips. Only a few centimeters separated us.
I took the lead and closed the space between us connecting my lips with his.
His lips were like heaven, soft and sweet. His tongue was playing at my bottom lip craving for access, while his hands were caressing my cheek and hair. A slight moan gave him the access he was searching for and his tongue played with mine as if we had done this several times.
The way our mouths danced with each other gave the suspicion of perfection.
For a moment we stopped to catch our breaths and he took the opportunity to switch our position. His hand grabbed my waist, placing me in the position he wanted. His large body was towering over my small one compared to his.
While I was laying on my back his large frame was above me, and his hands ran over my body in a way that made my body crave for his touch.
He put his hands on my waist and cheeks and leaned down placing his lips on mine. My mouth opened instantly allowing our tongues to take over.
I lay next to him on my bed. My glance fell next to me, where I met his gaze. 
"What's wrong?" I asked him, and his eyebrows rose.
"Nothing," he said with a chuckle.
"Want to tell me why that memory is important for you?" He asked carefully.
I gave him a small smile and turned around to face him. I shared my memory with him. The memory he had painted on my empty wall. Now it was filled with joy as a large painting covered it.
He laid next to me deeply focused, listening to every word I said carefully. We had talked for about two hours and the darkness was beginning to surround us. He had his arms around me while we lay in bed talking about anything that came to mind.
We talked about all sorts of things. Discussed the basics. What the favorite food was and so on. We even talked about family. To my surprise, he wasn't close to the idea and told me a lot about the vacations he had been on with them.
He is a good listener...
The clock was suddenly many and my eyes slowly drifted off to sleep. The only thing on my mind once I fell asleep was;

Kaden and the kiss we shared

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(Edited 21/01/22)

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