An age gap love story.
A brokenhearted billionaire.
A college girl.
*****
"Nevaeh," Aiden whispers, "can I rest my head on your shoulder?"
I nod, letting him rest his head on my shoulder. He closes his eyes.
"Thank you." He sighs in contentment. "...
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I stare at the painting room in amazement after Aiden opens the door. I can't believe that we're here. To paint.
Seeing all these previous works created by him makes this moment feel even more surreal. I can't hold my excitement.
My painting will look like a total failure compared to all these masterpieces, but I don't give a damn about that. I'm going to learn from the best. What matters is that I can see Aiden paint again.
Aiden leads me toward an easel with a blank canvas and pulls a stool for me. I sit down.
"What do you want to paint?" he asks.
I stare at the canvas with a lost expression. My mind goes blank, just as blank as the canvas.
Oh my God, I don't know. I'm so bad at this.
"It can be something that your parents love," he tries to help. "Do you know anything special to them?"
Something close to their heart.
It has to be something meaningful, but it can't be hard for me to paint as a beginner.
Dad loves the sky, the bright and blue one. Mom loves the ocean, deep and dark blue. The reason why they love them is simple. It's the color of each other's eyes.
"Can I paint the ocean?" I ask. "With the blue sky above it."
Right. That's perfect. Who would fail this? This should be easy. Even a kindergarten kid would laugh at me if I failed this.
"The ocean and the sky?" Aiden asks with smiling eyes.
"Yeah. They love them," I say. "In fact, they had their wedding at the beach. I think it's perfect for their anniversary gift."
Aiden nods and takes a pencil from the table next to him. "Do you want to sketch?"
My face flushes in embarrassment. "About that," I pause, "I don't know how I should draw it. If you can show me..." I bite my lip.
Aiden sits on the stool next to me and starts sketching on the canvas before we can add layers of oil paint. I watch as the blank canvas gradually turns into a beautiful sketch.
My eyes are also drawn to Aiden's face. He looks calm and contented while his eyes narrow toward the sketch he's working on. I wonder what he's feeling right now.
When Aiden puts the pencil down, I gaze at the finished sketch in adoration. It's simple -- a beach with some swaying grasses growing on it, an ocean, and the sky above them with a few birds flying in the distance. But the picture feels so alive.
