Aera was staring at a blank canvas. Again.
Like usual, her mind was a mess. She wanted to create something similar to her painting of those mysterious eyes. But nothing seemed to inspire her like the way that certain man had.
Is this what they called an artist's block? Is there even such a thing? Aera wondered.
"Are you planning to draw anything?" Doyun asked, coming from behind her, his hands carrying two big glasses filled with red liquid.
"I am but I can't think of anything to draw," she answered truthfully, tracing the path of a condensed drop of water on the glass. Taking a sip of the refreshing watermelon drink Doyun had made, she turned her attention to the canvas again.
"Draw me." Came his voice suddenly, breaking her trance. She watched him with wide eyes as he sat down on a chair backwards. His lips were pulled into a peaceful smile, lifting her spirits up suddenly. She loved his pure smile.
"Are you sure?" she asked cautiously, gulping down rest of the drink. She was too parched and too oblivious to notice Doyun's mouth fall open as his eyes took in the graceful curve of her neck. Man, he was whipped!
He cleared his throat, wiping off his sweat that had nothing to do with the heat outside. "Yeah, I am. How should I pose? I don't know much, you know?"
Aera chuckled, her eyes taking in the small details of his face as he talked. "Just sit comfortably. You don't have to pretend to be a statue or anything."
"Well, that's a relief."
Aera laughed again, standing up to move closer to him. "That's why you should have modelled for my assignments in college."
"At that time, I didn't know you'd look at me like the way you do now. I didn't want you to paint me any other way," he said earnestly, his calloused fingers making her shiver as he delicately moved them up her arm.
"I didn't know that," she whispered, her fingers lifting up to trace his lips, feeling the shape and the texture. "You have beautiful lips, Doyun. Do you mind if I draw them?"
He released a breath, his eyes connected with her's, letting her see how deep his feelings ran for her, how much her touch affected him. Aera watched bewitched, feeling tingles in the pit of her stomach, feeling a guilty pleasure at the knowledge of having such an effect on a composed man like him.
"I want to kiss you," he said out of nowhere, making her freeze. His lips puckered, kissing the tips of her fingers. "But you are not ready," he continued with a wistful smile.
Aera opened her mouth to reply with something, anything but she was cut off by a sound. Particularly a cat meowing.
"I think, it's Mel," Doyun said, his fingers leaving her arm and getting up to see the cat. Aera stood there though, stunned. She should have felt frustrated at being interrupted but instead she felt...
"Aera, you need to handle your cat!" Exclaimed Doyun from the front of the studio. "This cat hates me even though I get her fish regularly."
Aera rolled her eyes, hurrying to meet her beloved Mel who stayed on the streets more than in her own home. Good thing she regularly gave Mel all her shots.
Taking out the cats food bowl, she put food in it, shaking it to call the cat near. As per her habit, the white cat with beautiful yellow stripes strolled in, her swaying tail reminding her of those girls whose hips swinged side by side while walking.
The chubby cat made sure to rub her body all over Aera's leg, getting a scratch behind her ear. "Did you finally miss me, Mel?" As if understanding her words, the cat purred. "Aww, you missed me! And yet you go outside, leaving me all alone." The girl pouted cutely.
This time, however, the cat showed more interest in her food rather than her owner. "You meanie," Aera scowled, poking Mel's head, the cat used to Aera's behaviour, didn't react.
"This cat seriously! Why do I keep her?" Aera huffed, standing up, leaving the cat to eat peacefully.
"I have the same question. Why do you keep her?" Doyun said, finally coming inside the room and standing infront of Aera. "Your cat doesn't like me," he pouted, frowning at the cat who in return hissed at him.
A giggle left the woman's lips. "Don't worry, she just needs time. I have heard animals catch onto feelings faster. Maybe Mel doesn't want you to take me away from her."
"Is that so?" he asked, a smirk plastered on his face as he took one more step closer to her, only a breath away. "Do you want me to take you away from Mel?" he asked in a husky whisper, his eyes holding her's captive.
When did Doyun start looking so sexy? Aera wondered, her voice gone on a vacation as she just kept looking at him.
"Well, are you even going to paint me or just keep on looking at me? Not that I mind any of those but being this close to you does things to me. You should know, I'm a man and I-"
"Oh my god!" Aera exclaimed suddenly, covering her burning face with both of her hands. "You need to shut the fuck up, Mister. God! I didn't know you would be so talkative." With that Aera tried moving away.
Tried.
Doyun caught her around the waist, spinning her in the air, illiciting a squeal out of her which dissolved into giggles. Doyun soon joined in as he put her down, bending over as they laughed together.
The moment was soon cut short as they heard Mel meowing again, this time a lot louder than before. Looking over Doyun's shoulder, she was shocked to see the cat allowing another man to pet her. The cat was very selective with the hand that was allowed to touch her and she was allowing a stranger the great honour.
But Aera soon realised that it wasn't a stranger. It was someone she knew. Someone, she was scared to be in one room after the last time she met him. Especially with Doyun around.
"I hope I'm not interrupting something," the man said, removing his mask, his thin lips pressed into a tight smile.
Oh, no! This was bad.
~~~~
A/N:
I'm literally so excited to see your reactions. A little development in Aera and Doyun's relationship. I thought it was long due and well, don't get angry about Aera being romantically close with him. Things like this happen all the time, so I hope you don't scream my head off.
Anygays, I hope you liked this chapter and I know you will be excited for the next chapter, so,
Thank you for reading 😉❤️
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Brush Strokes ✓
قصص الهواة"It's tea. I didn't add poison to it. If that's what you are thinking." ⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅ Lee Aera has never had it easy in life. Struggling in the cut-throat industry of art where you either get noticed or...
