My Future Husband

Chapter 57

We only stop when the temptation of chocolate is just too much. I stuff the skewer with every marshmallow, brownie, and exotic fruit I can fit on there, before dunking it straight in the flowing god juice.

“Oh my Betty White, I need to get one of these for Granny’s. Just keep it in the back for when I need a snack.” I could live off these things.

“Well now I know what you’re birthday present’s gonna be.” He mumbles before he takes the dripping strawberry from my fingers with his lips, sucking them clean too. “It would be better with your brownies though.” Obviously, but I’ll give you a pass.

“Oh shit.” A trail of chocolate drips all over Heather’s perfect masterpiece. She wouldn’t have given it to me if she wanted it to stay clean, she knows I’m not capable of it, but it still feels like I’ve just thrown jam at the Mona Lisa.

“Don’t worry, just tell her it was me, you know she'll forgive this face.” Oh hun, you have powers most men can’t compare to, but don’t think they’re ever going to work on Heather Thompson. She’s a queen that will never need a king.

I eat until I feel like I’m gonna be sick, Kage moving everything around us so I don’t even have to stretch to play with it all, resting my back against his chest and starting the movie.

The paint calls my name, my soul screaming with joy the second the brush hits the canvas. Taking time to draw is hard when you're a single mum with a business to run, but I need to do it more. I’d forgotten how good it is for me.

Even an hour and three very abstract painting later, he hasn’t moved me. His arm around my waist, his soothing heartbeat against my back, and his glowing smile shining through even when I’m not looking at him.

“Is that your tattoo kit?”

“Oh yeah, it was just in the back of the car with everything else. I haven’t used it for awhile, I’ve actually been looking around here for artists for my next piece.”

“What’re you thinking about getting?” Why does the image of him getting tatted up just make my mouth water?

He pulls out his phone, flicking through the photos until he comes to the one of the three of us we took outside Val’s house. “You want a portrait?”

“Yeah, I haven’t had one before, but look at our Little Ocean in this, tell me he wouldn't look perfect right here.” He opens up his shirt another button, showing the only open space he's got left on his chest. Right over his heart. “I’ve been trying to work with it, maybe add his name or his date of birth, but I just can’t get it to look how I want.”

He’s right, it's such a gorgeous photo of him, but it's at a weird angle and kind of blurry.

“Let me look at it again.” I grab the sketchbook and pencil, Kage’s hands soothing up and down my thighs as I get to work. I can’t believe I’ve never drawn him before. I’m not as good at portraits as Jay is, I’ll get him to redo it properly, but it's not hard for Kage to get the idea. I add his name, and the day he was born, giving it a street-art style so it matches his other pieces, but it’s still missing something.

“Fuck, you're really good.”

“It needs something, something to frame the top.” I look at the photograph again. “See in this one it’s us,” Me and Kage are looking right at each other, with Teal in the middle smiling at the camera. “He’s framed by us, but maybe I could do it like a-”

“No, I want it just like the photo.”  He means... He wants...

“You want us in it?” Oh fuck. “You want me... on your...” He cups my cheek, smiling at me and picking the pencil up from the sand to slip it into my hand.