The Commitment(48)

"Sounds great. When can I come by?"

"If you want, you can stay now and we can get started. I need a break. The schedule's over on the counter by the sink," he said and pointed to the kitchen. I smiled and went over, Drake following me. On the counter was a clipboard with a calendar. There were several names on each day, one for each room in the space. Nathaniel had the large room and others had two of the three small rooms. One room was open several days in the next week. I took a pen and marked my name in the spaces that were open, eager to get started.

I turned to Drake and smiled, my stomach filled with butterflies. "I can't wait."

He smiled back and ran his fingers over my cheek. "I'm glad you'll be able to work on your art." He bent down and kissed me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nathaniel watching me from the other side of the room. When he saw Drake kiss me, he turned away, smiling.

"Who are the other two guys?" Drake asked, his tone soft.

"I don't know – a couple of Nathaniel's friends.

"So you'll all work together here?"

"We'll each have our own rooms."

Drake sniffed the air. "Smells like he smokes pot here too. Are you OK with that?"

I shrugged. "He's a big boy. I'm not interested in getting high on anything but human endorphins. I'll be here to paint. I might get high off the paint thinner, but that'll be accidental." I grinned up at him. "Drake Morgan, are you jealous?"

He laughed and took me by the arms. "Always. Totally. Completely. I may have to come by and see these other characters before I approve."

"Drake…" I said, frowning. "You don't get to approve."

"Just kidding," he said. "Of course, you're free to do what you want outside of our agreement. I'm just curious to know the competition."

"There's no competition so don't even go there."

"I'm a man, Kate. I go there without even thinking."

"I love you," I whispered and pulled him down to kiss me. He kissed me back, the kiss deep, his hand cupping my face.

"I love you," he whispered back. I ended the embrace and glanced back over to where Nathaniel sat, working on his canvas. "Do you have something to do for an hour? I'd like to start working on making a canvas while I'm here. You could pick me up at 12:15 so we can get to Katz's by 12:30."

"Sure. I can pop by the foundation. I'll text you when I'm back."

I walked Drake to the door and kissed him once more. Drake held onto the door for a moment and watched me walk back to where Nathaniel was. I waved at him and finally Drake closed the door and left.

Nathaniel turned to me. "Pretty rich looking boyfriend you got, Katie."

"He's a doctor," I said. "And he inherited a lot of money."

"Cool. So you want to make a couple of canvases?"

"I only need one," I said, not wanting to use up too much of his supplies.

"Make two. Always good to have another one in case something happens to the first. There've been too many times when someone has fallen over and ripped one of my canvases and I've been so upset, having to wait for a new one. If you have a second, you can start right away if something happens to the first."

"Sure."



We spent the next hour cutting the wood, mitering the corners, building the frame on which I'd stretch the canvas. The frames alone took up all my hour, so I'd have to come back and finish stapling the fabric onto the frames, and apply the first coat of gesso to the canvas.

My cell chimed just as I was measuring out some canvas on the cutting table. I took out my cell and saw a text from Drake.



Your carriage awaits, my Lady…



I laughed and texted him back.



I'll be right down.



"Thanks for everything," I said to Nathaniel. "I've got some time on Wednesday in the small studio so I guess I'll see you then."

"Come back later today or tomorrow. You can work in here. I'll help you get the canvases ready."

"Thanks," I said. "You are wonderful."

"I am," Nathaniel said, smiling.

I said goodbye and took one last look at the studio, excited to once again be working on a piece of art instead of writing about it.



Drake was waiting by the passenger side of the car, and before I could get inside, he bent down to kiss me.

"Hey," he said. "You've got sawdust in your hair."

I ran my hand through my hair and sure enough, there was a sprinkling of sawdust in it.

"We cut wood for the frame and then we had to miter the corners and make dados."

"Sounds complicated," Drake said and opened the passenger door.

"No, it's pretty straight forward once you have your dimensions. My canvas is pretty big so we had to do a lot of bracing so the canvas would be strong enough. I didn't even get a chance to stretch the canvas yet. I'll do that tomorrow."