Your last meeting for the day finishes …. Finally…. and you grab your gear and head to the car. Tonight is the first lesson for your new art class and you realise you’re a little nervous. This is way out of your comfort zone. You love learning new techniques and hopefully this class will give you some new skills.

You’d tried to get HER to sign up too. You thought it would be fun to take a class together and get to spend a little more time together but she had turned you down saying it was too hard to get away and a sudden interest in art would be hard to explain.

You race to the supermarket, grabbing some food for dinner and head towards the school, eating as you drive . Your mind wanders to HER…. As it so often has been lately…. And you smile….. You are enjoying getting to know her. She makes you smile and that feels so amazing. Every time you see HER there is a stirring in your body and a warmth that has been lacking for so long. HER lovely smile and beautiful eyes have captivated your thoughts…. Again…. If only she had said yes to taking this class with you!

As you swing into the car park, your mind returns to the topic of tonight’s class and how nervous you feel. You’ve never done anything like this before and just the thought of it makes you nervous. It’s not like you haven’t taken many classes before…. But this isn’t really birds or pussies….

Out of the corner of your eye you spot a familiar car, but you can’t work out how you recognise it. Must be someone from work you think and dismiss the thought before pulling into a park and wandering toward the art room.

As usual for the first lesson of a new class, there are a few nervous students milling about, a few old hands grabbing seats, getting settled…. And the tutor wandering the room greeting everyone. You find a seat and take out your sketch pad, again grumbling that you hadn’t been able to convince HER to join you…. You realise that things aren’t so easy for her, but sharing this class would have been so much fun.

The class begins with the usual introductions, a round of names (that you’ll probably not remember) and basic class information from the tutor. Then a discussion on the requirements and the best brands and products. You’d grabbed a sketchpad that still had a couple of sheets in it and a handful of pencils… some of which were even sharp… and luckily there was an eraser and sharpener in the bottom of your art bag. You might have to make a trip to the art supply store before next week. Now that things were really about to begin, the nerves had settled and your focus turned to the tutors words.

You’d never had this tutor for any of your classes before. He was tall with angular features, about your age…. Maybe…. And clearly knew his way around a sketch book. He’d been an artist all his life and tried many media and art forms. He’d worked and exhibited overseas before coming home, and was trying his hand at tutoring. You realised he wasn’t like other tutors… while confident in his craft his nervous interactions with the class were quite telling. You had a good feeling about this class and you knew how to manage people if he needed any help.

As often happens, the first lesson starts with the basics, shapes, forms, light, composition, angle…. So many things to consider… however will you remember them all? Everyone is frantically sketching away, looking at their hands as they work. The tutor wanders amongst the students, giving encouragement and suggestions as necessary. Finally the tutor arrives at your desk and smiles at your page. The hand you’ve sketched is a great likeness to your own, the shapes and curves alike, the lines and shading so similar. He asks if you’ve ever drawn like this before and you say not really, you’ve mostly done painting previously but dabbled in many things  and was always keen to try something new. He smiled and said he thought you’d do well.

The class was halfway through and the tutor suggested there was to be a five minute break to stretch legs and use the bathroom…. Good you thought, time for a quick smoke…. The tutor ushered everyone out of the classroom and closed the door. When you return all the students were milling about outside the classroom…. Just as you approach the door the tutor opens it and invites everyone inside.

He’d rearranged the room, moving tables and chairs round the edge of the space, with a chair in the centre of the room. Seated on the chair was a person, ….your glasses were in the car … so it was too hard to make out anything more about the model. The tutor told everyone to find their gear and sit down.

He introduces the model as “Muse” and tells the class that they will be drawing her every week, from different angles, focussing on different things. He reminds everyone that it’s important to draw only what you see…. Not what you think is there… and he sets you to work.

You are to the side and slightly behind the muse. Now that you are a little closer you can see she’s a woman, mature but not yet old, with curves and lines and what looks like it could be an excellent arse (if she were not sitting on it). You can’t see her face from where you sit, but the curve of her shoulder, neck and back is clear to you. You start to sketch, trying to focus on the shapes and curves and proportions, lightly at first as you make lines on the paper. You curse yourself again for not bringing your glasses in with you…. And hoping to remember each week from now on so as not to miss any details of her body.

Muse is draped in a piece of flowing black fabric, that’s soft and follows the curves of her body. It crosses her centre back and drapes down her front…. Not being able to see from your angle you assume it’s covering her breasts… and you wonder which week will be breast week? (😉)

The curves of her body are harder to sketch than you’d thought… getting the proportions right is important…. A neck that’s too long looks weird and making the curves of her shoulder flow takes some effort. After a short time you realise that the lines on the paper look familiar and you shake your head realising that you have drawn HER body. The lines of her neck and shoulder more familiar to you now that you have kissed it a few times and stroked your hands long it, finding her sensitive places. Your mind drifts to your last time together, at the motel, exploring each other fully and sharing the most intimate parts of each other…. And you smile.

The tutor passes and glances at your work praising you for the excellent representation of the Muse… he said you have captured her neck and shoulder beautifully…. You blush… that is high praise indeed for week one… and you don’t even think that you’ve drawn the Muse…. You’ve drawn HER.

Everyone sketches for a while longer, with lots of muttering about how hard it is to get proportions right and how to shade for the lighting…. All the while Muse sits totally still and you are mesmerised by how beautiful she looks - even from your obscure angle . Her curves, how she holds her body, the delicacy of her skin…. You curse your glasses again…. And that you would have these feelings for a complete stranger… this could get you into trouble…. Not at home… but with HER…. Not that she would  even mind …. She doesn’t get bothered or worried or stressed (well not that she lets on) …. Actually, you realise, you wouldn’t get into trouble with her at all… but you are cross at yourself for entertaining feelings for someone you haven’t even met…. You don’t need any more complications in your life…

You realise that the tutor is speaking, talking about how well everyone is doing and that’s the end of the class for today. Everyone gathers up their pads and pencils before leaving the classroom. You get your things together and glance over at the Muse, hoping to introduce yourself…. And scolding yourself again for even thinking about her….

Before you realise it, you are on your feet and walking towards the muses chair, bag in hand, confidently striding towards her, eager to see this beauty and say hi (and maybe see if she wants a coffee sometime)… as you approach the chair you only have eyes for the Muse sitting there, the rest of the class has emptied out but you wouldn’t have seen them anyway… your sole focus was on the Muse.

As you reached her chair, she turned to face you… and smiled, the most beautiful smile you had ever seen… and you realised, it was HER….