Free Intaglio: The Snake and the Coins by Danika Stone Page B

this is just bloody amazing.  I love your work.  It’s abstract in
some ways, but still representational.  Powerful.”
    A crimson blush
rose up her neck at the praise, but Kip didn’t see her reaction, still
captivated by her work.  He turned around, his brown eyes, warm and
bright, meeting hers. 
    “Amazing,” he
repeated.
    Ava shrugged,
glancing over at the wet painting.  It was still a mishmash of colour –
nothing like Chim’s paintings – but she still liked how it was working. 
Now if only she could capture the feel of the dream.  The release.
    “Thanks,” she
muttered.  The praise felt over the top, forced.
    There were a few
awkward seconds when neither spoke, and then Kip stepped closer.
    “Look,” he said,
“the reason I came by today was I was wondering if you’d want to work on a
larger studio piece with me.”  He gestured to the unfinished canvas beside
them.  “Something twice this size, or larger.  A mural, actually…
I’ve been asked by a private collector to do a piece for their home.”
    Ava nodded, her
mind struggling to balance two opposing reactions: excitement and wariness.
    “I’m open to the
idea,” she said, “but I need more information.  That’s a pretty vague
description for a collaboration project.”
    Kip chuckled,
his gaze dropping down her body before dragged its way back up again. 
    “Fair enough,”
he said, crossing his arms.  “I’ll have Simpson draw up some
numbers.  I’m thinking a thirty, seventy split.”  He narrowed his
eyes, glancing at the painting of the snake and the coins and then to her once
more.  His gaze was harder now, measured.  “I’m not trying to screw
you over, Ava, I’m just being realistic – your work isn’t known.  Mine
is.   Feel free to check out the numbers and decide for yourself.”
    She nodded, and
Kip took another step toward her, pushing slightly into that bubble she kept
around herself.  Her chin rose defiantly, but she didn’t step back. 
She refused to .
    “I’ll think
about it,” she said slowly, “once I see those numbers...”
    “Of course, you
could always come up with a counter-offer,” he said in a husky voice, eyes
heavy-lidded. 
    There was a
tension between them, and Kip Chambers was caressing her with every look –
following the curve of her lips and cheek and breasts.  Testing
something.  She found her heart beating faster… worried at the sudden
change .
    “I’d be
interested in what you come up with,” he added.
    Kip’s fingers
reached out to brush a piece of hair away from her face, the gesture so similar
to the one Cole had used when he’d lifted her helmet off that it left her
unnerved.  Ava shivered and this time she did step back, but not
before she caught Raya Simpson watching the two of them from the doorway,
white-faced with rage. 
    : : : : : : : :
: :
    Ava painted
until her stomach growled audibly, then decided to call it a night.  She
was buzzing with the feeling of flow and perfection.  She thought last
night’s trip to the train yards had something to do with that.
    ‘That,’ her mind
whispered, ‘and Cole...’
    She and Suzanne
were washing up their brushes, chatting about scholarship applications, when
Chim came bounding up the stairs, Cole Thomas next to him as if conjured from
her thoughts.
    “Hey, look who I
found lurking downstairs!” Marcus said excitedly. Cole was red-faced and
wide-eyed.  He caught Ava’s gaze, horrified.
    “ You ,
Marcus Baldwin, are the only one who ‘lurks’ in the alley,” Suzanne answered
smugly.  She shook her head.  “Unless, of course, Cole’s taken up
smoking pot.”
    “Well,” Chim
said thoughtfully, “I was offering, but he wouldn’t take me up on it.  No
accounting for taste.”
    Ava
giggled.  (If Cole’s face was any sign, he was about to die of
embarrassment.)  She pushed between Chim and Cole, dislodging her friend’s
arm.  Marcus’ clothing stank of cannabis.
    “C’mon,” she
said to