Free Brushstrokes by Lilith Fox Page B

tied up in the sound of her name on his lips.
    He took her hand, an
amused look on his face. His hands engulfed hers, which were at least half the
size of his gargantuan ones. She knew that the rough hands now touching hers
were responsible for creating countless works of art known the world over. She
did not even have any real idea as to how many sculptures he had freed from
their stone or paintings he had made. Her hands, small and soft, had been
trying to emulate his example and create for years. The rough, large and
extremely warm hand was joined by its mate, clapping themselves around her one
hand.
    With her hands being to
perspire, she suddenly felt like a bug. This man was enjoying this the same way
that a scientist looks at a bug under a microscope. His eyes were keenly
interested in her reaction to him. The flat blue took on a mischievous look to
them. For a moment, she felt that she could do anything with this man.
    “I’ll tell you what,
Cherie.” He looked to his right at something Sandra could not see. “Let us
continue this introduction after the show. I have much to do, but you are too
lovely. Perhaps we can discuss you sitting for me, oui ?”
    She had always thought
French was a pretentious-sounding language until she heard it come out of his
mouth. Cherie? Oh lord, don’t let me pass out now! She nodded helplessly
and he made his leave of her, turning to the gaggle of rail-post men and women
setting up his works. His voice boomed at them and they all immediately went
into action.
    Sit for him? Talk later? She began walking
aimlessly to try to look unaffected by their meeting. It was only when she
noticed that she had nothing to do except to setup the reception area that her
steps had purpose again. I’m sure he just said that to be kind. She was
trying to come up with ways to soften the blow that was sure to come later. He
was probably just trying not to seem so abrasive after yelling at the setup
crew. Discretely patting her palms dry on her dress, she began the task of
setting up the check-in area and all of the paraphernalia. She would just have
to try to act like a professional until the end of the evening. Thinking about Leon walking around her all night, she readied herself for what was sure to be a rough few
hours.
    ***
    As she had predicted, it
had been rough. The constant influx of guests kept her extremely busy, but she
was unable to resist glancing in Leon’s direction throughout the show. To make
matters worse, he always looked back, as if he could sense her eyes on him.
There were even a few instances where she felt as if she were being looked at,
but she did not have the courage to check it was her imagination or his eyes
that she felt. She preferred to pretend that it was really him and not just her
imagination.
    With the show coming to
an end, she had to turn people away at the door and turn the key. There was no
shortage of crowds tonight. Looking over her check-in sheets, she saw upwards
of 1,000 names. This was an astronomical number for such a small space. Leon insisted on the small space when he signed his contract, saying that intimacy was
crucial to viewing his work.
    Sandra was lost in her
own thoughts and counting up guests when she had to suddenly stop short.
Looking up from her clipboard, she caught the gaze of flat blue eyes with
intense pupils looking right at her. “Oh! So sorry, Mr. Leon. I wasn’t,”
    “Looking where you were
going? Clearly. You looked busy.”
    Her brain failed her in
the shadow of this gorgeous, giant of a man. All she had was backup small
talk.  “Well, it was a very busy show.”
    He smiled proudly. “Yes,
yes it was. Very good overall.”
    “It kept me busy with so
many people to keep happy while waiting in line to get in.”
    He tilted his head, as
if he had heard another statement all together behind what she said. “Are you
complaining that I should not want the space so small?”
    She could have kicked
herself. “No, no, not at all. It