Ted stalked back to his car, opened the rear hatch, and pulled out his equipment. None of the other artists were in sight. He turned, exhaled, and brought his attention back to his paid job.
Find out if Kirsten was cheating on old man Charbonnet. Clean, simple, easy.
So unlike his life ever since he’d taken this stupid job. He adjusted the easel, chair, and tackle box in his arms, and started to search for her.
He’d set up his easel near her, within watching, if not hearing distance. But where had she gone?
Ted wandered around to the back of the house, finding several people already set up and painting. They nodded, waved, or said hello as he moved past them. Up ahead, Peter faced not the house, but the woods. Beyond him, Kirsten stood talking to Darcy.
Figures. Wherever Peter was, there would be Darcy, sniffing around. When he got a chance, he was going to have that conversation about safe sex with Darcy Wentworth, whether he liked it or not.
Ted found a place in between the two painters where he could keep an eye on both of them and set up facing the house. The view of the large covered porch stretching across the back of the house looked like it came straight out of a magazine. Picture-perfect, down to the hanging fern baskets, white wicker furniture, and dark green ceiling fans.
This was the view he’d try to capture.
He set up, got out his brushes and paints, and set to work, blocking in the picture like Darcy had shown them.
Darcy moved toward him, done with whatever he’d been discussing with Kirsten.
“Hello. Glad to see you finally made it.” Darcy arched an eyebrow at him.
“I had some business to take care of.” Ted made a few swipes with his brush to capture the building’s shape.
“With the sheriff?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s the guy from the restaurant, isn’t he? The one you thought you knew?”
Darcy was sharp, no doubt about that.
“Yeah. Turns out, he was the guy.” Ted shrugged.
“Everything settled?” Darcy sure was full of questions. Ted couldn’t tell if it was interest or just being polite.
“Sure.” He continued to sketch the house in, adding a few hastily drawn details.
Darcy moved around to watch. “You’ve got a good foundation there. Strong lines. Good perspective. I can’t wait to see it once you’ve laid in some color.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll be back later.” Darcy gave him a nod and moved on to Peter. Ted watched him as he stopped to talk to the younger man, moving in closer, touching Peter’s shoulder every now and then, then with a soft laugh, he moved on. Peter continued painting.
Ted looked over to Kirsten, who stood at her easel staring at her painting. She frowned and exhaled.
He put down his brush and strolled over to her. As he approached, she glanced at him and then smiled.
“What’s wrong?” Ted asked.
“Something’s just not right.” She stared at her canvas.
Ted came up beside her and looked at the just blocked in drawing. “It’s your perspective. It’s just a bit off.” He picked up her brush and held it next to the canvas to demonstrate how the lines should be. “See, here, you just need to follow the same lines on the ground.”
“Right.” She nodded and took the brush from him and quickly made the corrections. “Thanks!”
“No problem. Why didn’t Darcy say anything when he was here?” After all, that’s what they were paying him the outrageous fee to do.
“He pointed it out to me, just didn’t tell me how to fix it. He’s really hard, you know.” She frowned, and Ted’s heart went out to her.
“Yeah. In more ways than that.” Darcy clearly wasn’t what he seemed. “But I’m sure it’ll be fine now.” He pointed to the painting.
She nodded. “It will be, thanks to you.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. It surprised him how much that pleased him, but the feeling set off alarms. He should keep his distance from her. “How’s yours coming?”
“Fine. Got it sketched in, just ready to slap on some paint.”
“Well, better get to it. By the time Darcy comes back around, we’d better have them almost done. Or else.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down and laughed.
“Gotcha.” He headed back to his easel and picked up his brush. Once he started painting, he lost himself in the picture.
After a few hours, he had a nearly complete painting and one he was pretty proud of, if he said so himself.
Darcy called for everyone to pack up and bring their canvases back to the cars for a check-in and quick critique.
As the others leaned their paintings against the cars, and they all strolled back and forth looking at them, Ted could see most of the folks had talent, in a wide range of degrees.
Pleased to hear it, Ted listened as Darcy told him that he’d done a superb job of rendering the old plantation house. Peter had true talent, though, and Darcy didn’t waste any time fawning over him. Peter’s chest swelled a bit under the praise.
As Darcy moved on to the others, Ted couldn’t help but think this trip had been a real waste of time. Kirsten wasn’t cheating on her husband, and Ted wasn’t going to get laid, not by Peter, Darcy, or even Scott.
And that was more than he could stand. Ted sank into a grim mood as they packed up to head to the restaurant for dinner. As he put the last of his stuff in the back of the SUV, Peter appeared at his side.
“Can I ride with you again?” He clutched his equipment under his arm.
“I smell like linseed oil,” Ted warned.
“I’d rather go with you than the old ladies.”
“What about driving with Darcy?” Ted cast a glance at their teacher, who was helping one of the women load her trunk.
“Nah. I’m in no rush.” He put his stuff in the back and turned to Ted. “Besides, I like you better.” He looked up into Ted’s face from under unbelievably long blond eyelashes.
“And I like you, but kid, I told you, nothing’s happening between us.”
“Maybe.” Peter winked at him and trotted to the passenger door. He got in and buckled up.
“Definitely.” Ted put the seatbelt on and turned on the ignition.
“We’ll see.” Peter smiled. “You look a little tense. I can take care of that you know.”
Ted should have said yes. Should have lingered at the plantation, let Peter suck him off, but he didn’t. Once again, his lack of interest in sex frightened him.
He could only think of sex with Scott, and that was so not going to happen. The kiss had been one thing, but more with Scott would be out of the question.
Frustrated, he sighed. “I’m fine. Just worried Darcy would rip my painting apart in front of everyone.”
“Why would he do that?” Peter asked.
“’Cause I turned him down too.” Ted chuckled.
“Oh. Yeah, I get your point, but I don’t think Darcy’s like that.”
“Not jealous? Kid, he practically shot daggers with his eyes at me when you were flirting earlier.”
“He did?” Peter looked pleased as punch.
“He did.”
“Do you think he cares about me?” Peter really was young.
Ted shrugged. “I don’t know. But I do know he wants to fuck you.”
“I know that too. He told me. No secret there.”
“Look, if you want him, do it, just insist on being safe, that’s all. You’re both adults, and there’s no one in the background, is there?”
“No.”
“Then just do it, get it over with, and move on.”
“That’s what you’d do right?”
“Kid, if I were in my right mind, I’d do you both at the same time. I’d fuck your sweet tight ass and blow Darcy to kingdom come.” Ted laughed.
“But, you’re not in your right mind?” Peter tilted his head at Ted, searching for something.
“Nope. Not anywhere close.” On the verge of going crazy, he’d say. Standing on the ledge of a building and deciding to jump, crazy. Believing the man he wanted was a werewolf, kind of crazy.
“Too bad.” Peter shrugged. “I would have really liked that.”
“Me too, kid, me too.” Ted followed the line of cars to the restaurant.
What he really wanted was to go back to his room at Bayou End and find Scott there, stretched out on his bed, his dick tied up with a big red bow.
Ted sighed.
Never gonna happen.