The Boy Next Door

Chapter 33

We pull up to the single leveled building, the outside looking as if it hasn't been occupied in a while which made me look over at Aiden.

"Are you sure this is it?" I ask as we get closer to the warehouse type building.

"Yes, baby," Aiden chuckles while squeezing my hand. "Don't look so nervous."

I was extremely nervous, more so uneasy about the fact that I don't know how I'm supposed to model for this portrait. Are we even going that far today? We were sitting on the couch lazily when he got the splurge of energy and forced me out the door.

Now, I'm listening to our shoes click against the smooth, concrete floor. The air felt cool as my eyes begin to linger on the canvases hanging in the wall. Without a doubt, this man was extremely talented.

We grace the light at the end of the wide hallway, the spacious room filled with paint, easels, and hundreds of used and unused canvases. The wide windows near the ceiling of the place allowing a liberal amount of light to enter.

Oh.

I guess I must've spoke out loud, being the guy and the naked female glance our way. Not that there's anything wrong with her, she just caught me off guard.

"Eli!" Aiden calls out to the guy as he raises himself from the rolling stool, a big smirk on his face as he walks over to us. Aiden slips his hand out of mine as he embraces Eli in a typical male hug.

"Shit, you said two thirty, how are you late?" Eli asks as they pull away from each other, his hand coming up and running along his bearded jaw.

"We got...caught up." Aiden says, making me glance down at the ground for the fact we're over an hour late. Eli lets out a deep chuckle, his hands clasping together to crack at his knuckles.

"Uh huh," he mutters, probably knowing exactly what went down. His gray eyes meet mine as a small grin braces his chocolate skin. "Cameron? Elijah, nice to meet you."

"Hi," I say while shaking his hand. "Y-You're very talented, Elijah." I mentally scold myself for stammering over my own words, not like I have a reason to. My eyes watch as the redhead woman secures a robe tightly around her body, before making her way over to us.

"Take fifteen," Elijah says to the woman before she dips out of the room, not before giving us a small wave. "So, you ready?"

My brows crease as I look over at Aiden, who has already wandered over to the wall of paintings and such. "I, um...Aiden?"

"Hmm?" He hums mindlessly while looking back at us. "Oh, no, you're not doing anything today. We're just gonna talk about what we want done." He explains as the confused look on my face deepens.

What we want done? Does he want a nude painting of me? "Like a nude or something?" I ask as he takes hold of my hand, Elijah leading us deeper into the room and over to a couch.

"You want a nude?" Elijah pipes up as he takes a seat in the opposing chair, his fingers taking hold of the packet of cigarettes on the stand. I stare at his arm, the intricate and colorful tattoos creating a full sleeve. "I think Aiden will get jealous of me looking at you naked all day."

I let out a chuckle under my breath as I watch Aiden roll his eyes, the arm he has draped over my shoulder pulling me closer to him. "I didn't think you'd want to go that route...unless you do." He says, clearly game for the idea.

I grin at him while shaking my head no, not entirely opposed to the idea, just not right now. "No pressure," Elijah says while blowing out smoke, "pretty boy already has a few ideas in mind. I want to hear from you still."