Page 93 of Yellow
“Yes.”
“That is… wow.”
“Thank you.”
“And you want to make a painting with me and Adam. Why?”
“Because of the contrast you two represent.”
Chloe thought for a second and swayed a bit. “Do I need to be topless too?”
Cia laughed. “No, not at all.”
“I’m okay with it, on one condition.”
“What’s that?” Cia asked with a hopeful smile.
“When the painting is done, you’ll let me buy it.”
Cia nodded slowly. “All right, but I should warn you: my paintings aren’t cheap.”
Chloe took another long look at the large portrait on the wall. “They shouldn’t be. You’re good.”
“We’re talking at least twenty thousand dollars for something that size,” Cia said softly, and it made Chloe turn around and pat her on the cheek.
“I think I can afford it, and you never know – I might hang it somewhere prominently in my house and make sure all my celebrity friends see it. That should expand your list of buyers quite a bit, don’t you think?”
Cia lit up in a huge smile. “I know there’s plenty of pictures of you online, but could I just get a few of you and Adam together?”
Chloe nodded and stepped toward me, leaning her head back to meet my eyes. “I didn’t mean to check up on you, it’s just that you were gone for a long time.”
Her words made my heart jump and my inner wolf howl. She had just confirmed that she’d come looking for me and even though it shouldn’t matter one bit, it did.
Cia broke our moment. “I have this vision in my head about the picture and I’m hoping I could get you to kiss briefly for the photo.”
Chloe grinned up at me. “Ohh, Adam won’t like that.”
I remained silent but felt heat spread in my belly.
“Then maybe just be nose to nose, at least,” Cia said. “In the painting there will be a black limo that’s had a head-on crash with a beat-up old car. Cleo, you’ll be in a beautiful gown as if you’ve come straight from the Academy Awards show and your limo has collided with the old car.”
“He drives a truck,” Chloe chipped in.
“Okay, that’ll work,” Cia said. “Imagine there’s been an argument because of the crash, but from the anger erupts passion and Adam is either pressing you against the car and kissing you, or simply picking you up on the spot.”
Chloe grinned. “He’s very strong.” She directed a challenging glance at me. “You could pick me up, couldn’t you?”
I nodded.
“Let’s try it.” Cia pointed to us. “Pick her up as if you justhaveto have her.”
I frowned and hesitated. This was a bad idea.
“You don’t have to do it if it feels wrong to you,” Cia said quickly. “I know I’m asking for a lot.”
“It’s just that Christian and Melody are only holding hands in their portrait. Why do we have to kiss?” I asked.
“Because they’re a couple. Romance can be understated when it’s already established. With you two it’s the opposite. You’re not a couple and don’t share romantic feeling for each other, so we’re simply using the element of sexual passion to build a bridge over the gap between the two different worlds that you represent.”
