Page 96 of Sinful as They Come
I had told her about my mom the other night. That was a part of my life I usually kept to myself. But she had been staring at me with those big eyes and I couldn’t help but give in. I had learned things about her and she had learned things about me – things I had never intended on sharing with anyone, let alone her. But Holly hadn’t judged me for my past. For my mistakes.
That afternoon we cooked and ate together felt so right. It felteasy. Like how it was meant to be. Growing up I was used to hearing screaming matches in the kitchen every day. But that night with Holly had been a nice change.
For a second my eyes closed. I imagined that happening again. Me and Holly, in the kitchen. Inourkitchen. We could cook together, eat together, just…betogether. She’d be mine and I’d be hers, and there wouldn’t be a thing that would get in the way.
It felt nice to get lost in the thought for a little while. Fuck, what was I thinking? That was never gonna happen. Someone like Holly would never like me that way.
Climbing out of my truck, I dodged the people moving up and down the library steps before I entered the building. I didn’t even know where I was going, but a familiar brunette leaning up against the front desk pulled me to her almost instantly.
Holly stood there, out of her usual cheerleading uniform, and in a little dress. It was a soft purple color and clung to her curves. I spotted her smooth thighs, my eyes moving from there to her hips to her waist to her chest for the quickest of seconds. When my eyes finally landed on hers, I watched her smile shyly at me as she gave me a little wave. I nodded at her in response.
“Are you, like, gonna watch me paint or something?” was the first thing I said to her. “’Cause I don’t work as well when people are staring.”
She giggled, tucking some hair behind her ear. “No. Mrs. Tomlinson, the head librarian, isn’t here on weekends. But she wanted me to show you around and give you all the information you need for the project.”
“Where’s this thing going exactly?”
“Right behind this desk.” Holly gestured to the big, empty wall behind us. “They just got rid of their old painting. Well, they sold it to be exact.”
“For how much?” I couldn’t help but wonder.
“Just over thirty thousand.
I held back a whistle of amazement. If I could make that on the regular… Hell, if I could make that once a year, then things would get so much better for me. It wouldn’t make me rich. But I didn’t need to be rich. I just wanted to paint, and to have enough cash so I didn’t have a headache worrying about rent all the time.
“Cool,” was all I said, trying to hide my excitement at that number. “And, uh, how much am I gonna get paid for this? I just want it to be worth my time.”
“Oh. Yeah. Of course. That info’s all here.” Holly grabbed a stack of papers from the front desk. “She didn’t tell me the number. That’s between you and her. But I do know that you’ll get paid for the actual painting and your time and labor. There’s a contract in there you have to sign. If you agree with all the terms, of course.”
“The terms?” I flicked through the papers, searching for the only piece of information I truly cared about: the money. Maybe I was being a little selfish, but I was struggling to get by, and any bit of cash would help.
“Yeah. Like I said before, you can’t paint anything you want. They kinda want a Dallas theme. Something with an open sky, something that’s a bit rural. Basically a pretty landscape. The library also wants to interview you when you’re done with the painting.”
“You mean you’re gonna interview me?” I asked, pausing my hands for a moment as I stared at her. I could have sworn I swore her cheeks turn pink.
“Yeah. I’ll try and make it as fun as possible.”
I laughed lowly. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“There’s some other stuff too. Like, you can’t take photos of the painting and show people until you’re done with it. And you have to finish in the time that they’ve set out.”
“How long is that?”
“About two months.”
“Huh. I think I can give ‘em what they want.” I finally found the part of the contract I had been searching for. Ten thousand dollars. The words were in bold. Or maybe my brain was making them look that way. Either way, the sight of those five digits calmed me down after the fucking mess of a month I had been having. Suspension, running out of food, Dad taking off with all my money…
It felt good to have something to finally look forward to. I wouldn’t get the money until the project was done, but the cash I got from work would help me and Brodie get by until they put that cheque in my hands.
“So, uh, do you wanna do it?” Holly asked quietly.
My eyes lifted up from the papers in my hands to meet her eyes, the tiniest of grins on my face.
“Do you wanna do the painting?” She quickly corrected.
I chuckled lowly, realizing then how much Holly seemed to blush. “Yeah. You got a pen?”
Holly grabbed one and I quickly signed my name. I could agree to the terms. And I was certain I could get the project done in two months. I could spend my weekends painting while I worked after school. I’d be busy. But it’d be worth it in the end.
