Page 26 of Quiet
Hm.
Isa yawned and stretched. “I’m going to take a nap until they need me again. You can go if you want to, I won’t be offended.”
Briar signed, “Staying.”
“Suit yourself.” Isa leaned against the wall beside Briar, rested his arms on his knees, and lay his head on them. In moments he was breathing slowly and steadily.
Maybe Briar should have gone home, but he didn’t want to. He sketched Isa from different angles, both from memory and using him as a reference now. He drew pictures of Isa with long hair and without. Both were just as fascinating.
While he was finishing off a version of Isa wearing a mixture of feminine and masculine steampunk clothes, a weight fell on him as Isa tipped over and landed in Briar’s lap.
At first Briar was frozen in place, unsure of what to do. When his mind came back online, he put his notebook on the ground beside him and shifted his legs so Isa would be more comfortable. The boy really could sleep anywhere.
Briar brushed the hair back from Isa’s face and the boy sighed in his sleep. Something electric shot through Briar, going straight to his bones.
Oh.
This was what he’d been missing.
Briar ran a finger along the soft skin of Isa’s cheek.
This was why he’d gotten so angry at what Will had said.
“Tickles . . .” Isa moved his face away from Briar’s hand and burrowed into his thigh.
HewantedIsa. More than as a model, more than anything.
All the puzzle pieces slotted themselves into place, and Briar’s world rearranged itself accordingly.
A week ago, if someone asked Briar what the most important thing in the world was to him, he would have said art.
Now, Briar understood there wasn’t a difference between art and Isa. For him, they were the same thing.
He didn’t know how much time passed as he sat and watched Isa sleep. At some point, the rehearsal broke up, and the girls thanked him for being such a respectful audience. One of them told him to remind Isa to text the director when he left so she’d know it was safe to lock up when she finally left.
The door slammed behind the girls on their way out, startling Isa awake.
His face scrunched up in confusion, and Briar tilted his head to one side to take it in.
“What?” Isa asked sleepily before his eyes focused, and he realized where he was. Briar noticed the exact moment when Isa realized what he was using as a pillow because an entire palette of pink swept over his face. He scrambled off Briar’s lap.
“You fell asleep.”
A shiver went through Isa. “I guess I did. I’m sorry I did it on you, though. Next time, just wake me up.”
“I don’t mind.” What did a person do when they liked someone?
Isa looked around and shot to his feet. “Everyone is gone?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” Isa ducked his head and twisted his fingers together until he saw the abandoned wig on the floor. He moved to pick it up, but Briar beat him to it.
Briar took it and twined a curl around one finger, enjoying the way it bounced when he pulled on it. “It suits you.” He heard a sharp intake of breath and looked up to see Isa turn away quickly.
Briar got to his feet. “Where does it go?”
Isa appeared to be having trouble breathing and didn’t answer.
