Worth Saving(30)
When the taxi finally stops, I look out the window and see what Danielle Saxton Studio is, but I’m still confused as to why Austin would want to have a date here. It’s a paint studio. Maybe it’s some sort of an art gallery. I squint in confusion as I pay the driver and exit the cab. The place isn’t very well lit, and it doesn’t seem to have a bunch of people inside, so I’m not sure why he decided to come here. The studio is sandwiched between two other inconspicuous buildings and I almost feel a little uneasy—like I need to clutch my purse a little tighter while I stand in front of the place. I don’t see Austin anywhere, so I wonder if I should wait outside for him, or maybe I should go inside. Maybe this is just a bad idea all together. Maybe I should get back in the taxi before the bald guy drives away. My mind’s flying a million miles per hour with words and questions bouncing off the walls of my brain like bumper cars. It’s the sound of Austin’s voice that brings me back down to earth.
“You look amazing,” I hear him say from behind me. I have to take another deep breath before I can turn around to face him, but when I do, I’m glad I decided to do this.
He’s beautiful. Austin stands there with his hands in the pockets of his black slacks, and his white and black button up perfectly pressed and buttoned to the top, but he chose to ditch the tie. He’s wearing black and white patent leather shoes that kind of remind of a picture I saw of this mob guy from Chicago named Kelvin Carter Jr. The whole ensemble flows together perfectly and the confidence in his face and posture just put the perfect cherry on top. I guess that answers the question of if he can look good all the time. Yes. Yes he can.
“Thank you,” I finally manage to reply after much too long of a pause. “You look very handsome.” I hope that didn’t sound too corny.
“Thanks,” he says with a bright smile that shines light all over this dark street. “So, what made you decide you were ready to go out with me? I was thinking we were about to setup another late night stroll.”
“Like I said, my day off was today, and I decided I wanted to hang out with you in a place that wasn’t a dark street at four in the morning.” There’s really no perfect answer to that question, so I kind of dance around it. “So anyway, what exactly is this place?”
Austin looks up at the sign on the window like he’s seeing it for the first time.
“Oh this place? It’s just a little spot I’ve checked out a couple of times since I got stationed here a few years ago. I’ll explain more once we’re inside. We better get in there. I don’t want them to start without us.”
“Them? Start without us? What are we doing?” I inquire with a nervous giggle.
“You’ll see. Come on.” Austin sticks out his hand for me to take and grins at me. That grin sends little tingles all the way down to my feet as I grab his hand and let him lead me inside. I have to shake those little tingles off. I don’t like them. Well, I don’t like that I like them.
Just after the entrance is a tan curtain that leads into another room. I can see a light shining from under the curtain, and there are voices too. Austin pushes the curtain aside and we step into a bright room. The floor is white tile and the room smells of paint. In the center of the room is a woman wearing a flowing white floral dress, who I’m guessing is Danielle Saxton, and she’s surrounded by people sitting in front big wooden easels. They all have little trays of paint with different colors in them, and they’re all holding paint brushes.
“Welcome,” the woman in the middle says to Austin and me as we creep in. “Please take your seats and we’ll begin.”
Austin, still holding onto my hand, leads me over to the only easels that aren’t occupied and we sit on the stools that were waiting for us.
“A painting class?” I ask. “Well, this is definitely a first.”
“Good,” Austin answers with another smile. “I remembered you told me you liked to draw. This isn’t exactly drawing, but it’s pretty close.”
Austin turns to pay attention to the teacher who’s getting ready to speak, and I’m glad because he doesn’t see me when I smile at the fact that he remembered I said I liked to draw.
“Alright, everybody. My name is Danielle Saxton, and I’d like to thank you for coming to my studio tonight,” the woman in the middle says. She looks like she’s in her mid-fifties, with straight black hair and a long, sharp nose. On the walls surrounding us, I see beautiful paintings on display that I assume are hers. “Tonight’s class is painting for beginners, and what we’re going to do is paint objects that we see in front of us first, and then we’ll try to paint something that gives us inspiration more towards the end. I’ll be going around to assist those who’d like my help, but by all means, have fun and use this class to express yourself through your paintings. Let’s get started, shall we.”
Danielle walks over to a table and grabs a plate that has fake fruit on it, and sets it on a table in the middle of the room. There’s little fake grapes, apples and bananas on the plate, and everyone in the class immediately grabs their brushes and gets started. Austin falls in line and grabs a brush as well, so I feel obligated to do the same thing. I decide to start out with the bananas.
“So, I have a confession to make. We’ve hung out a few times now,” Austin finally says, although he’s not looking at me, “and I don’t even know your last name.”