Joaquin stepped back to get a better look at the bust she’d been trying to draw. Aidan had apparently located it in the library and decided it would be a fun way to start them on portraits. Although to be honest it was only good for working on a basic face shape and not any major detail. She stepped to the side and immediately smacked into Aidan who let out an audible ‘oof’ followed by a ‘argh’ as Joaquin flailed and jabbed him in the cheek with her charcoal pencil.

“I’m so sorry,” she gasped, blushed and looked at the floor, hoping it would open up and swallow her.

“It’s ok,” Aidan soothed and rubbed his face. “I was going to point out what fantastic shading you’ve done around the cheeks,” he added. “Just not mine.”

“Sorry,” she mouthed again as Aidan moved over to look at Fiona’s work.

“And what’s this supposed to be?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The bust,” Fiona huffed and motioned to whatever if was on her page. “I just haven’t coloured it in.”

“Coloured it in?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure what colour it’s supposed to be,” she shrugged. “Looks kinda dirty.”

“It’s bronze,” Aidan managed as he backed away. “Ok guys, great job, I will see you next lesson when we take a closer look at facial features.”

The mixed bag of students began to pack up and Phi hurried over as he shoved things into his bag.

“Sir, that was great,” he enthused and then leaned in conspiratorially. “But why did that lady draw a potato?”

Aidan masked a snigger with his hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow in class,” he smiled and gave Phi a pat on the back.

“I don’t understand why we have a high schooler in the class,” Fiona piped up as she packed her things. “He’s not going to be as advanced as us.”

“It’s nothing to do with you, thanks Fiona,” Aidan frowned, making her blush.

“Aidan,” Joaquin swallowed as she approached him gingerly.

“What’s up, Jo?” he asked as he headed for his desk and began to collect his things up.

“I just wanted to let you know I won’t be here next lesson.”

“What?” Aidan faked shock and then smirked. “What’s keeping you away from me?”

“I have to go to Sydney for a seminar,” Joaquin rolled her eyes. “And a cocktail party.”

“That sounds fun,” he smiled and squeezed her arm. “Enjoy yourself,” he added and looked at the ceiling with a muttered, “Thank you.”

“Why has Fiona painted a potato?” Adele announced as she sauntered over, looking bemused.

Joaquin immediately turned pinker and went back to collecting her things,

“It’s a bust,” Aidan said with mock seriousness as Fiona grabbed her sketchbook and stalked out of the room.

“It’s definitely a potato,” Adele added with a yawn. “Come on Jo, I have a manuscript to hate on and sleep to get.”

“Almost done,” Joaquin breathed as she shoved her pencils back into her bag. “Do you mind if I go wash my hands?”

“No,” Adele sighed and watched Joaquin hurry out the room to the bathrooms. “How are you, non-boyfriend?” she smiled, leaning into Aidan.

“I had to take Year 9 PE today, and Fiona asked me what colour a bronze was,” he replied forlornly.

“I honestly don’t know how you do it.”

“I mentally go to my happy place.”

“And where is that?”

“Generally between those.” He motioned to each of her boobs with a pencil.

Adele giggled as Joaquin reappeared.

“Has Jo told you her news?” Aidan asked

“What news?” Adele asked looking at Joaquin blankly.

“I’m going away for a few days to Sydney for a seminar,” she sighed, grabbing her things. “And a stupid cocktail party.”

Adele gave Aidan a side glance and then focussed on her friend. “How did this come about?”

“Jensen decided I could be company representative.”

“Just you?”

“I’m taking Ben with me,” Joaquin winced.

Adele and Aidan shot each other a bemused look.

“Well we need to get home and get you a suitable frock,” Adele declared as they headed for the door. She stopped at looked back at Aidan. “Are you coming or what?”

“Oh, I wasn’t sure if…”

“I always give you a lift home,” Adele shook her head. “Sheesh.”

Aidan grabbed his stuff and bustled past both of them. “I call shotgun!”

“Hey!” Joaquin yelped as all three raced to the car like children.

“What about this one?” Joaquin asked as she walked into the room in her frock of choice. It was a long navy number.

“Is Amish the look you’re going for?” Adele asked as she lay on Joaquin’s bed on her stomach, a manuscript in front of her and October padding away at a discarded sock.

“I think it looks elegant.”

“It looks like a sack.”

“Fine,” Joaquin went to her wardrobe and grabbed another dress and stalked off to the bathroom. She reappeared a few minutes later and Adele screwed up her nose.

“I’m not sure fuchsia is your colour,” she declared and looked back down at her script. “What on earth does ‘he fumbled with her opulent chasm of lust’ mean?”

“That you haven’t gotten any in quite some time,” Joaquin chided as she swished the skirt of her fuchsia frock.

“Touché,” Adele laughed. “Please burn that dress.”

“Well what do you suggest I wear?” Joaquin sighed, flopping onto the bed next to her. “What on earth is a ‘frothing love gourd’?”

“I dread to think,” Adele shuddered as she got to her feet and padded over to Joaquin’s closet. She mulled over the options and eventually pulled out a cute black dress. “I think less is more,” she added and passed it to Joaquin, who went and changed into it.

The dress finished just above her knee and hugged her curves in a flattering way, up to her breasts which were secured enough to show enough cleavage but not encourage any awkward spillage.

“I don’t hate it,” Joaquin shrugged as Adele passed her a cute pair of velvet oxblood coloured heels, a sweet little fitted velvet jacket in a matching colour, and decked her out in some sparkly jewellery. “Can you dress me everyday?”

“I offered that service when I met you,” Adele teased as she stood back to view her efforts. “Now all you have to do is pop to a hairdresser and get them to do something with that rats nest on your head and pop on some lipstick.”

“It just needs a brush…”

“Promise me you will go to a professional, Joaquin Owen.”

“Fine, I promise,” she huffed as she slipped off the heels. “What are you going to do to entertain yourself while I’m living it up in Sydney?”

“Work,” Adele shrugged as she scooped up her manuscript and noticed Joaquin looked disappointed. “Dance around the house in my undies.”

“Really?”

“Maybe.”

“I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“Maybe you’ll dance around in Ben’s undies while you’re in Sydney,” Adele teased as she headed out of the room.

“Not ever happening,” Joaquin yelled after her and then looked to October who’d paused his sock murder. “Don’t you judge me.”

A few days later, Joaquin found herself sitting between an older lady who had the window seat and Ben who had the aisle seat. This was mostly because the rather cramped economy section seats were not favourable to his long legs.

“Should I watch a movie?” Ben asked, searching for his headphones.

“It’s only a short flight,” Joaquin scolded him as she pulled out a diary sized sketchbook and began to draw. “You probably wont get through a movie.”

“Fine,” he sighed and glanced over at her book. “What are you drawing?”

“A bust.”

“Isn’t that a bit rude in such a public arena?”

“What?” she frowned. “A bronze bust of a head…not boobs.”

“Oh, right,” he chided. “Who’s this bust of?”

“No idea. Aidan found it in the library,” Joaquin shrugged and showed Ben small sketches she’d done previously.

“Looks like Victor Hugo,” Ben nodded and pointed to the beard. Joaquin looked at him blankly. “He wrote Les Miserables.”

“I know,” Joaquin huffed and turned away from him as best she could.

They didn’t talk for the rest of the flight, and once landed, they caught a taxi to the hotel. Joaquin approached the reception desk and was greeted by a very cheerful Asian man.

“Good morning, how may I help you?”

“Oh, I have a booking under Owen,” she swallowed as he checked the computer.

“Ah yes, you’re here for the seminar,” he beamed and sought out some paperwork for her. “We have a buffet breakfast from 6:30am but you’re also welcome to order room service.”

“Thank you,” Joaquin nodded as he handed her the key.

“You’re in room 412 which you’ll find if you take the elevator to level four and turn right.”

Joaquin started to walk but between her wheelie case, dress bag and newly acquired paperwork and key, she became tangled. Ben shook his head, took her dress bag and draped it over his arm with his suit bag.

“Better?” he asked with a smile.

“Thank you,” Joaquin said meekly as they found the elevator and made their way to level four. A quick bit of door counting and they located the room and stepped inside.

“Oh, there’s been a mistake,” Joaquin paled as she realised there was only one rather large bed in the room. “Should I go and ask them if they have another room?”

“Nah,” Ben mused as he strode across and fell onto the bed. “We’ll be fine. It’s not the first time we’ve shared a bed, now is it?”

This knowledge did not make Joaquin look any less uncomfortable. “I better head to the seminar.”

“What time will you be back?” Ben asked as he hopped off the bed and began looking through the bar fridge.

“Probably around four,” she breathed, checking she had everything she needed. “Please refrain from doing anything dumb while I’m not here.”

“I’m just going to watch sports and drink beer,” Ben said with mock innocence as he opened a beer and switched on the TV.

“Well, Jo should be in Sydney by now,” Adele mused as she sipped a mug of tea and glanced at Joel over the top of her monitor.

“So do you have big plans for yourself while you’re free of the extra angst?” Joel asked.

“Not really,” Adele sighed, leaning back in her chair. “I’m still avoiding that terrible woman who wrote that vampire detectives book.”

“Understandable, she’s a loon.”

“We can always watch sports and I can annoy you by pretending to know stuff?”

“Can’t,” Joel shook his head. “I’ve got Craig’s bucks party.”

“Oh, I’d forgotten about that.”

“You know what you could do?”

“Stock up on batteries?”

“What?”

“It’s a ladies joke.”

“Ok,” Joel cocked his head to the side. “You could invite Aidan over for sexy times.”

“What?”

“You remember sexy times, you used to have them in the stationery cupboard.”

“Our relationship isn’t like that,” Adele shook her head. “We’re just friends.”

“Liar,” Joel scorned. “Do you not hear yourself talk about him.”

“No, because I’m doing to wordy bit.”

Joel laughed. “What are you so scared of, woman?”

“Hmm, he’ll propose and then dump me for someone else he was fucking the whole time.”

“At some point you will have to move past that bastard.”

“Oh, and Jo will hate me forever because I’ve broken the girl code.”

“What about what you want, though?” Joel breathed. “Surely you’d like to know what getting kinky with Ade is like?”

“Not everything in life is about sex.”

“Maybe,” Joel smirked. “But all the best bits are.”

Adele lobbed a pen at his head. He ducked and it sailed past and lodged itself in a pot plant.

It was closer to 5:30 when Joaquin reappeared and found Ben still lounging on the bed. He’d spent his day watching sports, napping, and ordering a sandwich through room service.

“Hey, how did it go?” he asked, yawning.

“Oh, it was really interesting,” she enthused as she dropped her stuff and began rummaging around in her case. “There was a great discussion about modern techniques and we heard from one of the keynote speakers.” She grabbed a top from her case and her toiletries and headed into the bathroom.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Ben enthused as he sat up. Joaquin reappeared a few minutes later in a dark fitted shirt, her hair loose and a little lipstick. “You look nice.”

“I’m meeting some of the others for dinner,” she said absentmindedly, removing a few unnecessary items from her bag.

“Oh cool,” he smiled. “I’ll just neaten myself up…”

“Oh,” she blinked. “You’re not invited,” she declared, slipping her bag over her shoulder. “You wouldn’t enjoy the designer speak anyway.

“Ok then,” he said forlornly as the door closed and he was left alone again. Frustrated, he lay back on the bed and then sat up again. “To hell with this.” He slid off the bed and unzipped his case. Soon he was changed into a crisp shirt and smart shoes. He shoved his wallet and phone into his pocket and strode out of the room, determined to go and enjoy himself.

Joaquin met the small group of other designers she’d befriended at the hotel restaurant. They were seated at a table near the window and Joaquin quickly ordered a glass of wine and tried to relax and be a normal person.

“So where do you work again?” asked one of the women who was trying just that little bit too hard to be quirky. She had a large chunk of pink in her hair and what looked like homemade jewelry.

“Argon,” Joaquin smiled, taking a sip of wine.

“Don’t they do like book covers and shit?” asked a rather hairy man who might have been called Scott.

“Among other things,” Joaquin nodded as another one of the party piped up.

“I couldn’t work for one of those shallow companies.” The woman adjusted her 4000 bangles. “I have to be true to me, you know?”

“Tell me about it,” Scott groaned. “I worked for one of those places once and it really damaged my craft for a while.”

“So what do you do, exactly?” Joaquin asked, wondering if she should have ordered an entire bottle of wine.

“I do large murals that speak to a modern audience.”

“For?”

“A modern audience.” Scott looked at her blankly and Joaquin was pleased when Pink Hair piped up.

“Do you think they do vegan here?” She frowned at the menu as a waiter appeared.

“Are we ready to order?”

“Can I have the grilled pumpkin and black bean burger,” asked Pink Hair.

“I’ll have the sweet and sour aubergines,” Bangles smiled.

“I’d like the vegetable curry,” Scott added snootily. “Make sure it’s not hot.”

“I’ll have a steak, medium rare,” Joaquin perked. “With extra chips.”

Adele switched on the television and flicked through the channels until it landed on one of the border security shows. There was a Chinese lady who had a suitcase full of vegetables and was huffing about the sizable fine she’d have to pay.

“You hear that Occy,” she mused, poking the cat’s nose. “No veggie smuggling.”

October bounced off the couch and disappeared from the room. Adele looked at her phone and checked her messages again. She was surprised not to have heard from Joaquin. There was now a man from Romania who was visiting the country for 10 days but couldn’t name one landmark he wanted to see.

“Why am I watching this?” Adele sighed. “What am I usually doing at this time?” She leaned back on the couch. Picking Joaquin up for art class and flirting with Aidan. She drummed her fingers on the couch as the Romanian man was talking about the friend who had invited him but whose name he couldn’t remember. “Oh, to hell with it.” Adele sat up, switched the television off, and got to her feet. October trotted back into the room with a hair tie and began rolling manically around the floor with it as Adele snatched up her keys and headed out.

As she parked at the school she didn’t know why she was nervous. She’d done this trip lots of times and it hadn’t occurred to her to feel any kind of angst. Mind you, this was the first time she had come without having Joaquin as a useful distraction. She headed inside and paused before reaching Aidan’s classroom. Her heart was beating ridiculously and she took several very deep breaths to calm herself. She stepped forward just as people began to exit the room and had to step back until she could scoot in the door. Aidan was talking to Fiona and trying to show her how to correctly define someone’s lips.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just colour them red?” she asked, looking miserably at the charcoal sketch.

“If you detail them correctly you don’t need a hue to make it relatable,” Aidan replied, scratching his head.

“I might try it with a bit of red,” Fiona declared as she turned and headed for the door.

“Please don’t,” he muttered, glancing up, and was surprised to see Adele loitering by the door. “You do realise Jo isn’t here, right?”

“Of course I do,” Adele shrugged as she sauntered over to him. “But I realised I’d miss seeing you if I didn’t come.”

“Well we can’t have that,” Aidan smiled as he leaned back against his desk. “I mean when you think about it, I would’ve missed you, too.” He reached out and gently tugged the front of the sweater she was wearing and guided her toward him. She was certain he could hear her heart that was about to beat out of her chest as she rested her hands on his arms as he moved his around her waist and pulled her close. He dipped his head and moved his lips close to hers. “Are you shaking?”

“No,” she swallowed, her breath slightly raspy.

“Must be me then,” he whispered against her lips, and then kissed her, softly at first before the kiss deepened and Adele’s hands moved up his arms, neck, and into his hair.

“You’re very good at this,” Adele managed so pant, her lips barely apart from his.

“You’re no amateur yourself,” Aidan breathed as he enjoyed the feeling of her body eagerly pressing up against his.

“Another, please,” Ben asked, motioning to his glass. The bartender poured him another scotch and he downed it eagerly.

“Having a bad night, mate?” the bartender asked as he opened several beers.

“Ever been crazy about someone who both infuriates you and confuses you all at once?”

“No,” the bartender mused. “Maybe you need another drink.”

“Or maybe I need to go and join that table of very attractive women over there,” Ben declared and strutted over to a table of young women who had drinks of varying colours. “Good evening ladies, you look like you’re having fun.” They giggled as he pulled up a seat. “What brings you to this wonderful establishment?”

“It’s her birthday,” one of the women laughed and pointed to a petite brunette.

“Well, happy birthday to you, miss,” Ben smiled. “Do you have plans for your evening?”

“We might go on to a club,” piped up another of the party.

“So you’re American, right?” asked the birthday girl.

“Sure am.”

“Why are you here?”

“In this bar or this country?”

“Both,” said one of the women with a lot of cleavage that wasn’t in her dress.

“Well, I’m here in this bar because the girl I’m here with is currently on planet crazy,” Ben chided. “And I’m in this country because I needed a holiday so I thought I’d come visit a friend of mine.”

“So the woman and your friend are two different people, yeah?” the birthday girl asked as she sipped her reddish drink.

“Yes,” Ben nodded as one of the girls disappeared to the bar and returned a few moments later with another round of colourful drinks, including a green one for him. He thanked her, took a drink, and assumed it was some sort of vodka and lime creation. “And what do you ladies all do during the day?”

“Me and her,” the birthday girl smiled and pointed to one of the others. “Are in sales, Jenny there is a teacher, Bethany is a hairdresser and Kyla is studying to be a psychologist.”

“What does your girl do?” asked the cleavage baring one.

“She’s an artist and graphic designer,” Ben replied, taking another sip of his drink.

“Oh, so are you a designer as well?”

“No,” Ben laughed. “I’m a lawyer.”

“No way,” the birthday girl gasped. “That’s so cool. Do you defend like murderers and stuff?”

“Sometimes,” Ben nodded. “I’ve just finished a really long trial which is why I needed a holiday.”

“Oh, I can imagine,” the birthday girl soothed and rested her hand on Ben’s arm.

“So then I went into screen printing,” Pink Hair, whose name turned out to be Anthea, declared as she stopped to take a long drink of water. “I wanted to do something that was real.”

“That’s how I feel about my murals,” Scott nodded. “I refuse to sell out.”

Joaquin hadn’t managed to find a way to excuse herself from the dinner gathering, and it was going on two hours after the meal by this point and she way dying listening to the pretentiousness. She wondered what Ben was up to and hated to admit she was looking forward to getting back to the room and his company. She glanced out the window and then back across the emptying restaurant and saw, to her surprise, Ben stroll in with a ridiculous grin on his face.

“There you are, Bliss,” he beamed, reaching the table.

“Have you been drinking?” she asked, vaguely mortified.

“Yes, plenty,” Ben nodded. “It was with birthday drinks for Sara.”

“Who’s Sara?”

“A nice girl I met in a bar,” Ben wobbled slightly.

Joaquin got to her feet. “Why are you here?” she asked through clenched teeth, her cheeks starting to burn.

“You have the room key, princess,” he smirked and Joaquin grabbed her bag.

“Sorry, I have to go,” she blushed and awkwardly shoved Ben toward the exit. “Did you have to do that?” she scowled as they stepped into the elevator.

“What? Have fun?” Ben countered and crossed his arms.

“Embarrass me.”

“At least I’m not embarrassed by you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Joaquin snapped as they stepped out of the elevator and marched toward their room.

“Oh gee, Jo,” Ben shot back as they stepped into the room. “You’ve barely spoken to me since we got here. You seem to want me to keep out of sight because clearly I embarrass you.”

“I don’t want you to feel out of place,” Joaquin flustered. “They’re just different from you.”

“Different how?” Ben snapped. “What makes them so different?”

“They’re art school kids, college kids…”

“Oh my god Jo,” Ben gasped, “you really do think I’m an idiot.”

“I never said that.”

“Well clearly you don’t think I can communicate on that sort of intellectual level.”

“It’s not that,” Joaquin felt tears welling in her eyes. “You’re a jock…they’re…”

“You think I’m a jock?” Ben threw his hands in the air. “What’s my job, Jo? Huh? What do I do for a living?”

Joaquin looked at him blankly. “I’m sorry, I…”

“Those girls in the bar know,” Ben’s expression changed from anger to hurt. “But you, you’ve never bothered to even ask.”

“Well, why don’t you go back to them, then,” Joaquin fumed, stormed into the bathroom and sunk down behind the door as tears ran down her already flushed cheeks.

“Maybe I will,” Ben yelled, snatched up the room key and stormed out of the room.

Adele and Aidan stumbled into her apartment. Adele fumbled for a light as they stood there panting. They’d managed to make out up against her car, in the stairwell and against the apartment door.

“I guess the universe has spoken,” Aidan breathed as Adele grabbed his jacket and pulled him in for another heated kiss. He decided this was a good time to discard his jacket as she guided him toward her bedroom. Somewhere between the door and the bed they kicked off their shoes and Adele grabbed Aidan again and guided him down onto the sheets as he kissed her. His shirt was now entirely open and it wasn’t until he felt her fingers on his fly that he stopped.

“Hey,” he purred, grabbing both her hands and pinning them to the sheets above her head. “What’s the rush?”

“Rush?” Adele gasped. “This is so far longer than any sex I’ve ever had.”

“I don’t have sex,” Aidan declared as he used one hand to keep her hands pinned and the other to remove his shirt. “I make love, and damn I’m good at it,” he added breathily as he teasingly brought his lips close to her and then moved them away as she went to kiss him and began working his way from her earlobe to her neck.