In Too Deep

“Hey,” he said, pulling the door wide. “Ronan’s changing. He’ll be out soon.”

She stepped into the living room. “How’s the kitchen coming?”

“I got the cabinets in. Wanna see?”

“I’d love to.” She followed him to the kitchen. The new cabinets were beautiful. “You made a prep island. Very fancy. This is amazing.” She ran a hand over one of the doors. “Did you actually make these?”

He nodded.

“They’re stunning.”

“They’re not even done yet. They need another coat of stain and poly.” He blushed. This grown man, who spent most of his time joking around, had a hard time taking a compliment.

“Really, Declan. If I owned a house, I’d hire you in a minute.”

“Whoa,” Ronan said behind them. “What do you think you’re hiring my brother for?”

“These cabinets are beautiful.”

“Yeah, he did pretty good, but let’s not give him a swelled head. You ready to go?”

“Yep.”

“You gonna tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope.”

Declan burst out laughing. “She really knows how to drive you nuts. I love it.”

Ronan growled at his brother.

Chloe looped an arm around Ronan’s. “Trust me. It’ll be fun.”

Since she didn’t want him to know where they were going, she drove. He, of course, grumbled about the size of her car the whole time. When they arrived at the art studio, she parked and reached into the back for the six-pack of beer.

“Bringing your own beer? What the hell is this?” he asked.

“Trust me, okay? Keep an open mind. It’ll be fun.”

He climbed out of the car with only one small grumble. The man definitely didn’t like surprises.

When she held the door open for him, he paused, looking around the room. “You didn’t sign me up to be a nude model, did you? I’m not stripping.”

She laughed but had no idea what made him think that because he was blocking her view of the room. “No, it’s a BYOB couple’s painting night.”

He stepped aside to let her through. The room was filled with middle-aged women sipping wine. Their eyes were glued to Ronan.

She nudged him to a couple of open easels and handed him a beer. “So I guess I misunderstood the couple part. They only sold tickets in pairs.”

“Uhhuh.” He took a swig of beer. “You know my brother Gavin is the artist. I don’t have any artistic talent.”

“You’re not supposed to. This is just for fun.”

He sighed and settled on the stool in front of the easel, and Chloe smiled. She’d come to realize that Ronan grumbled and bitched a lot, but he’d do this for her. Even though it was outside his comfort zone, doing something he probably wouldn’t like, he’d do it anyway. It made her like him even more.

A few minutes later, the teacher came in, looking like a made-for-TV movie hippie. She wore a long, flowy gown, and the wild curls around her head poked out everywhere.

“Good evening. I hope you’re all prepared to search your soul, open wounds, and bleed onto the canvas.”

“If this is some kind of fucking cult, I’m gonna have issues,” Ronan muttered.

Chloe stifled a laugh.

“Before we pick up our tools of paint and brush,” the teacher continued, “I want you to close your eyes for a moment.” She put on some instrumental meditation music and lit an incense stick. “Let the music free your mind.”

Ronan grunted. Chloe snickered. The teacher shot them a look. Chloe grabbed Ronan’s hand and closed her eyes.

The teacher went on. “I don’t want you to think about what you want to paint. I want you to feel it. Consider the people in your life. What colors do they remind you of? What shapes do they bring to your life?”

The room fell silent. Then the teacher rang a bell. “Open your eyes and begin painting.”

Chloe released Ronan’s hand. He opened his eyes. She hadn’t expected him to play along. She leaned close and said quietly, “Sorry. I didn’t know it was going to be this weird. That’s what I get for using a coupon online.”

He shrugged. “We’re here. Might as well paint. But you owe me.”

“I will happily pay up later.”