The Artist

Chapter 4

The screeching of stools echoed in Mia's ears as people came into the classroom and pulled the stools out to sit down in front of the big easels she had set up. She was leaning against the desk in the front as a few more people came into the room but out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a familiar face that was halfway hidden under his NASA baseball cap.

Mia smiled as she looked up and asked, "So you've taken up stalking as a hobby now?"

"Well you said I couldn't afford you," A smirk was on his handsome bearded face while he sat down on a stool closest to her and finished his thought, "So I figured I needed to do my own painting."

She just gave him a sideways smile, her dimples showing up as she did so. Suddenly Mia felt a lot more nervous to teach this class. It was stupid and she knew it. Mia had a boyfriend, it seemed dumb to be feeling this way over some other guy. Mia just chalked it up to chemistry though. Her and Chris just... clicked and it maybe was the start of a good friendship but nothing more.

Mia couldn't help but notice the way he looked at her during the class though. His kind blue eyes were always locked on her and he took every opportunity he could to make her laugh when she would come around and check on each of the students.

Chris just couldn't help but look at her the way he did though. There was such a spark between them like he had never experienced before. Coming here was probably a mistake though, she had a boyfriend and the only thing he got out of this class was a front row seat to Mia's soft, kind hearted, and encouraging side which just made him even more crazy about her.

"This is just terrible," An exasperated woman sighed from beside Chris as Mia came up next to her. "I'm no good at this."

"Just because you aren't loving this piece of art doesn't mean you're a bad artist," Mia was firm as she looked the woman in the eye. "It's okay not to like your own art but you're never going to improve if you give up. Now try to tell me what you don't like about it so I can help you."

Chris watched as Mia intently listened to the woman, occasionally nodding her head to let her know that she was still listening. When the frustrated woman finished, Mia's gentle smile appeared and she began giving her a few small pointers and told her, "Why don't you start with that and I'll be back to check on you and we can go from there."

He saw the way the woman relaxed, obviously feeling encouraged and a bit more confident as she picked up her brush and began making the changes. Mia smiled to herself before coming over to Chris who told her, "Wow, you're a natural at this."

She looked deep into his eyes and grinned, "Thank you, that's really sweet Chris."

"So what do you think of this," Chris showed off the mess on his canvas.

Mia simply told him, "It doesn't matter what I think, art is subjective so it only matters what you think and if you like it. So a better question is what do you think?"

Chris pursed his lips as he put a hand on his bearded chin and studied it for a moment before looking back at Mia and told her plainly, "I think it's shit."

Instantly Mia burst into laughter, her body slumping the way it did when she was taken by surprise from her intense laughter. She reached out and put a hand on Chris' thick shoulder to steady herself. It had been a long time since she had felt as alive as she did around Chris and it felt really really good.

When the class had ended and everyone put their canvas' on the rack to dry for the week, Mia began cleaning up the last few little things and Chris walked up behind her. He handed her the papers he picked up for her and she thanked him before grabbing her purse and jacket.