Paint Me Beautiful

inclined. I imagine that she spent last night picking locks and stealing numbers from me.
    “ How did you hear about that?” I ask him, wondering exactly what his major is, what he's passionate about, why he cares. Leanne and Jenn shift nervously behind me, wanting to be introduced to this gorgeous guy who wears a different beanie everyday and carries a plastic bag in his hand with a gray suit sleeve hanging out. Dress up for the interview; dress down for the street.
    “ Um, I got a call,” he says, eyes migrating from my face to the faces of my girlfriends. “One of my professors recommended me.” I smile, but it's tight-lipped. Marlena, that bitch. For once, I actually hope that she's coming over for dinner tonight, so I can yell at her. She has no sense of privacy or self-restraint. Would it seriously kill her to let me make my own decisions? I decide not to tell Emmett about Marlena and drop the subject. Instead, I introduce my friends who are practically bursting at the seams with unrestrained interest and no small amount of lust. Their ardor rolls off of them in waves and makes me wonder how long it's been since they've had dates.
    “ Emmett Sinclair, these are my friends Leanne Martinez and Jennifer Jacobson. We've gone to the same schools, crushed on the same guys, and cheated off each other's tests since the third grade.” Emmett dips his chin and grabs the brim of his red beanie with his free hand.
    “ Hey,” he says simply, but his eyes don't sparkle like they did for me. For whatever reason, Emmett Sinclair picked me out of a lineup of the prettiest girls this city has to offer and got stuck on me. He likes me though I'm sure even he doesn't know why. We don't even know each other yet and already this relationship is dangerous. Emmett is a threat to the way I want things to be. I like him, but I can't date him. I think about the fasting I'm going to be doing and the exercise and the countless opportunities that pop up like daisies in the field of modeling, and I know I can't spend time lost in deep brown eyes and full lips, a chin lightly speckled with stubble and chestnut hair that's softer than it looks. No. Emmett Sinclair is a sinful delight that I can't take a bite out of. He's as harmful to my future career as a slice of chocolate cake is to my waistline. “We're still on for Friday, right?” he asks as if he can sense what I'm thinking. I bite my lip.
    “ I actually got a call back and have to audition that night … ” I'm blatantly lying to him now which makes me feel horrible, but I don't know how else to say no. Emmett's eyes get big and round and he grins big at me.
    “ Really?” he asks as my stomach sinks to my toes. It might be empty, but it isn't weightless, not yet. Right now it's full of guilt – the heaviest substance in the world. “That's amazing, Claire. Congratulations.” Emmett pauses and rubs at his freshly shaved chin – no stubble there today. His eyes twinkle a bit. “Want to go out tonight to celebrate instead?”
    “ She's meeting her mom later,” Leanne quips, jumping in and twirling a bit of hair around her finger. She's being blatantly inappropriate, hitting on a guy that I've obviously got some kind of relationship with, but I let it go and decide the best thing to do is ignore her coquettish giggling. “But I'm free.” Jenn giggles along with her and the noise makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Wow. I'm already getting territorial over this guy. Bad sign.
    Emmett smiles at my friends, but his attention quickly comes back to my face. I can tell that he's not going to press the issue. It makes me like him even more.
    “ Okay then,” he says with a gentle shrug of his strong shoulders. “Text me if you change your mind.” And then he's stepping in and putting his fingers ever so gently on the back of my neck, leaning in and breathing hot, minty breath against my lips before he kisses me. I should pull away, protest somehow, but when my hands come up to his chest, I curl them in the fabric of his shirt and step closer. My tongue brushes against his, slides over his teeth, tastes the heat of his mouth with slow, purposeful strokes. My whole body is on fire now and for the first time today, I don't feel cold; the goose bumps that grace my skin aren't because of the weather.
    “ Maybe we should look away?” Jenn snorts, but I ignore her. My eyes are closed tight and the sounds of the city are slipping away, leaving me dependent on my