museums. The
Seattle Art Museum is a favorite place of mine. I'm kind of
surprised you only go for the parties."
Melanie shrugged, "I'm an artist and prefer
real life. I think most museums are stuffy and sterile. Art
shouldn't be displayed on a white wall with a placard next to it
telling you how to feel about it. Art should be hung in a warm room
or over a bed."
Michael returned his gaze to her work and
then moved about the floor, grabbing various canvases as he did.
Melanie didn't seem to mind and merely watched him as he examined
her work. She smiled at him and found that it took several attempts
to wrest his attention back to her.
"What?" he asked.
"Coffee," she said. "Do you want your
coffee?"
Michael smiled, "That depends. Is it actually
coffee?"
Melanie glared at him, and he just winked at
her in return. She moved to his position which was a crouched form
over one of her canvasses and leaned down to him. She eyed him
carefully, and he just watched her watching him. She seemed to be
thinking about something and for the life of him he had no idea
what it was.
"Do you really like them?" she asked
seriously.
Michael immediately became confused and then
stood rapidly making her stand and back up to give him room as he
did so.
"Of course," he answered honestly.
"Look at this painting here," he said as he
grabbed a canvas near him. "Your perspective is all wrong, and the
work is asymmetrical to an extreme. It seems to be painted in an
amateur fashion, but the brush strokes are fluid. Now, look at this
one," he said as he moved several feet and pulled another canvas
from the floor.
"This painting is just the opposite," he
continued, "so I know you have skill to paint properly, which means
the former painting was done with intention; you are purposely
confusing the viewer. It's like appreciating Picasso all the more
after seeing his standard paintings. The man could paint a portrait
like a master, but he consciously chose to paint his chosen art in
a very different fashion."
Michael turned to another canvass and began
to extol its merits, and Melanie watched him. She smiled and then
moved to him suddenly. She put her hand on his chest to quiet him
and looked up with a mischievous smile.
"I think you better take me to bed right
now," she said.
Michael took a moment to register her words.
His mind had been focused on the artwork he was seeing, and his
attention was held in sway by the demonstration of skill on the
canvas. When her words fully registered, he smiled. He was not a
stupid man and knew that he should appreciate another piece of
artwork at the moment, that artwork of course being her body.
Melanie darted her eyebrows up and down and
then headed off to the ladder of her loft.
"Come on, Mr. Angel. Let's see if you can be
a devil in the bed," she called back to him.
Michael followed quickly, smiling as he did
so. When he reached the loft, he had to duck his head to refrain
from hitting any of the beams. Melanie was already on the bed with
her back against the brick wall and eyeing him coyly. Michael had
to crawl across the bed to her position, and when he reached it, he
kept his hands on the mattress and leaned in to kiss her. She took
him warmly and then wrapped her arms around his neck to draw him in
closer. Michael was pulled off balance and had to reposition his
hands before he fell into her. He smiled as he did so and Melanie
smiled in response. They kissed while grinning and ended up doing
neither action very well.
"Do you really like them?" she whispered to
him.
Michael sat back and just grinned at her in
response. Her eyes were dancing, and he knew she didn't need the
reassurance. He winked at her and pulled her legs towards him,
forcing her away from the wall and into a laying position.
"Ah," she cried out with a laugh as her head
hit the pillow and bounced harmlessly. She didn't have time to
react, as Michael unbuttoned her pants and began ripping them off.
He tossed them to the floor and