1983 - Nude Study 1
Hyde sat in one of the closer seats to the front of the room, where the platform was. His canvas was set up, his brushes were ready. The rest of the art class was seated around him, set up the same way. Today was the first day of anatomy practice. A female nude model would be coming in, and they would be painting her. Tomorrow, it would be a male nude model. Which happened to be Kelso. Hyde wasn't excited for tomorrow.
"Now, I expect you all to be respectful," Professor Kearney said. "Do not make lewd remarks, or you will be expelled from the class." He motioned the model forward from the back of the class. She was wearing a thin robe. "This is Jackie. Your assignment is to paint her. The goal is to get the proportions and pose as accurate as you can. You have two hours."
Jackie slipped out of her robe and sat on the stool at the front of the room, extending one leg to the ground and propping one up on the rung of the stool. She grasped the sides of the stool's seat with her hands.
She was beautiful. Hyde had been with a lot of women in his time, but none of them had looked anything like her. Her long, dark hair complimented the olive tone of her skin. The light from the large windows of the art studio highlighted her curves.
He took his pencil and started a light sketch on the canvas. He made sure to capture her thin arms, leading into her slim shoulders.
He could tell from her posture and the way she held herself that she was confident. She knew how beautiful she was. She loved the attention she was getting. Hyde had to admit he admired that.
Once he finished the sketch, he got his palette and brush. He mixed the colors of her skin and hair and lips. That's when he noticed, perhaps, the most striking thing about her. Her eyes. One was blue, the other was green. It was a subtle difference, one Hyde wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't so close to her.
His brush glided over the canvas, creating her long legs and small breasts. He put small dabs of blue and green in her eyes, a barely noticeable detail. He made the background muted, so that she was the clear focus of the painting.
At the end of the two hours, he leaned back and looked at his painting. It was definitely one of his better works. And he had a feeling that was due to the beautiful woman he'd painted. She was inspiring. He wanted to paint her in a hundred different lights, and a hundred different poses.
She was like a muse.
"All right, finish up quickly," Professor Kearney said, weaving between art stations to check progress. "Work on your shading, Aubrey. Nice proportions, Joel." He walked behind Hyde. "Oh, Steven, that looks wonderful. Jackie, come see."
Jackie slipped her robe on and walked over. She looked at the portrait, and Hyde couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "Oh, that's beautiful. I'm beautiful."
Her voice was strong and clear. "Yeah," Hyde said.
Something in her face changed as she looked at his portrait of her, but she didn't say anything.
Professor Kearney got everyone's attention. "Okay, everyone, clean up and put your paintings on the counter to dry! I'll see you all tomorrow for male nude portrait practice. Thank you for coming in and letting us paint you, Jackie. You're free to go, no need to stay for clean up."
Jackie smiled and nodded. "Okay. It was a pleasure modeling for everyone!"
She grabbed her bag, then left the room. Hyde was sad to see her go.
He cleaned up his station quickly, hoping to catch Jackie before she got too far away. He said goodbye to a few friends in the class, then left. Luckily for him, Jackie was waiting outside, examining her nails. She was wearing a flowy sundress now.
"Hi," she said. "I wanted to talk to you."
"What about?"
She glanced at the people coming out of the classroom behind him. "Let's go for a walk."
The two of them left the art building and went out to the courtyard, grassy and floral due to the spring weather. Jackie stopped by a pink-flowered dogwood tree. "You're the first person that's ever painted my eyes like they are. I've been modeling for the department for about three years and I've never seen that. And Professor Kearney always lets me look at everyone's work."
Hyde shrugged. "Your eyes are unique. It wouldn't be true to life to change your eye color."
She smiled a little. "What's your name?"
"Hyde."
She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Hyde?"
"Steven Hyde. Everyone calls me Hyde."
"Not me, Steven."
He smirked. "I'd really like to paint you again. Do you want to come over sometime? You could even leave your clothes on while I paint."
She giggled. "Sure. I'm free Saturday."
"Cool. I'll give you my address and my number."
Clothed Study 1
Jackie approached the door of the apartment Steven had told her to come to. It was on the second floor, and the door had a wooden, hand-painted sign that read '24' in colorful letters. She knocked, and he opened the door. He was wearing a paint-spattered black shirt and blue jeans. "Hey, thanks for coming," he said. "Come on in."
She walked in. "Did you paint the sign on the door?"
"No, my friend Donna did. She's dating my brother, who also lives here. I would not have kept the sign up if he didn't, it's not my style." He walked into the kitchen. "You want a soda or something? I have Tab and root beer."
"Tab would be great."
He handed her a Tab from the fridge, then walked over to the spacious living room. It had wood floors, lit by large windows that faced the street. The windows had sills large enough to sit on. A canvas was set up near one of the windows.
"You wanna pick some music? It gets kinda awkward when we're just sitting in silence," he said, gesturing to a couple wooden crates filled with records.
She flipped through his vinyl collection as he prepared his brushes and paints. He had every single Led Zeppelin album. She picked out Frampton. "You don't strike me as a Peter Frampton guy," she commented.
Steven shrugged. "It's good once in a while. I like that album in particular. I draw the line at Frampton Comes Alive."
Jackie giggled. She put the record on his phonograph, and it began to play.
"I set up the canvas here, but you can sit wherever," he said.
Jackie perched on the window sill, making sure enough light was coming in to illuminate her. She brought one leg up on the sill, and let the other stretch out to the floor. She wanted to watch Steven paint her, so she faced him.
He smiled. "You look just like Carole King on the cover of Tapestry."
She giggled. "Maybe that's what I was going for."
He started sketching on the canvas. She studied him, transfixed. He was a stranger to her, yet here she was in his apartment letting him paint her. That probably was not a good decision, but she desperately needed to know more about him. He was the only person who had ever painted her eyes as they were. And he wanted to paint her more. She liked the attention, but she also wanted to get to know this man.
"Where are you from?" she asked.
"Point Place. Small town in Wisconsin. You?"
"Madison."
"What made you want to start modeling?" he asked, his pencil scratching the canvas.
"I like attention. And why waste this beauty elsewhere?" She grinned jokingly. He stared at her for a moment. "What?"
"You have a really nice smile." He looked back at his canvas.
Jackie felt her cheeks get warm. It had been a while since anyone had flustered her with a compliment.
A couple hours- and several different albums- later, Steven had completed a portrait of her. Jackie studied it, smiling the whole time. He drew her like no one else did. She loved it.
"You are so talented," she said. She looked up at him. "Can I buy you dinner?"
"Sure." He smirked playfully. "I never say no to free dinner."
Nude Study 2
Hyde was painting Jackie again today. She had started coming over more often, due to their blossoming friendship. He didn't always paint her when she came over. Sometimes they watched TV or played board games or just had dinner. She was fun to be around.
She walked in, having had to use the bathroom before they started. "Do you want to paint me nude again?" she asked.
"Do you want to model nude?" Hyde wasn't about to do anything she wasn't comfortable with.
"Yeah, I'd like to. I've been a nude model for a while, it's weird doing it with clothes on sometimes."
"All right then."
She began to strip down, then she sat in the rattan peacock chair in the corner of the room. The light from the window illuminated her. Hyde and Forman had bought the chair from the secondhand store across the street from the apartment.
Hyde took a very brief moment just to look at her. She had an amazing body. He started sketching her.
"Are you dating anyone?" she asked.
He looked up from his canvas. "No. Why do you want to know?"
Jackie shrugged, blushing just a little. "I figured if you had a girlfriend, she'd probably be mad that you're painting another woman nude."
"Uh-huh. Are you dating anyone?"
"No."
He started mixing his paint. "You wanna get dinner sometime?"
She smiled. "As a date or…?"
"A date."
"Yeah, I'd like that."
Hyde smiled a little as he began to brush the paint onto the canvas. "What kind of food do you like?"
"Pretty much anything. Not Mexican."
"You're missing out on enchiladas, then."
Jackie shrugged. "I don't like spice."
"Ah." Hyde dabbed the green and blue paint on her eyes. "Your eyes are my favorite thing to paint when we do this. It's quick, but it's an integral part of the portrait."
"That's my favorite thing about your paintings of me. You see me like no one else ever does."
Hyde looked up at her. He suddenly felt very close to her. "Your eyes are part of your physical beauty. People who don't notice them are ignoring your unique features in favor of traditional beauty standards."
She giggled. "I like listening to you. Which is weird because usually I like talking instead of listening."
He laughed. "Yeah, I know."
They sat in silence for a moment as Hyde continued painting. "You know, this is the first time I've seen a girl naked before the first date."
She laughed. "Doesn't count when you're going on a date with a nude model. And when we're not even doing anything physical."
"Okay, okay." He painted the curve of her hip on the canvas. "You really do have a beautiful body."
She blushed a little. "Thanks."
They sat quietly while he continued painting. Eventually, he put the finishing strokes of paint to canvas, completing his second nude study of her. "Done."
She got up and walked over to see it. "You're so talented."
Hyde shrugged. "You make it easy. You're like… my muse."
She smiled and looked at him. Then she leaned in and kissed him softly. His eyes fluttered shut as their lips moved together. She deepened the kiss, and he went to put his hands on her hips. His fingers grazed bare skin, reminding him that she was naked. He pulled away. "You're, um… naked."
"Right." Jackie moved away and picked up her dress. Hyde stood and began cleaning his brushes as she put the dress on.
Once she was dressed again, she cupped the sides of his face in her hands and pulled him down for another kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist. It was one of the most heated kisses he'd ever been a part of.
After a while, Jackie parted from him. "You're a really good kisser."
"Thanks. You too."
She giggled, her fingers tangling in the back of his hair. "So, when's our date?"
"When are you free?"
"Tomorrow night?"
"Sounds good." He kissed her again, and a small thrill went through his chest. He really liked Jackie. It had been a while since he'd really liked a girl. And for once, he had a good feeling about being with her romantically.
Nude Study 7
"Is it just me or has this gotten a little more awkward since we had sex?" Steven asked, spreading paint on his canvas.
Jackie was lying on her side on his bed, the sheets messy. Messy sheets were the permanent state of his bed, due to the fact that he never made the bed. She made it for him the nights she stayed over. "Mm… Nope. I never find this awkward."
He smiled. "Good to know it's just me, then."
"Well, what's making it awkward for you?" she asked.
He was silent for a moment, continuing his work. "It's weird having you naked on my bed and just sitting here painting you. It feels creepy."
She giggled. "I don't find it creepy. I like it. It's hot."
He looked up at her, the hint of a smile on his face. "You're hot."
"Oh, I know." A thought occurred to her. "Are you okay with me still being a nude model?"
He returned to his painting. "What do you mean?"
"You're not, like, insecure about me showing my body to other people?"
"Nah. It's your body, you can do what you want with it." He smirked. "And it doesn't matter if every guy in the room is thinking about how hot you are, 'cause I'm the only one that gets to be with you."
A thrill went through her body and heat gathered in her cheeks. She loved that Steven was the only person who got to touch her. She trusted him so fully. In her time as a nude model, male artists had occasionally asked her out. She'd never been interested because she knew they only wanted her body. Steven wanted her body too, but for entirely different reasons. He hadn't wanted sex right away, he'd simply wanted her to be his muse.
"See, when you blush like that, it makes it really hard for me to get the actual colors of your face," he teased.
"Stop making me blush, then."
"How is it my fault?"
"You say things that make me blush."
"I'm not forcing the blood to rush to your cheeks."
She laughed. She loved that she and Steven bantered so easily, and were so comfortable with each other. She loved that he trusted her, and that she trusted him. She loved that she got to be close to him.
She loved him.
But she wasn't about to tell him that. He had never been in love, he'd told her. She didn't want to scare him away.
He smiled and put the final strokes to the canvas. "Done." He put down his brush and palette. "One of my best works yet." He turned it to her.
"Oh, wow, Steven…" She sat up on his bed. "You really are incredibly skilled."
"Good thing you give me a good reason to use those skills." He stood up and joined her on the bed. "If you're okay with it… I'd like to take advantage of having you here in my room."
She smiled and leaned closer to him. "I'd like that too. But first, you need to be a lot less… dressed."
He laughed and kissed her quickly, then started getting undressed.
Clothed Study 13
"Donna, stop touching your hair," Forman said. "It's hard to paint you when you keep moving."
"Sorry," Donna said, putting her hands down.
"Give her a break, she's never modeled before," Jackie said. "She's not an expert, like me."
'And yet, you still make it so hard for me to paint you," Hyde said. "You just don't stop talking."
Jackie grinned. "You love listening to me."
"Aw, Hyde, do you love listening to her?" Forman crooned.
"You know, Forman, your canvas is noticeably not painted," Hyde pointed out.
"Sorry I'm not a painter like you. I'd like to see you direct a show as well as I do." Forman started mixing his paint.
The four of them were having a group painting session, which doubled as a double date. The four of them had hung out a lot since Hyde and Jackie had started dating, sometimes with Kelso and Jackie's friend Fez.
"I'm sure it will look great, Eric," Donna said.
"Yeah, but it won't look as good as Steven's," Jackie teased. "Donna isn't Eric's muse."
"So if I was Mark Hamill, Eric's painting would be better?" Donna asked. "I'm not sure your logic makes sense."
"That's not what she means," Hyde said. "A muse doesn't give you talent, it gives you inspiration. So while I'm inspired to make a realistic portrait of this beautiful lady here, Forman's only motivation is that he's competing against me."
"Exactly," Jackie said. She smiled at Hyde. "It's like you read my mind." He smiled back at her.
"If Jackie inspires you so much, how come you only have like ten paintings of her?" Forman asked.
"I don't show you all of them. You've never seen any of the nude ones."
"You don't show the nude ones?" Jackie asked. "Those are the best ones."
"I'm respecting your bodily privacy. Plus, if Kelso ever sees them, he'll say things that'll make me want to throw him out a window." Hyde traced his brush over the wave of Jackie's hair.
"True. Maybe it's better that those stay between us."
"Hey, Donna," Forman said, "if this painting comes out good, will you let me paint you nude sometime?"
Donna blushed a little. "Um… Sure."
"Sweet." Forman leaned towards his painting, giving it more attention. "Hyde, you're going down, I've got more motivation now."
"We'll see about that."
Half an hour later, the portraits were complete. "Ladies, would you like to judge?" Forman asked.
They came over and admired the paintings. "I'm sorry, Eric, but Hyde wins."
"It was a good attempt," Jackie said. "But Steven's a professional artist. The contest was rigged against you."
"I'm not professional," Hyde said. "I'm still in school."
"You're professional to me." Jackie kissed the side of his face.
Forman looked at Donna. "Is my painting good enough for you to let me paint you nude?"
She smiled. "Sure. But only if you're nude while painting."
"And on that note," Jackie said, "I have to get going. I have lunch with Brooke." She pecked Hyde on the lips. "See you tomorrow, darling."
"See you."
She skipped out of the apartment. Donna and Forman turned to Hyde, a ruthless look in their eyes. "Hyde's in lo-ove," Donna sang.
Hyde rolled his eyes. "Shut up."
Forman started imitating him. "Oh, Jackie, you're so beautiful. You're a work of art all on your own. You're my greatest inspiration."
Donna imitated Jackie. "Oh, Steven, you're so talented and professional!"
"Can it, both of you." Hyde wasn't about to admit to anyone that he loved Jackie. He hadn't even told Jackie yet. He was planning to, but he didn't want to make it too much for her.
He'd tell her when the time was right.
Nude Study 9
Jackie was sitting on Steven's bed, bathed in the golden light of the sunset. He'd already taken several photographs of her to capture the image while the light was perfect. She was only wearing lacy panties, which were covered by the sheets partially over her lap.
"Your eyes sparkle when the light hits them just right," Steven said.
She smiled. "So do yours."
The hard part of his brush tapped the palette as he mixed paint. "You're really easy to paint. It just… comes naturally."
"Well, yeah, I'm your muse." She still got a tingly feeling in her chest when she thought of being Steven's biggest inspiration.
"I think you inspiring me was some kind of sign. 'Cause then I fell in love with you." He continued painting, as if he hadn't just said one of the most important things in the world.
"Oh my God, what?"
He looked up at her. "What?"
"You fell in love with me?" She couldn't help smiling.
"Yeah. I love you."
She squealed and jumped up from the bed, rushing over to hug him. "I love you too!"
He quickly put down his brush and palette to return the hug. "Sorry if I get paint on you."
"I don't even care." She pulled back just enough to kiss him passionately. His hands ran over her bare back as they made out.
After a few minutes, they parted. "So… What do you wanna do now that you ruined the painting?" Steven teased.
Jackie repositioned herself on his lap, straddling him. She dragged her fingers over his shoulders. "Sorry, but I can't just sit there while you proclaim your love for me."
He smiled. "No?"
"Nope." She kissed the tip of his nose. "I just love you so much."
He kissed her tenderly. "Seriously though, what do you want to do now?"
"Well… I'm practically naked and we're right near your bed…" She grinned at him. "Go wash the paint off your hands if you want to take advantage of that."
"Yes ma'am." He pecked her lips, then lifted her off of him and went to the bathroom to wash his hands.
1988 - Nude Study 1
Hyde was lying on his and Jackie's bed, mostly naked. He was only wearing black boxers. "This is weird."
Jackie was sitting across from him, using his paints and brushes to paint him. "Only a little. I'm enjoying it." She looked up from the canvas and made a show of checking his body out. He felt his cheeks get warm under her gaze.
"Stop blushing, it's so hard to paint your face when you do that," she teased.
He smiled and shook his head. "I can't believe you remember me saying that. It was years ago."
"I can't believe I never thought to paint you until after we got married."
"I didn't want to model until now."
"I'm glad you do now, because I like having an uninterrupted view of your body."
He laughed. "I love how blunt you are."
She smiled. "I love how foxy you are." She dabbed paint on the canvas. "Also, this may not be the best painting ever. But I'm putting a lot of effort and love into it."
"Just say it's your style and that you did everything on purpose. That's what I do when people critique me."
"All right, then one of your legs being noticeably longer than the other is just my artistic style." She smiled as she mixed a new paint color.
A few minutes later, she set down the palette. "Finished! Come see."
He got up and went to her side, wrapping his arm around her waist. The painting was disproportionate, and the colors were off, but it was perfect in his eyes. "I love it." He kissed the top of her head. "You'll get better the more you practice."
"And the more I practice, the more I get to see you naked."
"Jackie, as long as I'm wearing this ring you get to see me naked whenever you want."
She giggled, then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Now that I'm an artist," she flipped her hair over her shoulder dramatically, "I can safely say that you're my muse."
"That works out. We can keep on inspiring each other forever and end up with the walls covered in canvas paintings of each other."
She smacked his chest lightly. "I'm trying to be romantic."
"Sorry." He kissed her again. "I love you, my muse."
"I love you too, my muse."
