All eyes flicked over to Lacey at some point over the next few seconds before Danny unfastened the fluffy pink robe he was wearing and tossed it aside. A stiff silence fell over the studio as fifteen of Lacey's classmates got to inspect her boyfriend's perfect nude body.
"Alright everyone, please begin."
Danny hadn't been comforted by Lacey's texts this morning. He wanted to surprise her with his visit today, but was unsettled by her rushed responses. He had almost backed out, but Lacey's professor was not having it.
Perfect, Lacey thought. Her sudden, completely unfounded, trust issues with Danny were now exacerbated by him being on full display for her classmates. A few days ago, Lacey would have probably viewed this situation in a totally different way. Today, however, she wondered if he was just doing this because he missed his old lifestyle.
Lacey locked eyes with Danny briefly before he moved them along to drink in everyone else's reactions. He didn't want to make this hard for her. He had originally hoped it would be something sweet, silly. Now he had no idea what headspace she was in.
Lacey looked around too, noting some of her classmates were in shock, others were staring shamelessly. Half of them were just focused on using this hour to make the most of the assignment and that's where Lacey decided that she would fall too.
She looked over at Danny again, standing like an Adonis in the bright studio light. She had his body more times than she could count. Those hands touched her, that cock penetrated her, those hips slapped against her, over and over. She swallowed hard and tried to focus on his lines.
Lacey studied the slope of his calves, the balloon shape to his quads, the soft rectangles that interlocked to form his abs. His chest was toned, nipples surrounded by tiny black hairs. His arms had fun curves that reminded Lacey of the giant slides she used to ride down for fun as a child at the community fairs they had back home. Now she just rode him for fun she noted to herself.
She smiled softly when her eyes made it to his face, damn he was beautiful. His jawline was lined with hair that pooled into a modest goatee at his chin. His mustache not quite connected to it, literally framing his stunning features.
Danny's eyes had made their initial circuit around the room and circled back to rest on home. Lacey was still analyzing the wave to his hair when he caught her looking. As a model Danny couldn't smile, but Lacey could, she grinned and melted a little as she finally looked away and grabbed her pencil.
For the next forty five minutes, Lacey's pencil never left her paper. She only looked up twice, Danny was counting. Once to take a new poll of the viewers reactions, all of them now fully engrossed in their craft. The second time she glanced up was to do a final sweep of Danny's body.
She didn't want to miss his neatly trimmed bed of curls that made Danny's cock look so prominent. Or the trail of hairs that led from said curls up to circle his perfect bellybutton.
Lacey realized that a lot of Danny's lines were actually circles. The tip of his nose, the hallowed dip at the base of his neck, his perfect ears and the ring that was attached. Even Danny's tattoos had a curved and circular quality to them.
The last ten minutes of class, the professor walked around to interpret each student's effort. Lacey heard her say "Lord" a few times, was that good or bad? As she approached Lacey, Danny held his breath and strained to listen, unable to see what she had drawn.
"Nice job." She said and moved on.
As her classmates began exiting, Lacey signed her drawing and began packing her stuff. Danny wrapped himself back up and hopped down to see her.
"Surprise." He said tenderly, running a hand up and down her back.
"I am surprised." Lacey agreed.
"Can I see?"
"Sure." Lacey flipped the cover to her enormous sketch pad open to reveal her absolutely brilliant drawing.
Danny's eyes grew several sizes. He took a step back to take in the whole thing before stepping in closer to inspect her details.
"Holy shit."
Danny could easily recognize himself, even without a complete face. He was in total awe of her talent.
"You captured my—confidence?" Danny hoped he got it right.
"Yes."
"Ah, yes, but see here?" Lacey's professor stepped in and pointed to the lines of Danny's face, "She's showing your strength here," She pointed to the circles around his chest and torso, "Your bravery and loyalty here. I'd say Lacey captured the things she loves about you. This is really a portrait about love, am I right?"
Lacey nodded, "That's right." Her voice coming out low, almost sad.
"The single line was a brilliant choice, Lacey, I'm impressed."
"Wait, that's a single line?" Danny looked again, finding something new each time.
Lacey grinned a bit, Danny's amateur eye making her feel exposed and like the best artist that ever lived.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Lacey's professor smiled, "Thanks again Danny, great job today, professional." She added before leaving them there.
Danny pulled Lacey up for a proper hug, tipping her chin up in anticipation of a kiss before he saw her expression.
"Are you still running through our conversation from last night?" He asked her.
"Non-stop. The whole weekend, really. Jo, everything. It's been on loop."
Danny knew what that felt like, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." Lacey was definitely done talking about it.
"Okay, what about talking about it with someone else?"
"No, Danny, I'm fine, I just need a little time to work through it." She was overwhelmed.
Danny's eye was drawn over Lacey's shoulder, to the six dark paintings that leaned in a line against the wall behind her. He stepped to the side and walked up slowly, inspecting them from the left to the right.
"Oh my god." Danny said in total shock as he reached the sixth one, "These are yours, the ones you've been working on—"
"I've gotta go."
"Jesus, Lacey. You're like, really really talented. These make me want to cry."
"It's a tragic collection, it's about pain."
Danny nodded in complete understanding. In his whole life he had never felt more connected to the emotion within a painting than he did right now. Lacey was a genius.
"Do you really have to go?"
Danny was hoping to see her for a little longer, and if he was honest, this whole plan that he had concocted a couple of weeks ago was hopefully going to help reignite their kink game. Now that so much had changed, maybe he should have been more firm in his desire to call off this modeling gig idea.
"I need to get to the library." She didn't want to go.
"The library." Danny looked at her fiercely, "This studio." Danny walked slowly around Lacey, "They have something in common."
Danny paused his journey and saddled up behind her, moving her beautiful hair to the side and kissing her just behind her ear. Damn turtleneck!
"Oh no, don't start—"
"No?" He asked softly, lips skimming her earlobe, "You haven't said no to me yet. Starting something new?" Danny teased, knowing exactly what he was doing.
Lacey closed her eyes to try to slow her heightened senses from soaking in this man's abundant sexual energy. Borderline cocky Danny was the version of him that she had first met and this version seemed to turn her the fuck on for god knows what reason.
"What do they have in common?" Danny kept on.
"The good sex."
They were wasting time. Lacey turned and pulled the front of Danny's robe toward her, devouring his lips and working fast to get her hands untying the belt that held it closed. Danny kissed her back markedly slower, savoring Lacey's burst of horny panic.
"Slow down, I'm already naked." He smiled.
"The next class starts in ten minutes."
"That long?"
Danny grabbed Lacey's hand and pulled her into the supply closet. Only a tiny motion light poured down, giving them both a warm amber glow.
"Do you know how long I was stuck in this closet?" Danny said as he returned Lacey's frantic kisses.
"Less talking." Lacey insisted.
She rubbed her hand down the length of Danny's torso, her fingers wrapping around his cock like it was the secret lever to the sex door she was trying to open.
"You look lovely, by the way. This skirt is also very convenient, A-plus, I'm a fan." Danny gave a husky chuckle as he squeezed Lacey's ass tight.
The closet was small, the entire space lined with shelves of supplies. There was nowhere to sit and barely enough room for the two of them to stand. They had no time. If they were doing this, it needed to happen now.
"Okay?" Danny asked sweetly.
"Oh hell yes, we're doing this—"
Danny lifted one of Lacey's legs up and rested it in the bend of his arm while he tunneled himself around her thong and into Lacey's warm, damp center.
Lacey didn't miss the roll of Danny's eyes as he expertly plunged himself in deeper and deeper. She held on anywhere her hands could catch, the terry cloth robe proving much more useful than Danny's smooth skin could afford. She was so happy he left it on.
They moved quick, faster than any quickie they had experimented with before. Both of them had their faces buried in each other's necks, sucking, panting and grunting intimately as they ground against each other.
"Fuck yes." Danny whispered, enjoying their spontaneous union more than he could form into sentences.
"Oh, I'm—" Lacey's hips stopped moving and she squeezed Danny tight when she came.
Danny's hips did the opposite, picking up Lacey's dropped movement and fucking her twice as fast until he paused and pumped her full of his seed.
Danny slid out and moved her thong back into place.
She smiled and pecked his lips, "You look really good in pink, D." Lacey released the bunch of his robe she had been clutching.
Lacey slid out of the closet so Danny would have room to get redressed. She straightened her twisted skirt, adjusting the elastic bands of her drenched thong at the same time.
"Oh, Lacey, you're still here!"
Lacey's eyes snapped over to her professor who was re-covering her nude painting on the stage. Oh shit, had she heard them?
"Yeah, just waiting for Danny to get dressed."
"We need to talk."
Shit. Lacey just waited for whatever was coming next. She had been through so much bullshit the last few days she didn't even care that she was about to get busted fucking in a closet. At least it was the one thing that she chose to do.
"I wanted to talk to you about your collection. A friend of mine is an art dealer. He owns a gallery and I think he'd really be interested in this particular series."
Danny slid out of the closet quietly, not wanting to call any attention to himself or take away whatever opportunity Lacey was about to be offered.
"Oh wow, really? To purchase?"
"He actually has an exhibition coming up in a couple weeks, I think he might be interested in showing them. He loves darkness, like your series. I'd like to have him take a look if you don't mind?"
"Of course, yes, I'd be thrilled. Thank you!"
Danny and Lacey got the hell out of there after that, both watching as they passed by a different nude model on her way into their sex-hazed closet to disrobe.
"Sounds like things are already happening for you, congratulations." Danny praised his brilliant girlfriend as they walked toward the library.
"Thank you. Who knew that the worst could lead to the best, right?"
"Can I see you tonight?" Danny hoped they were now back on the right path.
"I can't. Archie though, I jogged with him this morning—"
Danny's face fell.
"Well, I guess he jogged with me—anyway, maybe it's not a bad idea to keep, you know, investing in him. I'm sure he'd love to see you." She tried to keep it light even though it felt so heavy.
"Investing? Are you talking about me sleeping with him?"
"I'm just saying, I'm not available. Archie probably is."
Lacey wasn't exactly testing him, but her heart needed to know if this part of Danny was still pliable or if he really was satisfied with their sporadic encounters.
Danny was frustrated. They already had this discussion.
"If you're not available I get that, I don't need to be constantly having sex. I don't need some side person—" He tried to keep his voice calm.
"How many people in my art class have you slept with?"
Danny huffed a single, irritated laugh, "Come on, we're all the way back there again?"
"How many?"
Danny thought for a few moments, recalling the faces that sat in the class.
"Seven."
"There are fifteen students in this class, you've slept with seven of us?"
"Including you, eight." Danny corrected.
Lacey sighed, "I don't think I can do this."
"I'll answer your questions Lacey, I'll do whatever you want me to do, just please tell me this isn't over."
"So what is it exactly that you owe Sarita anyway?" She suddenly had more questions than she thought she did.
"Movie passes, so that she wouldn't rat my ass out for sleeping over at my girlfriend's place, which is inside of an all-girls dorm."
Lacey tried to run through where they had gone so wrong in the last twelve hours. Oh that's right, Danny shot his aunt to death.
"I know that this is new for both of us, but I'm not looking anywhere else." Danny promised.
"I want to trust you—"
"I haven't done anything to make you worry, have I?"
"Well, you omitted the whole killing your aunt thing so—"
"So what? I didn't lie."
"But what else don't I know?"
"Well keep 'em coming then. Let it out, take it out on me, c'mon! What other questions do you have?" Danny pushed her, clearly at the end of his patience with this, "I'm not lying to you, I haven't cheated on you so what is it? You want the real number of all my hook ups?"
"Danny—"
"Do you?"
"Yes, I do." Lacey admitted.
"Once you know the magical number of people I've slept with, once you know how big of a slut I am, what happens? You'll accept it? I doubt it. Nothing positive will come out of sharing it, but I'll tell you if you need to know."
"I can't believe I let you—" she stopped herself and decided not to waste her energy on things she couldn't go back and change.
"I didn't kill her on purpose." Danny offered, taking a stab at what could really be bothering her.
He was wrong.
Wondering if Danny had killed his aunt on purpose hadn't even crossed Lacey's mind, but it certainly did now. She gave up on trying to talk about this.
Lacey tried to walk away but Danny grabbed her arm.
"I don't know how we got here." Danny said, "Please help me understand."
"I'm scared."
"Of what? Me?"
"Maybe."
"Please come see me tonight?"
Lacey yanked her arm back, "I'm going to go now, before this—" She motioned between them, "Gets worse."
Danny didn't bother her in the library and didn't ask about what her plans were for lunch. Lacey asked for space so he made a point to respect that. He tried to keep his faith in their love, it was something he cherished and desperately wanted to reaffirm with her when the time was right.
Danny strolled into the college cafeteria in search of something easy for lunch. He kept his earbuds in and stood in line, not wanting to interact with people for the first time since he had stepped foot on the SU campus.
As he made his way through the vestibule and selected a drink, Danny felt a playful shove from behind. He turned to find Phoebe smiling up at him.
Danny yanked his earbuds out, "Ow!" He pretended to be hurt.
"A football player just got hurt from a weak-ass shove?"
"I'm the kicker, I don't get tackled."
"That's not what I've heard." Phoebe giggled.
Danny smiled briefly, his brain quickly reminding him that he was speaking to Lacey's roommate. Phoebe watched his smile fade and his mind wander somewhere else.
"What is wrong with you two today?"
Danny snapped back into the present, "Who? Me and Lacey? Why, did she say something?" He asked eagerly.
"Jesus, c'mon let's go talk."
Phoebe grabbed her food, slid her meal card and went to go find a seat, Danny shuffling along beside her.
"So what were you saying, something was wrong with Lacey today?"
Phoebe gave a half-shrug as she managed the huge bite she had taken right before Danny started rattling off questions.
"Mmyea, I guess she seemed a little far away. I know she has a lot going on, I just assumed she was still thinking about what happened last night—" Phoebe raised her eyebrows and looked at Danny knowingly.
Danny dropped his head down a little and looked around him in disbelief, his body physically trying to minimize the situation.
"Wait, she told you about that?" He hadn't told Lacey to keep it a secret, he had just assumed that she would.
"It wasn't a huge deal—" Phoebe shrugged again and took another bite, why was Danny tripping about some sexy outfit? Didn't he know who he was?
"Finding out your boyfriend killed someone isn't a small deal—" Danny countered quietly.
Phoebe stopped chewing and swallowed the rough bite in her mouth. The shock on her face was so big you could almost feel her energy change from calm to panicked.
"Come again?!"
"I—so—she didn't tell you—?" Fuck.
Phoebe leaned forward like maybe she hadn't heard him right, then lurched backward as she realized that Danny just told her he murdered someone. She nervously wiped her mouth, was THIS what Lacey was really dealing with?!
"Uh, no. Lacey did not tell me that you murdered someone?!" Phoebe whispered in a highly emphasized and drawn out fashion, hoping he'd clarify further.
"I didn't murder anyone—"
Danny couldn't believe he had doubted that Lacey would tell anyone about this. She knew what he went through in school before, now he was pissed it was about to happen again. Maybe he really should think about transferring now that he didn't have to babysit Jo anymore. The only thing that would keep him here is Lacey and it seemed like they were on shaky ground at the moment.
"I knew this was too good to be true." Phoebe shook her head.
"Oh god." Danny groaned, pulling out his top knot and running his fingers through his hair.
Phoebe pushed her plate away and Danny just stared down at his food, the two of them not very hungry anymore. They let a long silence settle in before trying again.
Danny gave her the short and sweet version of events from the night before and followed it up with his version of what happened when he was eleven. He hoped that Phoebe would see the truth for what it was and cut him slack.
"Please don't tell anyone else?" His brown eyes sparkled as he pleaded with her.
"Wow, that face. You're like a next level master manipulator, aren't you?"
"Phoebe, please?"
"Look, this whole thing doesn't need to be repeated, at least, not right now."
"Terms." Danny recognized that his balls were in a vice.
"I know I've already said this to you but it's simple, don't hurt her."
Danny stared back at this feisty brunette and was thankful Lacey had someone solid who always had her back.
"I'm in love with her." Danny offered.
"You can be in love with someone and still hurt them, Danny, and I'm telling you right now, if you hurt her I will tell everyone. Everyone. I'll blow that shit up. You want to play ball professionally? I'll ruin your life."
"I'd never physically hurt her, I'd never intentionally do anything to hurt her mind, her heart, her body. I promise."
"Not intentionally—"
"I can't predict everything. She's hurting right now, Phoebs, I'm trying to work it out. I didn't really cause it, but her source of pain is from me, I guess—"
"How do you know about her mood today anyway, have you talked to her?"
"I was the nude model for her fine art class this morning."
Danny's hunger wasn't back, but he shoveled his salad into his mouth anyway, hoping he didn't have to keep feeding Phoebe every single detail of his life anymore.
"Damn, I wish I was in that class—" Phoebe said to herself without even thinking.
Danny smirked and just watched her until she realized what she was rambling about. She didn't acknowledge it.
"Why?" Danny prodded further.
"Why what?"
"Why do you wish you were in that class?" He asked and then leaned his chin into his hands and waited.
"To see some fine-ass naked bodies, hello?!"
Danny chuckled, "Got it. Just checking."
"Checking what?"
"I'm not looking for a hook up, were you testing me?"
"Dude, my loyalty is to Lacey, not you. I'm not going to creep on her boyfriend, don't get it twisted."
"My loyalty is to her also. I'm always going to investigate when it sounds like her best friend is looking somewhere she doesn't belong."
"Nice cover."
"Lacey's lucky to have you in her life."
"Lacey and I have each other, it's just the way we roll."