Art class. It was like what she imagined community service would be. Enforced activity of a non-preferred activity. Apparently she was lacking in artistry. Hecate bristled at that. Was not the art of creating and mixing solutions an artform? Apparently it wasn't. Chemistry didn't count. She glared at the oblivious flower arrangement she was being forced to draw. She had an idea of what she could make with them if she crushed and mixed them with different emulsions. She spent some time thinking about it. The teacher tapped her easel and brightly announced that the class was finishing soon. Hecate scowled. She did not like interruptions. She did not like touching. The first time the teacher had tapped her on the arm, Hecate had shot her a look of loathing. The silly witch had never done it again.

She didn't care for the flowers. She wasn't bothered about capturing the essence of the object or whatever nonsense the teacher had said. There was nothing interesting to sketch anyway. What she would have liked to sketch was the rising fumes off the surface of a bubbling mixture. But that was hard to render in a lifelike manner.

She didn't have high expectations of the next exhibit. She thought maybe it would be a cuddly toy clutching a nauseating sign or something. So when the model was revealed the next week, her restraint was tested to the limit. Draped in a fur coat and nothing else, the model smiled and positioned herself as requested.

'I thought Ada would be a good model to draw, she's obliging and effortlessly creates such beautiful lines' the teacher said in pink faced delight. It matched her outfit. Hecate found the candyfloss aesthetic irritating. She ignored her and focused on the distraction in the middle of the room. There were certainly lines to observe, curved ones. She stared at the coat, thinking that she should spend time on the texture and shading. All a distraction, she knew because when she dared to look up, she was met with sharp blue eyes. They looked friendly enough but Hecate didn't trust first impressions. First impressions had landed her into trouble before. Hecate busied herself and made a start. She hoped her observation was subtle. Ada's nipples were not the pale pink that Hecate imagined they would be. Not that she made a habit of imagining a stranger's nipples but if she had…they were rose brown, stark against her fair skin. Her mouth was delicate, a slightly sternly defined upper lip. Hecate felt rude at staring but how was she to capture the expression? She was shifting expressions with different positions and Hecate was at a loss as to how she was supposed to produce something acceptable. She cursed Dimity who had made her come to this class. Hecate did not do mediocre. She strived to be exceptional, one of the best. She expected that standard for her students and she expected it for herself.

'It doesn't have to be perfect' the teacher said soothingly. Hecate glared at her. Of course it did.

'If everyone conceded to wishy-washy standards then where would the world be?'

Pippa backed away. She wasn't brave enough for this fight. She couldn't wait until this scary woman would leave her class. Expecting a huffy irritation regarding the model, there seemed to be no objection. She may have tutted and looked askance but she didn't seem to disapprove much.

Hecate tried to focus. Difficult when she was looking straight at the distraction. Ada's stance was relaxed, sitting the wrong way on the chair, leaning forward, one leg under, arms crossed over the backrest and she seemed unconcerned with being naked in front of strangers. Hecate grudgingly gave her respect for that. Pondering on how to do justice to the model, she slowly tried a preliminary sketch. It felt voyeuristic to gaze at someone and draw their body, vulgar even. Hecate wondered if Ada felt exploited. She didn't know how much a model was paid but it probably wasn't much.

The teacher announced that the class would be focused on Ada for the last few sessions so there was plenty of time to perfect the sketch.

'Are we…exhibiting these?'

'We'll look at the class portfolio and decide on what to display. But yes, that's the idea' said Pippa. Hecate looked scandalised. To draw in the privacy in the room was one thing, to display a naked body for all the world to see was another thing.

'I don't mind. If I model nude then I can't complain that my image is being displayed. It probably won't be stolen for nefarious purposes' said a voice at her elbow. Hecate felt the fur tickle her hand and looked down. Ada was standing there with a dressing gown on underneath the coat.

Hecate's brain pinged but nothing of substance was making itself known.

'What if it is?'

'I don't have social media so I don't think it'll cause me much damage' Ada shrugged. 'One woman in a fur coat is much like another.'

'I would think that the board of governors might have something to say about that' Pippa cut in mischievously. Hecate's head whipped round and she stared at Ada.

'You're a teacher?'

'Headmistress.'

Hecate was scandalised.

'Do you know how much this would ruin your reputation?' she hissed.

'A fellow scholastic colleague. How nice to meet you. What do you teach?' Ada smiled winningly.

Hecate glared at her.

'Alright, I have an alibi.' Ada held her hands up. She was willing to give away her method. 'My sister takes the rap for anything naughty either of us end up doing. It's an arrangement.'

Hecate frowned.

'Why…?'

'She has a bad girl reputation to maintain. She likes it that way. We're identical. As long as nobody looks too closely, all wicked deeds carve another notch on her bedpost. If anyone pinpoints me, I can point to her.'

Ada smiled angelically but did little assuage Hecate's trust. She knew that her first impressions were wrong. She scowled and walked off.

'Sorry, she's a bit…'

'No problem. Some people don't approve and that's fine.'

Hecate was on her guard the next week. She wondered how Ada was going to pose today. She had worked on the drawing and it looked a bit better than before. It had been a stark pose and easier than she thought to draw. She left the expression blank, not sure how to feel about Ada. Today model was reclining, all curves and luxurious furs. Hecate tried to think of swirls. She found it hard to gauge the correct proportion of a curve, always making them too small or too big. She found straight lines easier.

'Aren't you cold?'

Why was she even talking to her?

'These days I need to bring a fan with me' said Ada almost apologetically. Hecate stared at her until she realised what she meant. Oh. She nodded and busied herself doing something else.

'Too much information, I'm sure. I do that sometimes.'

Hecate was sure. She was approaching the age where she'd have to start thinking about the menopause. She wasn't ready for that.

'Have you forgiven me yet? For the fraud I occasionally commit?'

'Does it involve bank accounts? Or robbing a bank?' Asked Hecate carefully.

'No, I wouldn't do that. Anyway I know too many of my sister's secrets so if she does do anything rash, she'll have to think on her feet.'

That did not sound reassuring. Her thoughts about that radiated in disapproving waves.

'I'll let you get on then' said Ada mischievously. Hecate sketched again, once more avoiding the expression. She didn't feel like she knew Ada enough for that. More challenging than a vase of flowers, Hecate, tried to ignore the personality laid out before her and soldiered on so she could call some sort of achievement in this damn class.

'It looks really good, when will you draw her face in properly?' Asked Pippa curiously.

'When I can get the measure of her' said Hecate evenly.

'I'm not sure how you'll be able to do that' muttered Pippa as she walked away. The woman was impossible to get on with. She called for a break and brought Ada a cup of tea.

Hecate watched her sip delicately and wondered if she was right to reject the idea of Ada. She seemed like a contradiction. When she dressed to go home, it was in a comfortable dress and cardigan. More cat lady than femme fatale. Was she living out her fantasies through her sister? Now she knew her alibi, she seemed capable enough of doing some wild things. Hecate's imagination was not that strong. Unsurprisingly, all she could think of was sex. She'd prefer that Ada was into sex than drinking, smoking or drugs. Hecate hadn't got laid in a long time. Sometimes she missed it. She mused about whether she would take an offer from Ada. If she were asked. Would Ada ask her? She thought not.

'What are you thinking?'

'I didn't expect your nipples to be that colour' she replied. Instant regret. She felt it envelope her like mist as soon as the words left her mouth. She really hadn't meant to say that. She froze, not looking up from her cup of tea.

'I really hadn't meant to say that' she said softly, hoping that nobody else had heard.

'Out loud' supplied the other woman. Hecate glanced up. Ada was smiling. She didn't seem shocked or offended. She seemed amused. Not in a sneering sort of way that Hecate knew too well.

'I'm used to being under scrutiny. I'm hardly shy so your thoughts did not shock me and I should expect it, volunteering for an art class. Sometimes you get creepy old men leering as you like they've never seen a woman before but that's standard.'

Hecate didn't want to know if she'd looked at Ada in the same manner.

'Women are more respectful, we've got the same bits so we don't judge as much in that way that we know how our bodies look and why. One of the other models has had five children so she's got stretchmarks and a caesarean scar and whatnot and sometimes it shocks men to see it, that they don't realise what time and childbirth does to a woman's body, they are so used to seeing something airbrushed or an older woman's body hidden. '

Ada spoke in a matter of fact way, dunking her biscuit in her tea and chomping. Hecate wasn't used to hearing older women talk about their bodies. Her mother certainly never taught her about getting older. Sometimes Hecate felt a longing to confide in someone, to join the ranks of the sociable people. Thinking about how to go about it gave her a headache.

'My sister bet me £100 for me to do this course. She thought I wouldn't dare. If she'd known she'd have to pay me the money, she would have settled on a bet' said Ada mischievously. 'Sometimes you have to dare yourself to get out of your comfort zone if you want to get anything done. I made the bet on the condition that she assume responsibility for our likeness should it get back to the board of governors.'

'That sounds reasonable' ventured Hecate. 'Risky but reasonable.'

'I thought so too. Now that I've done it, she's realised the consequences should people realise it's me so she's complied.'

Hecate marvelled at the idea that anyone could take such a risk. How could she even try to start trying to make friends if that was what people did? She couldn't match up to that.

'Not that I would advise you do something like this for your first foray' Ada advised. She seemed to sense the direction of Hecate's thoughts.

'Not for a million pounds could I do it' the reply came.

'I hope not. I don't need you to usurp me. You'd be far more popular to draw.'

Hecate shot her a shocked glance, surely she didn't mean that?

'You can't mean that.'

'Of course I do. You'd look magnificent in a fur coat. Like a lady of the manor.'

Hecate didn't know what to say. She could feel herself blushing treacherously, she didn't want to entertain this thought. Ada smiled, reached for another biscuit and dunked, said nothing more on the subject.

Walking home, Hecate pondered on the idea of being on display. She was no stranger to stares but at least she was fully clothed. Eccentrically clothed, as her flatmate put it but there was nothing to sniff about dressed in long respectable dark clothing.

She couldn't stop thinking about Ada. Every few hours the image of her posing was stuck in Hecate's head. Her smile could be gentle or merry, her eyes kept shifting into different expressions, there were so many things she could convey with her face and body. Hecate wished that it was a photography course instead so she could capture her exactly. Which sounded like something a pervy older man would say, she supposed. The thought made her itch. Ada was growing on her though and she didn't know how to stop it. There were two more sessions to go and she wondered how she'd feel at the end of it. She found herself looking forward to seeing Ada, finally being able to draw her expressions. The next session came with another pose. Hecate was quicker this time, she remembered the curve of Ada's neck, redrew her breasts with less hesitation. She spent some time focusing on her ankles. The teacher nodded her approval. The more Hecate focused on sketching, the less she spoke. The more she spoke, she more she made the only man in the room nervous. Poor Mr Daisy. He was terrified of Hecate. His drawing was pretty good considering that he spent a lot of time hesitating over the model. His blushing was hard to detect but she could feel it. Ada smiled kindly at him and chatted to him for a bit which seemed to put him at his ease. Hecate appreciated that. It was a skill she could never learn.

She thought about Ada all that week long. Longing to see her again. She liked her. She liked how she made her feel. Nobody had made her really feel a thrill of excitement like that. She was naughty, she was sweet, a contradiction that would usually confuse and irritate Hecate. She wasn't the obvious choice to have a crush on. Hecate thought that was what it was. It had been a long time since she'd had a crush on someone. The last time she'd not done anything about it, watching from the sidelines until this unsuitable woman had courted and married someone else. The relationship she'd conducted with Lavinia after that had been a rather insipid affair, prone to boredom and niceness. The breakup seemed wispy, like their grasp on the future. Perhaps that had been a rebound? Could you have a rebound relationship based on the longing for someone you hadn't consummated your feelings for? She didn't know. To her surprise, she posed the question to Ada in the tea break of the next session. What was she doing, teasing out her thoughts to someone who modelled under false pretences? She'd seen her pussy for goodness sakes. Both the smart black creature on Ada's phone and the one on display.

'I'd say having feelings for someone is real enough. Even if they don't know it or reciprocate. That's how some people feel rejected and respond unwisely. So it does sound like a rebound relationship with Lavinia. Not ideal but it didn't seem to be going anywhere. You didn't lose out on anything if you didn't have a future with either one of them.'

'What if I did and missed my chance?'

Hecate didn't like 'what ifs.' 'What ifs' were dangerous lurking crawling thoughts that could freeze your dreams with a malevolent glance. She usually didn't indulge in them. But that was the only thing she thought she could regret. Something she didn't experience very often. Each time the possibility slipped away she thought that it would be her last chance.

'How would you know if she would have made you happy?'

'I don't.'

'So some things you are never meant to know.'

Hecate frowned. Ada could see that she was not happy with that. Hecate was someone who needed clear cut answers.

'You have to accept that you cannot have every experience in the world with whom you want to' she explained gently. 'Sometimes you will find something or someone that will suit you very well for a certain period in your life. They are not always meant to be kept. Sometimes it means letting go of someone who used to be good for you or could have been good for you if the time was right. But if you miss out on the right time, of course you will always wonder how your life would have been if the stars had aligned. If you had been bold enough. And if you had, how long would the relationship have lasted? You may think you are getting what you want but sometimes it ends up feeling hollow. Either you or they might feel dissatisfied and that breeds resentment. Then both of you blame each other for not being the person you expected each other to be. Sometimes you might feel like it was never worth it and wish you'd never pursued it. Other times you will be so glad that you had that experience, even though it broke your heart to end it. You never would have wanted to miss out on knowing this person or having enjoyed this hobby if you feel like you have either learned something or they have enriched your life.'

Hecate mulled it over for a while, tapping on the pendant on her necklace, gazed beyond to the distance. Ada sipped her tea and waited. Hecate eventually admitted that she hadn't thought of it that way.

'Give all those people in your life some thorough thinking. All the people who have come and gone, even if they didn't leave much of an impression. And it counts whether it lasted a week or only one night.'

Ada's shrewd smile held warmth, the knowledge of regret and the hope of new beginnings. She was a person who never gave up hope, Hecate could see. The way that she looked at her seemed to be a hint. Hecate was not good at hints. But considering that she'd had quite an intimate discussion with a practical stranger and feel like there was nothing she couldn't trust her with, had made her consider about how she approached her current situation. And yes, there was a more basic sensation making itself known. She had to acknowledge that while she was attracted to the thoughtful way Ada treated her, she was starting to feel yearning tinging her thoughts. Ada's naked body was now not a matter-of-fact figure in a sketch, it was made real to her. Did Ada know that she desired her? Was she a one-night-stand experience or was she more?

'I try and go with the flow and try not to overthink things. I want to be able to cross a bridge when I get to it' said Ada. 'Sometimes it's best to go week by week. Then you have a clearer idea of where you might go next and then you might be less disappointed if it didn't go the way you had planned it.'

Hecate memorised the face before her.

'Don't wait too long. Because sometimes all that's needed is sex.'

Hecate raised her eyebrows and said nothing more on the matter. She did what Ada had told her and sketched out every person that she'd ever known, in her mind. She didn't know why she hadn't done it earlier. She realised that she hadn't always appreciated what was before her. Ada must have experienced that too if she was advising her about it.

The last session loomed. Hecate felt prepared now. Ada had certainly made an impression on her. She had left a note in the pocket of the fur coat. She didn't know when Ada had found it and hadn't seen her reaction. She was waiting until the end of the day to know if the stars had aligned.

'I can see why you left the expressions until last' observed Pippa. 'You've captured her face so well. Each expression different in each picture. Such an improvement.'

Hecate nodded and added a few final lines to the last sketch. She felt like she knew Ada a bit better by now. She thanked the teacher briefly for doing her job and left it at that.

'I'm ready when you are' said a voice next to her. A voice that promised biscuits at midnight, filthy sex and a comfortable body to curl up with on the sofa. Hecate was looking forward to it. She looked up and bundled away her art materials. She wasn't going to bother with sketching again. It wasn't her kind of thing. She had other more important things to occupy her time with. She was going to get to know Ada a lot better now.