After the Show (attn: Eva)

As per his word, Derek stayed until the end of the gallery showing at the Aquatic Museum so he could help Eva take down her part of the exhibit and take her paintings back to her studio. Derek was intrigued by the young lady. Sure, she wasn’t the most outgoing or downright stunning woman at the event, but she was clearly talented and smart, and Derek was a firm believer that almost all women have their own type of beauty, and that the problem is they don't recognize it. For that matter, Derek believed that all people had within them the capacity to create and do and be beautiful things, and as an arts instructor, a member of the Spring Court and a Muse, he took it as his duty to help people achieve that potential. Or, as in this case, to help this young woman recognize and accept her own beauty.

As he and Eva had prepared to pack up her artworks, he took off his jacket, removed his tie, unbuttoned the top two buttons and sleeves of his shirt and rolled up the sleeves. Helping someone out was one thing, but needlessly getting one’s clothing ruined was quite another, and while Derek was well-paid for a teacher, his was still nonetheless a teacher’s salary, and it was hard enough to afford Armani on a teacher’s salary without having to replace things that were practically new. Nonetheless, he didn’t let his concerns for his clothing keep him from jumping in and getting to work.

Derek let Eva direct things as far as how to stow the paintings for travel and pack them into her vehicle. Although Eva was shy, he could tell hers wasn’t the sort of shy that would respond well to someone else taking charge in regard to something so personal to her as her paintings; instead, he read her as the sort of shy who could blossom if she got used to calling the shots for a bit and having someone respond well to that. He figured he’d have the opportunity to take the lead in other ways later.

Without his jacket, Derek’s physique was more obvious. He was trim and muscular, not in the slabs-of-bulging-muscle manner of a weight lifter or bodybuilder, but rather in the toned, wiry manner common among martial artists, fencers and dancers; and Derek was, in fact, all of those things.

Once the packing-up was done, they headed to Eva’s studio, with Derek taking his own car and following her. Once at her place, again he let her run the show, asking her where she wanted him to put what, whether to unpack the pieces or keep them packed and so forth. He checked out the studio while going about this work, but didn’t ask Eva any questions or offer any comments yet, figuring having her tell him about her workspace later would give them a topic to talk about that would be relatively comfortable for her.

After the unpacking was finished, he leaned against a drawing table and, smiling, gestured for Eva to come near. “, So, Eva, are you happy with where everything is?” he asked.

"Yes its perfect, this would have taken me all night, thank you so much for your help," she smiles.

"What do you think?" she tilts her head, gesturing around at all the paintings.

Derek takes some time to look at all the paintings, including those that had been in the exhibit and the others she has in the studio, as well as some works-in-progress. "'You're talented, very talented. I have to admit, some of your subject matter isn't to my personal taste, but what you do with it is thought-provoking and challenging, and that has a value in and of itself."

He then turns to her. "What I'd like to know, though, is how you go about creating your work... what you draw upon, both inside yourself and from outside. I want to know how you take what is here..." and with two fingers he gestures to her forehead and her heart, almost but not quite touching her each time "... and put it there" , he finishes, gesturing to the canvases.

Then he again points to her forehead and her heart, letting his fingers linger over her heart. "But I don't just want to know Eva the Artist. I want to know about the parts of you that don't end up on canvas. I want to know you." As he says the last bit he lifts his hand so the two fingers come to rest at the underside of her chin. "All of you," he says, a bit more softly.

She smiles at his praise, this exactly what she likes to hear, that her paintings are making people think.

"I... Well it is mostly my dreams, they are dark... I have not had the most pleasant life, and it comes out here..." she replies.

Her chin tilts up when he touches her jaw, eyes smoldering a little, surprised at his intensity, figuring he gets all kinds of tail from artists, being a high powered professor as he is. Nevertheless she finds herself completely intrigued, she bites her full lower lip and smiles just slightly.

"So, you channel some of the pain from your past into art, taking that which might have destroyed you and instead using it to fuel your creativity. That's not unique - it probably describes at least half of the truly great artists in history, including upwards of 90% of the great poets and all of the great blues musicians - but it does put you in very good company, and it is a very healthy way of dealing with tragedy."

As he speaks, Derek slides his fingers from Eva's chin down her neck, then over to her left shoulder and down her arm, where he takes his hand in hers. "If you would, I'd like you to show me around your studio. You can tell me about what you're working on, and about this place... and more about you would be nice."

She glances down shyly, but the corners of her mouth curl up in a smile, rather speechless around this man that knows all the right things to say.

She leads him to an area that is all flowers, the world's most beautiful and colorful flowers, but all done in monochromatic schemes of grey or shades of black, a dark look at something purely lovely.

"I am from Italy if you could not tell, I learned art there, it was my one escape..."

Derek nods. "I got the Italian from your name and accent, and given your talent, I'm not surprised to hear you got your art training there." He intentionally avoids asking about her need to escape, her statements suggesting a lot of trauma, as he doesn't want the discussion to drift into his own living nightmare. Instead, he just squeezes her hand when she mentioned the need for escape.

Derek takes his time to really take in the sight of the flowers rendered in monochromatic grey and black. Though less knowledgeable about (and vastly less skilled in) painting and drawing than drama, he could recognize superior rendering skill when he saw it, and he could really appreciate her use of shadow.

"You know, if we'd stuck to the initial plan of me dropping by here tomorrow night, I would have to brought flowers, because it just isn't right to come visit a pretty lady and not bring her flowers." He turns to Eva with slight smile. "I just might have to do that anyhow. I hope it'll be okay if I can't find any grey or black ones, though."

She would be blushing if she could.

"That is very kind of you Derek.. In fact you have been more kind to me this evening than anyone I have met since coming to Sacramento..." she murmurs, stepping a bit closer, getting hungry seeing him stand there, for honestly more things than she can count.

She watches him, enjoying his lean strength, it complementing her form well.

Still holding Eva's right hand in his left, Derek reaches around with his left hand, placing it on her lower back, right above the curve of her hip. He then pulls her closer and looks into her eyes. "I'm sorry you haven't experienced more in the way of Kindness here, Eva. Everyone could use a little bit of kindness", he says. Smiling, he adds "Among other things."

Then he bends to kiss her, gently at first, gauging her response and holding the kiss for as long as she seems to find comfortable.

As he kisses Eva, Derek thinks to himself, "It's time to find out a bit more about what makes this girl tick."

Eva's desire for him was clear, and would have been even if he hadn't read her earlier in the gallery, so he decides to delve a little deeper, to try to find out a bit about her sexual desires, about what specifically she likes and wants.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

"Ah well, kindness is not always as freely given," she replies, then sees a spark in his eyes that she hasnt seen in a man's for a very long time.

And then... his lips are on hers... she realizes how cold hers must seem, and she forces her blood to burn through her veins and warm her up.

She really desires nothing more than him, plain and simple, and for those lips to not leave hers for the next eternity...

Spoiler:

Derek maintains the kiss as Eva responds. He is pleased by, and responds to, the basic nature of her desire, glad that her desire is not deeply connected to any sort of fetish ritual or similar kink, as is so often the case both with intelligent and creative people and those who have suffered trauma. Not that Derek feels there is anything wrong with that sort of desire - as long as all involved are consenting, it's cool with him - but simply because he appreciates the simple, direct, primal sort of desire she feels at that moment, one which resonates strongly with the spirit of Spring to which he is dedicated. He feels her breath and her lips become warmer and feels a warmth spread through her body, which he takes as passion and arousal. Still he simply holds her close as they kiss, not ramping up the level of physical contact yet, wanting to let Eva's passion and desire continue to build for awhile. He also doesn't say anything; there's no need for words at this moment, as they communicate in a more basic way.

When he finally breaks the kiss, he does so only to move his mouth near her ear, kissing her cheek along the way and very lightly flicking her earlobe with his tongue. At the same time, he pulls her body tight to his, letting her feel the evidence of his own building excitement.

Glancing around without breaking contact, Derek still wasn't sure whether this place was just Eva's studio, or whether she also stayed and had a bedroom here. He doesn't noticed an obvious bedroom, and is considering asking, but then he notices a large, comfy-looking couch over in the corner. Kissing his way back to her lips, he leans her backward a bit so he can kiss down her chin and neck to the hollow of her throat. At the same time, he slides one hand up her back and the other down the curve of her backside - letting it linger there a bit - then lower to her thighs. Wrapping both arms around her body, he stands straight, lifting her into his arms. Still kissing her neck, and carries her to the couch, where he turns around and sits, settling her sidesaddle in his lap.

Eva melts, need coming off of her in waves, having never... ever... reacted to anyone like this.

What the hell is this... Why am I going crazy for this random man, I dont do this, I have gone without for so long that this is insane... But... but... but I want him... not fair...

She loses herself to the emotions of want letting her trepidation melt away, still very much not sure what is making her go weak in the knees for this man.

Holding her in his lap, Derek kisses Eva again, and this time, while continuing the kiss, he starts to explore her body with his hands, to which Eva responds in kind. Although her desire is plain to see, he continues to stoke that up, and even lets a bit of Glamour flow into his complete seduction of her, wanting to drive her to an extreme level of arousal and figuring that with her level of desire, he shouldn't have any difficulty harvesting enough Glamour to replace whatever he expends in this effort. Eva's movements and sounds alert him to the success of his efforts.

As he continues this, Derek decides to try to read deeper into Eva's desires, moving beyond the immediate and the sexual.

Spoiler:

Although unsuccessful in this, he continues, secure that he's met the clause's Catch. "Let's see if I can find any deep desires, something she might keep hidden away." However, this, too, is unsuccessful.

Spoiler:

About to ramp up the level of intimacy even higher, Derek first decides to draw Glamour from Eva's desire, planning to spend and regain that bounty in a continual feedback loop that would drive her into a continual state of ecstacy for as long as she was able to handle that level of arousal - "A long time, hopefully," he thinks to himself. He easily enough grasps and transforms some of her emotional energy into Glamour, but the result is definitely not what he expected.

"As hot and wound up as she is right now, I'd have expected Glamour to practically be pouring off her, but all I got was this small bit... and that feeling rather... empty."

Confused, Derek pulls back, gazing into Eva's eyes and studying her bodily reactions as he begins to more directly stimulate her with some very intimate touch. Her reactions suggest a very strong and genuine sense of passion. "Definitely not frigid! If she's faking, she's a better actor than me," he thought. "Like, 'Eat your heart out, Meryl Streep, and don't expect to ever see another Oscar long as this girl's in the game' quality acting... though I don't recall ever seeing Meryl faking orgasm..." All Derek knew for sure was that Eva seemed very much into what was happening, despite the emotional emptiness suggested by his Harvest.

"Maybe it's some sort of weird emotional detachment, sort of like her drawing all those beautiful flowers in black and white," he mused. "Maybe whatever bad shit she went through caused her to separate off her emotions from her body reactions." Derek recalled some discussion of this from reading about the effects of childhood trauma and abuse, way back when he took his basic teaching classes. "Dissociation, isolation of affect, that sort of thing." His conscience nagged at him just a bit as he shifted Eva from his lap onto the couch and kissed her again while starting to undress her. "If she's got something like that going on, is this going to mess with her head? Is she really able to consent? Her body at least is into it, though and... whoa!" A very intimate touch on Eva's part tossed any conscious thought out of his mind, focusing him completely on the here and now, and the sensual, and on the both of them getting a lot less dressed, pronto.

FADE TO BLACK.