Chapter 11

“You have a very nice posterior,” Griffin commented as if he’d read Daniel’s mind.

Taking the highroad, for what it was worth, Daniel managed to reply, “Thank you, I think.”

By then they were in the studio, which helped calm Daniel. It was his space, his world, and right now he was extremely glad it existed.

“Where do you want me?” Griffin asked.

In my bed? Umm, better not even hint at that. And why does his complimenting me make me so nervous? I’m told Mellie I’m not looking—and I’m not. Two bad relationships should have taught me something. You’d think anyway.

“Was that such a hard question?” Griffin said, laughter in his voice.

“How about there.” Daniel pointed to one of the stools sitting beside his drawing table.

Griffin sat, resting his feet on the lower rungs, while Daniel took the other one. Picking up a sketch pad and pencil, Daniel set to work. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that Griffin seemed to be frozen in place and his expression hadn’t changed an iota since Daniel began drawing him. “You can move, and talk,” Daniel told him. “Or more just talk. Getting up and dancing a jig won’t be much help at the moment.”

Griffin smiled, replying, “But later on?”

“You know how to jig?” Daniel quickly sketched Griffin’s eyes and mouth, in one corner of the page.

“Now that you mention it. No. I’m more into slow dancing when I get the chance.” He grinned and Daniel caught that as well with a few swift strokes of his pencil.

After flipping the page, Daniel asked Griffin to turn in profile to him, then dashed off two quick sketches. As he did, he noted something he hadn’t picked up on before. Griffin’s nose was vaguely beak-like. Not a pronounced, but it was there. When he commented on it, Griffin grinned. “A family trait. My father could have passed for an eagle, according to my mother. Of course since I don’t remember him, I couldn’t say if she was right or not.”

“He died?”

“Yes. I was two at the time. I do remember his love. He would hold me, sing me to sleep. I wish.” Griffin sighed. “But, as they say, if wishes were horses.”

“There would be no room on the planet for anything else.”

Laughing, Griffin said, “I don’t think that’s how it goes, but you’re right.” He stretched, wriggling on the seat.

“You’ve sat long enough,” Daniel declared. “Stand and I’ll do some full body drawings.”

“You won’t see much of it with what I’m wearing,” Griffin told him as he got up. He was correct, as he had on a bulky sweatshirt and heavy jeans.

“Then take off the shirt.”

“And the pants?” Griffin winked at Daniel.

“Umm, no.” Daniel tried not to blush. “Not unless you’ve got something else on underneath them.”

“Do briefs count?” Griffin asked as he stripped off the sweatshirt and the T-shirt he was wearing under it.

“Definitely not!” Daniel was impressed, although not really surprised, at how muscular Griffin was. Very much the antithesis of his own lean body. Maybe I should work out? Not that it would do much. I’m naturally skinny and nothing will change that. God only knows Ray told me that more than once. “You look like a high school nerd” to quote him.

“Daniel,” Griffin said, breaking into his musings. “You’re off in another world again.”

“Sorry.” Daniel grabbed the pad and began sketching.

“Is something bothering you?”

Other than you standing there, half-naked? Daniel didn’t voice that, shaking his head instead.

“You can tell me,” Griffin said. “If it’s me and you’d rather I left, just say so.”

“I don’t.” Daniel puffed out a few short breaths. “I feel safer with you here.”

“Do you think your ex is going to come back and hassle you again?” Griffin asked with concern.

“Probably not. It’s—okay, this may sound weird, but ever since I moved into the house I’ve gotten strange feelings. Like something isn’t right—or is going to go wrong. Or, hell I don’t know quite how to describe it.” He shrugged.

“A premonition?”

“I don’t know! It’s not like I believe in that kind of stuff. What my sister calls ghosties and goblins.”

“There are people who believe there are things beyond our ken.”

Daniel smiled, starting to sketch as they talked. “People once thought the world was flat, or we’d never go to the moon, or a million other things that turned out to be wrong.”

“You know you just defeated your own argument.”

Daniel thought about it and had to agree that he had. “Still, all that was misunderstood science. No one’s proved there are ghosts or werewolves or zombies.”

“Or vampires,” Griffin added with a grin.