Secretly Mine

Lucas’s words shifted something deep inside of me. I looked back up at the unfinished painting, finding it hard to believe that he would want to paint me. But from the many messy and unfinished brush strokes, I could tell that he’s been putting every ounce of effort into this.

As he looked at me, he fidgeted with his hands. "Please forgive me, Leslie. I know I should have asked if I could paint you. I...I just wasn’t sure how you would take it. I also couldn’t fight my strong desire to capture such beauty on a canvas."

A number of strange emotions welled up inside of me. If it were anyone other than Lucas, I think I would have felt strange about this. But for some reason, looking at the portrait gave me a sense of excitement.

I was honored to have Lucas paint a portrait of me.

From his body language, I could tell that he was nervously waiting for my reply.

"So what’s preventing you from finishing it? Is there anything I could do to help you?" I asked as I turned to smile at him.

Lucas melted like an ice berg in spring. His still body relaxed, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

"Are you saying that you’re okay with me continuing to paint it? I was ready to throw it away if you said you didn’t agree," he said softly.

My smile widened. This was just like Lucas, always taking my feelings into consideration to ensure that I was comfortable. "Yes, I’m okay with you painting it. In fact, I’m a bit excited for it."

I walked over and stood right in front of the canvas that was taller than I was. "I’ve never had anyone paint a portrait of me before. It’s a bit whimsical."

Lucas walked over and stood beside me. "I’m very happy to hear that, but I’m not sure how well I can do. Unless you modeled for me, I’m unsure if I would be able to capture your essence in the painting...It’s what I’ve been struggling with for many weeks now."