Kim and Dan had just bought their first house, after moving back to Dan's hometown in Ohio from California. It was in a lovely neighborhood, but their limited finances had only allowed them to afford a fixer-upper. It wasn't feasible to keep their apartment and pay for the house so they had to move in while they cleaned and repaired the house. Lucky for them, Dan and Kim's friend, Lora, and Dan's older brother, Chaz had offered to help out and they jumped at the offer.
Lora arrived that Friday afternoon, after work and began helping clean the living room and kitchen; getting ready to paint. She was a sweet and feisty brunette with long dark curls, which she had pulled up in a clip; and a full, voluptuous figure, which she generally hid beneath slightly baggy clothing. To say she wasn't comfortable with her body wasn't accurate, but she found it offensive when women wore clothes that were too small. Since she would be helping all weekend, she had packed a small bag so she could stay and help as many hours as possible.
As Kim and Lora were laying down the plastic and getting ready, they danced around to the radio. Lora loved to dance and was never embarrassed to do so whenever and wherever she was. Music had always been a passion of hers, since she was a young girl. Her parents had brought her up on Motown and Rock, which she still listened to every chance she got, but she also loved classical, country and hip hop. If it had a beat, she was moving to it.
In the late afternoon, Lora had set to work painting one of the walls in the living room as Dan and Kim started on the kitchen walls. She heard the roar of a motorcycle and looked out the window to see a man pulling into the driveway. Figuring it was Dan's brother, she turned back to the task at hand.
The front door flung open, as Chaz walked in bellowing, "Dan, where's the brews? I'm ready to get to work."
Kim and Dan walked in the living room to greet him. With a beer in her hand for him, Kim snapped, "Chaz, you better wipe your damn feet before you walk in my house," as they all started laughing.
Lora laughed but kept painting. She had never met Chaz but one look at him and she wondered how the weekend was going to go if she had to work in the same room with someone so loud and boisterous. She hoped he wasn't the type to get trashed and act like an obnoxious ass but if he did, she'd just roll out her sleeping bag in the spare room and give him the run of the living room. No big deal.
Dan introduced Chaz and Lora. Chaz greeted her amicably, shaking her hand. Upon further inspection, she had her serious doubts about him. Though he was ruggedly handsome, with his strawberry blonde, spiked hair and blue eyes, he had tattoos running up and down his muscular arms. Though she had nothing against tattoos, she had never really understood why some people felt the need to have them everywhere.
With everyone situated with something to drink, Kim handed Chaz a paintbrush and told him to get to work. He started on the opposite wall and, for the most part, things were quiet but for a few shouts back and forth between the brothers. Dan and Kim went back into the kitchen, resuming their work in there. They worked this way for a couple of hours, when Chaz set down his brush and walked through the kitchen and out the back door. He was gone for about half an hour then returned to pick up where he left off. By now, the sun was down and the stars were starting to twinkle in the sky.
Chaz briefly stopped at the doorway and watched her work. Though his taste was more along the lines of the tall, slender model type, he didn't find her unappealing at all. He was rather intrigued by the way she moved to the music as she painted in a neat and orderly fashion. The combination of form and function certainly was interesting, to say the least. He walked back over and picked up his brush.
"So, Lora, Kim tells me you like to draw. Are you any good at it?" he asked.
"I guess so. I don't sell art or anything like that but I drew a portrait of Dan and Kim, they like. Though they may just be trying to spare my feelings by acting like they do," she giggled.
"You're the one who drew that portrait of them?"
"Yes," she responded cautiously. She was waiting for him to start laughing or tell her how hideous it really was.
"Well then, I'd say you've got some mad skills," he said in a tone that sounded admiring and sincere.
"Thank you." She wanted to say more but wasn't quite sure what to say. She had always been shy around guys and the only reason she and Dan had become such good friends in school was because he was so genuine and friendly, she felt at ease with him. It seems like those might be family traits, she thought.
"Besides dancing and drawing, do you have any other creative skills?" he asked.
"I also like writing but don't have time to pursue all my passions," she mused.
"There's always time to pursue what we are passionate about. God didn't intend for us for all work and no play," he said in a meaningful tone.
"Is that why you have so many tattoos? Is that your passion?" she inquired.
"It is one of my passions. I love all things aesthetically pleasing and my tattoos are my art."
She was floored at the way the conversation was going. This was definitely one of those cases where you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. It was hard to believe that this was the same man that had walked in, not long ago, yelling for a beer, and now they were talking about art.
He walked over to her and stuck out his right arm, "this arm is dedicated to my daughter. All the tattoos remind me of things about her. This arm," he said as he stuck out the left arm, "is dedicated to my son."
Looking closer at the tattoos on his arms, Lora noticed that the body art flowed and dipped, swirling designs into each other. For the first time, she really thought of it as body art. How interesting it really was. She wondered how many other people had dedicated their body to represent things about them or in their lives.
As the night went on, Lora and Chaz talked about their work, hobbies, travels and much more. It seemed like no time at all, before Dan and Kim walked in to tell them they were exhausted and going to bed. "You guys can sleep wherever," Kim told them, "there's the extra room, living room....well and the kitchen but I definitely wouldn't sleep in the bathroom. Someone might trip over you going in the middle of the night." She laughed.
They said their good nights and headed to bed. It was close to 2 a.m. and Chaz and Lora called it an evening as well. She grabbed her bag and headed to the bathroom to change into her sleeping clothes. When she came back to the living room, Chaz had already rolled out both their sleeping bags, in front of the TV. Between them was a tray with a beer for him, glass of wine for her and a bowl of chips.
"Sorry, there didn't seem to be any cheese and crackers so I opted for chips," he laughed.
Lora had stopped short in the doorway as she saw Chaz sprawled out on his sleeping bag, wearing only a pair of cotton shorts. Though she noticed the tattoos covering his chest and torso, that's not what stopped her. The sight of his broad, muscled chest and tone legs were like a work of art all on their own. Not wanting him to think she was weird, she shook it off and went over to sit on her sleeping bag.
As she drank her wine, they chatted some more. He was truly a Renaissance man, talking about poetry, nature and his spirituality. Whenever she wasn't looking, he'd gaze at her beautiful black locks and pink, full lips. He wondered what she had on under that oversized cotton night shirt. He figured it was cotton panties and he was surprised that the thought turned him on. She was a very interesting woman. So soft and beautiful with an intensity and determination he'd rarely seen in most women.
After a few minutes, the sounds of moaning could be heard very distinctly coming from Dan and Kim's bedroom. Chaz rolled his eyes, "I guess they weren't as tired as they pretended to be," he joked. Then he noticed that Lora's face was turning a bright shade of red as she looked down into her wine glass.
