One & Only

The moment I sat on that wooden chair, a canvas right in front of me ready to be filled with what my mind could reproduce, all my problems seemed to fade. All of the scars I had on my heart and body didn’t matter, the redness covering my eyes and the attempt to get unnoticed, vanished into thin air.

“Good morning everyone.” Alexander, the art teacher that took care of the whole Art Department in my University entered the room to briefly explain what would be done during the three hour class.
“Since we’re in the middle of the Semester, I thought it would be good for you to try and draw something a bit more realistic, like the human body” He began to explain, grabbing some cases that wondered around on the top of his black desk. “With that said, I’ll leave you with Matthew, the person you will be drawing today.”

As he exited the room, filled with other students in their mid-twenties just like me, another person walked in, wearing nothing but a black rope. The man that was now in front of us looked uncomfortable; his shoulders were tense and his eyes carried a worried look. Still, he remained calm and gave us all a little smile.

In nothing but two seconds, my heart dropped.

I knew those hazel eyes, that devilish smile and every single dot of ink permanently attached to his body; I knew Matthew Charles Sanders, better than I knew myself, I could add.

Flashback

“Don’t do this, Brianna. It’s not really what you want to do; you and I both know it.” He pleaded once more, his eyes burning into mine, almost like he was trying to see my soul. I shook my head, certain of what I was saying.

“This has to end. No, this is ending right now.” I ran one hand through my messy red hair, sighing; I was a nervous person, and he knew that. “My brother will hate you for being with me, and so will my parents. It’s not only about us anymore, Matt. Besides, you have a fiancé and I have…” I stopped talking right away.

What did I have? Nothing. I was a second-year student and the University of Arts in California, living with her parents and dreaming about one day designing clothes. Matt was my brother’s 29 year old best friend.

“Is that what this is about?” Matt asked, taking my face in his hands and almost gluing us together, like he usually did. “Brianna, I know this is all kinds of wrong. You know I want to leave her, I want to, but you never think it’s a good idea!”

There was a moment when I considered taking it all back; getting my body attached to his one more time, kissing his delicious lips and giving into temptation again, and then again until the guilt consumed me. Yet, I didn’t do it.

“It’s not a good idea, you can’t do that and we can’t do this.” I finally pronounced, taking his hands off my face and stepping away. “I’m sorry Matt. We’re done.”

I started walking away, praying that he wouldn’t follow me or try to convince me to change my mind; I wasn’t strong enough to refuse another attempt from him, nor did I want to do so. Fortunately, and also unfortunately, he just stood there in the middle of his living room, looking at me walking away from him. Not managing to hold it in, I turned around and a tear escaped from my eye.

“I love you.”

End of flashback

It didn’t take him too long to get off his robe and standing tall in front of us, in all his glory. As he stood there, the slight murmurs of all the girls standing in that class could be heard. His eyes wondered around the room and, at one point, they stopped in me.

Matt didn’t look surprised, and if he was, he was good at covering it. I grabbed my pencil and started drawing his body, trying to get my mind off of the memories that kept coming; he had been the only one to make me feel like a woman, to make me feel loved.

**

“Hey, Brianna?” I heard Annabelle calling my name, making me turn right; she was always the one sitting next to me in that class, and I loved her artwork. “That looks so amazing! I never saw you drawing like this.”

Two and a half hours had passed and I hadn’t noticed it; the only thing I could focus on during that time was the canvas in front of me, the pencil on my hand and those hazel eyes looking at me during the entire time. His eyes were burning through me, like a few years before, making my heartbeat go as fast as it ever been.

“Thanks, Belle.” I simply smiled at her, finishing the few details on my drawing. Thinking about it, it bothered me that he was there, with no clothes covering his amazing body, ready for the entire university to see.

Even though we had been separated for the last year, I still thought he was mine; in my heart and mind, every single cell of his body was mine and would forever be. The tiny alarm clock placed on Alexander’s desk went off and we all put our pencils down, whilst Matt dressed himself. “Well, Alex told me to send you guys home after the alarm clock going off, so, see you around.” He spoke in his husky voice, awkwardly whilst rubbing the back of his neck.

Everyone in the classroom rushed out of the room and I stayed, not knowing if I was standing there because I felt the need to be with him for a few more minutes, or if I just wanted to put everything away.

“Bells?” I heard his voice right behind me, making me jump slightly and turn around. His body was right pressed up against mine, allowing me to feel his warmth.

“Matt…” my voice cracked and I coughed a bit. “I didn’t thought I would see you here again. How’ve you been?”

My attempt to make small talk with him had failed, since he remained quiet for a couple seconds, just staring at me.

“I miss you.” My mouth opened to protest, but he shut me up. “Listen, please. I’m not with Monique anymore; we broke up after you went away. I was being serious when I said I loved you.”

I sighed, not knowing if I should allow myself to fall into his trap again.

“I love you too.” Was all I could say to him, even though it was a whisper. I saw a tiny smile appear on his pump lips, as he grabbed my waist to pull me close. It was like everything was going slowly, but fast at the same time.

His lips were attached to mine slowly, making memories come back to me once more. My arms were wrapped around his neck, making the slight distance between us disappear. We broke the kiss a few seconds later, looking at each other.

“You better stop coming around classrooms naked, Sanders.” I warned him, a playful grin coming to my lips as a chuckle escaped his.

“I promise you I won’t. I’m all yours, just yours. Now and forever.”