After gathering my things from a bewildered Jules, I lead Val down the hall to the art room.
Irritatingly casual, he walked with me silently down the hall, hands in pockets, his messenger bag slung comfortably across his body.
“Thanks again for filling in.” I say, breaking the silence. “Have you ever done anything like this before?”
I unlock the classroom door and usher him in, flipping on the overhead lights and dropping my things on the desk just inside the room.
“What? Take off all my clothes mere moments after meeting a woman? Well, I’m not one to kiss and tell.” He crosses the room, inspecting the space.
It’s a large classroom, a little tired, and located in one of the older buildings on campus. Art rooms require little in the ways of current tech, so we have been banished to a repurposed science lab. Twenty easels are positioned in a large circle around a wide platform assembled from wooden risers. I have some studio lights for the scene, and furniture I picked up from a thrift store; a low padded bench, sturdy side table, and a bar stool. I struggled to create an intimate space from such a cold starting point, but a few lamps and a speaker for music went a long way.