She led him to her room as she retrieved her sketchbook and pencil. She glanced up at him as his eyes traveled around her room. He took time to study her private domain now.
“Where do you want to sit? This is going to take a while. I can’t do a portrait in just a few minutes.” She inhaled sharply. “Are you sure you want me to sketch you? This is going to take me hours. Probably.”
He shrugged. “That’s fine. I mean, where else am I going to go? It’s not like I can just jump on a plane and head home.” He glanced around her room. “Can I just lie down on your bed?”
“You want me to sketch you sleeping?” she asked incredulously.
“I am sort of tired. I’ve been up all night. Remember?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. I forgot. You’re fourteen hours ahead of me. So it was about one in the morning when you suddenly appeared in my room, huh?
“You’re right. You need some sleep. Go ahead. Stretch out on my bed. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll grab a chair and sketch you while you snooze.”
He sat down on her bed and peered up at her uneasily. “Nani? You promise you won’t disappear while I’m sleeping?”
“I’ll do my best,” she murmured as she settled herself in a chair and put her sketchpad on her lap.
Jimin leaned back against her pillow and gave her a lopsided smile that stole the structure from his eyes. As they disappeared, he gave up the battle and let them close fully. Eventually, even his sweet smile faded as he gave in to slumber.
Nani beamed at him while he slept. Her fingers directed her pencil. Every single line meticulously drawn. Each shading, both subtle and overt, filling in more of the face that was quickly becoming Jimin’s.
She was amazed at the talent flowing from her. A novel precision was manifesting itself through her fingers today. And the love she felt swelling in her heart for Jimin seemed to be communicating itself through the graphite on the page.
She worked with a sense of joy. Peace flowed from her. Love enveloped her and seemed to swirl through her fingers into her pencil, directing its movements. She felt completely connected both to Jimin and to the sketch she was creating. As though she was breathing life into something that had once been stagnant.
When she finally finished his portrait, she stared down at it. She was incredibly nervous. She didn’t want to show it to him. But she had to acknowledge that something had happened since she had last sketched anyone. Maybe she really was nearly nineteen now. For this drawing showed an enormous increase in both ability and maturity. This sketch was brilliant.
She could barely believe that she had created it. It drew tears to her eyes. For it was the very thing she had long desired. That she would be given the ability to sketch as well as one of her favorite artists. As she gazed down at Jimin’s lovely face, she found herself breathless, for it was such a perfect likeness. But the real question…would he think so?
Nani lifted her eyes to study the slumbering man lying on her bed. He’d been asleep for over three hours now. He was still sleeping hard. He must have been thoroughly exhausted by the time he walked her home. She didn’t want to wake him. He clearly needed his rest.
So she left him alone and did what she’d been craving. Her eyes perused his face some more. Then they slid along the contours of his slender form. He was absolute perfection to her. Lovely in all his ways. Jimin was so precious to her.
Her gaze swept across his noble forehead before sliding down the straight slope of his elegant nose. Of course, then her eyes landed on his kissable lips. She now knew firsthand just how kissable they were. She sighed as her gaze lingered there.
But at the sound of her discontent, those glorious eyes of his began to flutter open. And she found herself trapped in their chocolate depths. She smiled faintly as she recognized the traces of sleep still lurking in those enticing pools.
Suddenly, he blinked rapidly several times. Then a tiny smile teased those sultry lips.
“How long have I been sleeping?” He was pleasantly surprised that he had awoken to discover that he was still with her.
“Nearly three hours.”
She continued to lock eyes with him. He just stared at her. For several long moments as silence stretched out between them. Finally, his lips curved into a lazy smile.
“I suppose that means it’s almost time for me to take you to dinner then.”
Her eyebrows danced upward. “Dinner? But you took me to lunch.”
He shrugged. That doesn’t mean I can’t take you to dinner too.” Then, as her words of earlier came back to him, his lips quirked upward in a mischievous grin, and he murmured languidly, “I suppose it doesn’t have to be dinner. I could just take you out to get a chocolate fix.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you suggesting we eat chocolate for dinner?” she asked in astonishment.
One elegant shoulder ascended before falling down to meet the height of its mate. “Why not?” He quirked one perfectly manicured eyebrow. “You do love chocolate, right?”
She nodded her head. “Very much.”
“Oh!” A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Did you finish my portrait?”
She swallowed. Then nodded her head nervously. Her eyes slid away from his.
“Nani…”
She kept her eyes trained on the ground. “I’m not sure you’ll like it.”
“I already told you. I’m going to love it!” He climbed off her bed and sauntered over to her.
He glanced down at the sketch pad on her lap. And gasped.
That drew her eyes to his face. “Jimin?”
“It’s gorgeous!” His eyes gaze flew to meet hers. “Nani, it’s breathtaking! You have an enormous talent. How could you possibly think I wouldn’t like it?”
She remained silent.
His eyes traveled back to the sketch. “Nani, I will always treasure this,” Jimin breathed as he gazed down at his amazing likeness. A few moments later, he glanced up into her eyes. “You are going to let me keep it, right?”
“Do you really want it?” she asked with eyes wide open in surprise.
“Absolutely!” He held his hand out.
Carefully, she pulled the paper from its binding and handed it to him. “Jimin, can I take a picture of you with the sketch?”
He nodded, and she pulled out her phone and snapped a few photographs. Then she gave him a tiny smile. “Thanks.”
“No, Nani. Thank you! This is just beautiful.” He grinned as he studied it. Then his forehead wrinkled. “But how am I to keep it nice?”
“Here. I have a spare folder. You can put it inside.” She dug through a pile of books on her desk before handing him a blue folder.
After he had safely stowed his sketch in the folder, he set it down on her desktop. “Now. Shall we go out for some chocolate?”
Her lips quirked upward. “I have a better idea. Let’s bake something. Come on,” she urged him as she headed for her kitchen.
