BFF's 2 by Brenda Hampton Page B

front of me. His nail-gripping ass was right there, waiting on me to touch it. All I wanted to do was reach out and touch it, but Trina would kill me. I had a vision of his muscular body on top of mine, sweating while we fucked each other’s brains out. I would put any amount of money on it that Trina didn’t know how to utilize a man like this. Keeping him excited would be difficult for her. That was why he needed me.
    By the time we made it to the third level, I was out of breath. I stood in the doorway, watching as Keith proudly showed me some of his paintings. There was no question that the man had talent. His studio had some of the most exquisite pieces of art I’d ever seen. I was in awe as I looked around the room. The smell of money was floating in the air and these pictures had to be worth a lot of money.
    â€œOh, my God,” I said, walking up to a colorful painted picture of Miles Davis. “This is so beautiful. A friend of mine would love this! Miles is his favorite jazz player. I have never seen anything like this before.”
    â€œI sold the original to a museum in Atlanta. Unfortunately, that one there isn’t for sale.”
    â€œI’m not trying to be nosy or anything like that, but how much does something like this cost? You have so many beautiful pieces in here. I wonder how much they’re worth.”
    Keith shrugged and boasted about his work that was quite impressive. “Anywhere from five to thirty or forty thousand dollars. It depends on what I’m asked to do. I have some wealthy clients who pay high dollars for their artwork. They often refer me to others, so I stay quite busy.”
    â€œI see,” I said, gazing around at the large room. “And it’s a good thing that you love what you do. I wish I could discover what my real talents are. Maybe I would be able to make money like this, but for now, it is what it is.”
    Keith sat on a stool next to his work station. He invited me to have a seat on the couch in front of him. I did and crossed my legs.
    â€œSo, what is it that you exactly do, Evelyn?”
    I didn’t appreciate him getting all up in my business, but if we were going to get to know each other on another level, why not?
    â€œCurrently, I’m unemployed. I was working customer service, but I got laid off. I’ve been looking for work, but it’s hard to find a job. Many economists claim the economy is recovering, but I’m not feeling it yet. My bills are behind, and everybody I try to borrow money from is in the same predicament.”
    â€œYeah, that’s too bad. But keep your head up, though. Things will get better.”
    I was sure that he would offer me a little something, but at least he gave me hope. He started to dabble on a sketchpad that was on his workstation. I admired a man who utilized his talents to make money; and, all the way around, he was so damn gorgeous to me.
    â€œWhile at the door, you mentioned something about Trina’s strange behavior,” he said. “Do you mind elaborating on that?”
    Keith’s eyes scanned my moisturized legs, which were still crossed. Then his eyes traveled from my head to toe, before he looked at the sketchpad again and waited for me to reply.
    â€œWhat I meant by that was I told Trina she needed to knock it off. No offense to her, but there are times when she chooses to be a drama queen for no reason. It irritates the heck out of me, and I reminded her that no man would put up with that mess. We had a little argument because she didn’t like what I had to say to her. Please don’t tell her that I’m sharing this with you, but she be acting a little off at times. I told her that she needs to go get herself checked out, and that’s why I said she was confused the other night. She is confused. When I say that to her, she takes it personal.”
    Without looking up, Keith hit me with more questions. “Confused about what? What