He had fallen asleep on the couch again last night, his long frame twisted into the two-seater like a pretzel.  When he had returned home after his shift at the club he had started working on the picture that had woken him up that morning.  He had spent every spare moment over the course of the day jotting down pictures that kept flashing through his mind.  When he had raised his head from under the cushion this morning he was confronted with his unfinished work.  He saw something it needed and had started layering colours until now, two hours later he was starting to slump from his short night of sleep.

The gentle curves of the woman in the painting flowed smoothly into the soft waves of her hair and the silk cloth that flowed up and around her, enveloping her and the faceless man that sat behind her, holding her tenderly in his arms.  Their moment of passion was over as they clung to each other, her fingers entwined in his hair and their bodies’ slick with the sweat from their lovemaking.

Orlando dragged his eyes away from the sensual picture in front of him and looked at the clock over the stove.  He cursed under his breath and quickly walked to the back door, dragging his paint splattered shirt from his slim frame before opening the door.

“Hey, Sidi, come on outside with you.  Go pee on something while I have a shower,” he told the black dog that trotted past him out to the back garden, tail wagging happily.

Twenty minutes later, his hair still wet from his shower, Orlando pulled the front door closed and locked it before wrapping his black scarf around his neck.  He slung his backpack over his shoulder and lifted his art satchel as he looked down at his canine friend before he leaned forward to scratch his ear.