Read The Red Fox: A Romance for Free Online

leave?” she asked.
    “ No,” he replied. He didn't look up, he just pointed. “I want you to sit over there and let me draw you.”
    “ What?”
    “ I want to draw you. I want to show you how I see you.”
    “ I know what I look like. I have a mirror I look at every day.”
    He looked up. “But you don't know what you look like on the inside. I want to show you.”
    “ And you know, do you?”
    He looked back down at his sketch book, and said, “Yes, I do. Now sit.”
    “ Forget it.” She turned and headed back to the gap she had came in from. She was half way through when she heard Jay speaking behind her.
    “ You think everyone sees you the same way, but you don't know how I see you. Give me ten minutes and I'll show you.”
    She turned back to him. “You don't even know me.”
    “ But I know what I see inside you. I know how you make me feel. I know more than all the fools in this town. Go,” he pointed to a tree stump.“Sit.”
    She did as he asked.
    “ Do you want me to pose?”
    “ No, I want you to relax. I want you to be exactly who you normally are.”
    “ Who am I, normally?” she asked.
    “ You tell me,” he replied, already starting on his sketch. “This time, lets keep our clothes on and just talk, OK?”
    “ A man asking me to keep my clothes on,” she replied. “Now that's a first.”
    She sat for ten minutes while he sketched away. She wasn't even sure why she was letting him draw her. She didn't want a picture of herself. She had to look at her sad eyes in the mirror each morning. She didn't want another reminder of herself. She was trying to get away from herself, from her life. But she did leave him stranded in the woods yesterday, and in hindsight she could see how that was really a mean thing to do, but what he did was just so unexpected. He could have so easily slept with her, but he didn't. He could have had her body, but he wanted more, he wanted to know what was in her heart. She had battled all night with what had happened. Half her heart was telling her he was different from all the rest, the other half telling her he was just playing games like all the rest, just like all the other guys that had passed through her life.
    She was torn, not knowing what to do or say to him. She was still keeping her internal defenses high, but she let him draw her. It was the least she could do. Then they'd be even, she told herself.
    “ OK, you can take a look now,” Jay said.
    She stood up and sat next to him. He passed her his sketch book. As she looked at her portrait she felt an overwhelming urge to cry. In his portrait she was more than beautiful, she looked truly happy. The beauty was also different. It wasn't the kind of beauty she saw in the mirror. She knew she was good looking, but she didn't see herself as beautiful, not like how she looked in the sketch. She had never seen purity in her face before, but she saw it now. It was incredible.
    “ Where did the smile come from? I wasn't smiling the whole time,” she asked.
    “ I told you I wanted to show you what I see inside you.”
    “ You think I'm smiling on the inside?”
    “ Yes, I think you are.”
    “ But I feel so sad,” she said honestly. “I think I'm crying on the inside.”
    “ But you're not,” he said. “It's what you believe that makes you sad, and what you believe is not the truth. You believe you are what everyone else tells you. You think you're not worthy of a better life, worthy of respect. But that's not who you are. It's just what others have labeled you.” He looked into her eyes, “Do you know who you are—who you are?”
    She stared at the picture. “I did. When I was younger. A long time ago. But it was a long time ago.” She turned to him. “Why do you see me this way,” pointing to the picture. “I look so happy, so free. My eyes are alive; my whole appearance so pure.”
    “ Because, I'm able to see inside people,” he replied.
    “ Oh, you have magical powers too?” she asked.