"Tell me, is an omission the same as a lie?" 

☆

Blake heads towards the chair to sit once again on the blanket with which he had sat on the day before. 

Tamesh looks at the man sitting casually in the seat, seemingly very relaxed, he then glances at the painted sketch he had done the previous day. The two didn't seem to match. "Uh, you just need to move your left arm a little." 

Blake looks at where his arm is positioned and moves it further forward in the armrest. "What, here?" He questions.

"No. The other way." Tamesh gestures his hand in the opposite direction, with Blake trying to follow his command. 

"And your legs, they just need to move out....just a little." Tamesh now scrutinizes the image and the subject, through slightly squinted eyes. 

Blake shuffles his feet a little further apart. "Ok?" 

Tamesh frowns, shaking his head. "No, not quite." And without thinking, heads towards the model and boldly places a large hand on his right thigh, with the other hand wrapping around Blake's ankle. He carefully manoeuvres the legs just so until Tamesh is satisfied it is in the correct place. 

Blake meanwhile is looking down upon the artist, virtually crouched between his legs, a rye smile spreading across his face. "Better?" He questions, causing the artist to look up to see those deep chocolate brown eyes staring at him, reminding him all over again that he was out of his artistic depth and eye level with Blake's crotch.

"Y...yeah." He manages to stammer, hurriedly finding his feet and getting to standing. He grabs his supposedly relaxing tea from the side. Gulping down a mouthful before taking a breath. "Right ok, let's do this." 

Tamesh picks up one of his brushes from the side and dips the bristles into the paint. 

There is a noticeable silence which fills the room. Blake doesn't think it's as bad as before and is grateful for at least the music in the background playing to focus on a little. 

After a few minutes, Blake has to ask. "Do you always work in silence?" 

Tamesh doesn't really stop his work, just glancing up at Blake, who was looking across in the distance. "Yes." He simply replies. 

Blake lets out a small "hm" in response. Not quite the conversation starter he was hoping. He tries again, "Why?"

Tamesh now looks at Blake with amusement. "I paint still life! I think the conversation would be pretty one-sided."

Blake chuckles at the thought of Tamesh conversing with a bowl of fruit. 

The artist sees Blake's amused face as he now seems to be focusing on something in the distance. He follows the eyeline to see that the focus is on his vase with the butterfly painted on it. "You like my vase?" He questions.

Blake side eyes Tamesh, not moving his head position. "It's pretty.' He comments.

Tamesh lets out a dry laugh. "Good to know I guess, that was my still life set up before I started this with you."

Blake now turns his head slightly to meet Tamesh's gaze. "I'm sure the painting of it is good." If it was anything like the seascape, it would be sure to be. 

"It wasn't good." Tamesh says, now with a more relaxed chuckle. "You can speak the truth. You don't need to boost my ego." 

"I was being truthful!" Blake smiles a little sheepishly, he doesn't know what to say, so ends up returning his gaze to the vase with the seemingly dancing butterfly. He thinks about his own line of work where it couldn't be more different. People could be so fake, always on the hunt for a compliment or an Instagram like. It was always hard to tell if people were being truthful or not. "Be honest." Blake suddenly says. 

Tamesh looks at Blake with a furrowed brow. "What about?" 

"This whole thing." Blake continues. "Don't mock me up in your painting to make me look like something I'm not. I want to see an honest picture." 

"That's all I can do." Tamesh says with a smile. "I simply paint what I see before me, but like I said before, you will be a challenge because you are beautiful." 

Blake cannot help the corner of his mouth turn up a little. "I think that means a lot coming from you. I mean...I don't really know you well, but I sense your honesty." 

"I don't see how one could be anything else." Tamesh says, dipping his brush back into his paint before making fresh marks. 

Blake thinks about the statement before questioning it. "Tell me, is an omission the same as a lie?" He keeps himself still as he asks, only his eyes moving a fraction to try and see Tamesh's response to the question. 

The artist puts his brush down on the table. He goes quiet. That was indeed a good question. "I guess it depends on whether there is a need to say it." He concludes.

"What do you mean?" Blake asks, trying not to look confused.

"I mean, Alfie, my friend Alfie across the street, he made some new flavoured chocolates yesterday. He asked me if I liked them and I was honest." Tamesh chuckles to himself .."I mean soy sauce flavour? They were awful, but I wouldn't just go up to him and say I'm not keen on your chocolates, out of nowhere. That would be out of context for one and secondly, just be plain rude! He asked me, so I told him." 

This now makes Blake smile. "So, does this mean that if I ask you something, you will be honest with me?" 

"Sure!" Tamesh shrugs, getting further into his artistic role, half expecting Blake to say something. He eventually stops his brush strokes and looks at him expectantly. "So...did you want to ask me something?" ...

***

"Hannah" Blake calls waving frantically at the girl from across the street. 

Hannah dismounts her bicycle and leans it against the front of her father's fish restaurant. "Hey Blake!" She replies, waiting for Blake to cross the street. She then sees the strap of a rather large bag on his shoulder. "What are you carrying?" She enquires, peering over his shoulder a little more. 

"I thought we could, you know, go have a picnic,...on the beach.... you and me." Blake's voice gets quieter and quieter as he gets nearer the end of his sentence. This would be his second attempt to persuade Hannah to date him. He had it all worked out in his head. He was sure it wouldn't fail. 

Hannah seems to hesitate a little, chewing lightly on her upper lip. She could see Blake's tactical plan a mile off. The dilemma she had now was whether to go or not. She didn't want to lead him on, but at the same time she loved spending time with him... as a friend. 

"Blake...the thing is..." once again she gets cut off by his words, as if he is sparing himself from the truth, because he knew it would hurt. If she didn't say it, then it wouldn't be true.

"It's just friends! I promise." He says, half smiling but half feeling crushed inside once again. 

"Ok then, just let me tell my Dad." Hannah says smiling as she heads inside. 

Blake's once pulled back shoulders suddenly slouch as she turns her back to him. Why did he keep doing this to himself?...

***

Blake turns his head to see he has Tamesh's full attention, waiting for him to ask. He suddenly feels that vulnerable feeling once again. It was weird that this situation he had found himself in allowed him to be like this with a man who was essentially a stranger. Tamesh was someone he didn't even know two days ago and here he was, about to ask him something which had plagued his thoughts since leaving St Ives.

Blake opens his mouth and says the words...

"Should I go back home?"