Sophia was much more timid in her approach. She knelt on the bed before Ben and carefully leaned towards him. Ben had to lean forward to hug her and didn’t notice his sheet slip down. Sophia glanced down as they moved together and saw his heavy cock swaying between his legs. He hugged her against his chest and she trembled. He pulled back surprised and she blushed and slipped from the bed. The two women said their good nights then closed the door behind themselves.
Ben was tingling from the adrenalin and the kiss as he tried to get back to sleep. He wasn’t a stomach sleeper and found it uncomfortable. Memory of the nightmare made his mind shy from sleep. It turned into a very long night for him.
Morning found Ben groggy and sore. Cranky too if he was being honest. He tried to lighten up but exhaustion weighed him down.
Gabriella said his back was looking better than the night before so he took a careful shower with two assistants and afterwards they dried him off gently. Even his overly enthusiastic libido was too subdued to be excited about showering with the two beauties and they picked up on that.
Breakfast was quiet and Gabriella filled her cousin in on Ben’s condition. Marie served him a king sized breakfast which earned her a warm smile from Ben.
Stephanie, as promised, offered to let them see the sculpture after breakfast and whispered something into Gabriella’s ear who then announced that she, Ben, and Catherine would be going first.
The others looked disappointed and curious.
Ben surprised Marie once more after breakfast by giving her a bear hug and she was told to move her hands down to avoid his back. The small quiet woman surprised Ben by grabbing two handfuls of his ass during the hug. Her face was crimson as she rushed back to the kitchen.
Stephanie led the trio into her office and had them line up. There was a table in the middle of the floor with a thin sheet covering the statue. None of them knew what to expect as this piece of art was so much larger than anything Stephanie had ever created. They tried to prepare themselves but when she carefully uncovered it all three froze.
It was Ben.
Four feet tall but an almost perfect replica of the man himself.
“Oh my god,” Gabriella breathed.
“It’s incredible!” Catherine gushed.
“IT’S ME!” Ben barked, horrified.
Stephanie heard Ben’s tone and frowned in worry. “You don’t like it?”
All three women were looking at Ben in surprise as he took in the excruciatingly accurate detail. Every scar, wrinkle, dimple, and bulge was there. The expression on its face was open and daring. His eyes dropped to the penis which again was rendered in perfect detail and scale. He walked around to the back and the new scars were there too.
“How did you get the new injuries?” he gasped.
“I mapped them while you were unconscious yesterday,” Stephanie said in a quiet voice.
He looked back at the sculpture and walked back to stare closely at its face again. “It’s me!” he said quietly.
“Yes Ben, it’s you. It’s a perfect match and it’s gorgeous!” Gabriella said carefully. “What’s your point?”
“My point?” he gasped as he stared at the woman. “People are going to see this! People are going to see me naked! Everything! I don’t want to be naked for everyone! I saw Stephanie’s dancers and took comfort in the anonymity of their faces. This isn’t anonymous! It’s ME!”
Stephanie had tears in her eyes as she sank to the floor. Her masterpiece, the art she’d poured her very soul into. He hated it! Gabriella and Catherine were immediately at her side glaring at his uncharacteristic insensitivity. He saw the woman’s pain and it wrenched something inside his heart.
He slowly knelt down and took Stephanie’s hands in his. “Please understand. You’ve done an amazing job of capturing the external aspects of who I am. It’s exactly what people would see… if I walked around naked. For that I think it is exquisite and I am in awe of your skill. Truly I am. What’s really upsetting me is the fact that the piece doesn’t capture who I am on the inside. I have a terrible shyness. I don’t like being in the spotlight. I’m a very private person. This art is bold, powerful, passionate and raw!”
“That’s who you really are Ben!” Catherine exclaimed.
“No, that’s how I am with you in private. I- I can be that… but only in those intimate moments with someone I love.” He looked at the sculpture again. “Maybe that’s what frightens me the most. You have captured something from inside me but it’s something I don’t share with anyone I’m not in love with,” he said quietly.
Stephanie was listening carefully and her smile was back. “Then I wasn’t wrong about you.”
Ben looked at her and sighed. “No… you weren’t wrong. But I’m not in an emotional state to be rational about this art. It’s too intimate.”
“Ben, this needed to be created! And it needs to be seen! It’s one of the most powerful pieces I have ever laid eyes on and I’ve been in many of the world’s best museums and art galleries,” Gabriella said earnestly.
He looked in her eyes and she saw the conflict and pain in his. Finally he dropped his eyes and nodded.
“Thank you Ben,” she said quietly. Stephanie’s face lit up.
“If you don’t mind, I don’t want to know who’s seen this. I’m going upstairs to pack,” Ben mumbled.
“Of course.”
Gabriella and Cat lifted Stephanie to her feet then went out to speak to the others about the art. Gabriella carefully described the sculpture to her kids and explained that Ben would be uncomfortable knowing they’d seen it so they accepted that and went upstairs to do their own packing.
Catherine’s girls were in awe and gushed to Stephanie about how moved they were. Finally Cat had to get them moving to go pack.
Gabriella found Ben in his bedroom. He was too distracted and Gabriella had to help him complete his packing. She told him she would drive while he relaxed in the van as best he could.
When they got back downstairs Richard and Henry were coming out the Private door and both froze when they saw Ben.
“Hello Richard! Hi Doc!” Ben smiled. Then their expressions registered on Ben’s dulled wits and he grimaced. His facial scar surfaced and the men looked away.
Richard regrouped. “Hello Ben! You’re off?”
Ben was grateful for the distraction. “Yes, we’re heading down to Cannes.”
Henry stepped up. “Before you go would you mind if I took a look at your injuries? I want to make sure there isn’t any infection.”
Ben nodded and lifted his shirt off. Both men stared at his scarred chest then he turned around and Henry examined his back.
“Thank you Ben, you can put your shirt on. The wounds look like they are beginning to heal well. You’re going to have additional scarring though. Stephanie was amazingly accurate in capturing the new injuries as well as the older ones,” Henry said with a pleasant smile.
Ben’s expression was pained.
“Wha- you don’t like it? It’s one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever seen!” Richard gushed and Ben’s eyes shot to him to see what he meant. Richard began to stammer. “-OF ART! Pieces of art!”
Henry rolled his eyes as Ben relaxed.
“It’s too accurate a likeness for me to be comfortable about people seeing it. I thought it would be more stylized, abstract, or otherwise distorted,” Ben grumbled.
Richard and Henry’s eyebrows began to climb up their foreheads so Ben grabbed his suitcase with a scowl and went to load it in the van. The men turned to Gabriella who just smiled and nodded then moved to follow Ben. Richard and Henry went back for another look.
Once the van and car were loaded they said their farewells. Tears were shed and hugs and kisses were exchanged. As they made their way back to the vehicles Ben saw a few older tradesmen installing the chateau’s sign as it was now safe to do so. They waved at Ben and he waved back.
He climbed into the passenger seat, Gabriella took the wheel and they were off.
They made their way to Avignon and stopped for lunch and to take a look around. There was some kind of theatre festival happening and Daniel took a lot of fun shots as the McGovern ladies and Miriam hammed it up with the actors. Once they’d had their fun they piled back into the vehicles and headed off to Cannes to check into their hotel.
Gabriella guided them to their hotel in Cannes and Ben was feeling better when he saw the beautiful ocean front building. Very posh! It reminded him of their lovely time in Paris. The beach also looked inviting. They handed the vehicles over to the valets and checked in. They had multiple rooms on the top floor.
They were about to turn away from the counter when the front desk clerk handed him an envelope.
“What’s this?” Ben asked.
“Your traveling companion checked in two days ago and asked us to deliver this to you when you arrived,” the man said and was called away before Ben could find out who he meant.
Ben looked at Gabriella and raised his eyebrows as he opened the envelope. He pulled a sheet of paper out and a puzzled expression appeared on his face.
“What’s it say Ben?” Gabriella asked.
He handed her the paper. “How did she know we’d be here? Now?”
Gabriella read the brief note. It was a dinner invitation to a very exclusive restaurant. For Ben from Margaux De la Cruz. A sudden guilty look passed over her face and she looked at Ben.
“What?” he asked.