'Greg will do it,' said Pauline.
'What's she volunteering me for now?' thought Greg after overhearing his grandmother on the telephone.
He didn't have to wait long for an answer. Pauline came into the living room with a grin on her face. She was a fantastic grandmother who'd always been there for Greg. His parents both worked long hours and he'd spent much of his childhood at his grandmother's house.
Now aged 20 and bouncing between dead end jobs, he still liked to visit her as often as possible. There was just one draw back. Pauline was always putting Greg forward to do odd jobs or run errands for her friends.
'Greg,' said Pauline, 'You remember my girl Eileen?'
Greg sighed. He certainly remembered Eileen. He'd done lots of what his grandmother called 'little jobs' for the 57-year-old divorcee. The trouble was she was very attentive whenever he went over to her house.
She'd follow him about as he completed the tasks she needed doing. Whether it was painting a fence, fixing a window or mowing the lawn, Eileen was always right there chatting away and trying her best to flirt with him.
It was funny at first when Eileen remarked how handsome Greg was and he'd been flattered. But when she started wearing low cut shirts and 'accidentally' brushing up against his ass as she squeezed past him in her hallway, it had become a bit too much.
'Yes gran,' said Greg, 'I recall Eileen. What's she want me to do this time?'
'Don't be like that,' replied Pauline, 'you know she's one of my best friends and she's a lovely woman. She's always asking about you and she insists on paying you to do little jobs for her that I know you'd do for free anyway.'
Greg wasn't so sure he'd do any work for free but he humoured his grandmother and nodded with a smile.
'Anyway she's got into art,' continued Pauline, 'you know how she gets with her fads and obsessions. Well the latest one is painting or drawing or such like. She's been taking classes and now she's joined a group. They take it in turns to host. It's her turn tonight and she needs help setting up so I said you'd go over and do any heavy lifting she needed.'
Greg sighed again. 'Ok,' he said, 'when?'
'The class starts in two hours so you'd better head to hers now,' replied Pauline, 'it's not like you're busy. You're just playing video games and eating all my snacks.'
Greg knew it was no use complaining plus he had no plans for the rest of the day and could use the money so he stood up, gave his grandmother a quick kiss on the cheek and set off to walk the half a mile to Eileen's house.
When he arrived he was greeted with the usual cheery welcome which of course included a huge hug that lingered far too long.
Eileen ushered him into the big room at the back of her house and instructed him on the furniture she needed moving. As expected she hung about to watch as he worked chattering away.
Greg wasn't really listening but just nodded and made the occasional noise to appear to be politely taking in what she was saying.
'Oh that's great Greg,' said Eileen clapping her hands gleefully, 'I knew I could count on you. Thanks. Linda had her dog there last week but this will be much better. I'll be the talk of the group.'
'Hey, what, err sorry Eileen I was distracted, what did you say?' said Greg, slightly concerned he appeared to have unwittingly agreed to yet another task.
Eileen smiled. 'You said you'd do a bit of modelling for my art group,' she said, 'oh it'll be fantastic.'
'Shit!' said Greg, 'sorry for cussing Eileen. I'm sorry. I'm no model. I wasn't thinking. Count me out.'
Eileen's beaming smile vanished. 'Oh Greg,' she said, 'please do it. This is my first time hosting the group and I'm still trying to fit in. I can't have them painting a bowl of fruit. It'll be fun I promise and I'll pay you $200. It's only for a couple of hours. Please!'
Greg felt sorry for Eileen and the idea of $200 was certainly appealing. 'Oh ok,' he said, 'what do I have to do?'
Eileen's grin was firmly back on her face. She clutched Greg in a massive hug. 'Thanks Greg,' she said, 'it's simple really. You just strip down to your boxers and do a few poses while we paint you.'
Greg wasn't sure about the dress code but he figured it was no different to going to the beach so he nodded and said: 'Sounds ok.'
Eileen clapped her hands once more and gave him another hug before heading out of the room to organise the snacks for the art group meeting while her young helper and soon to be model finished arranging the furniture.
About 15 minutes later Eileen returned. She handed Greg a bottle of water and gave him the run down of the plans for the night.
'There's only five of us in the group,' she said, 'they're all lovely gals. We met at the class I started going to and the teacher suggested we form a group to help keep each other's enthusiasm up.'
'Sounds nice,' said Greg.
'Oh it is,' Eileen replied, 'we have a good old laugh and there's a lot of chatting as well as the painting of course.'
'Of course,' said Greg. He was sure they'd be more gossiping than art going on but it seemed harmless enough.
'So you go into the bathroom and slip out of these clothes,' said Eileen clearly relishing the idea of seeing him down to his underwear, 'the girls will be here soon then I'll introduce you to them and we can get started.'
Greg took another swig from his water bottle then went to the bathroom. As he took off his clothes he felt nervous about standing in front of five women in just his boxer shorts. He was sure he looked ok but he certainly wasn't a big body confident person nor was he used to being stared out while scantily clad.
He was growing increasingly apprehensive when there was a knock on the bathroom door. 'Ready Greg?' said Eileen.
Greg didn't answer. He took a deep breath and opened the door. Eileen couldn't contain her enthusiasm. She smiled and took a step back. Her eyes darted up and down the young man in front of her.
'Well Greg,' she said, 'you've really filled out nicely. You were a scrawny kid when you first came over here with your gran but, well, you're a real man now.'
This praise and her staring made Greg feel a mixture of discomfort and a bit of pride. It was nice to be complimented even if it was by a woman almost three times his age.
'Shall we?' said Eileen motioning to the door leading to the room where the art group was meeting.
Greg nodded and followed her. Inside the room there were four women all aged in their late 50s to early 60s sitting on stools behind easels. They'd been chatting but stopped at the sight of their model.
'Oh wow,' said one of the women as she peered over her glasses.
'Everyone this is Greg,' said Eileen, 'he's kindly agreed to be our muse for the night.'
'Hello,' said Greg, giving a sheepish wave to his attentive audience.
Pointing to each woman in turn Eileen said: 'This is Gladys, Linda, Jane and Sarah.'
'Pleased to meet you Greg,' said Sarah.
'You look lovely dear,' said Gladys, who had been the woman in the glasses who'd remarked when he came into the room.
'Ok,' said Eileen, 'Greg if you'd stand over there and take up a pose of some sort please.'
Greg shuffled into the spot she'd directed him to and awkwardly tried to stand how he thought a model might.