"How would you paint me?"
"How do you want to be painted?
"If you were to choose."
"Nude?" He phrased it as a question for had it been a statement it would have shown him as possessor of perverse inclinations he did not want him to know. It would have compelled him to be perceived as having the interests of an artist and natural proclivities of a man but with one or the other designated as the main ingredient. Judged favorably or otherwise, it would have been a predominant issue, altering roles and distorting the potential outcome of the interaction.
"I'm okay with it," he said. He was mocking Nawin's circumspect neutrality with a smile.
"I'm just kidding. What about your sister? I mean would she care to pose nude if you and your family don't have any objections to it?"
"Try. My sister, me, the water buffalo, and the chickens: you can draw us all nude if you like as long as my parents see something else instead. You don't need to pay us anything. Just come and stay for a while. Laotian hospitality."
"I don't know."
"Is traveling alone so much fun?"
"No, maybe not."