“The hell I don’t. That shit’s pretty, and I care about nothing if not aesthetics.” Dane spread his arms out, fingers splayed. “I light things to make them look nice for a living and spend my free time painting fiddly little bits of plastic to make dumb robots because I think they’re cool. Aesthetics.”
Aras’s phone rang. He pulled it free from his pocket and glanced at it, and his normal scowl returned. “Fucking…” He put his phone back and finally slipped around Dane.. “I’m apparently needed for some bullshit in the bathroom. I…I’ll think about it.”
He left, and Dane didn’t follow right away. He stood and considered. Aras went from “bad idea” to “thinking about it,” so Dane wasn’t about to complain.
There was just something about him. Dane couldn’t put his finger on it unless they could spend more time together.
Plus, frankly, the sex was good enough to try for that alone. If Aras could do that with his mouth and no notice…
Chapter eighteen
Aras
Thebathroomconversationhadnearly ended in an all-out brawl. Not because of Ev or Robinson, but because they had a contractor that wouldn’t listen to them. Or to Aras. Sometimes, Evander got a bug up his butt about something that straight up wouldn’t work, but that wasn’t the case. This contractor—who they didn’t need, as far as Aras was concerned—was stuck on the shower lighting they wanted. The same shower lightingArashad in his own home. Different style, but functionally identical. Something about how no one would want to buy a house with lights directly in the shower, safety concerns, resale value, whatever the fuck.
Eventually, they had to pull in Eliza because she was closer to the people signing the checks. If not for that, Aras probably would have gotten a screaming fit on camera. Again. As it was, even after she got the guy to drop it and just do the work he was being paid for—or, if Aras had anything to say about it, fuck off and let him do it—he was grumbling and pissing and moaning the whole way out of the bathroom, and probably talking to his foreman about it too. All because he was scared to mix water and electrical. Sounded like a failing of his skill to Aras.
Ev had gone to consult with the local hardware store to talk paint colors and finishes and all that so they could fill the order, which left Aras and Robinson alone. Well, as alone as they ever got during filming. They had on their lav mics, and a small camera had been left. They were meant to flag someone down if anythinginterestinghappened, but with such a small space, the crew liked to leave something running, even if the footage ended up lower quality than the big cameras. Better to capture a crappy version than no version.
Aras ran his fingers back through his hair, looking up to where Robinson was taking apart the showerhead. He wiped his forehead on the back of his sleeve, and Aras took the opportunity. “I don’t recall getting near this much lip from people when we were working alone.”
“Mostly because you and Ozzy provided enough lip for an entire construction crew.” Robinson smiled softly, then handed over the detached shower head. “Since you’re just standing there, throw that in the donate box please.”
Aras put it on the counter. He’d make a pile to take out with him. Since this was new construction, all the fixtures, furnishings, and supplies they decided to change out were going to a local charity that worked on low-income housing. “Am I crazy, thinking we can totally put a light fixture in the shower here?”
“Of course not.” Robinson grunted as he bent down to undo the tub faucet and handles. “Completely viable as long as you use a fixture that’s rated for wet environments. Which I’m sure you would.” Another grunt and he got the faucet to twist loose, then started to spin it free. “By the way, you know everything I’m reassuring for you. Any reason you’re talking to your friendly neighborhood drug criminal about this instead of scowling at the air or finding someone new to scream at?”
From anyone else, he might have reacted poorly to that. But Robinson’s constant self-deprecation was pretty solid at disarming his anger. Or at least redirecting it. “You shouldn’t talk about yourself that way and you know it. Pisses me off that you still blame yourself for no good god damn reason.”
“Lots of good god damn reasons to blame myself. I was in fact carrying anobsceneamount of meth when I broke into the Pettys’ place to steal their jewelry. Doesn’t do anyone any good to pretend I was a perfect angel.”
“Angels are terrifying by design. Wheels and eyes and way too many faces.” Robinson handed him the faucet, which he took without any other explanation. “Point is, you haven’t fucked up since, other than your attitude about yourself. That’s fucked up.”
“Really good deflection on your part, Aras. I think I asked why you were actuallytalkingto me about this. Not your modus operandi.”
Aras rolled his eyes even though Robinson wasn’t looking at him. “We’re friends? I’m pissed but I don’t want to have yet another blow-up in front of Eliza?”I’m in a weird mood because I want to hook up with an adorable lighting grip and I’m incapable of properly turning down his advances even though I know it’s for the best.“It’s not like I’m hatching some horrible master plan that involves talking to you.”
“Well, as long as it’s not a horrible master plan, I can be okay with that.” He turned his head to look at Aras over his shoulder. “Is this about the lighting twink you’ve been pretending not to gawk at for the past couple months? Figure that’s the most likely thing that’s got your behavior changing. Unless you’ve recently acquired your own addiction and think I can help you or find you a dealer or something. I can’t do that second one, for the record. All my contacts are back in Washington. Or prison.”
Aras could have denied it all, of course, but when someone had already seen through you, there just didn’t seem to be a lot of point in lying. “I’m that transparent?”
Robinson turned fully at that point, mouth bowed into a frown. “I hope I was right when I was talking about lighting twink, not the drugs.”
“Tried meth once. Wasn’t for me.”
Robinson nodded, then went back to loosening the knobs from the wall. Which he also passed to Aras. “Well, I don’t know if everyone’s put it together. Think Evander and Ozzy are buried too deep in each other’s asses to notice anyone else’s love life. Mason pointed it out to me. But it’s kind of his job to notice what’s going on with the rest of us. Hard to keep the crew properly focused if he’s not aware.” He grunted a final time as he got back to his feet, and he fixed dark eyes on Aras. Then shrugged. “But I’m pretty sure I would have figured it out at some point. You spend a lot of time staring at his butt during meetings.”
Aras felt the flush of heat. But Robinson wasn’t wrong. “Red-blooded American male. It’s a nice butt.”
“Not to my taste. I like some padding back there.” Robinson’s eyes sparkled, and for a moment or two, Aras saw the Robinson he’d met all those years ago. That joy and light faded with a sigh. “Doesn’t explain what the problem is. He turn you down?”
“The opposite.” Aras suddenly acutely felt the weight of the camera on him. He needed to be careful. Last thing he wanted was for anything that happened to be recorded and eventually make it back to the higher-ups who controlled Dane’s employment. So he covered his lav mic, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the little black nub, and even then he turned his back to the camera and lowered his voice. “I want to. He wants to. But it’s not a good idea.”
Robinson nodded. “Wow. I thought you were smart.” He patted Aras’s cheek a couple times, then turned his attention to the sink, where he started taking apart the fixtures. “Spend time with him for fuck’s sake, Aras. I‘ve never seen anyone worry as much as you. And I was in literal prison.”
Aras could have delivered a dozen responses, of course. Instead, he grabbed the fixtures from the shower and bath. “You know, the ‘I went to prison’ card is pretty unfair. You can’t just use it to win every argument.”
“Oh, I wasn’t arguing. I’m just right.” Again, that bit of light flashed in his eyes. “But also, the prison card has worked so far. When it stops, I’ll stop playing it.”
