Aras rolled his eyes as he headed out of the bathroom. Then again, maybe Robinson had a point. A small one. Was it wrong for him to befriendswith a lighting grip? It couldn’t be, right?
Not that we can keep it to friends. He deposited the fixtures in the donation box, then wandered his way into the kitchen. There had to be some kind of work he could step into there, and if not, Mason would be able to find him and redirect him quickly.I want to spend more time with him, though.
Chapter nineteen
Dane
Danehadswungoutto craft services to grab water and a little quarter of a sandwich. Nothing crazy, but it was the first meal he’d had all day, so it tasted damn good. Well, unless a latte counted as a meal, but Dane had been reassured by multiple people in his life that he couldn’t count coffee, no matter how much milk and sugar was in it.
“Dane?”
He turned to see Aras walking stiffly his direction, wiping his hands off on the thighs of his jeans. It didn’t do much. He still had dark streaks and splotches on his hands.
Dane looked at his fingers, then back up at his face. “You had so little to do, you offered up your services for oil changes?”
“You didn’t hear? Evander decided we should rewire the kitchen so he can change the layout.” He splayed his fingers, showing off the black spots even better. “Outside of the house is nice and finished. Inside is spotless. But some of my tools needed lubricating.” He grabbed a napkin off the pile, then perused the selection before grabbing a turkey and cheedar. In the napkin, which was probably wise. “So…were you serious when you said you wanted to learn about carnival glass?”
“Of course.” Dane responded almost before Aras finished talking. Then he took a bite of his sandwich to try and play it a little bit cooler. “I want to learn about everything, to be fair. Jack of all trades, master of none.”
“Better than a master of one.” Aras slammed back the entire quarter sandwich in two bites, then grabbed for another. “We could meet up? But you have to teach me about your models, too.”
“Areyouinterested in that?”
“I might be. How much can you focus on Stellar Angel Mitsuki?”
Dane smiled. “A lot.” But he couldn’t leave it there. He didn’t make eye contact as he carried on, just looked up at the cloudy sky. “You sure? I shouldn’t have been pushing you for anything.”
“Listening to me prattle about carnival glass isn’t quite the same as…that other stuff.” Aras looked up into the sky, seemingly at the same point Dane had fixed his gaze. Although it was hard to tell, since Dane was quite pointedly not looking directly at him either. But he was listening, no matter how quiet Aras kept himself. “We shouldn’t do that other stuff. But if it happens, I’m not opposed. I just don’t want you getting fucked.”
Dane looked at him. Aras turned his head down, mouth tight. Then he grinned. “Double entendre not intended.”
“But welcome.” Dane shrugged. “I’ll see you tonight? Or are you too busy with the kitchen redesign?”
“Should have it wrapped up tomorrow. Evander loves to make me redo the wiring in kitchens. I’d bitch more, but the kitchens almost always feel better.” He kicked the ground. “Frustrating. But yeah. Tonight.” He swallowed hard. “You remember the way to my room?”
So he reallywasopen to the idea, even if he didn’t want to admit it. “I think I can find it.” Dane steeled himself as Aras headed back into the house. He’d resist any urges he may have when he was in Aras’s room, be polite and not push the issue. Nothing good was going to come ifeitherof them was uncomfortable or feeling pressured, and Dane wouldn’t want even a hint of a relationship forming off a foundation that skewed. But if Aras made the decision to go beyond dumping their special interests on each other, then Dane was pretty sure he wouldn’t put up too much of a fight.
When Aras answered the door, Dane wasn’t expecting to see him in sweatpants and a tank top. His brain short-circuited a few seconds, and when he finally got control of himself…well, it wasn’t a terribly eloquent, thought-out response. “You’re going to make this really hard to focus on glass and stupid little toys, dressing like a tart.”
“A tart?” Aras spread his arms out, showing the dark hair in his pits and lifting up his shirt. He had abs. Actual abs, streaked in dark hair. “Am I a tart?”
“I just mean you look delicious. So don’t blame me if the conversation takes some turns.” He was determined not to break, but thiswouldbe a bigger test of will than he’d expected.
“I can change—”
“No.” Dane slipped past him and plopped down on the bed. “Don’t change. It’s not your fault I’m overdressed.” If he’d known that the attire was gay slumber party casual, he would have gone for at least something comfy instead of jeans. He didn’t have any tank tops with him, but he had four different pairs of lounge pants back in his hotel room.
Then again, maybe flimsy pants with an easy-open fly and no chance of hiding his boner weren’t the best option if this was supposed to stay innocent and totally no pressure.
Aras sat down in the chair in the corner, crossing one leg up onto the other. “Last chance to bail before I bore you to death with glass talk.”
“You think you can bore me? I watch anime while building robots from anime, and then when I run out of anime, I watchotherpeople build the same robot that I’m building.”
“I stare at pretty glass that I don’t buy while sometimes scrolling my phone.” Aras shrugged. “I think I’ve got you beat.”
“Well let’s find out.” Dane spread his arms wide. “Hit me with some knowledge. Because between you and me, nothing you and Caroline said the other day actually sank in.”
“Of course it didn’t. We were talking way above beginner level crap. Just like I’d be lost if I walked in on you and Kyle talking lighting setup.” He turned on the TV and navigated through the menu until he got to the streaming apps. “Still blows my mind when I see this at hotels. Used to be cartoon reruns, talk shows, or infomercials.”
