28. Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
Aras
I t took far too long for Aras to get his head back about him when he got to the job site. He was fine at his job, and luckily there was still some busy work to be done that he didn’t need full focus to accomplish. He helped Ozzy with some outdoor lighting and power issues, and he installed, checked, double-checked, and triple-checked the shower light. He couldn’t help a self-satisfied grin, and he made sure to track down the guy from the contracting crew who had bickered about it with him, just to make sure he could see it. Petty? Yes. Appropriate? Also yes, as far as he was concerned. No one else was going to ensure he understood his stupid, mistaken position. He also waited to show the guy until Caroline was there, so her gushing over the light was part of it. This was her house, not an investment to be resold at a later date, and she liked the light in the shower.
Jake waved him down between projects, wearing a tank top and covered in saw dust, with safety goggles pushing his hair up away from his face. Not at all Aras’s type, even aside from knowing Jake way too well for way too long, but he had to admit, Jake wore that kind of mess well. Before he could say anything, Aras took the chance to poke at him. What else were friends for? “You want to snap a picture? Send a pic of you looking like that and Quinn’ll cream his jeans in half a second.”
Jake paused, cocked his head to the side…then pulled out his phone. “Actually yeah.” He handed the phone over, then took a step back and lifted up his tank top to show off his abs, which somehow also had a smattering of sawdust on them. “He shot me a pic of himself in the shower yesterday and I haven’t had any good ammunition to fire back. This’ll be perfect.”
Aras couldn’t even be annoyed about it. He took three pictures, doing his best, then handed the phone back over. “What were you running up for before I graced you with my advice?”
“Lighting. I’ve got the structure for the shelves done, and everything’s stained and good to go on my end. That Rachel they brought in to do the detailed woodworking stuff is a whirlwind, so the faces and trim and everything shouldn’t be too much longer. Figure it’s time to pass it on to the expert.” He clapped Aras on the shoulder. It seemed like he was about to lose his balance, but Aras let that go. He’d brought up Jake’s clumsiness on more than one occasion over the years, but he never went to get it checked or seemed like he was trying to work on it, and he hadn’t lost any fingers yet.
Aras sighed. “I take it I’m the expert?”
“That’s what it says on your underwear, right?”
“Unlike some of us, I don’t need to label mine.”
“Right, you’re still single.” Jake patted him on the back. “You’ve got to let me try and hook you up with someone.” They talked while they walked outside and to the white tent where they were doing the woodworking. Well, multiple tents in this case. “You’ve got a lot to offer, if someone gets under that sourpuss attitude of yours.”
“Flattery might get me to agree more readily.” Robinson knew about Dane, so Aras had kind of assumed that everyone else had figured it out too. But apparently not Jake.
When they got to the tents, there were just a bunch of simple shelving units, and Rachel sitting at a table littered with tools, grinding a pattern into a lath of wood. And she had headphones in, so for Aras’s calculations she didn’t count. It felt like a tiny spark of fire in his belly, and it was growing the longer he contemplated his options. He and Jake were friends, after all. And it would be the first time he could tell anyone about…whatever he and Dane were. Or at least tell anyone who wasn’t already clued in. “I actually don’t need you to find anyone for me.”
“I mean, if you’re cool being alone, I won’t push it, but I think—”
“Meaning flew right over your head. Again.” Aras rounded the back of the nearest set of shelves. It had all the open channels and access for adding lights, just like they’d discussed. Good to check, and also good to have a little barrier between himself and Jake. “I already have someone. For now.”
In a second, Jake was on him. He ripped the safety goggles off and tossed them on a nearby table, then grabbed Aras’s shoulders with both hands. “You have a secret boyfriend? Why have I not met him? Who is he? Fuck the job. You, me, Bunny, Robinson, we’re all going to a bar and pumping you full of tequila until you spill.”
Aras shrugged off Jake’s hands. “It’s…complicated.” He hated using such a cliche line, but that was the most succinct option. “He works on the show. It’s Dane. That lighting grip with the red mohawk?”
Jake’s face broke into a smile. “Oh, he’s a cutie. Good for you.”
“Thanks. But it’s not clear how permanent this is right now.” Aras took a step back. A little more distance. “But we’ve been hanging out. Talking. Watching TV together every night. He’s…comfortable.”
Jake’s smile faded. Not in disappointment or sadness or anything. Simply from beaming ecstasy to something approaching contentment. “You deserve someone comfortable.”
Aras shifted in place a little bit. “Let’s focus on work. Like you said, I need to be drunk if we’re going to play all sentimental.” Aras slapped the back of the nearest shelves. “We know where all of these go? Can we start bringing some of them in? The space you’ve left all looks good to me, but can’t do too much of it until we get them in place.”
Thankfully, Jake took the change of subject in stride. Even though he kept tossing smiling glances at Aras while they collected up the contractors and hauled shelving units inside and to the display room. I can think of worse responses . He was already dreading when Evander or Ozzy found out. He’d never get a moment’s peace.