24. Chapter 24 #2
“No reason.” He finally enters the room and studies the first shelf, which is taller than him by at least a foot and feels like it’s made of the same heavy wood as my chair.
I’m generally pretty frugal, but I refused to scrimp on my bookshelves.
He looks the shelf up and down, wiggling it a bit and chuckling.
“I can see why you might have trouble moving these with your little stick arms.”
I snort and hold both arms up, flexing nonexistent muscles. “Bookworm with an office job. I moved the chair on my own, though, so I’m not entirely useless.”
He glances around the room. “What chair?”
“It’s in the book nook already. You’ll see why it’s my claim to fame when you haul this baby in there.” I wave my hand in a circle, encouraging him to proceed.
Laughing, he grabs either side of the shelf and lifts it, showing off his muscle. I snap a picture and send the photo to Dani with no context.
“Do you want some help?” I ask, stepping out of his way as he heads for the doorway. “I hope not because I’m admiring this view.”
He nearly drops the shelf but scrambles to keep his hold. When it’s steady, he narrows his eyes at me. “Play fair. I’m doing you a favor.”
I slowly let my eyes roam from his head to his toes and back again, which is more fun than I expected. “You sure are.”
“I’ve created a monster.” His voice strains as he starts up his hauling again. “Showed her all my tricks, and now I’m questioning everything I’ve ever said to a woman.”
“You like me being flirty,” I argue, following him into the spare room.
“Too much,” he agrees and sets the bookshelf against the wall. “Here?”
I shake my head and point to a different wall. “Please,” I add, giving him a bright smile.
My phone buzzes with a text, and I grin when I see Dani’s response.
Dani:
*drooling emoji*
Don’t tell Mason…
Avery:
I was going to say…
Dani:
I’m in a happily committed relationship and my man is something to be admired, but I’m not blind!
“Next one right beside it?” Benson asks, pulling my eyes back up.
I nod as Dani’s next text comes in.
Dani:
I will point out you are not in a committed relationship. Neither is he. And you’re both consenting adults.
Avery:
Tell HIM that. He’s the one who’s resisting this.
And by this I mean me.
Dani:
How rude of him! Doesn’t he know self-control is overrated?
Avery:
I will get through to him. I am determined. *strong arm emoji*
Dani:
You can do it!! I believe in you!
Only time will tell if Dani and I are right. At some point a girl has to cut her losses, but I’m not ready to give up the fight just yet.
By the time Benson gets the second and third shelves into place, sweat drips from his temples and has collected at the front of his t-shirt.
It’s a look that shouldn’t be attractive but totally is.
He takes a water bottle from me when I offer it and drains the whole thing in one breath in a move that is sexier than it has a right to be.
Who knew watching a man’s throat could be so much fun?
“Do all these books fit?” he asks, looking around at the many piles.
I bite my lip. “I should get another bookshelf.”
He groans. “You need to be stopped.” But there’s a smile playing on his lips and making his eyes twinkle. We stand there for a long time, watching each other, before he drops his eyes and speaks again. “Do you, uh, want help getting the books in place?”
Excitement bubbles up inside me. Moving the shelves was one thing—I couldn’t do that on my own. But for Benson to offer to help me with the books, there has to be a part of him that doesn’t want to leave. I don’t want him to leave either, but I also don’t want to push him too hard.
“If you’re offering, I’ll take the help, but that’s the easy part.” But I really mean stressful because there are so many ways to organize a bookshelf, but I’m not about to tell him that I’ll likely move the books multiple times before I’m satisfied with the setup.
With eyebrows furrowed, he takes in the dozens of piles littered around my apartment again. “Where do we start?”
We . It takes all my self-control to hold back a squee and remain composed. “I like to dedicate a shelf to my favorites. Maybe we start there?” I point to a pile only a few feet away from him.
“Favorites, huh?” He lifts the entire pile with ease—what I wouldn’t give for bigger hands—and starts reading the spines as he heads into the book nook. “ Pride and Prejudice makes sense, and so does Treasure Island , but I did not expect to see Dune make the list. Was this in the wrong pile?”
With my own armful of books, which is much smaller than Benson’s load, I nod to the shelf where he should put the books and give him a big smile. “Nope, it’s actually a favorite.”
“Huh.” He deposits the books in his hands and straightens them. “I didn’t think people read the book. I thought we all relied on the weirdness of the original movie to understand what the story was about. At least until the new movies came out, though they’re lacking in ginger-haired Sting.”
“I haven’t seen any of the movies,” I admit, laughing when Benson gapes at me.
“But the book is great. It’s bold, you know?
Frank Herbert went all in with his world building in a way no one else was doing at the time, and he wasn’t afraid to address the problems that come from certain kinds of politics.
And all through that he had an unconventional hero in a story about religion, environmentalism, free will and fate…
” I should stop myself before I get carried away.
I reach out and stroke the spine of my well-loved copy. “It’s not an easy read, but there’s so much to learn from it, you know?”
Benson blinks wordlessly, looks at the book, looks at me, back at the book, and then pulls out his phone.
I have to rise on my toes to see what he’s doing, but my heart warms when I see him order the eBook of Dune .
“What books are next?” he asks, slipping his phone back into his pocket like ordering one of my favorite books wasn’t an adorably sweet thing to do.
I should set him loose and send him home, but I don’t want to. Moving furniture and talking about books feels nice. It feels real. And Benson needs more of that. He needs genuine connection with people. Friends to make sure he’s never lonely. Someone to care about him enough to ask him to stay.
“I have all the R&Q books, and after that we can tackle romance.” I smile, laughing when he turns a deep red. “Books,” I clarify, though I’m not opposed to real romance. “There are a lot of them.”
He doesn’t make a comment, simply following me to the living room to grab another pile of books.