Chapter 16
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
“There’s an empty place in the class on Saturday.
Can I tempt you into the workshop?” Dante asked as he scooped up another bite of pasta bake.
It was a new recipe that he’d seen online, and since he preferred meals that he could throw together and leave in the oven while he did something else, it was worth a chance.
He had not been convinced about the feta, chickpeas, and chicken, but it had come together better than he’d hoped. Not that he was about to share that Shannon was playing guinea pig.
Since he hadn’t groaned about having another roast and poked at it suspiciously, Dante was calling it a win.
He knew he wasn’t the best cook, and while Shannon hadn’t said anything, it was clear when he cooked that he took more risks and was quite happy to stand there stirring a risotto for an hour.
“I don’t know.” He frowned as if trying to choose the next bite of food.
“Free.”
Shanno shook his head. “You can’t give your work away for free.”
Dante lifted his injured arm. “You did. Besides, it’s a little class, one day to make a cheese board and knife.”
“I’m not good at that stuff.”
“You’re scared of power tools?”
“No…but I’m not thrilled by the idea of being close to red hot metal. I don’t like dealing with burns.”
Dante didn’t tell him it was closer to white hot. “Bad time?”
“I’ve never liked them, but yeah, a bad time didn’t help. Everyone has things they don’t like dealing with. Some can’t handle hurt kids or vomiting, but you learn to push through it.”
“So that’s a yes to confronting your fear?”
Shannon gave him that look as if he was considering which artery to stab with his fork. He sighed. “I reserve the right to come up with an emergency so I can leave.”
Dante doubted that would happen. The act of creating something kept people entranced. “I think you’ll have fun.”
“Maybe. There’s a quiz night at the bar…the paramedics are putting together a table, but we’re short because some of us have to work. Join us.”
“I’m not a paramedic.” And he was sure quiz nights weren’t his thing.
“Ex-military…near enough. We cannot let the firefighters beat us.” Shannon smiled a little too sweetly. “I think you’ll have fun.”
“I see what you did there.” He couldn’t decide if this was some kind of sharp-edged flirting where they pushed each other or if there was something else beneath it. Had looking at rentals and thinking that he was going to be homeless put Shannon on edge…or did he want to move out and feel stuck?
Was he too polite to tell him to fuck off back to his own bed?
Shannon nodded, his mouth full of food.
“I’ll only go if you’ll be there, and people will want to know how I got roped in.”
“I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t going to be there. And I’ll just say I’m staying at your place while I find my feet in town.” Shannon’s eyebrows drew together. “Are you worried people will think we’re together?”
The room became too hot, and he couldn’t breathe. He wanted to lie but couldn’t. “I guess.”
He watched as Shannon glanced away, biting back whatever he was going to say.
Dante needed to say something. Anything. “I like being here with you.” Shannon had been the one to say that whatever happens in the house stays in the house. “And I’m enjoying this…I’ve never been with anyone like this.”
“And what is this? Friends with benefits? It’s not dating. We can’t date if you don’t want to be seen with me.”
Was that what this was about?
“You’re right, we aren’t dating…not in the going out and getting to know each other way. But we are doing that, and we are spending time together in a way I’ve never had with anyone else.” Selfishly, he wasn’t ready for it to be over.
Shannon leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair.
“I’m also enjoying whatever this is, but I’ve just left a long-term relationship, and I promised myself that this move was to focus on me, and that I wasn’t going to jump on a dick…
which lasted about a nanosecond because apparently, I can’t help myself around hot artists.
So now I’m in a mess where the roof over my head is contingent on my landlord wanting this undefined thing.
“Looking at houses brought up issues.”
Shannon stared up at the ceiling. “I know I started it.”
“You opened the door, and I willingly threw myself through. I didn’t notice it was making things weird for you.” He’d only been thinking about how he felt.
It was a glimpse at the kind of life he wanted. What he’d been missing but didn’t know how to find without painting what felt like a target on his back.
Shannon looked at him and shook his head. “I mean, yes, it is weird, but at the same time I like it. I like you, and I don’t know how to piece that together.”
“Neither do I.” There was nothing else he could say. “You’re too bright for Foggy Basin…too big for this quiet life.”
“You’re saying I don’t fit in?”
“Put it this way, I figured you’d move on before I was ready.
” He couldn’t say ‘give me three months, and I’ll start holding your hand in public’.
What if he did that and Shannon still decided he was done?
Where did that leave him, right back where he’d been, and he had already changed too much to slot back into his old life.
Had he outgrown himself?
Shannon swallowed. “So everything is weird, and we’re both unsure what to do.”
“If I was in the sandbox I’d tell you to keep moving so we don’t get pinned down.”
Shannon lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not sure that’s helpful when at least one of us likes being pinned down.”
Heat burned across Dante’s cheeks as he tried not to think about Shannon’s teeth in his skin as he moved over him. “You know what I mean.”
“Keep going until it blows up in our faces?”
“Yeah.” What else was there to do? “Quitting if we both like it seems unhelpful.”
“Or is it saving us from pain?”
Dante snorted. “Nothing can do that. Would you have broken up with your ex within the first few months if you knew what would happen?”
“I’d like to say yes, but that would be a lie.” His teeth pressed against his lower lip. “I know the common denominator in all my relationships is me. I just haven’t figured out what that means and how to change.”
Dante sighed. How could Shannon think he was the one at fault? He was smart and funny, and he could cook. “I don’t think you need to change. Any man would be lucky to have you, and if they don’t get that because they can’t see past their massive ego, that’s their problem.”
A smile flickered over Shannon’s lips. “So you have met my ex…”
“I’ve met plenty like them.” They existed everywhere. They were all talk and very little action and expected everyone to notice the one little thing they did. “I’ve had men flinch when they see the scars, and some left.” Shannon had been curious. “You touched them.”
“They’re just skin; they’re not contagious,” He said like they were nothing to be worried about.
“That’s…” He was silent for a couple of heartbeats as he tried to find the right words. “You don’t make me feel like a convenient distraction. I feel wanted.”
Shannon studied him. “I wouldn’t be sleeping with you if I didn’t want you.”
“So lust with friend benefits?”
He gave a small laugh. “Yeah, maybe…”
“Well, I’m not going to kick you out, so you don’t need to panic about that.”
“And I’m not kicking you out of bed.”
So they were going nowhere, which was never a good option, but then, without a map and no idea where they were going, maybe staying put was the right option.