Chapter 8 #2
“It can’t be that interesting out there,” he started. “I mean he’s just…”
Benny quieted himself.
The lawnmower continued to hum.
He understood what had changed in the last few minutes.
Jack wasn’t simply fulfilling her favor of yardwork anymore.
He was doing it sans shirt.
“When did that happen?” he asked before his brain could make him sound less curious.
Ms. Peggy was treating her cookie like popcorn at the movies.
“He threw it off a few minutes ago,” she said around a bite of her treat. “I was kind of hoping we’d lose the pants too, but that would be too much, right?”
“Ms. Peggy,” Benny chided on reflex.
She shrugged and took another bite of her cookie.
“Hey, I don’t have to like the man to appreciate the man’s body.” She tilted her head a little to the side. “You have to work out to get that kind of a chest right? It’s not just good genes and diet?”
Jack Knox, grump and anti-craft fan, wasn’t built like some chiseled, magical superhero that flexed and fought in the movies. But he sure was blessed.
Lines and curves and definition.
They directed the eye from his chest to his stomach to his arms to his stomach again and…to the beginning of the holy grail of what the media said was the pinnacle promise of good, good sex.
A V-shape that went from above the brim of his pants and disappeared into the world of wonder beneath them.
It wasn’t ridiculously pronounced.
But it could be seen.
Just like the trailing of hair that went from his navel to his—
Benny fluttered his eyes open and closed before shooing himself and Ms. Peggy away from the window.
“We’re more civil than this, Ms. Peggy,” he tried, face as hot as it must have been outside, judging by the sweat gleaming off of Jack’s skin.
Ms. Peggy shooed Benny right on back.
“I’m being civil by not running out there and asking if he wants me to put more sunblock on him,” she replied, a huff added to the end. “It’s not my fault his mouth is the only thing on him that could be considered ugly. I mean, he’s your guy right? You’ve gotta agree he’s a sight.”
Benny glanced back out of the window.
But he did so with a little less ogling than Ms. Peggy had used.
“I think it’s all three,” he admitted. “He’s got good genes, a good diet, and works out too. That’s why he looks like…that.”
Ms. Peggy finished off her cookie.
“Praise the Lord.”
Jack must have sensed two sets of eyes roaming his pecs and valleys. He cut the engine on the mower, looked their way, and wiped some sweat off his forehead like he was asked by an unseen director on a movie set. The movement started a fascinating ripple of muscle and tingles.
Tingles from Benny; an actual constructive thought from Ms. Peggy.
“You probably need to serve that bartender something to drink,” she decided. “I wasn’t going to offer him anything but…”
“Then he took his shirt off.”
Ms. Peggy nodded.
“He gave me a free show, I should give him a free drink.” She pointed toward the kitchen and went back to the window. “But get a plastic cup. If he took his pants off, well, then I’d tell you to go for the nice glasses.”
Benny’s face was hot as he busied himself with the task at hand. He was almost out of the door when Ms. Peggy called out her last two cents.
“You know, for the pageant, you should consider doing something that requires him to be shirtless for the talent portion.”
“Ms. Peggy,” Benny finally had to scold.
He heard the woman laugh as he pushed into the heat of the day. It might not have been the same temperature as his cheeks, but he now understood the shirt-throwing reaction. Jack was finishing wiping off sweat and arched his eyebrow at Benny’s appearance.
“I brought you some water,” Benny announced. He shook the plastic cup for good measure. “I didn’t realize how hot you probably were out here. Sorry it took so long.”
Jack took the cup and grumbled low.
“You don’t control the weather, Benny. Though I’m thinking you could have controlled that one if you’d tried harder.” He looked over to the window they both knew Ms. Peggy was stationed behind. “When you said you knew her, I didn’t realize you actually were friendly.”
Being as close as he was to Jack, Benny couldn’t help but note the view was phenomenally better on this side of the window.
Jack’s bare chest was just the bee’s knees.
Beautiful. Strong. Compelling.
Praise the Lord, indeed.
“Hey, sweet cheeks, my eyes are up here.” Jack’s eyebrow arched high again. “First you two got me out here doing yard work, and now you’re teaming up to check me out? For shame, Benny De Carlo. For shame.”
Benny cleared his throat and took a panicked step back. He tried to laugh but also be stern.
“I wasn’t ‘checking you out,’” he defended in a hurry. “I’m just out here being polite. You’re the one that went and took your shirt off and got Ms. Peggy’s blood pressure all raised.”
Jack bent over a little. It put him at the perfect height to meet Benny’s eye. A barely-there but absolutely annoyingly-there smirk lifted the corner of his lips for a moment.
“And what about you, sweet cheeks?” he asked. “Is this show doing anything for you?”
Benny, able to withstand many a curve ball thrown his way professionally, personally panicked right through awkward and into a defensive pissy.
“My blood pressure is fine, thank you, but I am getting bored so either let me take over with the yard or finish it up soon. I have things to do today.”
Jack's smirk was gone.
Had Benny gone too far?
Had pissy not been the path?
Jack took a step toward him, erasing the space he’d just created.
Then his gaze swept from Benny’s eyes to his lips.
Everything went silent. Bluetooth disconnected from the world.
Their kiss from the bar floated somewhere in the void.
Was he about to kiss Benny again?
Should Benny kiss him?
Had they talked about kissing?
Why would they—
Jack reached out and looped his free arm around Benny’s waist. He pulled him right up to his body like the flame knowing exactly what his moth wanted.
His momentarily unreadable expression turned to customer service charm.
“I'm not used to being the one who gets drinks served to them, so let me enjoy this moment,” he nearly purred. “No need to look so fussy about it.”
The sound of feet on the sidewalk behind them filtered into the world of silence.
Marzipan Junior started to bark opposite it.
Ah, we’re a couple and this is public.
Benny released his hold on defensive and pushed himself back from Jack’s grip.
“I’m just trying to keep us on a schedule is all, sweet cheeks,” Benny said, somewhat lamely. He had no idea where to put his hands, so he did the only thing that made sense to him in the moment.
He slapped Jack’s stomach.
Barely anything moved.
“It’d be a shame for the day to go to waste since we only have the two weeks.”
Jack’s smirk was back.
He took a long pull of water, but kept his other arm wrapped snug around Benny.
Benny looked up to watch a bird fly overhead, wishing he could hitch a ride.
Finally, Jack let go. He returned the cup.
“Give me ten minutes and I’ll be done,” Jack said.
Benny nodded and began his retreat, when it was Jack this time that called after him.
“And, Benny? If you want a show that badly, I make house calls too.”
Thank every god that had ever existed, Jack couldn’t see his face.
Or the thought that accompanied it.
That scenario would definitely make it into his shower thoughts later that night.