Page 11 of The Lost Art of Woodworking and Taking Risks
Chamis shook his head. “Should take these back.”
Sending all these ribbons and beads would probably set a terrible precedent, but he couldn’t bring himself to mind. He’d loved how he’d spent the morning, and he loved his sisters. His mother said Chamis spoiled them, but it was always said with affection. He wasn’t there in person anymore, and it was one of the ways he could show his love for them. He missed them, even if he believed that here was where he was meant to be.
Belatedly, Chamis remembered to ask Bennan, “What about you? Didn’t you say you needed to go into the city? Oh, is there something we should be getting for you?”
He hadn’t thought about the other man’s needs all morning, and he felt bad now.
Bennan was silent for a moment, and then a rueful smile tipped up the corner of his mouth. “Would it surprise you to learn that I… maybe didn’t actuallyneedto come into the city today?”
And Chamis could only smile bashfully, even as he felt the red burn across his cheeks and ears, because that was… kind of explicit, wasn’t it?
So he drew a breath and tried really hard. “Is it possible, in fact, that up until sometime last night, you actually had to work today?”
It was Bennan’s turn to look a little embarrassed, but he also didn’t look the slightest bit repentant.
“Best morning I ever spent,” he said firmly.
Even though part of Chamis’s brain was blaring a warning at him, he made himself speak.
“Same for me.” He managed to get the words out, even though they wanted to stick in his throat.
Bennan beamed at him, like that was the most amazing thing he’d ever heard, and Chamis couldn’t help but smile back.
“Time to head back?” Bennan suggested after a very pregnant pause, where they’d just been smiling at one another like idiots. “Enough people for you for the day?”
Chamis nodded, relieved, so they walked back to the castle. This was the best day he’d had in a long time. He didn’t want it to end, even though they’d accomplished the task he’d proposed for the day. As they walked through the castle gate, he knew this was where they were going to part ways, and he didn’t know what was going to happen afterthat. It was this desperation that was responsible for him blurting out a completely ridiculous invitation.
“Would you like to come up to my room? Maybe write a little note to my sisters so they understand why the ribbon choice is so superior to any I’ve sent in the past?”
Chamis was mortified by the words as soon as they were out of his mouth, and from the heat that he could feel in his cheeks, he was certain he was red as a tomato. But another one of those amazing smiles lit up Bennan’s face.
“That’s a great idea!” he agreed enthusiastically. “Need to make sure that I get into their good graces now so that they always want me to look for ribbons in the future. One more reason for us to do it together.”
He threw a wink at Chamis, who was still kind of mortified but also trying to get used to the idea that he’d flung himself out there and… Bennan had caught him? He was so used to the idea of crashing, of people not understanding him, that this was… kind of confounding.
Bennan was coming back to his rooms with him!
Now Chamis had the whole walk to stress about that, to wonder if Bennan expected anything that Chamis wasn’t totally sure he was ready to give—or was it ridiculous even imagining that Bennan wanted him like that?
He wasn’t sure which option made him feel worse. There was part of him that wanted to blurt, “Never mind,” and close the door in the man’s face, but there was a stronger part of him that needed to see this through.
He had issued a very specific invitation, after all, and Bennan had accepted it, so he probablywasgoing to write a letter to Chamis’s sisters, and now Chamis was going to have to figure out how to tell his family whoBennan was, and that was kind of complicated since he didn’tknowwho Bennan was—or at least didn’t know who he was in relation to Chamis…
He could just say they were friends, he reminded himself firmly. There was no reason to panic, and no reason to suppose that his family would know just from reading those words that Chamis wanted it to be more. He didn’t have a lot of friends, but he had a few, and he’d mentioned them in his letters before. His family would probably be pleased he’d made another. It was going to be fine.
Chamis ushered Bennan inside. It was a simple room, and Chamis had simple tastes. The room was divided into two sections: the bedroom area with a screen separating it from the rest of the room, and the sitting area, where he had two chairs by the fire and a small table. He didn’t have much in the way of decorations. He’d tacked up a few of the drawings that his sisters had sent, and he’d strung up a decorative rope from his first Earth Festival in the city, but it was pretty plain overall.
He cleared his throat. “I’ll just get the paper, and you can—”
Belatedly, he realized that Bennan wasn’t standing beside him anymore, he’d immediately gone over to the bookshelf that wasn’t filled with more than a handful of books. Most of the surface was covered in—
Oh, no. Chamis’s face burned with embarrassment, and his palms got sweaty again. Oh, he hadn’t thought—
“These are amazing,” Bennan said reverently, gazing at all the carvings that peppered the shelves, side by side, starting to get a little crowded. He tossed a look over his shoulder. “Where did you get them from? I don’t remember any stores that sell—” He cut off, probably at seeing Chamis’s expression, or maybe because his gaze had fallen to the little table by the chair, the table where a half-carved design was sitting.
His eyes flew to Chamis’s. “Youmadethese?”
Chapter Four
