And it was worth it for the way Bennan’s face lit up, the way he lookedso happyat the idea of Chamis coming to him if he needed to conquer a crowd.
Gently, Bennan tugged Chamis back into motion, and they fell into step together once more.
Bennan didn’t seem to be put off by anything he’d learned so far. He still seemed to be trying to spend time with Chamis… unless that was just because Bennan was so nice.
“How about we eat our pastries here?”
Chamis hadn’t even realized they’d walked all the way to a park. Since it was still so early, it wasn’t terribly busy, and it was easy for them to find a bench where they could sit in peace. The summer morning was bright and not too hot yet, and it was just about perfect.
“Thanks,” Chamis said, when Bennan handed him a pastry.
“You’re welcome,” the man replied with another bright grin.
Chamis swallowed and tried not to be overwhelmed by that attractive smile or by all of Bennan’s attentionon him.
The pastry was nice enough, very crisp flavors with a creamy filling, but Chamis felt like there was something missing. That was when Bennan nudged the other pastry at him.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed that sweet tooth. Try this one.”
“This one” proved to be the second sweet Chamis had noticed him pick up but hadn’t paid that much attention to. Unlike the other, fruit-based pastry, this one was caramel and… some sort of nut, and it was sweet and gooey, and Chamis moaned with appreciation and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth.
It was so good.
He realized this was probably not really company manners—and that was when he realized Bennan was actually staring at him with his mouth open. And was that—? Yes, that was an actual flush that had burned across the man’s cheeks.
Chamis had never seen the other man blush before. It was… really extraordinarily appealing.
Bennan cleared his throat, closed his mouth, then rallied visibly and said, “So… you like that, then?”
And Chamis, who was never very good at this sort of thing, went out a little bit further on a shaky limb, trying to think about what Bennan or Perian would say in a situation like this.
“That was so good that I would marry it and have its babies.”
Bennan stared at him for a moment in shock, and then he threw back his head and laughed, and Chamis couldn’t help but smile, because he’d done that. It was wonderful to hear that mirth and to watch the long expanse of Bennan’s neck with his head thrown up like that as he shouted with laughter.
Their eyes met as Bennan looked at him again, and Chamis’s breath caught in his throat, and he was pretty sure… he was more sure than he had been before that maybe Perian was right after all.
“Is that right?” Bennan said, eyes twinkling. “I’ll have to remember that.”
He handed Chamis the second of the delicious pastries.
“Oh, no,” he said, shaking his head. “Wasn’t that for you?”
“I could not possibly enjoy it as much as you,” Bennan insisted firmly.
Chamis took a bite of the pastry, a little more self-consciously this time, but it really was delicious, and a couple more noises of appreciation kind of sneaked out, even if he was trying not to be ridiculous.
Bennan kept eating his own pastry this time. Chamis was really glad he’d come, and that they were together like this.
Within a few minutes, they’d finished their pastries, Bennan crumpling up the bag and dusting off his hands and tossing it in the nearest bin for organic materials. He turned to look at Chamis.
“Ribbons?” he asked. “I’m sure you already have some ideas of where to go, but I asked around and got some suggestions if you want to compare notes.”
In addition to switching his shift last night, he’d found people to ask about where you could buy ribbons in the city, all so he would have suggestions for Chamis?
He felt his heart melt a little more. Even if this turned out to be Bennan being the best friend ever, it would clearly be worth it just for that.
It almost felt greedy to want more, but… Chamis was pretty sure that in this particular case, he was all right with being greedy.
