Page 18 of Glass & Groundwork
“Oh, your bee cases are adorable.”
“Thanks. People like to gift me things with bees. I don’t mind, though. I happen to be pretty partial to them.” Gio stood up and faced me, his gaze dropping to my chest. I only wore my slacks and shoes at this point. I’d been progressively losing pieces of my suit since I left Orange County. When I first fled the restaurant, I lost a self-wrestling match with my suit jacket and got so frustrated I chucked it out of the window. Yes, I littered,but I promised myself I would recycle enough to atone for my sins against Mother Nature.
“What happened to your shirt?” Gio asked, slowly pulling his gaze away from my bare skin.
“We had a falling out.”
Gio snickered. “Ah, yeah. That happens. I can grab you one of my shirts, if you like.”
Tempting, so very tempting. Any other day I would have jumped at the chance to wrap myself up in the scent of another man. “Can I take a raincheck on that? Normally, I love clothes, but they’ve been rather suffocating today. Would it be weird if I just stayed in my underwear? I won’t go around the house like that, I promise. I wouldn’t want to make it awkward with the kids, but I just need to breathe.”
Gio swallowed audibly and his eyes traced over me for a moment before returning to my face. There was a slight tinge of color in his cheeks as he pushed his glasses up his nose. “No. It wouldn’t be weird. Do whatever you need to do to be comfortable.”
Needing to free myself of the rest of the suit as soon as possible, I lowered my hands to undo the sliding clasp above the zipper. Gio’s eyes widened and he turned away, frantically spreading the blanket across the bed. Cute. I rather liked seeing the calm, comforting man suddenly get flustered. Nope, I needed to stop thinking about him like that, even if I liked the way he’d ogled me for longer than he probably meant to. Ilikedbeing ogled. From the right guys, not in a creepy way.
With my shoes and socks off my feet and my pants no longer clinging to my skin, it felt like my entire body exhaled with relief.
Gio’s beautiful brown eyes met mine through his glasses. He seemed to be more in control, his attention staying on my face, intentionally keeping it off my bare body. His brows lifted as he asked, “Better?”
“Shit, you have no idea!”
“We can wash those if you’d like.” He nodded toward the pile of navy on the floor.
“They’re dry clean only, but I’m considering setting them on fire, I think that would do the trick.”
Gio smirked with amusement. “If you do, make sure there’s plenty of clearance around it.”
I waved a hand over myself. “I am very familiar with fire safety, thank you. It’s too bad my glory hole isn’t set up. I could shove it in there and watch it burn.”
A laugh popped out of Gio. “I have heard that term more since I met you than I have in my entire adult life.”
“And you’re welcome.” I gave a little bow.
With a chuckle, he said, “On that note, I think I’m going to change.”
“What? You’re not going to join me in my skivvies?” I teased and put my hands on my hips, drawing his attention to my black briefs.
Gio’s gaze lowered before climbing back up. “No… I don’t think I will.”
He grabbed some clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. Funny that he didn’t even want to change around me. What was a little semi-nudity between friends? Oh well, just because I was comfortable with my body didn’t mean I had any room to judge anyone else for wanting privacy. Gio didn’t owe me anything. In fact, I owed him, big time.
Alone, I went to the window, and pulled back the curtain. I could see the shadow of the barn illuminated by the dim safety lights I had installed on the exterior. It wasn’t bright enough to be bothersome, but I realized quickly that the field got really dark and I didn’t want to have to rely on my phone’s light when trying to open or close the shop.
The shop.Already, I’d taken to calling it that in my mind. It had been a done deal, tangible and close. Now it was just going to be some kind of frankenbarn: half-alive, half-dead.A whim. I heard my mother’s voice and had to wonder if she was right. I’d said yes to the barn on a whim, signed the contract on a whim, went to the bank on a whim. Maybe that was all my life was… just one whim after another, bouncing around like a pinball in a machine, with no control over the direction of my life.
Gio’s reflection appeared behind me and he stepped in close. The few inches he had on me allowed him to easily see over my shoulder to the dark silhouette beyond the window. “It’s going to happen, Jasper.”
“I want to believe that, but right now my vision is a little cloudy.”
A hand landed on the back of my neck, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Your eyes are tired right now, but I think after some rest and a little time, you’ll be seeing clearly again.”
I leaned back until my head rested against him. “I hope so.”
Gio wrapped an arm around me and pulled me away from the window, letting the curtain close. “Come on, let’s try to relax. You’ve had a long day. What do you prefer to help you settle down? Do you like to read, watch something, or listen to music?”
Gone was the man who’d blushed at seeing me strip down to my underwear, and present was the one who radiated with a calm, comforting strength that I desperately needed at the moment. He guided me to the bed and sat me down. It was then I finally saw that he wore one of those white A-shirt tank tops and a pair of sweat shorts.Sweat shorts! Fuck me, I was a sucker for sweats and A-shirts. Gio didn’t wear bulky clothes, and I’d been in his arms a few times to know he had a toned body, but this look revealed some definition in his arms and…hello, thighs.Yum.
Focus, Jasper.What did Gio ask? Oh, right. “I usually like to watch something at least to have some background noise and not feel like my apartment is so empty, but right now, I don’t even know if I want that. Maybe some music, I guess?”
