Page 56 of Glass & Groundwork
Taking in the sight of him looking spent and happy, my heart felt like it would take flight with the bees and soar over the farm, existing outside of my body. As my gaze trailed over him,I caught the glistening of the streaks smeared on his chest, and I reached over and trailed a finger through it, mesmerized by it.
“We’re a mess. A beautiful mess, but a mess, nonetheless.”
“I think that sums us up pretty well,” Jasper said with a blissful grin.
“That it does.” I met his smile, feeling happier than I could remember ever feeling, and it wasn’t just because I was having sex again after so long without. It was him. Jasper. Jasper had walked right into my open heart and made it his own. Those words I wasn’t ready to say, wasn’t ready to define, damn, if I didn’t feel them in every fiber of my being.
Jasper
When we unloaded at Heartcraft, I felt every stretch climbing in and out of the back of the truck. My thighs still ached from riding on top of Gio. Fuck, I loved it though. Loved the burn, loved the way he watched me, loved the way he could only hold on while I used him. I couldn’t stop thinking about it or the way it felt to have him deep inside me. How shaky and hesitant he’d been was the most endearing thing I’d ever seen.
There was no doubt I was falling for him, but I appreciated Gio not wanting to rush things and allowing it to develop after the abrupt start we had. We were building our foundation. The idea of it made me smile.
I was smiling still as I carried my box of figurines to the table in the McNeely Honey Farm booth. It felt a little silly, to be adding a few of my trinkets to his fully-formed business, like Iwas a child presenting crafts at a company, but I was grateful to show something of mine, too.
Gio set up a crate for me to display my lampwork, and I had to admit, it was nice to see the glass shining in the sunlight. I stood back and admired them, the pops of color amidst the calm yellow tones of Gio’s honey products. Gio came to stand behind me and folded his arms around my waist.
“I’m so proud of you,” he said, and kissed my cheek.
“It’s hardly anything.” Eight small glass figurines. That was all I’d made with time to cool properly before Heartcraft. The bee I made for Gio was safe at home, but I made a few others to tie into his booth, along with a few flowers. If I’d had more time, and more of my colored rods, I could have made a wide variety of items. Still, it was nice to seesomethingof mine on the table.
“That’s not true. Those are amazing creations that you worked your ass off to be able to do, and I am beyond impressed with your attention to detail. Besides, I won’t have you putting down the work my husband did.”
My lips twitched into a smile, loving the way he defended me, even to myself. “Okay. It’s a step, at least, right?”
“That’s right. A big step. Others might not see how much went into these being made, butweknow.”
“We know,” I repeated. These small figurines were months—years—in the making. It wasn’t the end goal, but it was a big step along the way, and I reminded myself of how good it felt to create them.
“I’ve gotta go talk to Theo for a moment. I’ll be back.” Gio bent down and brushed his lips across mine.
“Say hi for me. Actually, I might go talk to him later, because now that I have my workbench setup in the shop, I have an idea of how to make a more portable system to bring for a live demonstration.”
Theo was a woodcarver and the only person I knew who did live work at the market. He did it a few times a year, usually around the bigger holidays, because it was such a big ordeal to set up the acrylic walls for protection and bring the logs and chainsaws he used to carve them. Fuck, if it wasn’t badass, though. It always drew a crowd, and I knew he seldom took any pieces home. That was what I wanted to do.
Glasswork was a hell of a thing to watch, but doing it outside of a studio environment would require a lot of work to ensure the safety of it. Plus, it would all be for nothing if I didn’t have some sort of kiln to put them in when I was done. There was a lot to think about. Before I could work on that, my studio would be my priority.
When a shadow loomed over me, I looked up and smiled. “Hi, Marley.”
I stood up and he drew me into a big hug. “Jasper! OMG, I’m so happy you’re here. I’ve been wanting to check in with you, but Derek told me I should give you guys time as newlyweds. How’s married life treating you? Not that I was creeping on you, but I happened to catch you and Gio looking rather cozy.”
“Married life is great. You know, we’re kind of finding our way, but I’m really fucking happy.”
Marley beamed, looking like the ray of light that seemed to inhabit him. “I had a good feeling about you two. I knew it from the moment I gave you the tour when you first came to meet up with Derek. There was just something there, you gravitated toward Gio, which I understand, because he’s Gio. I mean, I didn’t expect the vows so quickly, but I shipped you two from the start.”
Had it really been from the very first time we met? Thinking back, I remembered the calmness he radiated and how attractive it was. Like honey on a sore throat.Honey. It made so muchsense. “We didn’t expect the vows so suddenly, either, but… there was a reason.”
Marley held up his hand. “I don’t need to know, unless it’s something you want to share, but sometimes you have to seize the opportunity that presents itself and work everything else out later.”
“That’s true. How’s Derek doing? I’ve kind of had my head buried for a bit, while my studio’s been under construction, but I need to reach out to him. I’m hoping I’ll be able to put together some pieces that we can use in promotion and help get the word out for Kiss My Glass.”
“Definitely touch base with him, I know he’d be thrilled to help you put stuff together. But he’s good. You wouldn’t think it to look at him, since he’s mastered the resting grump face, but he’s the sweetest cat dad a man could hope for. In fact, he’s busy building a whole cat condo right now for O’Malley and his new little sister, Marigold.”
I smiled at that. Derek came off as a bit… stiff, except when he was with Marley, who he seemed to swoon over. “It wasn’t something I thought a lot about before and would never have put it on my list for what I was looking for, but damn, dads are really hot.”
Marley let out a laugh. “Agreed. Derek is pretty sexy on his own, but seeing him with one or both of the kitties sleeping on his chest, I’m a total goner.”
“Seeing Gio with his kids, it does things to my heart I didn’t expect. In fact, it makes me want things I never knew I wanted.”
