load of lumber. “I promise. Keep me updated.”
“I will.” Despite his embarrassment, Jackson still glowed. He walked in a pleased, rolling stride, still humming under his breath.
It was good to see him like this. Thomas couldn't remember when Jackson had last been in love or even crushing hard. It was just like Cam had been around Noah in the spring. That left him as the only single brother.
Not everything between us has to be a competition. Thomas shook his head and followed Jackson back to his yard.
Chapter 17
Jackson
On Monday night, Jackson shut down his forge an hour early just to head inside, shower, and shave. Maybe half his appeal was him working hard in the workshop, but this was a first date. He wanted to be clean and presentable.
Jackson shrugged on his usual grey t-shirt, then browsed his closet. He didn't want to choose plaid – too casual. A white shirt was too formal. Something in between, then...
After a few moments of thought, he picked out a long-sleeved dark purple collared shirt. He added a grey zip-up sweater in case the evening was chilly.
“That's it.”
Paired with black jeans, Jackson was good to go.
He strode out and locked the door to walk to the sushi restaurant. He could have driven, but it really wasn't far away and he was starting to like walking back and forth more to town. This neighborhood was only a couple minutes closer than his old house but it felt like a much bigger difference.
By the time he reached the sushi restaurant, it was six on the nose. Chase stood outside, browsing his phone.
“Hey! Did I keep you? Sorry!”
Chase automatically smiled, pocketing his phone and reaching out to touch Jackson's arm. “Hi. No, not at all. I just got here.” He leaned into Jackson and tilted his chin up, so Jackson leaned down to peck him on the lips. He's so bold. I love it.
“All right. Shall we head in?”
They took seats at a table next to the conveyor belt. Jackson rolled his shoulders and scooted in next to it to get a good look at what was going around. “How was your weekend?”
“Slow,” Chase admitted. “Work went pretty well, though.”
Jackson nodded. “Mine was pretty slow, too. I spent yesterday pulling out the fence between my brothers' houses. The one between Thomas and me is the next to go.”
Chase raised his eyebrow. “Just... ripping out fences bare-handed? Okay, Popeye.”
Jackson was startled into a laugh. “I'm not casually boasting--”
The waiter interrupted them to deliver water and ask if they had any special orders. Jackson turned them down. It was more fun to hunt from the belt anyway.
“I wish they'd had cool stuff like this in university,” Jackson lamented. “My buddies and I would have gone out all the time.”
“You did uni here?”
“I did an associate's degree, yeah,” Jackson told him. “Then I realized I was enjoying blacksmithing too much and I actually liked it. Why bother pursuing a useless degree and getting in debt for something I'll never use?”
Before he even finished the sentence, Chase was nodding hard. “Exactly. I did my freshman year at U of T in fine arts, and... Jesus, I blew so much money. Then I did a tattoo school and I got lucky enough to get an apprenticeship, and that actually gave me a career.”
“D'you ever feel you missed out?” Jackson asked.
Chase frowned. “A little, sometimes. I mean, some guys wound up becoming socially aware, getting involved in activism and nonprofits and stuff. But a lot of others just... integrated into whatever other jobs we could find. I wish I'd been able to study queer studies as a major. I might've liked that.”
“Yeah,” Jackson hummed. He took his time to work through the three plates he'd first grabbed. “I don't know, I'm glad I went, but I'm also glad I didn't finish.”
“What was the associate's degree in?”
“Metal processing.”
Chase looked blank. He finished his last roll and started watching the belt again. “Like...
“I will.” Despite his embarrassment, Jackson still glowed. He walked in a pleased, rolling stride, still humming under his breath.
It was good to see him like this. Thomas couldn't remember when Jackson had last been in love or even crushing hard. It was just like Cam had been around Noah in the spring. That left him as the only single brother.
Not everything between us has to be a competition. Thomas shook his head and followed Jackson back to his yard.
Chapter 17
Jackson
On Monday night, Jackson shut down his forge an hour early just to head inside, shower, and shave. Maybe half his appeal was him working hard in the workshop, but this was a first date. He wanted to be clean and presentable.
Jackson shrugged on his usual grey t-shirt, then browsed his closet. He didn't want to choose plaid – too casual. A white shirt was too formal. Something in between, then...
After a few moments of thought, he picked out a long-sleeved dark purple collared shirt. He added a grey zip-up sweater in case the evening was chilly.
“That's it.”
Paired with black jeans, Jackson was good to go.
He strode out and locked the door to walk to the sushi restaurant. He could have driven, but it really wasn't far away and he was starting to like walking back and forth more to town. This neighborhood was only a couple minutes closer than his old house but it felt like a much bigger difference.
By the time he reached the sushi restaurant, it was six on the nose. Chase stood outside, browsing his phone.
“Hey! Did I keep you? Sorry!”
Chase automatically smiled, pocketing his phone and reaching out to touch Jackson's arm. “Hi. No, not at all. I just got here.” He leaned into Jackson and tilted his chin up, so Jackson leaned down to peck him on the lips. He's so bold. I love it.
“All right. Shall we head in?”
They took seats at a table next to the conveyor belt. Jackson rolled his shoulders and scooted in next to it to get a good look at what was going around. “How was your weekend?”
“Slow,” Chase admitted. “Work went pretty well, though.”
Jackson nodded. “Mine was pretty slow, too. I spent yesterday pulling out the fence between my brothers' houses. The one between Thomas and me is the next to go.”
Chase raised his eyebrow. “Just... ripping out fences bare-handed? Okay, Popeye.”
Jackson was startled into a laugh. “I'm not casually boasting--”
The waiter interrupted them to deliver water and ask if they had any special orders. Jackson turned them down. It was more fun to hunt from the belt anyway.
“I wish they'd had cool stuff like this in university,” Jackson lamented. “My buddies and I would have gone out all the time.”
“You did uni here?”
“I did an associate's degree, yeah,” Jackson told him. “Then I realized I was enjoying blacksmithing too much and I actually liked it. Why bother pursuing a useless degree and getting in debt for something I'll never use?”
Before he even finished the sentence, Chase was nodding hard. “Exactly. I did my freshman year at U of T in fine arts, and... Jesus, I blew so much money. Then I did a tattoo school and I got lucky enough to get an apprenticeship, and that actually gave me a career.”
“D'you ever feel you missed out?” Jackson asked.
Chase frowned. “A little, sometimes. I mean, some guys wound up becoming socially aware, getting involved in activism and nonprofits and stuff. But a lot of others just... integrated into whatever other jobs we could find. I wish I'd been able to study queer studies as a major. I might've liked that.”
“Yeah,” Jackson hummed. He took his time to work through the three plates he'd first grabbed. “I don't know, I'm glad I went, but I'm also glad I didn't finish.”
“What was the associate's degree in?”
“Metal processing.”
Chase looked blank. He finished his last roll and started watching the belt again. “Like...
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