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Authors: E. Davies

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BOOK: Clang
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Chapter 4
Chase

Oh, boy, was Chase ready to complain about all the asshole guys in town. If Jackson had dating questions, he had more than enough answers.

Jackson was buff and gorgeous, but he always acted restrained around Chase. He was one of the few guys around here who'd never hit on him. Well, he'd flirted a little when they'd met at an art show that spring, but since then... nothing. It was kind of a nice change, if disconcerting.

They vented together about being on the fringe of the arts scene and gay scene and shared stories of their work. Each of them was interested in the other. Blacksmithing and tattooing were totally different but both pretty unique arts professions.

If only Jackson wanted more than casual friendship with him.

He'd expected to bitch about flaky guys, but Jackson caught him off-guard. “Wait... What? You want to
start
online dating?”

Jackson nodded, cradling his white coffee mug by his chest. He wore his uniform: a dark grey t-shirt that hugged his pecs and stretched around his biceps. Fucking hell, he looked hot. Chase had done a good job pretending not to stare, or so he hoped. “I haven't really done it. I tried a few years ago but all I got were hookups.”

Chase smirked. “Such innocence. So why do you need my help?”

Jackson snorted in laughter. “I need help figuring out what to say so I get a boyfriend, not horny guys.”

“That's a tall order. I look like the love guru?”

“Nothing says he can't be a tattooed weirdo.”

“Hey,” Chase grinned. He sipped his coffee and winked. “I'm only freaky in bed. I'm quite normal the rest of the time. I can twist into all kinds of shapes, if it helps--”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jackson waved him off with another laugh. “
Anyway
, what do I say?”

“Just be honest, man. You seem pretty down-to-earth. I mean, your brothers know you better... Why not ask them?”

Jackson winced and glanced down into his mug. “Um... embarrassed, I guess.”

It was almost hilarious to see a big guy who could lift Chase off his feet one-handed looking so bashful. It was kind of adorable in a heartthrob way, too. Chase took pity on him and grinned instead of laughing. “Why? Everyone dates online now.”

“Well, Cameron met Noah in person... Thomas doesn't really date, but... I don't know. It seems sketchy. I haven't even dated in ages.”

“Why now? Seeing Cam and Noah around?”

Jackson shook his head. “I don't know. I'm just lonely.”

That made Chase pause, the smile fading from his face at the raw admission. They weren't exactly best buddies, so he hadn't heard Jackson talk that way.
He must need my help bad.

“I get it,” Chase assured him after a few moments. “Me, too. I've only got a few friends in the area, even having lived here for months now. One of them's the guy who owns the tattoo shop... The others are pretty much his friends.”

Jackson looked sympathetic. “Yeah. I'm lucky I've got buddies around here. Just none of them I want to... you know, romance,” he laughed.

Chase chuckled. “All right. You got a computer with you?” He didn't see a jacket or bag.

“Nah, only at home. D'you wanna come back with me?”

“Sure,” Chase agreed. For once, the implications weren't sexual. “I'll help you write your profile and woo all the knights in shining armor... armor that needs hammering. Heh...”

Jackson kicked him and laughed. “Shut up.”

As they finished their coffee, Chase's mind wandered.
How can a guy with a big family in the city, all those friends, and everyone he knows through work be lonely?

Maybe he was just trying to take pity on Chase by offering him a hand of friendship. Hell, that was fine by Chase. He got to spend more time around the hunk, even if it was from setting him up with someone who wasn't Chase.

***

“I think that should get some interesting messages. Fill those blanks in.”

Chase stretched his fingers and pushed the laptop back to Jackson. He watched him read his profile. It wasn't much – just a few sentences in each profile box – but it would get him started.

He'd already had to ask Jackson some questions, and the answers were interesting. Of the six most important things to him, Jackson's list was predictable. He'd said family, going out with friends, his blacksmithing work, and great home-cooked food. He'd thought for a moment before adding sunrises. Chase had pressed him for a sixth item and Jackson's thoughtful answer was, “A relationship when the time is right.”

That answer was still bouncing around Chase's mind. When the time is right? That didn't sound at all desperate – it sounded like he was happy to wait for years longer, if he had to. Not like Chase.

Jackson skimmed the profile. “This... this sounds decent. Wow.” He pointed at the screen. “Want to meet up for 'blank'?”

“I'm assuming you're not gonna put 'casual sex' in there,” Chase grinned. “Coffee or a beer or whatever.”

“A beer sounds weird. Alcohol on a first date. How about coffee?” Jackson typed that in, then mumbled under his breath as he filled in the other blanks. Chase left it to him to think of a hobby he wanted to share, his greatest secret, and what he was looking for in a man.

He looked cute from this angle. Jackson hunched over the coffee table with his broad shoulders stooped enough to lean down and see the screen. His shirt rose up his back, sliding up enough to leave an inch or two of bare, tattooless skin.

Chase clamped down on his moment of arousal.

“Thanks,” Jackson concluded as he straightened up.

“Hey, it was only a few sentences here and there.” Chase pulled his gaze off Jackson's body and back to his face to make eye contact.
Stop ogling him, Jesus. You'll make things weird.

“You wanna have supper with me and my brothers?”

Chase didn't have anywhere else to be, and he was running low on freezer meals. “Sure. Thanks. When?”

“Anytime I head outside and turn on the barbecue,” Jackson laughed. “They'll smell it.”

Chase laughed, too. That sounded nice. “Barbecue? Burgers?”

“Yeah, burgers and steak and veggies. We've come up with a bunch of new recipes. Corn, salad, pizza, pineapple, asparagus, donuts...”

“Salad?” Chase laughed. “Pineapple? Donuts? I mean, corn and asparagus are kinda normal...”

Jackson winked. “Just for that, we're having salad to start and pineapple for dessert. C'mon.” Jackson walked to his kitchen, and Chase found himself naturally following.

There was something about him that was just magnetic.

Jackson lit the barbecue first. They chatted more as they cut lettuce heads and defrosted burgers. Chase shucked the corn, his chest aching at the memories of shucking corn for family dinners.

By the time the ingredients were ready, there was a knock on the back door and it slid open.

“Oh, hey,” Cameron greeted, raising a hand in greeting to Chase. “What's up?”

Chase had only met him twice. First had been at the same art show where he and Jackson had met. Jackson had sculpted this gorgeous metal statue based on Cameron. It still stood in the arena lobby. Then, Cameron bought Chase's art piece for his living room. It was a collection of miniature paintings done on a series of hockey pucks stuck together with needles. Chase was glad someone had loved it enough to buy it.

“Not much. How're the paintings looking?”

“C'mon over later and I'll show you,” Cameron invited. “Noah found the perfect spot for it in the living room. I really like it, man, no bullshit.” He reached out to shake hands again in greeting as he moved past Chase to his brother.

“He does,” Jackson agreed.

Chase grinned. It was nice to hear from someone who appreciated the work he'd put into it. Usually, his art was done with needles and ended up on people's bodies.

“Thomas just got home. He'll be out in a few,” Cam told them.

Jackson nodded. “Great. Carry this shit out for me, huh?” He handed Cam a plastic bin filled with barbecue tools.

“Sure, get me to do the heavy lifting,” Cameron groaned. He pretended to struggle to haul the box outside.

Chase laughed. Cameron wasn't as muscled as Jackson, but he was pretty built himself. He looked a bit thinner than when they'd last met, though, and he was a little more on-edge.

“Can you take the corn out?”

“Yep.” Chase carried the bucket of corn cobs outside to the table next to the barbecue where Cam was setting up the tools. “How's work going?” he asked Cameron. He remembered Jackson mentioning he was a beekeeper, but he didn't know anything else.

“Oh, busy this time of year,” Cameron admitted. “My boss gave me the day off to see the doctor.”

Ahh, there is something up with him. Aw.
“Yeah? Must be good to have a break.”

Cameron nodded. “I've got this heart thing that rules out exercise. This time of year's when all the heavy lifting happens... it's pissing me off,” he laughed.

“I bet. I hate slowing down for anything.”

A somewhat familiar voice filtered through the fence gate before Noah stepped through. “Hey, babe. Oh – hello!”

Noah had directed the same art show where they'd all met. He was a bit too... well... flamboyant for Chase's taste. Chase respected his artistic vision. It was just hard to be around him for too long.

“Hi,” Chase answered with an awkward little wave. “How's it going?”

“Oh, good, can't complain. Well, I
can
, but... nobody will listen,” Noah lamented, glancing at Cameron.

“Nope. He just wrapped one art show but he's already taken on two
more
... After complaining all summer about all the work they are.” Cameron rolled his eyes.

“I couldn't turn them down.” Noah leaned in to kiss Cameron's cheek, then nodded at Jackson as he emerged carrying a plate of burgers.

Chase smiled. “Where?”

“One's a private show by this rich art collector out in Oromocto. The other's at the arts center downtown. I mean, it's a nonprofit... hence, I can't say no. And the first one pays well.”

“It's all about money,” Chase chuckled. “I mean, yeah, sure, we love art... but...”

Noah half-smiled. “You can't eat art.”

“Well, if it's mine, you
could
--” Chase broke off, realizing that was a bit of a morbid joke.

“Oh, Jesus!” Cameron laughed from behind Noah, handing corn cobs to Jackson to throw on the grill. “No cannibalism jokes before supper.”

Noah looked horrified, but he relaxed into a smile. There was a weird pause. Chase couldn't think of anything to say, and apparently, neither could Noah.

Chase moved towards Jackson instead. “Must have been a good summer for barbecuing.” It had been hot and dry.

“Perfect. When the sun's starting to go down a little, early evening, it cools off. Now we've got those gates in, it helps. There's less running into and out of houses.”

Cameron laughed. “Though certain people kicked out the boards in the fence before we were even moved in.”

“Liar. All the boxes were inside, ergo, we were moved in.” That was someone Chase didn't recognize. He might have seen him at the show, but he couldn't remember talking to him. He looked a lot like Cameron and Jackson in the nose and eyes, but he was built like Chase or Noah – willowy and slender. He didn't dress as femininely as Noah, though.

It was hard to do anything as femininely as Noah.

“That's our brother Thomas,” Jackson added, waving the flipper at him. That easy way of being around each other made Chase's chest ache with yearning.

He wouldn't mind having a family like this.

“Hi,” Chase greeted, and Thomas nodded in return. “What's up?”

“Oh, long day at the bank, but I can't complain. Someone came in looking for a savings account we've never offered. We're still not sure where they heard about it from...”

Jackson laughed. “Drama, then.”

“For Fredericton, that's drama,” Thomas laughed. “And I feel about ten times less likely to get shot here... I used to work in Halifax,” he added in explanation for Chase.

Chase nodded. “I've heard about it.”

“Grab a plate. Corn's up, guys.”

Even though he'd met Noah before the rest of them, Chase still wasn't sure how to react when Noah pirouetted out of Jackson's way and everyone grinned. Something prickled deep inside: resentment, maybe? That was kinda weird.

Chase tried to put it aside and relax with the rest of Jackson's family. Even if it was a painful reminder of what he'd lost, he refused to think directly about
that
.

Chase was going to fucking have fun, and make friends he didn't fuck. He deserved that much.

You can't have this one. Just learn to be okay with that.
Didn't stop him from fantasizing a little about what it would be like to kiss Jackson, though.

Chapter 5
Thomas

After the barbecue, Cameron headed to Noah's place and Jackson started work at his forge. Thomas cleaned his kitchen and made his grocery list while he had a moment to breathe. He left the window open to smell the wood smoke from Jackson's forge.

Neither of them had someone else to cook for, so sometimes they cooked supper together when Cam wasn't around. Jackson tended to go for easy meals when others weren't there. Thomas, however, didn't mind cooking for himself. Even at the end of a long week, it was a nice break. He liked taking that time.

Thomas smiled as he glanced out across their yards from the kitchen window, washing the last few pots. Cam was lucky that he'd met Noah before even properly moving to the city. Thomas had moved back here at the same time in May and Jackson had always lived here.

It's not like I don't try, though.

With that in mind, Thomas dried off his hands and grabbed his laptop. Curled on the sectional couch, he first checked his dating site messages, then browsed for local matches. He was used to seeing the same few faces, but it was possible someone new had signed up.

There was a new match, and his photo looked weirdly familiar.

“Oh, Jesus.”

Jackson's Facebook profile photo for ages had been him in front of the walking bridge in town. Before that, he'd had a handsome professional shot taken of him while forging. Those two thumbnails showed up when Thomas hovered over his profile.

His brother was on the dating site, too?

Fuck. Has he already seen me?

Thomas's hand almost shook. He navigated quickly to his recent visitors and scanned the list.

Nope. He'd found Jackson first.

He clicked back to the profile and blocked it before his nerves calmed. It wasn't like it would be
awful
if Jackson figured out he was on the dating site looking for men, but...

It was complicated and Thomas didn't want to get into thinking about it. His two gay brothers of all people would be cool with it, but
he
didn't want to talk to
them
. And for their part, neither of them had ever bugged him, thank god.

He was curious, though. He hadn't heard Jackson mention online dating before. Might be worth stopping by for a chat.

Thomas closed his laptop and headed out to the workshop.

The muffled ringing of metal sounded through the door. Thomas padded through the tall grass en route to the converted workshop building where Jackson had installed his forge. It had been hell to get it up to code, but Thomas knew Jackson was prouder of it than his own house now.

Thomas knocked, not that it would have made a difference, and let himself in. He closed the door after himself to keep the sound down.

“Jesus, it's hot in here.” Good thing he was just in a t-shirt and light jeans.

“Oh, I know.” Jackson was shirtless and red-cheeked. His gaze was utterly focused on the strips of metal he was hammering together. His big brother was ripped, sweat running down his back as his biceps rippled with the effort of joining metal to metal.

Sometimes Thomas felt bad that he didn't work out even a little compared to his brothers. Then, he remembered that he liked pasta and hated lifting weights. If he never landed a man because of it, fine.

Jackson paused to look over at Thomas. “You all right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Thomas smiled. “Need any help?”

“Grab those metal bits and clean them up if you wanna help,” Jackson nodded. Thomas went over to start gathering them into a bucket. “Having an exciting Friday night?”

“Not as exciting as yours,” Thomas laughed. He examined a few cast-off scraps, wondering if they could be turned into art pieces somehow. Some of them were twisted in cool ways. Maybe that was Jackson's plan. “It was cool to meet Chase earlier, though.”

“Yeah, we have coffee now and then. He's nice. A little hard to read sometimes, but nice.” Jackson frowned at his metal piece, then folded his arms.

“What's up?”

“Whenever I wonder why I don't have a boyfriend, two seconds later, I geek out over these – no, seriously, look at these joins. C'mere. Look.”

Thomas glanced over at where Jackson pointed. “Well done.” Thomas didn't know what he was looking for. It was definitely a section of Cameron's railings for the landing above his living room. It looked... well, just like the plan had shown. “You'll find a man who appreciates... well-forged joins.”

Jackson laughed and turned the whole metal piece over. It clanged against the table as he inspected the cooling rods he'd just joined. “Thanks for your vote of confidence.”

“Have you thought about trying?” Thomas asked casually, hoping he didn't give himself away with some nervous tic.

“Yeah, actually,” Jackson answered. He paused and looked at Thomas, but he didn't seem to suspect anything. Instead, he looked back at his piece. “Can you... not tell Cam this?”

Thomas perked up with curiosity. “Of course.”

“I just registered for an online dating site. I was getting Chase to help me with my profile.” Jackson fidgeted with his hammer, tapping it against the metal here and there.

“Cool,” Thomas answered to show his brother that he was fine with it. Jackson
was
a little old-fashioned in some ways.

“Really?”

“Yeah!” Thomas laughed. “Everyone's meeting people online these days. But why not tell Cam? He wouldn't mind either.”

Jackson rolled his eyes. “Cause he'll make fun of me.”

Thomas snorted with laughter. “Oh, can't take the heat?”

“Fuck off and get us a couple beers from my fridge,” Jackson laughed.

Thomas grinned and punched Jackson's shoulder on the way by. “Let me know if you meet up with anyone on there, yeah?”

“I will. Thanks, man.” Jackson looked more relaxed already and offered Thomas a smile. Little did Jackson know that Thomas had other reasons for offering brotherly support. Then, the question Thomas was hoping not to hear. “Hey, what about you?”

“What about those beers?” Thomas countered with a grin and walked out to grab them. He knew Jackson would let it drop when he came back to the workshop... Jackson and Cam took hints well.

BOOK: Clang
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