Page 33 of Nicks and Cuts

The workshop was already warm from the furnace, and it was too easy to imagine that by the end of the day they were both going to be very sweaty, which gave him several very wrong ideas about what to use the workbench for.

Dante glanced at it. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Your face said everything. When everyone leaves, you can misbehave as much as you want.”

“Uh-huh. I was only thinking about cleaning up at the end.” His gaze flicked down to Dante’s crotch. He hadn’t had getting railed in a workshop by a knife maker on his list of things to do until this morning. Not that they had ever discussed that, but he’d be equally happy bending the knife maker over the workbench and going to town.

“Sure you were.”

The rumble of a car pulling up was enough for Shannon to bite his tongue. This was Dante’s office; if nothing else, he needed to give him the professional courtesy of not messing up his class because he was banging the teacher.

Three women walked in, all excited to be there and apologizing for their friend who was sick and devastated about not being able to make it. They promised to buy her a set, so Dante happily showed them what they would be making and confirmed that yes, he did have some for sale over on the shelves, not the class samples.

The women looked at the sets and picked one for the friend, paying for it there and then. Dante was almost animated as he bagged the board and knife for them before directing them to the workbenches.

One of them took the bag out to the car as the others noticed Shannon sitting there. Two more cars pulled up, and two guys walked in.

That was the full class.

Dante gave everyone a few minutes to pick a spot and settle down before introducing himself and launching into some safety rules. He handed out gloves, leather aprons, and safety goggles as he talked. It sounded like a well-worn speech, and when the first question was asked, he didn’t pause, which made Shannon think he’d heard it all before.

This was a side of Dante he had only glimpsed. The side that had first drawn him in at the Pride Day fair when he’d seen Dante surrounded by his wares. The confident artist, whose arms and chest were testing the patience of his shirt.

By midafternoon the novelty had worn off. Shannon was hot, sweaty, and had a blister despite the gloves and the early application of a sticking plaster. Why anyone chose to do this for a fun day out was beyond him.

Why anyone would choose to do this as a job was also baffling.

He took another drink from his cup. Dante had a stack of them by the sink for those who didn’t bring a water bottle. At least he wasn’t the only one, though all the women had brought theirs.

They were almost done, just the polishing and oiling of the boards, and already he could see that Dante had been right about his wood—it was pretty. And even though each of his corners was different, the board didn’t look like a wonky triangle the way he feared. It almost looked good.

Dante was walking around giving encouragement and tips. At the sound of a vehicle rumbling up the driveway, he paused. “One moment.”

Dante stepped out of the workshop, and like everyone else in the class, Shannon kept his head down, working while his ears strained to pick up any conversation. He was sure he heard his name, but that had to be wrong.

Dante appeared in the doorway. “Shannon.”

Oh fuck, he had heard his name. This could not be good. He quickly checked his phone to make sure he hadn’t missed any messages. Had they been short-staffed at work and needed him to come in?

But there were no missed texts.

As soon as he stepped outside, he understood why his mother had asked for his address, and it wasn’t to send him a birthday present.

She’d come to visit. At least it was only her and Dad, not everyone.

He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say beyond ‘what the fuck’ which didn’t seem very appropriate.

He turned to Dante and whispered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were going to do this.”

“It’s fine. You were almost done. Go and see what they made the drive for.” Dante gave him a tight smile which was more than what Shannon could muster.

His mother beamed, teeth white, long blond hair loose, the same as it had always been. His father leaned on the car as if waiting for him to get in the way he had so many times when Shannon had been a kid.

Shannon walked over. “What are you doing here?”

“We missed you, so we decided we’d surprise you.” She lifted her hands. “Surprise.”