Every Shade by Nora Phoenix
3
AJ felt Las’s eyes on him as he worked on the second Malm dresser. They really weren’t hard to put together when you’d done it a few times. He’d built at least twenty by now, so he didn’t even look at the manual.
“You do this for a living?” Las asked.
“No. More like a side hustle.” He checked if the metal rails for the drawers were aligned before tightening the screws. “I’m a nature photographer, but I don’t make enough with that yet to support myself.”
“A photographer? That’s cool. So you travel a lot?”
“When I have assignments, yes. I do a lot of work for garden magazines, and that does bring me to some exotic places. How about you?”
Las smiled. “I’m the opposite because I rarely leave my house. I’m a writer—a science fiction author, actually.”
AJ looked up from the screwdriver he was wielding. “An author? I read sci-fi, so have I read your books?”
Las’s cheeks grew red, and AJ’s heart did a funny little jump at how adorable that bear of a man looked with a blush. “Maybe? I don’t know. I write under I.H. Legos.”
The name sounded familiar, but where had he heard it before? “The Trouble on Katoom series. I have it on my Kindle, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.”
Las’s blush deepened. “Thank you? I mean, I hope you’ll like them.” He waved with his hands, clearly uncomfortable. “It’s always so weird to meet people who read my books. I never know what to say.”
AJ grinned. “I have the same with fans of Mike and Melissa who gush over their pics.”
Las’s eyes grew big. “That’s you? You take those pics?”
Las knew about Mike and Melissa? Oh god, that was unexpected. AJ nodded. “Right in my backyard, man. You can see their little house from your deck, I bet.”
“You’re kidding me. I want to see!”
Gone was the slightly embarrassed, blushing guy from before. Instead, his eyes gleamed as he got to his feet and headed out to the deck. AJ made sure the half-built dresser would hold on its own, then followed him out.
“It’s right in that corner.” He pointed to the mossy area where he’d built the little Hobbit-like structure for the mouse he’d found in his yard one day.
Much to his surprise, Mike—as he’d named him—had loved AJ’s construction and had moved in instantly, bringing his wife Melissa with him. AJ had taken pictures from day one, opening an Instagram account for it on a whim, and before he knew it, people from all over the world were following the adventures of Mike, Melissa, and the latest addition, baby Mini.
He’d kept adding to their abode, beautifying it with patches of moss and flowers until it looked like a little piece of heaven. By now, the mice were used to him and happily posed for pictures in exchange for some nuts or peanut butter.
“I can’t believe that’s you. I love those pics. That baby is the cutest little mouse I’ve ever seen.”
It was endearing to hear this big guy gushing over mice. “Thank you. You’re more than welcome to stop by some time and see them up close.”
A big smile spread across Las’s face. “Really? I would love that.”
“Sure thing. Early morning or dusk is best to catch them. Now, let’s head back in and work on your stuff.”
“You’re not gonna let that go, are you?”
AJ grinned. “Not unless something better comes along. If you wanna marry me, you’d better get used to my teasing. I have four brothers, so it’s what I do.”
“Four brothers?” Las held the patio door open for him, then slid it back closed behind them. “I can’t even imagine.”
“No siblings?”
Las shrugged. “Nope. I was the last-chance baby of an academic couple. My parents are both professors in English Literature.”
AJ cringed in empathy. “And you became a sci-fi author. How did that go over?”
Las jammed his hands into the pockets of his jean shorts. “Let’s just say the word disappointment wasn’t mentioned, but it was clearly implied.”
AJ plopped back down on the floor next to the half-finished dresser. “That sucks, man. My brothers tease me mercilessly since I’m the youngest, but we have each others’ backs. If someone were to hurt me, I swear they’d come down on them like the Avengers.”
“My relationship with my parents is…complicated. They mean well, but they’re a little much.”
“You do you, man. You gotta do what makes you happy, not your parents.”
The smile was back on Las’s face as he leaned back against the couch, having found a spot right next to AJ on the floor. “I love writing. My office is my happy place.”
“Good for you. I love photography. I don’t mind this, honestly, but I can spend hours with my camera and never get tired.”
“I can’t believe you do this sort of thing for fun.” Las shuddered. “I got so frustrated I was ready to return all of it and buy something else. Which reminds me—make sure to keep track of your hours so I can pay you.”
AJ looked up. “You’re not paying me. We’re neighbors.”
Las shook his head, his mouth setting in a determined look. “You can’t do this for free. This will take you the whole day to finish.”
AJ looked at the packages that still had to be built. “Probably, but that’s fine. I had nothing else to do today.”
“Nope, that does not work for me. I can’t let you do this for free.”
AJ had to smile at the earnestness in his tone. “Feed me throughout the day, and we’re all good.”
Las scrambled to his feet. “Oh god, I forgot to offer you something to drink. I’m the worst host ever. Sorry. What can I get you?” He checked his watch. “And are you ready for lunch yet? I can have some delivered. Just tell me what you want.”
“If you have a Coke, I’d love one. And I could eat something, but you can make a sandwich. No need to order something on my account.”
“Oh hell no, I’m not making you a sandwich.”
It sounded so resolute and abrupt that AJ frowned. Had he said something wrong?
“No, not because I don’t want to! Well, I don’t want to, but not because… Let me start over. I’m the clumsiest guy on the planet. See this?” He pointed at a nasty scar that ran across his kneecap. “I needed surgery on my knee after tripping over Legos. That’s how clumsy I am. There’s no way I’m doing anything involving knives when someone else is around. God knows I’ll cut off a finger or something.”
AJ blinked at the barrage of words. He’d tripped over Legos and needed surgery? How did one…? Legos. That was his pen name. I.H. Legos.
“I hate Legos,” he said slowly. His face broke open in a wide smile. “I.H. Legos. I hate Legos—that’s your pen name. Oh my god, that’s insanely funny!”
He burst out laughing, doubling over when Las rolled his eyes at him, before joining in with a slightly embarrassed grin. “It’s not very subtle, but it’s heartfelt.”
“I love it! It’s so freaking hilarious. I guess you didn’t want to use your real name, since it’s rather unusual. At least, I’ve never heard Las before.”
Las’s smile tightened. “It is unusual. Something else to thank my parents for.”
His tone alerted AJ something more was going on. Should he ask? “Does it have a meaning to them? Is it something from literature?”
He tried to think of a classic book with that name but came up short.
“It’s not my full name. They named me Legolas,” Las said between clenched teeth after a pause of several seconds.
AJ’s eyes widened. “Oh god. I take it they were Lord of the Rings fans?”
“They worship Tolkien at a level that worries me sometimes.”
“So you shortened it to Las?”
AJ’s hands rested now. He was too invested in this story to keep working on the dresser, which was almost done anyway.
“As a kid, everyone called me Legos. And they thought it was funny to keep buying me Legos, so every birthday, all I got were Legos. I had a whole room full of Legos that I was forced to play with. To this day, I hate them. I hate them with the fire of a thousand suns.”
AJ fought hard to keep his face in neutral and not show the huge grin that threatened to erupt on his face. “Gotcha. No Legos for you.”
Las’s face relaxed, and a soft smile played on his lips. “Now that I’ve shared about my embarrassing childhood, what would you like for lunch?”
