Jesse sighed. “I knew you’d be bored,” he said. Arthur paused, and Jesse looked up to meet his eyes. “I’d stop and play in the snow with you, but I really have to complete this by one o’clock.”
Jesse’s lips curled into a... a smirk? Arthur furrowed his brow. Was Jessenotbothered by his presence, then? In fact, was Jesse trying to flirt with him?
Oh, why was this so complicated?
Arthur continued to stand there like a fool while he tried to figure out what to say next. Jesse’s tiny smile fell away, and the lowercaseethat he had been holding tumbled out of his palm and onto the worktable.
“Arthur, I was kidding,” Jesse said. “I know you’re not expecting us to play in the snow. Unless...” He crooked an eyebrow. “Are youexpecting us to play in the snow? Becausewe could take a walk later. I can’t promise that I’ll build a snowman with you, though.”
Arthur smiled a little. How sweet Jesse was! Did Jesse really think that he was so ridiculous as to want the two of them to play together in the snow like children?
Not that it wouldn’t be fun. In fact, now a part of himdidwant to.
Throwing his head back and laughing, Arthur said, “Ihadn’twanted to play in the snow, but now that you’ve suggested it, a part of me wishes that we could.” Arthur tempered his laughter with a sigh before he then sat back in his chair. “No, Jesse, I’m not expecting us to play in the snow together, but I realized that you must be finding my presence irritating. Goodness, I wouldn’t want someone looking over my shoulder whileIworked.” Closing his eyes, Arthur touched his fingertips to his forehead. “I’m sorry. I should have thought this through before coming here.”
When Arthur opened his eyes, he saw Jesse staring at him with a soft smile.
“I’m not irritated. I like it that you’re here.”
“Even though I’m not saying anything or being helpful in any way?”
Nodding, Jesse turned back to his work.
Tentatively, Arthur scooted closer, his heart fluttering a bit.
“Alright, then I’ll stay. But themomentyou’d like me to leave, I’ll head home.”
Jesse’s cheeks reddened, though he kept his eyes on the little letter he was lining up.
“I won’t want you to leave,” he murmured, his voice filled with a kindness that made Arthur’s stomach tumble.
Warmth bloomed on Arthur’s cheeks.
Mustering up the rest of his courage, Arthur moved even closer, intentionally causing their thighs to touch, and then he whispered, “And I wouldn’t have wanted to go.”
With bated breath, Arthur waited for Jesse to scoot farther away, at least a little, at least far enough that their legs wouldn’t continue to touch. But he stayed. Jesse stayed even though their thighs were resting together. Or perhaps... because they were.
Over the next hour, Arthur looked on while Jesse worked on the forme. It was so incredibly impressive how fast Jesse could transcribe what had been written on a sheet of paper to the lines of type, the sentences and letters backward. It was as though Jesse could think in mirrored text, which was...oh, it was intriguing. It wasexciting.Arthur had never met someone who was clearly so naturally brilliant before (as opposed to the folks in his social circle whose smarts had mostly come from their rigorous schooling).
“Almost finished with this one,” Jesse said, looking over. “Do you want to try to compose a line?”
Arthur’s eyes widened. “Me? Really?”
Jesse shrugged. “Why not?”
“Oh, I’ll be so slow.”
“It isn’t as though we’re short on time. I intentionally worked a bit faster than usual. Normally, I try to take my time. I like being here by myself. But—”
“But you thought you’d rush so that you could be rid of me sooner?” Arthur teased.
Jesse huffed a light laugh. “Exactly.” He pushed the wooden stick closer to Arthur, along with the paper containing the news stories. “Here. Try one.”
Swallowing his nervousness, Arthur searched the page to find where Jesse had left off. After he located it, he began picking the letters he would need from the case and piled them together in a small heap. Jesse made a little sound under his breath, like a soft,reluctant laugh. Arthur’s method probably seemed silly to him. Arthur couldn’t help but smile in return. Carefully, he started to line up the letters. His smile fell away, his brows furrowing in concentration. It was tricky to focus with the letters being so small. Arthur’s spectacles weren’t made for looking at tiny backward text.
“I think I need to remove these,” Arthur said, plucking his frames from his nose. He set them on the table in front of Jesse. “I’m straining my eyes a little with these tiny type letters.”
“I can take over if you want.”
