Page 12 of Axel

Or anything to do with his body! Argh!

Arlo shook his head to break himself out of his horniness and decided that the best way of avoiding any more thoughts of Axel was to run ahead of him and try to keep pace with Laser.

‘I’m running ahead, try not to be too slow,’ Arlo said, flashing Axel a look before calling ahead for an excited Laser. ‘See you at the truck, slowcoach.’

The sooner Arlo was in town, the better…

After dropping the tent off for repair in town, Arlo had agreed to head back to Axel’s place to allow him to unpack his truck and give Laser his food.

Arlo might not have been super-enamored to be spending too much time with Axel, but there was absolutely no way he was going to keep Laser from his much deserved snacks.

‘He’s a cool dog,’ Arlo said, kicking his heels and looking around the inside of Axel’s smart townhouse. ‘This place is fine too, I guess.’

‘It’s home,’ Axel replied, opening the back door so that Laser could head out into the garden when he was done crunching on his dog biscuits. ‘I bought it a few years back. It was a real doer upper. Us tree surgeons aren’t exactly millionaires, so I needed something cheap I could gradually transform. I’m happy with it.’

‘You should be, it’s actually kinda great,’ Arlo said, his harsh stance on Axel easing off as he saw how proud he was of his home. ‘And… you’re a tree surgeon?’

‘Yup,’ Axel said, handing Arlo a tall glass of water. ‘You can’t beat the outdoors. Even in the coldest winters, I’d rather be out in nature and offering a helping hand to keep trees healthy than stuck indoors all day. Maybe I sound crazy…’

‘No, you don’t,’ Arlo replied, blushing a little as the pair of them held eye contact for a moment. ‘I’m the same. I’d never want to be sitting down looking at a screen all day.Yuck. No thank you!’

‘Hey I guess we’re not all that different,’ Axel said, beforesuddenly turning away and busying himself over by the kitchen cupboard. ‘Want to help me unpack this stuff?’

As Arlo helped Axel restock his cupboard with cans of beans, lentils, and other long-life products, he noticed that his kitchen was generally very well stocked with all kinds of fresh produce too.

‘You’re hungry,’ Axel said, evidently noticing the look on Arlo’s face as he eyed up the potatoes, vegetables, and various condiments that were all on display. ‘Let me make some food for you. I mean, for us. I’m actually pretty damn hungry myself.’

‘Well… I don’t know…’ Arlo said, part of him not wanting to accept yet another favor from Axel, but also at the same time totally unable to deny just how hungry he was.

‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Axel chuckled. ‘But don’t think you’ll be getting an easy ride in all this. I fully expect you to be on chopping and slicing duty too. Here, start with peeling and chopping these carrots.’

Arlo giggled and happily took the peeler from Axel and set to work on his duties. This felt less like accepting a free meal and more like working for his dinner. And Arlo was cool with that.

And as the time passed and the food prep turned into devouring the vegetable stew, Arlo and Axel both relaxed into one another’s company. Arlo even began to tell Axel about his military background, albeit without going into detail over the unfortunate situation that led to his exit.

‘Well thank you for your service,’ Axel said, taking a sip on his small glass of red wine. ‘That was an amazing thing you did. You should feel very proud of yourself.’

‘Thanks,’ Arlo replied, suddenly feeling shy and submissive as he accepted Axel’s praise. ‘That means a lot. I mean, it always does when someone says that.’

‘So… what does the future hold?’ Axel asked, stroking Laser as he walked past and took his place in front of the now roaring wood burner.

‘I don’t know,’ Arlo answered, genuinely not knowing the answer himself. ‘I’ve got some things to tie up. Loose ends. But once that’s done, I think I’ll need to work something out. I’ve been enjoying travelling around and living the camping life. But I know I probably can’t do that forever.’

Arlo could tell that Axel was listening to him and taking in what he was saying. It felt good to talk to a man who wasn’t just out for what he could get from him, or looking for some kind of angle to seduce him. Despite his initial misgivings, it was becoming clear to Arlo that Axel might actually be a decent guy after all.

‘Did you always know that you wanted to be a tree surgeon?’ Arlo asked, finishing off his glass of wine and carefully placing it on the little table next to the couch. ‘It sounds fun. Hard work, but definitely fun.’

‘Now there’s a question…’ Axel chuckled. ‘I guess I didn’talwaysknow. I think like a lot of my friends I grew up wanting to be a football player or astronaut or secret agent. You know, thosetotally normaljobs. But while being a tree surgeon isn’t as glamorous, I’m pretty contented with my choice.’

‘That’s good,’ Arlo said, a wistful tone in his voice as he felt the wine warm his insides. ‘That must be a really great feeling.’

The conversation was flowing between them, and Arlo very quickly forgot all about the tent repair and his desire to head back to the camp that evening.

‘Here, put this blanket on,’ Axel said, noticing that Arlo was beginning to fall asleep as the pair of them sat on opposite couches in the living area.

‘Thanks,’ Arlo said, suddenly realizing just how exhausted he was. ‘I’ll just shut my eyes for a minute.’

‘I’m that boring,huh?’ Axel joked. ‘No, I get it. You’ve been through a lot today. Close your eyes for a minute while I take Laser out for his bedtime walk. I’ll be back in five.’

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