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“Good for you,” Ben said. He wanted it to sound tough. Like he was shutting down the conversation. Instead, it sounded like he was running from it with his tail between his legs. He glared at his book, trying to make up for it with sheer will. Levi, the little shit, saw right through him.

“Well, if you’re not going to take me up on my very enjoyable offer, can you at least find me something to do? I can’t stare at the fire for a whole month.”

Ben thought about telling him to fuck off. But he couldn’t begrudge him for being bored. He would go stir-crazy, too, if he were in Levi’s position.

“Tomorrow morning,” he decided, “you’re going to help me chop firewood.”

Levi snorted. Then he noticed Ben was serious and laughed. “Um, okay? I’ll channel my lumberjack vibes. Hey, where are you going?”

“Bed,” Ben told him, already halfway out of the room. He’d closed his book and stood up while Levi was speaking. He clearly wasn’t going to get any reading done when Levi was in the room.

“Have fun,” Levi called after him.

Ben ignored him. And he kept ignoring him twenty minutes later, when Levi’s soft moans drifted through the wall that separated their bedrooms. Ben’s cock stiffened against his boxers, and he swore and rolled onto his back so he wouldn’t give in to the urge to rub against the mattress. Levi was probably doing this to annoy him. Or tempt him. Definitely both. Ben refused to give him the satisfaction.

Just one month, he told himself as Levi’s moans grew louder. Don’t you dare give in.

If Levi knew Ben could hear him, he made no mention of it the following morning. He flounced out of his bedroom at 8:00 a.m., surprising Ben yet again. He hadn’t heard Levi leave his room. After the nighttime routine he’d witnessed last night, he assumed Levi required an hour in the bathroom every morning. He also assumed he’d have to drag Levi out of bed kicking and screaming. Levi seemed like the kind of person who refused to wake up before 10 and needed an iced venti frappuccino with extra foam, sprinkles, and a triple shot of whatever-the-fuck-kids-added-to-their-coffee-these-days before he woke up properly. But Levi was fully dressed, complete with sturdy gloves, coat, and hat. They all looked too soft for the forest, but at least they were warm.

“Reporting for lumberjack duty, sir,” Levi said, tossing Ben a cheeky salute. “I haven’t showered yet. I hope that’s okay. Figured I could work up a sweat chopping wood.”

He flexed his arms jokingly. Ben was taken aback by how much he wanted to laugh. Just because Levi hadn’t been completely terrible to be around after they arrived at the cabin didn’t mean they were friends. Never mind the smile that threatened to tug at Ben’s lips.

Ben cleared his throat and turned toward the front door. “Come on. There’s only one ax. We can take turns.”

“Yeah? Are you going to show me how to hold it?” Levi fluttered his eyelashes. Ben thought about grabbing his face and squeezing until his cheeks squished and his mouth puckered. Then he forced the image away and headed to the front door without replying. Maybe ignoring him was safer, he told himself as he heard Levi fall into step behind him. If he kept answering him, Levi might goad him into something he couldn’t resist.

Levi tapped out before they even made it through a tree.

“And now we have to cut it into pieces?” Levi panted. “Are you fucking kidding? After all that?”

Ben shrugged, stripping a thin branch off the trunk. “What did you expect?”

“I don’t know! This is way more work than I expected!” Lexi stood back, boots crunching in the snow. He had abandoned his hat and gloves again, and his coat was open. This was the third time he’d taken them off, and he was bound to put them back on in a few minutes. It was fucking cold out here.

“That’s the fun part,” Ben said. The next branch he came up to was thicker, and he hacked it from the trunk with one clean arc. “Cut the branches off. Then chop the trunk into sections. Save some for kindling. Put it all in the storage shed to dry. It won’t be finished by the time we get around to it, but it’ll still work. Just not as well as the stuff we already have.”

Levi rubbed his arms through his sleeves, already at the point of thinking about putting his coat back on. “How long does it take to dry properly?”

“Few months.”

“A few months?” Levi stared at the felled tree, which, apart from the branches Ben had removed, was still intact. Ben fought a smile as Levi visibly realized how much time and work went into this.

“That’s why I always have a few weeks’ worth of firewood in the storage shed,” Ben explained. He axed another branch off the tree, then held out the ax. “Do you want another—?” He cut off abruptly as another tide of pain thundered through his knee. He’d done his stupid fucking stretches when he woke up, but this cold was really working its magic. Worming into his bones and making the ache even sharper than usual. And this was on top of recovering from the attack. If he was in the city, he might suck it up and go in for massage therapy. But there was no massage therapy out here, and his own fumbling attempts just made it worse.

Levi straightened from where he’d been peering at the rest of the branches waiting to be stripped. “Everything alright?”

Ben grunted, nodding. He held out the ax again. After a moment, Levi sighed and took it. He hacked off a thin branch, then threw it into a pile with the others. He cut away four more branches with absolutely terrible form, swearing and hissing as he hacked ineffectively for three times as long as it would take Ben to. Then he whirled on Ben and shoved the ax back at him.

“How the hell can you like this?” Levi demanded.

“It’s calming,” Ben said. Then, when Levi gave him an incredulous look, “It’s methodical. Repetitive. You turn your brain off and keep doing the same shit until it’s done.”

He waited for Levi to roll his eyes. He wasn’t wearing any makeup today, but his eyes looked somehow even more blue than when they were set off with a ring of black.

“So, meditation,” Levi said.

“Fuck off,” Ben said automatically.