I Got You | A Gay Romance: A Boyfriend for Rent Book | Gay For You (10 page)

Again, there was something Benjamin wasn’t telling him and Jake wanted to ask him more questions. Did he have a bad experience with mixing the two? But before he could inquire, Benjamin said, “So, we need to move all this shit over to the next room and cover everything up so we can sand and paint it.”

“Sand and paint it too?” Jake asked, raising his eyebrows. The work seemed overwhelming to an already packed schedule with school, his chores at his dad’s house, training and of course, his best friend.

The man lowered his tone. “Did I stutter?”

“No, it’s just—"

“I told you I’d pay you,” Benjamin said.

Jake sighed. He was missing the point. “It’s not about the money. It’s just how are we going to get this all done in time?”

“Inch by inch,” Benjamin said, his eyes indicating he was talking about something more. “That’s the way to handle it, not all at once.”

Jake’s cock twitched at the thought and his ass clenched shut as if imagining gripping something from behind.

“I just have to take care of Alberto tonight so I can’t stay too late.”

Benjamin bit the inside of his cheek. Tough guy or not, Jake could tell he was concerned. “Where’s he at?”

Jake hated to even talk about the shitty hospital. “Have you ever been to Sunrise before?”

“Oh, shit. He’s there?” Benjamin asked. His tone indicated disgust. “That sucks.”

“Well, that's all we can afford. I just need to watch over him, just to make sure he’s alright. They have him crammed in some closet space he shares with six other people and the whole thing pisses me off. It takes me a good hour on the bus to get there and an hour and a half back if I miss the last bus.”

“I’ll drop you off.”

Jake raised his eyebrow. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t have to. I don’t have to do anything.”

He stepped past him and said in a hushed tone. “Don’t worry. I got you.”

CHAPTER 17

"I don't understand, what about his mother?" Jake asked the doctor. The older man stood across from him with his arms folded holding a clipboard in hand.

"That's the way he wanted it. He put you in charge of guardianship in case anything ever happened to him. Didn't he tell you?"

"No, he didn't," Jake solemnly said, though when he thought about it, he couldn't have been surprised. Alberto was really the only family he had. It was just the two of them for years relying on each other and picking each other up when they were down. The burden of making this life or death decision weighed on his shoulders and made his stomach churn.

He hated hospitals, the smells, the depressing spirit, the mindless zombie nurses running on coffee and God knows what kind of pills they snuck in their purses.

"It's for the best," the man said, passing him the clipboard and pen to sign.

"You want me to pull the plug?" He couldn’t believe the doctor was even suggesting such a thing. What was the fucking hurry anyway? Doctors were supposed to care about people.

"I wouldn't put it that way, but if you care about him—"

"How dare you. Of course I care about him, but he's not dead. He's still alive in there." Jake was furious. He'd only been in Alberto's hospital room for a good twenty minutes before this fucking doctor started to harass him. Alberto looked horrible, and he was starting to wonder if anyone was taking care of him at all.

The man sighed. "Jake, listen to me. The only thing that's keeping Alberto alive are these machines. It's not fair to see him deteriorate."

The pressure was enough to make his head spin. This was the last thing he needed on top of everything else going on. "You just want to get rid of him so you can have more room for your paying clients. If money is the issue, I'm trying to get a job. I'll get two jobs if I need to. It's just hard with school and—"

The doctor put his hand on Jake’s shoulder and he wanted to smack it. It took everything for him to only nudge it off. "Look, I know this decision is difficult, but as far as we know, he could be greatly suffering. Do you really think it's fair to him—?"

"He said, 'no'." Benjamin's voice boomed, coming out of nowhere as he approached them.

Jake sighed with relief. He told Benjamin to just wait in the car, that he actually could have just dropped him off, but Benjamin insisted on waiting for him. Now, he was happier than ever that Benjamin came inside and surprised him.

"I don't think this concerns you," the doctor said.

Benjamin stepped in front of Jake, defensively. "If it concerns Jake, then it concerns me. Now, I'm telling you to step off, before I make you step off."

The doctor cleared his throat and Jake swung the clipboard back in his hands.

Jake's shoulders relaxed as the man walked away. "Thanks."

"Fucking bureaucratic, bullshit," Benjamin said. "They only care about one thing anymore."

"Money," Jake breathed. "And unfortunately, I don't have a lot of it."

"We'll figure something out," Benjamin told him. The word "we'll" felt good. For the first time, in a long time, Jake didn't feel like he battled this alone.

“He ... I just keep thinking that night, all he kept talking about was that stupid prom, ball whatever it was.”

“Prom? Ball?”

“Yeah, this ... the fraternity, the school in fact does this Spring Ball. It’s kind of like a prom and he kept saying, ‘You know what would be funny, if we showed up, just the two of us, hand in hand.”

“Maybe you’ll still get to do that. It’s a few months from now. He could wake up.”

Jake appreciated his sentiment, but he was starting to wonder if he should just face reality.

"I appreciate that, I do," Jake said, his eyes meeting Benjamin's.

"Been there before," Benjamin said.

"Your best friend was in a coma too?" Jake guessed.

"No, I was,” Benjamin said.

Jake's eyes widened. "What?"

"Do you want to get out of here? Get some air? Have some fun, just the two of us?" Benjamin said.

"Alberto probably needs—"

"He'll be fine. We can visit him again afterward or tomorrow, whatever you want. He'd want you to. I know he would. I'll tell you all about my coma days."

The idea nagged at him and it was exactly what he wanted, what he needed right now.

CHAPTER 18

When Benjamin said he wanted to get some air, Jake had no idea he meant all the way to the beach.

"Roll down the window." Benjamin said with a smile on his face, the fresh air dancing with his blond hair and leaning back. His hand was dangerously close to Jake's leg, brushing by his thigh as he shifted gears.

Jake did as he was told, letting the fresh air wash away his problems. The scent of the sea, the seaweed, the salt misting in his face, it was just what he needed as he closed his eyes and let his problems erase. He felt the pressure of Benjamin's right hand squeeze his kneecap and he opened his eyes.

Benjamin shot him a wink and Jake blushed. "I like hanging with you.”

"Me too," Jake said.

"You gotta be careful who you help. Learned that the hard way, trying to save someone's life. Do not throw pearls to swine. Some people just don’t deserve the love you give them. That's how I lost this fucking thing," he said, tapping on his thigh.

"Wow, I didn't know," Jake said. It was such a sensitive topic. He didn't know how to bring it up, but he wanted to know just the same.

"I don't open up to a lot of people. But I like your vibe. I've got a good sense about people. Have to, when you're in the army as long as I was."

Shit. Lay on the guilt, why don't you?
The more he talked, the more he wanted to know about him, although he felt the guiltier with the trust Benjamin gave him. He needed to change the subject.

"How long?" Jake asked.

"Long enough to not know how to hardly function when I got out. Didn't know how to be a good man. Having Cody was the only thing that kept us together as long as we did and that ... in the end, even that wasn't enough... It's been awhile."

"Been awhile?"

"Since I've felt this comfortable around anyone. Long time."

"I feel honored," Jake said. And he did. Benjamin wasn't exactly a warm and fuzzy guy. He didn't open up much, nor did he express his feelings, but he always seemed deep in thought. He felt honored that Benjamin opened up to him a little bit at a time, even if he'd hardly gotten a glimpse of who he was. He wanted to know who he was, who he really was and what caused him to shut down so much. The man was mysterious and wrapped in a gorgeous tattooed and well-built case that Jake wanted to open up.

"Used to have my Army buddies, my best friend but, that all changed. Time changes everybody. Known that since I was a kid. Since my dad and all." Benjamin rested his right hand on the steering wheel, staring straight ahead as if he were staring into his memories.

"What do you mean?" Jake wanted to know.

Benjamin sighed. "You don't want to hear about that."

"Yeah, actually, I do." Jake insisted.

"The handful of them that made it back alive, they just aren’t same anymore. War is not like the movies. It stays with you. You can leave it, but it never leaves you."

"What about your best friend, isn't he … ?"

"Nope." Benjamin cut him off. It was clear, he didn't want to talk about it, but that only made Jake want to know more.

"He was more than just your friend, wasn't he?"

Benjamin chuckled. "He was my brother, he was my ... yeah.  We were close, real close. That’s who you remind me of to be honest. Fuck, a whole lot.”

“Yeah?” Jake was honored.

“Meant the world to me. He was a good dude."

"And what are you?" Jake asked. "Gay or bi or ...?"

"Labels. All labels. Love is love, brother.”

Brother?
There’s that word again, like a stab to the heart.

“You put almost any man in an isolated place with his best bud, and if nobody's going to ever find out, I'd be damned if the two wouldn't at least mess around once. We're sexual beings, Jake."

Jake nodded. "Yep."

"And you and Alberto?"

"I ..." Jake didn't know how to do it. "We never got the chance. I don't think he was really into me."

"How could he not be into you? You're fucking cute. You're sweet. You've got a heart of gold. He'd be lucky to have you."

Jake blushed. "Thanks, Benjamin."

Benjamin's hands slid up Jake's inner thighs and interlocked with his fingers. It was the first time they held hands, and nothing felt more right and more wrong.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve trusted anyone. A lot of shit went down, man. A lot of shit. I know I act like it doesn’t bother me not to have someone to hang with anymore, but ...”

He was lonely and Jake could relate. Here were two young men that needed a best friend. He felt closer to Benjamin than ever.

“I like hanging with you. It doesn’t feel forced. It feels natural. Been a long time since I’ve had a best friend. Interested?” the man asked with a smile making him the most vulnerable Jake had ever seen him. It touched his heart, made him want to cry happy tears to be honest, but Jake held it together.

“I’d be honored.”

Benjamin raised Jake’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “Always been kind of a fantasy of mine to have another dude, a best friend I could fuck around with.”

Shit.
Jake had to tell him. This was too much.  But he was afraid it would change everything.

It only made Jake feel guiltier. He couldn't live like this much longer and to keep such a secret from him. Benjamin trusted him and it was only a matter of time before he found out.

"Benjamin, there's something I need to tell you," Jake said as they pulled off onto the side of the road.

"Can it wait? There's something I want to show you," Benjamin said.

CHAPTER 19

The roar of the ocean was deafening, the mist even stronger as the wind picked up and swept between them. It was isolated and not a soul in sight which is why Benjamin wanted to go here.

"Used to love coming here all the time," Benjamin said, lugging a picnic basket with him. They'd picked it up at Costco on the way to the beach. Jake loved how he was spontaneous like that.

"With your best friend? What was his name?"

Benjamin exhaled as if he were letting out something that had been in him a long time. "His name was Cole. It was the one place we could both go and be totally ourselves. No one could see us. We were safe here. We could say what we wanted to say, do what we wanted to do ..."  He nibbled Jake on the side of the neck which would only turned Jake rock hard in two-seconds flat if he didn’t think about something else. Jake cracked a smile.