Rum & Ginger (22 page)

Brodie didn’t take the hint, diving enthusiastically on Ben’s shaft. “Brodie. Bro—” Ben tried to warn him. He bit his lip, trying to hold back a flood. Ben tried one last time to warn Brodie verbally that he could no longer hold out. His words came out in an incoherent jumble. He could feel Brodie’s mouth smiling around his cock, apparently amused by Ben’s disorientation. “I can’t—” Ben started but never finished, lost in the rolling tidal wave of his orgasm, his erection jumping with each release. Brodie never paused. He swallowed every ounce Ben offered, never breaking contact. Ben felt his eyes roll back in his head, completely lost in the hurricane of pleasure stampeding over his senses.

Ben lay on the bed, panting. Brodie’s cheek rested on Ben’s naked abdomen. “That was amazing,” Ben stated. “Thank you.”

“No.” Brodie’s words were languid. “Thank
you
. That was awesome.”

“You need to be taken care of now,” Ben observed. “It’s only fair.”

“What could we do?” Brodie asked. Instead of answering, Ben sat up and drew Brodie toward him until their lips met. Ben attacked Brodie’s mouth. His enthusiasm only served to feed Brodie’s. They pulled and grabbed at one another, trying to feel as much of each other as they could, trying to experience everything all at once. Ben’s hands scrabbled frantically into the back of Brodie’s tight pants. He gripped Brodie’s firm ass cheeks in each of his hands and squeezed. Brodie gasped into Ben’s mouth, literally stealing Ben’s breath.

“Damn,” Ben said with a sharp intake of breath. He stood and peeled Brodie’s pants off frantically. Ben dove on Brodie’s newly exposed erection. He couldn’t help but be impressed as he enveloped Brodie’s cock as far as he could manage. Ben growled when Brodie ran his fingers into Ben’s hair and gripped.
Too hot
, Ben thought, relishing the slightly painful pleasure. He could feel Brodie’s hips moving in an opposite rhythm to Ben’s strokes and tried desperately not to gag as Brodie’s impressive girth slid into his throat.

“Ben,” Brodie whispered.

Ben removed his mouth with a moist slurp. “Don’t talk. Just enjoy.” Ben massaged Brodie with the tip of his tongue before he engulfed Brodie’s cock once more. Brodie nodded and arched his back, thrusting into Ben’s mouth and gripping Ben’s skin, his hair, the sheets, anything he could get his hands on. Ben felt rare satisfaction at Brodie’s frantic grabbing, pleased that he could still elicit this kind of reaction from someone.

Brodie’s thrusts grew more frantic and he started making “buh” sounds that Ben assumed were the beginning of his name. He could feel Brodie’s orgasm building and increased his own strokes to match Brodie. Ben couldn’t wait for Brodie’s release, and he wasn’t disappointed. Brodie gasped and moaned as he climaxed. Ben greedily devoured every drop of Brodie’s seed, never breaking contact until he couldn’t coax anymore.

They both lay back, their chests heaving with exertion. Ben couldn’t stop smiling with the taste of Brodie still on his tongue and sweat drying on his skin. It raised goose bumps across his flesh. Ben felt like he should say something. He wanted to tell Brodie all manner of things that he hadn’t felt in a while. He closed his eyes and imagined what it would be like if he opened his bar and had a new apartment above it. He imagined Brodie living there with him, helping him run the place. He also thought of love. He wondered if what he was feeling for Brodie was love. Could it be already? Was it possible, so soon after Chance?

He didn’t want Brodie to be a rebound. Brodie was young and beautiful. He was fun and interesting. He was intelligent and honest. Ben couldn’t believe his luck that someone so wonderful had found him. But it made him nervous and doubtful. Maybe the feelings Ben was having weren’t real. Maybe it was just his desire to not be alone that produced these feelings. As his mind ran through the possibilities of what was happening between him and Brodie, he grew more anxious and unsure. The fact that Brodie was quite a bit younger didn’t help. Ben really wanted to love Brodie, wanted him there with him when he eventually opened his bar.

But he couldn’t tell him. He couldn’t just come out and tell Brodie that he wanted to love him, wanted to eventually live together. Ben pictured himself admitting his feelings and seeing Brodie’s apprehension. It wasn’t real, but Ben could imagine it perfectly, imagine Brodie running away from the confession. Ben wasn’t sure if he could handle that. His goose bumps had disappeared and the sweat returned with his anxiety. He suddenly couldn’t catch his breath, and just as he decided to jump up and run to the bathroom, but before he could act on it, Brodie interrupted his thoughts.

“Ready to go again?” Brodie asked, stretching over to kiss Ben’s neck. That simple sentence erased everything Ben had been pondering, and he could only hope he was game for keeping up with his young lover. Brodie rolled onto Ben, renewing their intimate contact, and all Ben’s apprehensions evaporated in the moment. The sun peeked over the rooftops of the buildings around the hotel before Ben and Brodie collapsed from exhaustion.

They woke too early the next morning and headed home to make it to Derek’s cookout. Traffic was lighter leaving the city, and they didn’t talk nearly as much as the drive down because they were both a little exhausted from the previous night. But the silence wasn’t in any way uncomfortable. The Impala ate up the road as they made their way home. “I had a great time last night,” Ben said about halfway through the trip.

“Awesome. I’m glad.” Brodie smiled as he drove and sipped at the big coffee Ben had bought him.

“That was pretty impressive for a first date,” Ben added. “Where are you going to go from here?”

“Oh, it’s all downhill from here. You’d better lower your expectations now,” Brodie replied.

Ben laughed. “Fair enough. I guess that means there are going to be more dates.”

“I hope so. What about this cookout?”

“What about it?” Ben asked.

“Is this a date?”

“Hmm.” Ben considered it. “I suppose it is. If you want.”

“Great. That’s two dates down. Third date is sex date.”

“Ha-ha. Is that how it works?” Ben reached over and took Brodie’s hand. “What do you call last night?”

Brodie squeezed Ben’s hand. “A warm-up.” Brodie pulled Ben’s hand up and gave it a quick peck. Ben’s phone vibrated again. The last half an hour, it had been vibrating almost nonstop. He looked at the screen.

“Man, somebody’s trying to get a hold of you,” Brodie said.

“Yeah. It’s Chance.” Ben pressed decline and returned his phone to the dash.

“You’re not going to answer it?” Brodie asked. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ve been kind of avoiding him.” Ben gazed out the window. “He’s not really handling the breakup well.”

“You really should talk to him,” Brodie advised. “This has got to be way tougher for him than it is for you.”

“You think?”

“Absolutely. You have Lena and Derek to talk to and help you through stuff. Who’s he got? He can’t talk to his parents, and all his friends think he’s straight. I guess except that dude he was cyber-cheating with. But that guy probably doesn’t want to hear about you or Chance being upset about you.”

“Wow. I never thought about it like that.” Ben frowned. “Crap. Now I feel like a dick.”

“You’re not a dick. You’ve just got a lot of people who love you. I think Chance probably needs a friend,” Brodie said. “I think maybe you should at least talk to him.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think you’re right, Brodie. I’m not just lucky to have Lena and Derek. I’m lucky to have you.”

“Come on.” Brodie waved a hand. “Stop. It’s startin’ to sound like an afterschool special up in here.” Brodie and Ben started to laugh but were interrupted once again by Ben’s phone. “Chance again?” Brodie asked.

“Yeah.” Ben pressed Answer and said, “Hello.”

“Hey, Ben, it’s Chance.”

“I know, Chance. Your name comes up on the screen.”

Chance sniffed a laugh. “Oh. Right.” The line was silent for a moment before Chance said, “You kept my number in your phone?”

“Um, yeah. What’s up?”

“I need some help.”

“From me?” Ben asked.

“Yeah. I’m sorry to bother you. I know I’m probably the last person you want to hear from.”

“No. Not at all. I was wondering how you’ve been doing, actually.”

“Eh,” Chance answered. “Not great, but I’ve been spending a lot of time working on the game, so I’ve been pretty distracted.”

“How’s Chuck?”

Chance grumbled. “Chuck and I are working on our game, but that’s it. I’m kind of just not ready for anything after what happened. I still feel pretty crappy about it.”

“You really shouldn’t, Chance. Stuff happens. People’s feelings change. I’m just as much at fault,” Ben said, trying to sound comforting. What followed was a silence much more awkward than any Ben and Brodie had experienced.

“Yeah. I guess.” Chance sighed but didn’t continue.

In an effort to alleviate the awkwardness, Ben changed the subject. “So what did you need help with?”

“Oh. Oh right. Um.” Chance was waffling. Ben knew Chance felt embarrassed about what he needed help with. He always got this way when he didn’t want to ask Ben something.

“Come on, Chance. What is it?”

Chance cleared his throat. “You know that new light in the bathroom?”

“Yeah. The one I installed last October?”

“Yeah. The lightbulb burned out, and I can’t get it open to change it.”

Of course
, Ben thought. Chance was a whiz with computers and the like, but when it came to more mundane electronics, he was completely clueless.

“I’ve been showering in the dark for a week. And I tried to open the thing, but I’m afraid I’ll break it. Do you think you can come by and show me how to get it open?”

Ben spared a look at Brodie before answering. “Hold on a sec, Chance.” Ben put his thumb over the mic. “Hey,” Ben said to Brodie. “Do you mind if we swing by Chance’s house on the way home?”

“What’s up?” Brodie asked, completely confused.

“I’ll explain in a minute. So can we?”

“I guess so.”

“Thanks,” Ben said to Brodie, then spoke into the phone, “Sure. We’ll swing by. We’re about an hour and a half out.”

“We?” Chance asked.

“I’m with Brodie.”

“The bartender?”

“Yeah. Is that a problem?”

“No,” Chance said unconvincingly.

“Okay. Well, we’ll see you in a bit.”

“Sure,” Chance replied. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Later.”

“Okay. See you,” Chance said, ending the call.

Brodie was stealing puzzled glances at Ben. “What was that all about?”

“You know how Chance is great with computers?” Ben asked. Then he explained the situation to Brodie, who nodded.

“That poor bastard,” Brodie said when Ben had finished. “So you’re going to change it for him?” Brodie asked, and Ben nodded in response. “You’re a good guy, Ben.”

W
HEN
THEY
finally pulled into Derek’s driveway, Ben was relieved to see that Derek’s family hadn’t shown up yet. He was looking forward to grabbing a nap before Derek’s kids arrived. Brodie leaned over as Ben exited the Impala. “I’m going to run home quick and grab a shower before the cookout. Maybe a nap.”

“Okay,” Ben said as he leaned in through the window and kissed Brodie. “I’ll see you in a bit. Thank you for last night, and thank you for helping me out with Chance.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Brodie dipped his head and looked at Ben through his eyelashes. “That’s what boyfriends do.”

“Is that what we are now?” Ben asked with a sly smile.

“If you want,” Brodie answered.

“Yeah. I definitely want.” Ben was pretty satisfied that his declaration made Brodie blush. Ben patted the door. “Get home and get back here,” he said. “I can’t wait to see you again.”

“We’re too cute,” Brodie said. “Back soon.” He waved and pulled out of the driveway. Ben walked around the back of the house to his apartment door and ran into Derek cleaning up the grill and changing out the propane tank.

“Hey, Derek.” Ben waved.

“What’s up, Benny? How was your date?” Derek paused with a wire brush in his hand.

“It was pretty great, but I’m freakin’ exhausted.”

“Grabbin’ a nap?” Derek asked.

“Yeah. I think so.”

“That’s cool. Jennie’s not bringing the kids by for a couple hours yet. My dad’s coming too. You forgot to call your parents, so I called your mom and invited them as well. Is that cool?”

“Oh.” Ben wondered about introducing his parents to his new boyfriend. He was excited and a little scared. “No. That’s awesome.”

“Do you think Brodie will want to invite his parents?”

“I don’t know. I’ll text him and ask him. Where’s all this coming from?”

“I just finally feel like I have a real family,” Derek explained. “I mean, I never really had friends. Not real ones. And between you and Lena and Brodie, I’ve never been happier, bro. I just kind of want to have our whole family together. Lena’s bringing her mom.”

“Gloria?” Ben blurted.

“Yeah.”

“Have you ever met Gloria?”

“No.”

“Oh wow. Gloria’s a character. This is going to be one wacky cookout.” Ben would have laughed if he weren’t so exhausted.

“Okay. So text Brodie and have him invite his parents. We’ll probably eat around six or seven, but they can get here anytime. My dad will be here around five. I don’t know about your parents.”

“If you told them seven, they’ll be here at six thirty. I’ll text Brodie. I’m going to warn you now, his parents are nerdy, hippie types.”

“That should make tonight even more interesting. Get some sleep, dude. You look like shit.”

“Nice.” Ben grimaced. “I’m going to grab a quick nap.”

“Wet dreams, buddy,” Derek said and laughed at his own joke. Ben couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he left Derek to prepare for the cookout. On his way into the basement, as he considered all their families coming together, something occurred to him.

“Hey, Derek,” he said as he turned. “Can I invite Chance?”

“Is that a good idea after everything?” Derek asked with a strange expression.