7. Richard
SEVEN
RICHARD
I hadn’t expected things to go that far.
I hadn’t come to The Stable for weeks on purpose.
What I had done was look up when Ben swiped in at the gym to figure out his workout schedule…so I could avoid him.
But it didn’t matter. I just couldn’t stop thinking about him.
He’s in your head now, and you can’t do anything about it.
That’s what Holly said last week when I finally told her everything I knew about him, and what had happened between us. More importantly, I told her I hadn’t wanted to hook up with anyone since.
I didn’t need her to tell me what that meant.
Normally, I wouldn’t have noticed a pair of underwear was missing, but this particular jockstrap was Elliot’s favorite brand. And it wasn’t a brand I saw every day.
When I saw Ben was wearing it – confirming he had taken it – something snapped and I went with it. Thankfully, he did too.
“Thanks,” Ben said.
Instinctively, I held on to him as he redressed himself. The crowd dispersed; a few guys came up to us and said some very nice things, but my focus was on Ben. I really didn’t want him going back to work.
“Hey, if we were to get out of here right now, could you get your stuff?” I asked.
“Wh-what about the rest of my shift?”
“I can take care of that.”
“Oh. Okay…um, meet me by the front door, by security.”
I nodded, then made for the main bar to find Drake.
As I approached, his smile and head shake said it all. “You’re corrupting that sweet boy.”
“Hey”–I shrugged –“I didn’t force him to steal my jockstrap.”
“I suppose that’s why he received a public spanking.”
“Word travels fast I see.”
“It’s all anyone’s talking about.” Drake put down the cocktail shaker. “I assume he’s okay.”
“That’s what I came to talk to you about.” I saw Drake’s eyebrows lift, the concern on his face was evident. “He’s okay, I think, but a little overstimulated.”
“Understandable.”
I wanted to explain having random guys cum all over him while I fucked his mouth wasn’t something I planned, but I thought better of it.
“I was hoping I could convince you to let me take him home early.” I slid three hundreds across the bar. “I know that puts you short, so you can consider this a bribe or a huge tip, or give it to the bar or whatever. You’re doing both me and Ben a favor.”
“You’ll take care of him?” Drake asked, ignoring the money.
“Yeah, of course.”
“And I don’t mean take care of him in the you’ll fuck him senseless kind of way, but that you’ll clean him up, get him something to eat, and help him relax and unwind.”
“That’s exactly what I had in mind. I was gonna grab a pizza and then go back to his place or mine for a movie or something.”
“By something, you better mean couch cuddles.”
“I can do that.”
Why was I agreeing to all this so readily?
Holly’s words came back to me. He’s in your head now, and you can’t do anything about it.
A part of me also wanted to prove to Drake – who obviously saw Ben as more than a colleague – that I wasn’t taking advantage of him. I wasn’t just using him for sex.
Isn’t that what you’re doing?
After a few seconds, Drake smiled. “Sounds good.” He took the money. “I’ll make sure the cleanup crew gets some of this. From what I’ve heard, that stall got soaked.”
“Thanks.”
I returned Drake's smile and made for the exit. At this point, all I had used Ben for was sex, but he seemed fine with that. After all, we said that’s all it was.
We also said it was just one night, and here we were.
“You ready?”
Ben flinched. “Oh”–he touched his chest–“you scared me a little.”
“Sorry.” My right hand went straight to his waist. “Let’s get you out of here.” My protectiveness was on overdrive as we exited the bar. A glance at my phone told me our Uber was a minute away. We took a right, putting a little distance between the main entrance and the line that had formed to get inside. It was a little quieter over here.
“It’s getting chilly,” Ben said.
He didn’t have a jacket.
Fuck .
I should’ve been more prepared for this.
It’s not like you knew you were going to publicly spank him .
“Here.” I quickly unbuttoned my shirt and put it around him.
“Won’t you be cold?” he asked.
“My hair’s a natural insulator.”
“Mmm.” He slipped his arms into those of the shirt and squeezed against me, nuzzling his face into my chest. “I’m so tired all of a sudden.”
I needed to get him home.
The Uber pulled up. Finally.
“It’s a fucking Mercedes,” Ben said. “Uber Black?”
I nodded, opening the door for him.
“I could get used to this.”
As the driver pulled away from the curb, Ben leaned harder into my body. I could tell he was close to falling asleep.
“What’s your favorite pizza topping?” I asked, hoping for an answer so I could have it delivered for him.
His fingers traveled up my thigh, grazing my now-hardening dick, and squeezed.
“Sausage.” He giggled, absent-mindedly, before going silent.
His soft breath against my neck felt oddly comforting.
Thankfully, the doorman said nothing as I carried Ben’s sleeping form into the lobby of my building. I was able to swipe my access card and hit the elevator button myself. Getting into my penthouse was a little trickier, but I managed.
I headed straight for my room, gently placing Ben on the bed, and took a moment to think of what to do next.
He was obviously tired but I wanted him to eat – something more nutritious than semen anyway. Who knew when his last meal was? He’d probably like a shower too, and a change of clothes or a bath.
A bath.
That sounded good.
I headed into the bathroom, plugged the drain, turned the water on, and rummaged through the closet until I found what I was looking for – the bath bombs Holly got me for my birthday. I had never used them, but maybe Ben would like them.
After leaving the four-pack on the tiled shelf at the end of the tub, I found the lighter next and started on the candles. These I used quite frequently as I found their effect soothing, especially after a strenuous workout or a busy day at the office.
“Richard?”
I practically threw the lighter onto the vanity and sprinted back to the bedroom.
“I’m here.”
“I’m sorry I fell asleep. Shit, what time is it?”
A glance down told me. “About nine-thirty.”
Ben yawned, stretching his arms above his head. I couldn’t help but look at his stomach when his shirt crept up.
“I can’t believe you got me out of work early. You’re a bad influence, you know that?”
Yeah, in the last couple hours that was the thing that made me a bad influence. Not stuffing his mouth full of cock at his workplace, or the public spanking, or having strangers blow their loads all over him. Just skipping the rest of his shift.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Absolutely junked, but in the best way.”
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” I said.
“I don’t have any other clothes.”
“That’s fine. I can wash these and find you some of mine in the meantime.”
“Okay.” Ben stood up and in three seconds was completely naked. As he bent over to pick his shorts and my jock off the ground, I could see his ass was still pink.
“Does it hurt?”
Ben glanced at me over his shoulder and shrugged. “It’s like a good slow burn at this point.”
I took his dirty clothes, resisting the urge to smell them, and asked, “You wanna keep the jock?”
Ben laughed. “After all that, you’re just gonna let me keep it?”
“I think you learned your lesson.”
Ben shook his head. “Not at all. If that’s what I get for stealing a jock, then I’m going for your watch next, or maybe your phone.”
I ignored the joke. “Water should be nice and warm.” I motioned with my head to the bathroom. “I’m going to start the wash.”
“You did all this for me?”
Ben wasn’t in the tub yet. He had his arms circled around his torso, one foot on top of the other, standing in the middle of the room. He looked like a Greek sculpture.
“I wanted you to relax and get you clean. You’ve still got dried cum all over you.”
Ben’s face turned red.
“I hope I didn’t take it too fa–”
“No! It was amazing,” Ben said, interrupting me. “Don’t get me wrong, it was intense, but so hot. I came just from the friction.”
“And the spanking?”
“Added to it.”
“And the guys watching?”
“Not as much of an issue as you’d think. Kind of made me feel like a porn star.”
He took a step towards the water, which was dangerously close to overflowing. I wasn’t worried. Since it was a jetted tub, it had large drains along the surrounding floor.
“Will you be joining me?” Ben asked.
“If you want me to.”
“I want you to.”
Ben’s eyes were all over my body as I removed the rest of my clothing. I wasn’t trying to be seductive, but the way Ben was watching me made it feel that way.
“Can you get in first?”
“Sure.” I walked over, slid easily into the tub, and turned the water off with my foot.
“I…I was hoping I could sit in front of you and lean back on your chest,” Ben said.
I could hear the hopefulness in his voice, and I wasn’t going to do anything to extinguish that.
“Of course.”
The little smile that snuck onto his face shouldn’t have had such an effect on me, but it did. I was relieved that he seemed okay, and to be honest, the bath was a good idea for both of us.
He touched the water with his fingers. “Ooh, that’s hot.”
“Pick a bath bomb,” I said, holding out the basket from Holly.
“Really? I didn’t peg you as a bath bomb kinda guy.”
“I’m not. See the unused supply of bath bombs.”
Ben chuckled. “I’ll go with this one.”
“Bergamot?”
He shrugged. “It’s pretty.”
I assumed he had no idea it smelled like Fruity Pebbles, but I hoped he liked it. Ever so gently, he slipped it under the surface of the water and joined me, giving me an eyeful of his perfect ass.
“Shit!”
The water had crested over the side of the tub.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It’s fine. That’s what the drains are for. Try to relax.”
Ben took a deep breath and sank against my body as the water poured over the edge. I wrapped one arm around his chest.
“This okay?” I asked.
“Feels great.”
After a few seconds, the water leveled out and the room grew silent. With such a beautiful man nestled against my naked form, it was only natural to have the reaction I did. It did not go unnoticed.
“God, I love how thick your cock is. Shit. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why not?”
After a slight pause, Ben said, “Because you’ll think I’m, like, just interested in your–”
“Cock?” I could feel Ben’s laughter against my body. I added, “There’s nothing wrong with that.” This was just about sex after all. “Frankly, after what we just did, you can say anything you want.”
“Why does it smell like Fruity Pebbles in here?”
I smiled. “That’s what bergamot smells like.”
“Oh…I didn’t know that.”
Watching Ben absent-mindedly swirl the bath bomb foam with his fingertips kept the smile on my face.
Until my phone went off.
Shit.
I apologized.
“It’s okay.”
“Hello? Uh yeah, thanks, Reggie. Send him up.” I hung up and explained. “Pizza’s on its way.”
“Oh, that sounds so good. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I think we both know I did.” I gently leaned forward and Ben matched the motion, allowing me to push myself out from behind him. Snagging the bathrobe hanging on the door on the way out, I headed to my dresser first to pick out some clothes for Ben, then headed to meet the delivery guy.