31. Matt’s Makeover
When Ben arrivedat the line of clothing stores on Main Street, he scanned them, glancing into the store windows to see which would best fit what he was looking to purchase. Too fancy. Too casual. Too young. Too—oh, perfect!
Ben’s eyes caught on a store featuring a group of mannequins donning nice-looking jeans and slacks with stylish but casual button-down shirts. He walked over to the storefront and pulled the door open, stepping inside and looking around. As he gazed at the variety of options before him, he began pulling the items he liked best from their respective locations, creating a try-on pile. Ordinarily, Ben wasn’t one to try on clothes, but this was a special occasion.
Satisfied with what he held, he walked toward the fitting room in the rear of the store, where he was surprised by the sound of his name.
“Ben! Nice to see you again—under potentially less awkward circumstances,” Matt’s voice bellowed confidently from behind, reminding Ben that the last time they’d seen each other was when he showed up to Charmed to Table with Jen. “What brings you here? I’m escaping my wife and Gia’s little makeover session, which, for some reason, is occurring at my house.”
It took Ben a moment to process an answer, especially after the mention of Gia. “Uh, clothes?” he said. “An outfit. Nothing I have is—date appropriate.” Ben realized that attempting to hide the fact that he was shopping for clothes for his date with Gia would be a lost cause.
Matt gave Ben a knowing grin. “Ahh, the irony. Need some help making a choice?” he asked. “I’m known for my exquisite sense of manly style, you know. Might as well do a makeover, too.”
Ben shrugged, uncertain, but nodded in agreement, realizing he could use the help. “Okay, you know what? Sure. This isn’t exactly my area of expertise. I’ve been traipsing around the jungle for years. My apparel wasn’t exactly high on the list of things people cared about in my line of work.”
Despite Ben’s foray into the business side of the tourism and travel industry, most of his clothes had been selected for him when he set foot out of the forest. Even so, Ben knew full well he could have shown up to any of his business meetings in full jungle trekking gear—or even dressed as a tribal shaman—and it would have only added to the allure of his eco-resort concept.
“Alright, first off… No. Put that shit back, bro,” Matt said, assessing the clothes pile in Ben’s hands before placing them on the rack for unwanted items in the entry to the fitting room.
“But I liked those.”
“No. You didn’t. Trust me. You really, really didn’t.” Matt rolled his eyes and clucked his tongue against his teeth, shaking his head. “Ahh, young grasshopper… it’s time you learned the ways of the modern man’s wardrobe!”
“I don’t think Gia?—”
“Shhh,” Matt interrupted, placing a finger against his lips. He glanced at Ben, assessing his size by eye, then looked down at the pile of clothes he had selected for himself to try on. He tossed a pair of dark wash, bootcut jeans at Ben, followed by a tight-fitting, dark gray, ribbed sweater. “We are probably around the same size. Try these.”
Ben stared at the clothes he was now holding. He couldn’t hide the wince that formed across his features. The pants weren’t bad, but the shirt was definitely not his style. “Matt, I appreciate it, but this isn’t really my?—”
“Put… on… the… clothes. Then, if you don’t like how they look, I promise you can kick me out of this fitting room and carry on with your last-era shopping spree. I’ll leave you alone with your… taste.” Matt placed a hand on Ben’s back and gave him a gentle shove into the fitting room stall before plopping down on the sofa, waiting for him to emerge again.
Ben sighed, resigned to his fate. At least if he hated the clothes once they were on, Matt would drop the subject and disappear. Ben hoped, anyway. He pulled off his clothing and stepped into the dark jeans. Not bad, he thought. Well, at least I can tell Matt I’m on board with the pants. Then, he pulled the sweater over his head, tugging it down over his torso once his arms were entirely in the shirt. It was tighter than most of the clothes he was used to wearing, but when he looked in the mirror, he was pleasantly surprised that he didn’t hate it.
He was even willing to admit it looked good. Ben had poured a great deal of physical labor in while working in the jungle, and it showed. He wasn’t used to wearing clothing that highlighted his ‘assets,’ particularly his well-formed chest muscles and broad shoulders. The top Matt selected did it well. He looked like he spent way more time lifting weights at the gym than he actually did.
“What do you think?” Matt’s voice interrupted Ben’s assessment of the clothes now that they were on his body.
“I… I admit that this was a good choice—and that I probably have no idea what I’m talking about when it comes to men’s apparel. Fashion was never really my thing.”
“Score! Let me see how they look.”
Ben opened the door to the fitting room, revealing the outfit he’d selected. “Damn! You’re ripped! You’d never even have known it. You need to show that off, man!”
“Grab some other stuff for me?” Ben asked, chuckling. “Might as well see what else you come up with!”
“Hell yeah!” Matt said. Rather than returning to the front of the store, Matt handed Ben the rest of the clothes he had originally brought back to try on himself. “Here. See how far this takes you! Feeling wealthy?” Ben closed the fitting room door, ignoring the question to avoid discussing his true financial circumstances.
Sharing that information with Matt and having it get back to Gia wasn’t something he was prepared to do. He wanted to win her back for love or to have a relationship with Aiden, but not for money. Not that he felt Gia was that type of shallow, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He had to know for sure.
Ben tried on each article of clothing Matt had hand-selected and decided to purchase all except a few items that were a little too snug. “Uh, I took almost your whole pile,” Ben said.
“Oh, no worries, man. I wasn’t going to buy anything anyway. I just needed to get away from the girl talk. This unexpected meeting worked out well for me. If I came home with all, or any, of those clothes, Carla would have made me crash on the couch tonight!” Matt rolled his eyes. “Apparently, we’re on a budget—but really, only me.”
“Hey, speaking of girl talk… Has Gia, you know, said anything about me? About us?”
“Nope,” Matt said, pinching his fingers together as if holding a zipper and sliding them across his mouth in the my-lips-are-sealed motion. “That would violate the husband/wife privacy act—which extends to the wife’s best friends and next-door neighbors.”
Ben let out a chuckle. “I understand. I won’t pry. I”m just going to have to let this thing play out, I guess. Life is weird, you know? We don’t always make the best decisions, or maybe things are just meant to work out how they work out. Everything happens for a reason and all that. I don’t know,” Ben said, lost in thought momentarily.
“I feel you, bro, but snap out of it. You’ve got a date tomorrow morning. Go home, pick an outfit, have a drink, get plenty of sleep, and crush it tomorrow! You got this!”
“You sound like a coach. It’s a date, not a homecoming game.”
Matt shrugged. “Old habits. I was always a jock, remember?”
“I do. The more things change, the more they stay the same!”
“Indeed, they do. Now, let’s get outta here.” Matt carried half the clothes Ben planned to purchase while Ben took the remainder to the cashier. “Can’t wait to hear the damage,” Matt said as the cashier started scanning the purchases, the number on the touchscreen in front of them rapidly rising into the multi-hundreds.
“Dude, is this okay?” Matt asked, looking concerned as the total increased.
“No problem,” Ben indicated. “It’s been a long time since I’ve gone shopping. I’m overdue. This is over a decade”s worth of shopping expenditure here—just happen to be doing it all at once.” Matt seemed to think it was an acceptable excuse. After all, the man had been living in the sticks for years and years—he deserved some fresh new clothes. Who was he to judge?
“You got cologne?” Matt asked.
“That’s the one thing I do have. I’m good.”
Throughout his travels, Ben made it a habit to stick to the same cologne he had used since high school. He guessed a woman would call it their ‘signature scent,’ but to him, the smell anchored him to the past. La Vie was the cologne Ben had worn throughout his time with Gia—and before and after—and he saw no reason to change it up now. He was hoping it would be something she fondly remembered.
“Alright then, seems like you don’t need me anymore,” Matt said. “I guess it’s time for me to go home and see what those crazy broads are up to. Here, put my number in your phone. If things work out with you and Gia, maybe we can all hang out sometime.” Matt handed Ben a piece of paper with his number jotted, turned, gave a quick wave, and left the store.
Ben smiled. He didn’t have many friends in the United States at that point, and he couldn’t deny the idea of having another guy to pass the time with regularly was a pleasant one. Ben didn’t want to jinx anything, but he couldn’t help feeling like maybe things were lining up positively for him. Maybe everything does happen for a reason, he thought as he handed his credit card to the cashier, signed the receipt, and then walked back to his car.
When he reached it, he saw her—Jen. She leaned against his car, scrolling through her phone, engrossed in what she was reading, as if she’d been waiting for him for a long time.
“Jen, you can’t keep showing up like this. You can’t keep texting me. I’ve told you that I’m not interested.” Jen looked up from her phone, surprised to see Ben standing there.
“Oh, Benji. I didn’t see you there. Why don’t we go for a cruise in your sweet ride? Maybe I’ll let you teach me how to drive stick shift,” Jen purred, tracing her finger down Ben’s arm as he tried to gain access to his car.
“Jen. No. Please just stop. This is the last time I’m going to ask nicely. Don’t show up at the restaurant, the café, or anywhere else you may think I’ll be—or somehow know I’ll be. This ends now. Don’t make me take the next step.”
“Oh, poo, Benji. You’re no fun, are you?” Jen moved her lips into an overexaggerated pout. “I’m just looking for a good time. I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll leave you alone if you give me a little something—you know, for my troubles.”
“Are you trying to bribe me?” Ben stared at Jen, shocked at her nerve.
“Consider it a parting gift.”
“Not gonna happen. Now move away from my vehicle—or I go get the fine, upstanding police officer I happen to know is standing at the corner of West End and Main Street, and we can explain this little situation.”
Jen scoffed, but took a step away from the car, accepting defeat. Ben climbed into his vehicle, turned the engine, and drove off. I really hope that’s the last I see of her.