Chapter 18 #3
I stood behind him, positioning him in front of the full-length mirror that doubled as his closet door. He began threading his fingers through his hair, but I stretched around his torso to hand him the brush he had on the dresser. While he brushed his hair, I adjusted the tie.
“Good?” I asked.
“The tie? Yeah. My hair. It will have to do. It will mostly be covered by the mortarboard.”
I looked at him in the mirror from over his shoulder. The difference in our ages was apparent as those images looked back at us, but we were both smiling, sated and content in each other’s space. I knew without a doubt that it was where I wanted to be. Benji appeared comfortable there too.
I desired to stay pressed up against him and memorize not only his happy look, but the feel of mine as well. Then I remembered that Benji was on a time clock.
I squeezed his ass, ignoring how much I liked his skimpy black briefs. “Pants,” I said, turning to grab them and hand them to him.
His phone pinged then, and he hopped over to where it lay on the desk while simultaneously lifting one leg to slip on his pants.
“Dad’s here,” he said, and my eyes went wide.
He pulled up his pants, then spoke into his phone. “Down in two minutes.” He hit send and tucked the phone in his pocket.
He buttoned up before finding and tugging on socks, muttering, “Shoes are at the door.” Then he opened the dresser drawer and pulled out something that looked like a business card.
“Graduation ticket. There’s a towel in the bathroom for you. A clean one, and a toothbrush. I’ll see you later.”
He kissed me. I pulled back and straightened that tie one more time. “See you later.”
He turned away from me, thoughts of his father waiting out front looming between us. “And Benji?”
His look was more than questioning; it was hopeful, anticipatory.
“Congratulations, lo-love.”
He smiled brightly.
“Thank you, baby.” He kissed me again and ran from the room. “Lock the door on your way out,” he yelled. I could hear the smile in his voice as he said it.
His front door had just slammed behind him when my phone rang again.
I answered.
“It’s barely eight in the morning, Beck. On a Saturday! Is the building on fire?”
“It might as well be, Ani. When’s the last time you slept in your condo?”
“About three weeks ago, a few days before last month’s board meeting.”
“You were at Beantown Prime last night, right? That’s closer to here then it is to your place.”
“Beck? Are you at my condo? Did you need me for something, or are you just checking up on me?”
“Yes, I’m at the condo, and you’re not.”
“Obviously,” I muttered.
Beck ignored my comment. “Do you need an NDA? Because you usually let me or Ross know when you’re going to hook up, just in case. It’s been a long time since you’ve been with someone we haven't vetted, Ani.”
“It has been a long time, hasn’t it?” I realized as he said it.
In the past few years, I hadn’t even really had hookups in the sense that other gay men did—surfing the apps and meeting a random guy for a good time.
I made choices that were then vetted by Beck before they were executed on, just like every aspect of my life that wasn’t technology related.
That condo that Beck was standing in while I was sitting on Benji’s bed?
The four-bedroom penthouse with the killer view.
He’d picked it out for me and hired the designer and the cleaner that came through once a week to scrub my toilets.
He’d also helped me line up a trainer and a nutritionist, though I wasn’t home enough to routinely partake in the well-balanced meals Paula left for me every other week.
“I don’t need you to vet my entire life, Beck.”
“Oh God, Ani, what have you done?”
I swung my legs over the side of the bed. “It’s Saturday, Beck. I’m not coming to the office this morning.”
“Since when does it matter that it’s the weekend? I thought we could go over …”
“I can’t today. I have plans.”
“Plans?”
“Benji has invited me to his graduation.”
“Oh!” I could hear the surprise in Beck's voice. “So … did you have a nice visit with the dad last night at dinner?”
“Dinner?” I said distractedly, collecting my clothes. “Dinner was interesting. Ben is very protective of Benji. It was sweet.”
“Protective? Why did he need to be protective, Anson? Anson?”
“I’m going to get ready now, Beck. I’ll talk to you later. If you need something, text me.”
“Anson! Why does the dad need to be protective? And where the hell are you, exactly?”
“Goodbye, Beck.”
I placed my phone on the dresser, which made it much easier to get dressed.
I scurried to the bathroom with my jeans undone and washed up quickly, returning to the room and calling my driver.
Fully dressed, I sat on the edge of Benji’s bed, admiring the solid wood furniture throughout the small room.
I stood and reached for my phone, running my hand along the smooth surface of the desk. It was shined to a polish but showed all the beautiful markings of the natural wood underneath.
I snapped a picture of the desk and the headboard and sent them to Ross.
Anson: Found this amazing furniture. I think the wood might be aspen? Do you think you can find out where it comes from?
Ross: On it, boss.