“Is it wrong that I’m completely jealous of the way you’re stroking that cat’s ears and his ego?” I jerked my head over to the door and found Ben leaning against the frame wearing nothing but his briefs and watching me interact with the cat. “Breakfast is ready if you can pull yourself away from your furry friend.”
“Oliver was waking me up for breakfast,” I replied. “He’s considerate like that and probably hoping I’ll reward him with a piece of sausage.”
“Turkey sausage,” Ben corrected.
“Did you go out and buy groceries? How late is it?” I sat up and reached for my phone to check the time.
“It’s only 9:30 and the fridge is loaded with food so I didn’t have to go shopping. Gray left a note for you to help yourself.” Ben righted himself and stalked over to the bed. Yes, stalked; he looked like a powerful, sleek jungle cat on the trail of his favorite prey. I was his prey. Ben gently set Oliver aside and leaned over my body, capturing my mouth in a soft kiss. Ben pulled back just as I tried to take the kiss to the next level. He smirked as I chased after his mouth with mine. “I worked really hard on your breakfast. Let’s eat first and then you can kiss me as much as you want.”
I reluctantly got out of bed, threw on a pair of shorts, and followed him downstairs to the eat-in kitchen. The table was already set with turkey sausage, crepes, fresh fruit, and coffee. My stomach rumbled at the delicious spread laid out before me.
“Yum! This looks amazing, Ben. I can’t believe you went to all this trouble.”
“It was no big deal. We both need to eat so we might as well eat something nutritious and delicious.” Ben gestured for me to have a seat at the table. “Let’s dig in.”
I took a seat at the table and began to fill my plate. “This certainly looks delicious, but I’m not sold on the nutritious part.”
“Ah, that’s the trick,” Ben said confidently. “There’s always a way to make a healthier version of the food you love so much. I replaced the pork sausage with turkey, exchanged the typical fattening crepe filling with a honey-sweetened Greek yogurt, and you have a meal that tastes great without all the extra fat, carbs, and guilt.”
“Thank you, Ben.” I found his gesture to be sweet and completely endearing.
“You’re welcome.” He pointed to my plate with his fork. “Dig in.”
I wasted no more time and loaded up my plate up with the mouth-watering food. We ate in silence for a few minutes before I worked up the courage to ask him a question that had been weighing on my mind since the night of the stakeout. “What exactly is the deal with your parents? You’ve talked about your unhappy childhood and dealing with obesity then Bevan mentioned that your parents are the reason behind both of you avoiding relationships and commitments.”
Ben set his fork down, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms over his bare chest. I feared that I stepped into territory I had no business visiting. I had the feeling that Ben was the kind of guy who didn’t mind shouldering everyone else’s burdens, but wouldn’t ask the same in return. I was about to tell him to forget that I asked but he began to talk to me.
“My parents, Daniel and Beverly, came from very wealthy families. Their marriage was practically an arranged one and they’ve both been miserable since day one.” I had the feeling that Ben was glossing over a lot of it, but I was just grateful he was opening up to me. “I don’t know when their extra-marital affairs actually began, but I can tell you that I learned about them when I was seven years old.
“I caught my mother kissing one of my father’s associates at a dinner party at my house. Van and I were banned from coming downstairs when Dan and Bev had parties, but I wanted a book to read so I snuck down to the library, which was connected to my father’s home office. I heard some strange noises coming from my father’s office so I opened the door a crack and peaked inside. They probably had been doing a lot more than kissing, but I must’ve walked in toward the end so at least they were dressed.” It was obvious by the bitter expression on his face that this memory was particularly unpleasant and was still cause for his inner turmoil. I wanted to tell him to stop, but he continued talking.
“I had never seen my parents kiss, yet here was my mother wrapped in the arms of another man who was kissing her senseless. I was confused – I mean what kid wouldn’t be – and I ran and told my dad, who unfortunately was in the middle of talking to some guests.” Ben looked at me with a wry look on his face. “I’m sure you can imagine how well that went over, sort of like a lead balloon.
“Daniel was always quick on his feet though. He gave me a condescending pat on the head and told the people in his group that I had read so many books that it was hard for me to tell reality from fantasy.” Ben shook his head at the memory. “When I started to argue, he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and gave it a hard squeeze. I immediately shut up, of course, and went back to my room like he told me.” Ben sighed deeply, as if he needed the break to summon the energy to tell the rest of the story.
“After the party, my parents fought so loud it woke me up. I heard them screaming at one another then came the sounds of glass shattering. I was really scared, but I thought they might be hurt and needed help. I creeped out into the hallway and looked through the bars of the wrought iron balustrade that wrapped around the entire second floor of our home.” Ben just sat there staring into space as if he was reliving that moment.
“Ben, you don’t have to tell me anything else.” I reached across the table and covered his hand with mine. “I’m sorry I brought up such painful memories on such a beautiful morning. Please forgive me.”
Ben shook his head, bringing himself out of his memories. “It’s okay, Xavier.” He flipped his hand over and linked our fingers and continued the story. “Bev and Dan stood below me in the great room having the fight of the century. My father was calling my mother a whore for fucking around behind his back and my mother countered with all the affairs that my dad had over the years. I had no idea what affairs were, but I could tell they were bad by the tone of their voices. My father asked my mother if I was even his son and that was when shit got real. My mother charged at him with her fingers curled into claws. She scratched his face and hit him repeatedly.” Ben ran his hands through his hair in agitation. His unfocused eyes were seeing images from his past as he sat across from me.
“Dan tried to deflect Bev’s attack and repeatedly asked if I was his son. She told him yes each and every time, but he kept saying he didn’t believe her so she said that she’d prove it to him with a DNA test. My father then yelled that it didn’t matter what the test said, because there was no way that such an awkward, geeky kid could belong to him. My mother did nothing to defend me, because she was still too angry that her so-called honor was in doubt. The next thing I knew, Van wrapped me up tight in a hug then wiped away the tears I didn’t realize I had been crying. He took me by the shoulders and told me not to pay attention to the two assholes downstairs. He told me that they didn’t deserve a kid like me and I was better than both of them combined.” Ben blinked his eyes and focused back on me once again. I was so happy that he returned to me.
“Van is good people,” I told him after I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Jesus, I wish I had kept my mouth shut.”
“Nonsense.” Ben tugged on my hand until I leaned over the table and met him halfway for a brief kiss. “It’s all in the past. Yes, my parents were - and still are - a negative influence in my life, but I’ve moved beyond it. I refuse to be jaded by their misery for another second longer.”
“What are your plans for the day?” I wasn’t sure why I asked, except that I wasn’t ready for our time together to come to an end.
“Um, just a bit of laundry. Do you have something in mind?”
The doorbell rang before I could answer his question. “Be right back,” I tossed over my shoulder.
Bevan stood on the front porch looking drained and uncomfortable. “I tried calling your cellphone, but it went straight to voicemail. I stopped by your sister’s house and she told me I could find you here.”
“I forgot to plug my phone in last night and it must have died. I’m sorry you had to go to so much trouble. Come on in.” I stepped aside so he could enter. Dread settled in the pit of my stomach at Van’s stiff posture and serious expression on his face. It felt like he had bad news for me and I was instantly worried that something horrible had happened to Deacon.
“I see that Ben is also here and I’m not sure you want me to ...”
