Ben smiled at him again—and if one smile was rare, two was practically unheard of—and headed to the counter.
He’d obviously mellowed out a little in the last few years.
Sam let the smell of coffee and the background of coffee shop chatter soothe him while he watched Ben order. He’d taken to wearing fitted pants that showed off his butt really nicely.
Not that Sam was looking at his butt.
It had just always been one of his best features, so it was hard to miss.
He wondered if the wardrobe change had been Eliot’s doing. Though Sam had only seen him for a handful of seconds, it had been impossible to miss that he was well-dressed.
Not that Ben had ever been scruffy, but his sense of style had been limited to being neat enough for work. When he wasn’t working, he went for comfort. Now, his outfit seemed a little more deliberate.
It suited him, the understated elegance of black pants and a white button-down shirt, both of which fitted him properly. It wasn’t a bad change at all.
Sam managed a smile as Ben came back over carrying two coffees. He didn’t feel like smiling, exactly, but Ben’s presence was helping.
“I need this,” Sam said as he accepted the coffee he was offered. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. And now I have no idea where to start,” Ben said.
“You look so happy,” Sam blurted out. It was true. It was all he could think about at the moment. He could see the stress of whatever deadline Ben was working under weighing on him, but generally, he seemed like a happier man. More settled, more comfortable in his own skin.
It was beautiful to see. Ben had grown up and blossomed into the confident man he’d always been destined to be. Sam regretted more than ever that he’d missed that. That he hadn’t waited around to see it happen.
That he hadn’t helped it happen. At least, not by being here.
He did realize that maybe this meant he’d been holding Ben back. Maybe leaving had been the kindest thing he could have done for him.
Which meant he didn’t belong back here now.
“Uh. Thank you, I think,” Ben said. “Wow. That’s so weird to hear. Eliot keeps telling me it wouldn’t kill me to smile sometimes.”
Sam’s stomach turned at the mention of Eliot. He didn’t wish any harm to the other man, but he was, well… he was the other man. He’d taken Sam’s place in Ben’s life. A little jealousy didn’t seem unreasonable.
“He hasn’t known you as long as I have,” Sam said. It was petty, but it did make him feel a little better. For a half second.
Until Ben smiled fondly, obviously thinking of Eliot again. “No, he hasn’t. But he’s a very fast learner.”
“You wouldn’t waste any time on him if he wasn’t,” Sam said.
Whatever else Eliot might be, he’d be smart. Ben couldn’t tolerate people who weren’t, not for long.
Sam appreciated that Ben’s distaste for stupid people meant that he was probably an acceptable level of not stupid. Or that he was an exception to the rule.
“I think he knows that. He’s come a long way since I first met him. But I’d rather hear about your adventures, if you’re in the mood to share,” Ben said.
That felt good. Sam really, really liked the idea that Ben wanted to hear from him.
“NowIdon’t know where to start,” Sam said, laughing. So much had happened over the last ten years.
“I saw that aerial photo of Paris you did recently,” Ben said. “Well, I say recently. It was probably more like…”
“Six months ago,” Sam finished for him. “Yeah, that was a cool shoot. I’d never been in a helicopter at night before. I’m not… totally sure my pilot had been, either. I turned around once and we were so close to a skyscraper I thought I could probably reach out and touch it.”
“I bet you loved that,” Ben said.
“I did, yeah.” Sam paused to sip his coffee. “Everyone else I tell that story to says it must have been scary.”
