By the time Chase finally made it to Ben’s house, he was nearly beside himself with anticipation. Not knowing what they were going to do for their second date was driving him crazy.

There had been at least fifteen separate times during the day that he had nearly given in to the temptation to call Ben and beg for details—even just a hint—to satisfy his curiosity.

He somehow managed to stay strong and make it through with his dignity and curiosity fully intact, though. Now, as he walked up to Ben’s front door, he was kind of glad that he didn’t know what was coming up next. He kind of enjoyed the anticipation now that it was almost over.

Chase was already smiling when he rang the doorbell. It was likely that his cheeks would need a full week of rest to recover from all the non-stop grinning that automatically happened whenever he was within a hundred feet of Ben.

He couldn’t help it, though. He didn’t want to help it.

Ben made him feel like nobody else ever had, and Chase intended to savor every minute of that feeling while he still had the chance.

The door swung open, and Ben was there, his own smile mirroring Chase’s. “You’re right on time,” he said. “I’m shocked you’ve made it this long without making me give you a hint about what we’re doing.”

“You know me too well,” Chase laughed. “But I’m better at holding out these days, just so you know.”

“Oh?” Ben quirked an eyebrow. “We’ll see about that. Are you ready to go?”

“Absolutely,” Chase nodded. “Do you want me to drive?”

Ben stepped outside and gave Chase a quick kiss before closing the door behind him. “Sort of. When was the last time you rode a horse?”

Chase was so distracted by Ben’s soft lips and sweet kiss to register the question at first, but his eyes went wide when he realized what Ben had asked.

“A horse? Uh…” Chase shrugged. “I’m pretty sure the last time I rode a horse was here with you, when we were still in school.”

“This could get interesting, then.” Ben grabbed Chase’s hand and led him around toward the back of the house. “I’ve got two horses saddled out back, but you can just ride with me if you want. It won’t be a very good date if you’ve forgotten how to ride.”

Chase was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that they were apparently having their date here at Ben’s house—and on horseback. But now that Ben brought it up… could Chase still ride a horse?

Was it like that saying about riding a bike?

Chase honestly wasn’t sure he could even do that, after all these years.

And the thought of sitting behind Ben in the saddle and wrapping his arms around that tight little waistline while they rode out to…wherever they were going…made Chase’s cock stir in his jeans.

Then again, Ben had gone through the trouble of saddling both animals, so he obviously intended for Chase to ride by himself. So, if that was what Ben wanted, that was what Chase would do.

“I haven’t forgotten how to ride,” Chase said, feeling his stomach knot a little as they made it to the fence where Ben had the horses hitched. “I don’t think you really forget, anyway… right? It’s just been a while, that’s all.”

Ben dropped Chase’s hand and started to untie the horses from the fence post. He looked back over his shoulder and gave a half-shrug and a knowing smile. “Suit yourself. But I promise not to make fun of you if you decide you need to ride with me.” He paused, then added, ‘Okay, I don’t actually promise not to, but I’ll do my best.”

If Chase had any doubts before, that sealed the deal. There was no way he was riding with Ben now, no matter how badly he might want to. Ben had laid down a challenge, and Chase wasn’t about to back down.

“Nah, I’ve got this,” Chase said, taking the reins and patting his horse on the neck as he walked around to the saddle.

Damn. Had the horses been this tall the last time he and Ben rode? Had Chase somehow shrunk?

He only hesitated for a few moments, though, before putting a foot in the stirrup and swinging his other leg over the broad back of the horse, exhaling loudly as he landed more or less where he was supposed to be in the saddle.

Not bad after all those years without even looking at a horse.

“You made it,” Ben said, grinning from the back of the other horse as he pulled on the reins and started across the pasture at a slow trot. “Now see if you can keep up.”

Chase shook his head and held on tightly as he brought his own horse around to follow Ben, cursing his own competitive streak as he dug in his heels and was rewarded with a jolt of speed from his horse.

Once he had caught up with Ben, Chase pulled back on the reins and looked over at his date. Ben was grinning from ear to ear, clearly enjoying the sight of Chase on horseback. And Chase had to admit that he’d forgotten how much fun it was to handle a horse and ride out across an open expanse of land with the wind whipping around him.

It really was sort of like riding a bike. He just needed a few minutes to get his bearings, but he was feeling more and more confident with each step the animal took.

“You kind of have an unfair advantage,” Chase called over to Ben.

“Oh yeah? How’s that? I don’t get to ride nearly as much as I’d like these days, so it’s not like I’m gonna be jumping fences or anything.”

“Maybe not, but you still know where we’re going.” Chase gestured toward the open pasture in front of them. “Even if I wanted to get ahead of you, I couldn’t.”

“Hm,” Ben looked thoughtful for a moment, but Chase could see the corners of his mouth twitch. “I guess you’ll just have to stay back here with me, then.”

Chase laughed. He couldn’t argue with that. It felt so good, so right to be around Ben that it was almost like the previous eight years hadn’t really happened, like the whole time they were apart had been some kind of shitty dream.

And even though Chase did objectively have some good memories—and a few good friends—from his time in the Marines, looking back on that time of his life felt like watching a black and white movie that eventually gave way to color.

There was just no comparing how he felt now with what he was doing then. It was apples to oranges.

“We’re almost there,” Ben said, “See that cluster of trees across the pasture? That’s where we’re going.”

Armed with the knowledge of their destination, the competitive side of Chase considered letting his horse run the rest of the way, just to win some arbitrary race. But Ben didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry, and Chase was pretty happy to be next to him.

It also didn’t hurt that Chase could admire the way Ben looked on the back of a horse from his current vantage point, and that visual definitely outweighed “winning” anything else.

A few minutes later, they were leading their horses through the dense cluster of trees. It had been a long time since Chase had been over to this part of Ben’s property, and it had been considerably less overgrown when they were kids. Still, the path they followed through the trees was vaguely familiar.

“This place has changed, hasn’t it?” Chase said, more to himself than to Ben.

“It wasn’t quite this full and lush back in the day, but…” Ben paused when they came to a small clearing, then spread his arms wide. “I hope you like what I’ve done to the place.”

Chase had been focusing all of his attention on Ben as he spoke, so it took a few moments to realize what he was talking about. When Chase looked around, what he saw took his breath away.

Where everything else had been overgrown, this small clearing had definitely been taken care of. The grass was short and beautifully green, and the trees around the perimeter of the circular area looked like they had been recently pruned. Across from where Chase and Ben entered the clearing, a small creek bubbled and gurgled through, making the whole place feel like something straight out of a fairy tale.

“This is crazy,” Chase whispered, climbing down from his horse as Ben did the same. “It’s so pretty, Ben. It’s… magical.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Ben beamed, taking the reins of both horses and leading them to the water for a drink. “But there’s still one little surprise left.”

Once the horses were taken care of, Ben walked past one of the tall shade trees and picked up some sort of box. Chase squinted against the late afternoon sunlight and then burst out laughing.

“Is that… a picnic basket?” Chase took a step forward and spread his hands open in disbelief. “What in the world? I can’t believe you went t all this trouble, Ben. Seriously, this is kind of amazing.”

As he watched, Ben spread out a large blanket and placed the basket in the center, then started pulling out plates, glasses, and dishes of food. It was the most beautiful, most romantic thing Chase had ever seen.

“There’s some wine chilling over at the edge of the water,” Ben said, hurrying off past the horses to check. “Unless it’s floated away—no, here it is.” He held up the bottle triumphantly as he walked back toward Chase. “This would’ve made some farmer’s day if it had floated away.”

He kissed Chase sweetly on the lips and then took his hand, leading him to the blanket and the impressive spread. “I hope you’re hungry,” Ben said, smiling again as Chase nodded emphatically.

“I’m… I don’t even have words.” Chase took Ben into his arms, then held him tightly, taking the bottle of wine from him and setting it aside. “Thank you for this, Ben. It’s seriously the nicest, sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Good,” Ben said, punctuating the word with another kiss. “That’s what I was going for.”

They sat down and Ben pulled a corkscrew from the basket for the wine. Chase could only marvel at the way he had covered every little detail. He must have spent hours—probably all day, actually—preparing everything for this moment, and Chase definitely appreciated it.

He’d been down to do whatever Ben had in mind for this date, but he could have never even imagined it would be something this special and thoughtful.

Chase was impressed. He was beyond happy.

And, as usual, it was all because of Ben.

The evening sun was setting fast as they finished eating, and Chase stretched out on the blanket, stuffed with good food and happier than he had ever been.

“You know,” Chase said, propping his head up on an elbow as he looked across the blanket where Ben was taking a sip of wine. “It’s going to be really hard to top this date. I’m still in awe of everything you’ve done here.”

“It was fun,” Ben said, grinning. “It’s been nice out here with just the two of us. I’m glad you liked it, but I hope you’ve saved room for dessert.”

He moved toward the picnic basket, no doubt ready to pull out another delicious dish, but Chase crawled across the blanket to intercept him, taking hold of Ben’s wrist and pulling the man down next to him for a kiss.

“Yeah, there is something I want for dessert,” Chase said, his lips moving down along Ben’s jaw, punctuating each word with a kiss. “Something hot… and sweet… and really… really… tasty.”

Ben gasped when Chase got to that spot he loved at the base of Ben’s neck where the pulse fluttered and beat so quickly. Chase wanted to kiss every inch of Ben’s body, wanted to taste and touch and explore all of him there in the moonlight.

“That does sound good,” Ben said, breathless as Chase lifted his shirt and helped him take it off.

Now that he’d started touching Ben’s body, Chase was impatient for more. He wanted to feel Ben’s skin against his own, and he quickly raised up to remove his own shirt before lying back down and pulling Ben close again.

“You feel so good,” Chase whispered, nipping at Ben’s earlobe as he spoke. “Just being close to you makes me so fucking horny. Keeping my hands off you is… impossible.”

To emphasize his point, he reached down to cup Ben’s perfect ass with his hands, then decided that wasn’t enough. There was still too much fabric in the way, too many clothes between them.

“I wanna be naked with you,” Ben said, as if he was reading Chase’s mind. “I want to feel all of you against me.”

Chase didn’t even hesitate for a second. He stood and removed his jeans in record time before pulling Ben to his feet and immediately turning his attention to Ben’s belt buckle. A little bit of fumbling, some heavy breathing and a few seconds later, they were both standing naked in front of each other. Chase took Ben’s hand again and moved to lay back down, but Ben stopped him.

“Wait,” Ben said. “Not yet.” He dropped to his knees and looked up at Chase. “I want to taste you now. I’ve been wanting to do this for so long.”

Chase let out a low growl as Ben’s hand wrapped around his throbbing cock. Just the man’s touch sent shockwaves through Chase’s body, then a tingle straight up Chase’s spine when Ben’s tongue swirled over the head.

“Oh, fuck yes,” Chase moaned, slowly pressing his hips forward as Ben opened his mouth, letting the head and first few inches of the shaft slide past those full, soft lips.

It felt like heaven. Better than heaven.

Warm and wet and so fucking perfect because it was Ben, Chase stayed perfectly still for a few moments, happy to take in every new sensation as Ben’s tongue caressed his shaft.

Another moan escaped Chase’s lips when Ben reached up to massage his balls, and Chase looked down just in time to catch Ben’s gaze. The man was simply beautiful, looking up with those big brown eyes, lips stretched wide around Chase’s cock.

Chase stroked Ben’s cheek and then threaded his fingers through Ben’s hair. He didn’t pull or take charge, though. Chase was perfectly content to let Ben do whatever he wanted.

As long as Chase could watch, could memorize every gorgeous detail of Ben’s face, could commit every sensation to memory, there was nothing more he could ask for.

Ben moaned, the sound sending little vibrations all along the shaft of Chase’s cock. Chase looked down to see Ben stroking himself. It was a sight Chase could watch all night, and would have been enough all by itself to push Chase over the edge.

It was mesmerizing and so fucking sexy—and when it was combined with the way Ben was sucking his cock, the sight, the sounds, the feel of it all was enough to put Chase into sensory overload. His vision blurred and his whole world narrowed to focus on the beautiful man on his knees in front of him.

“You’ve got me so close, Ben,” Chase groaned. “I want you to come with me, though. Will you do that for me, babe?”

Ben nodded and made a noise that could have been an answer or another one of those hot little moans. Whichever, it was enough to tell Chase what he needed to know.

“That’s it, Ben,” he said, throwing out words of encouragement as the orgasm built inside of him. “Just like that… so close…”

Ben doubled down on his efforts, taking the whole length of Chase’s cock to the back of his throat, opening himself so the muscles there could massage the head of Chase’s cock. It was better than anything he’d ever felt before, and his hips jerked forward involuntarily, until the base of his cock and the closely trimmed pubes there were brushing against Ben’s nose.

Chase tightened his grip on Ben’s hair, and Ben backed off his cock for a moment, letting it fall from his mouth as he drew a ragged breath.

“Oh my God, Chase,” he panted. “I’m ready. I need you to come now. I wanna taste it. I wanna swallow it all for you.”

“Fuck yeah,” Chase growled. “Get your mouth on that cock and get ready to come with me.”

As soon as those soft lips wrapped around the shaft of Chase’s cock again, he could feel his climax rush through him, overtaking him and hitting the back of Ben’s throat.

Ben moaned loudly, still swallowing and sucking as his own hips bucked wildly while he jerked himself off. Chase could see and feel Ben’s whole body tense, and then he watched as those first pearly white jets spilled over Ben’s fist onto the blanket below.

Just like everything else about Ben, watching him come was breathtaking. For a moment, all Chase could do was stare, his mouth open and his own orgasm nearly forgotten in favor of Ben’s.

Finally, Chase took a step back, his cock falling from Ben’s mouth as he bent down and helped Ben to his feet. He took Ben into his arms and held him, planting kisses along his neck, his jaw, his cheek, until he finally met Ben’s lips again.

Chase playfully sucked at Ben’s bottom lip before letting his tongue flick across to explore Ben’s mouth. He could taste himself on Ben’s breath, but that only made the moment hotter.

“Fuck, Ben,” he whispered, pulling away to look into the man’s big, brown eyes. “You’re amazing. Everything about you is just… perfect.”

Ben smiled, then rested his head against Chase’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t say things like that,” he said, so quietly that Chase almost missed it. “I might start believing it.”

And even though every word Chase had said was one hundred percent true, he knew what Ben meant. They had a deal. A rule.

No emotions. No attachment. No real feelings beyond having a little fun as friends.

Chase wondered if it was even still possible for him to separate their friendship from… whatever this was. Because it was amazing, and it was perfect.

And for the first time in his life, Chase was really going to regret moving on. For the first time since leaving the Marines, he was beginning to wonder if picking up and starting over again was really the right decision.