17
Ben
The first thing that registered in Ben’s mind when he woke was that he was in the biggest, most comfortable bed he had ever slept in. The second was that he wasn’t alone.
His mind scrambled, trying to catch up to the situation, and then he remembered—he was at Sam’s family reunion and they were supposed to be a couple. Sam was the one in bed with him.
Ben cracked an eye open, praying to any god that might exist that Sam was still asleep. He was. At some point during the night, he must have rolled onto Sam’s side of the bed and cuddled up against him. That would have been mortifying, if not for the fact that Sam had wrapped his arm around Ben’s waist and currently had his nose pressed into Ben’s neck.
That wasn’t the only thing pressing against him. As carefully as possible, he lifted up the blanket. What he saw only confirmed what he felt—Sam was hard.
That thought shouldn’t have made him feel tingly all over. After all, morning wood wasn’t uncommon. It had nothing to do with the fact that they were practically spooning in bed together, with very little separating them. But Ben wished it did. There were so many things that he wished he could do with Sam, but none of it meant anything, because he couldn’t.
When Sam began to stir, Ben closed his eyes again and lay still. He didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that he was awake, because doing so would just make things awkward. Sam would be embarrassed about his boner and try to make light of it, and Ben didn’t want to make Sam uncomfortable. It was better just to pretend to be asleep.
Sam rolled away from him and then seemed to realize what had happened. “Shit,” he whispered.
He climbed out of bed and Ben heard the bathroom door close, then the shower come on. But Sam had taken a shower the night before. He thought back to his own activities the night before and realized: Sam was taking care of his morning wood himself. Ben imagined himself walking into the bathroom and closing the door, approaching Sam and pressing up against his back. He’d take Sam’s cock in hand and slowly stroke, while whispering encouragement in his ear. Sam would push back against him, leaning his head on Ben’s shoulder and—the water shut off.
He swallowed and looked down at his crotch. Now he had a problem. “Fuck.”
Sam came back out into the bedroom and Ben closed his eyes again. He didn’t open them until he heard the bedroom door open and close, and the thud of bare feet on the staircase. Honestly, what was the point of having an elevator if it didn’t even get used?
Even after Sam was gone, Ben stayed in the bed for a few minutes longer, long enough to let his erection subside. Then he climbed out of bed and readied himself for the day.
When he walked into the kitchen almost fifteen minutes after Sam—having taken the elevator down—Ben was surprised to find it largely empty. Only Sam, Matías, and a couple of younger cousins sat around the large glass table in the breakfast nook, the cousins playing on their various electronic devices.
“Where is everyone?” he asked.
“Already up and eaten,” Sam said. “Breakfast is on the stove. Matías made it.”
Breakfast turned out to be a delicious-looking potato omelet. Ben piled his plate full and walked over to the table, taking a seat beside Sam. He took a bite of omelet and groaned, his eyes slipping closed. When he opened them again, he found Sam staring at him, and his cheeks grew hot.
“Why’s everyone up so early, then?” he asked, his mouth still full.
“It’s lake day,” Sam answered.
“Lake day?”
“It’s a tradition,” Matías provided. “Every Saturday of Labor Day weekend, the family goes out on the yacht. I hope you brought your swim suit.”
Ben had, but he hadn’t expected that a yacht would be involved. “Sam said something about boating, but I thought he meant like…canoeing.”
“Canoeing…not so much. Mostly we just spend the day on the water,” Matías said.
Though he wouldn’t say so out loud, Ben thought that sounded pretty boring. Aside from swimming and canoeing, what was there to do on a lake?
Sam must have read his mind, because he grinned. “I can’t wait to show you the jet skis.”
That didn’t even surprise him. With a vacation house this big, of course the family would have jet skis.
“I’m gonna go get changed,” Sam said. “I’ll meet you out there?”
Ben didn’t exactly like the thought of being left alone with Sam’s family, but he supposed he would just have to get used to it. After all, they were supposed to be together. It was only natural that they wouldn’t spend every second of every day together. As Sam got up and left, Ben felt Matías looking at him, and he glanced over to meet his gaze.
“Is there something wrong?” he asked.
Matías shook his head. “No. I don’t believe so. It is interesting, though. During the first year Ambra and I were dating, we couldn’t seem to keep our hands off one another.”
“Relationships are different for different couples.”
“All the same, aside from the kiss, I don’t think I’ve seen you two touch at all.”
Ben gritted his teeth. He wasn’t going to let Sam down. “It’s different when you’re gay,” he said, refusing to look away. “Not everyone is as open and accepting as Sam’s family. So perhaps we might appear more reserved to you, but I assure you when it’s just the two of us, well…it’s probably for the best that you don’t see us touching.”
With that, he pushed away from the table and stood, heading back up to the bedroom. Shit. They were really going to have to step up their game if they didn’t want the rest of the family seeing through the act. The reunion wasn’t over until Monday; plenty of time for Sam’s family to find out the truth.
The bedroom was thankfully empty when Ben entered. He pulled his suitcase onto his bed and rifled through, looking for the board shorts he’d packed. Only, there were no board shorts to be found.
No. No, this could not be happening. Ben flung handfuls of clothes out of the suitcase, searching in vain, but there were none to be found. After assuring Sam that he’d brought swim trunks, he was going to look like a complete idiot. Unless…
He raced down the stairs, nearly skidding on the slick tile of the front entrance. Matías was still in the kitchen, washing up the dishes that remained from breakfast. Ben walked up to him, his arms wrapped around himself.
“Hey. Um…funny story. I thought I had packed a pair of swim trunks. Like, I was sure I packed them. But I can’t find them anywhere, and I really don’t feel like going out to the lake naked. Not to mention I think I would scar some kids.” He laughed nervously. “Do you, maybe, happen to have a pair I can borrow?”
Matías dried his hands on a towel and smirked. Ben got the impression that he didn’t like him, but that was something he was just going to have to deal with. After all, it wasn’t as though he would have to see him again after the weekend. More than likely, Sam would concoct some story about how they had broken up, and that would be that.
“Sure, I have something you can wear. Come with me.” He was still smirking, and Ben wondered what he had up his sleeve.
He led Ben up to his and Ambra’s room. It was even bigger than the room he was sharing with Sam, and decorated in springy yellows. While Ben and Sam’s room had a fireplace, Matías and Ambra’s room had a huge balcony that overlooked the pool. Matías walked into the bathroom and returned with the smallest pair of swim trunks Ben had ever seen. They weren’t quite a speedo, but he could tell that when he put them on, he was going to look ridiculous.
“Don’t you uh…don’t you have anything else?” he asked.
Matías just shrugged. “Your choice. But if I were you, I wouldn’t want to waste a beautiful day on the lake with my boyfriend because I was too stupid to bring swim trunks. Besides, it’s not like he’d be seeing anything he hasn’t already.”
Ben swore silently. Matías had him there. He had no option but to wear the ridiculous looking swim shorts. If they could even be called that. But he wasn’t just take the jabs lying down. He grabbed the shorts and crossed his arms.
“I get the feeling you don’t like me very much,” he said.
“Your feeling is correct.”
Well. That was a more honest answer than he was expecting. “I haven’t done anything to you. Hell, I’ve not even spoken that much to you before now. What gives?”
Matías stared at him for a few seconds, his hand on his hip. “When I first started seeing Ambra, most of her family didn’t like me. Her parents only liked me because I made them look diverse. I’m the token minority. I get it. I’m the Spanish version of the guy from Get Out. But Sam didn’t see me that way. Sam was kind without any motive. He liked me from the start and treated me with respect, and I respect him in turn. I don’t want to see him hurt.”
Ben blinked. “And you think I’m going to hurt him?”
“You don’t touch him. You don’t show affection. If he hadn’t introduced you as his boyfriend, I would think you weren’t dating at all.”
“We are!” His heart beat loudly in his ears. Fuck, he was not about to spill his emotions in front of Sam’s brother-in-law. Except, what choice did he have? “Listen, you want to know the truth?”
Matías raised an eyebrow.
“The truth is, I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with Sam from the moment I met him, and that was almost a year ago. But my ex and I had just broken up, and I didn’t want to make a move, and I guess…I’m just still really nervous about the whole thing. I just don’t want to rush things in case they don’t work out. I don’t think I could handle that again.” He smiled, hoping to break the tension. “Besides, I don’t want to have to find a new coffee shop if things don’t work out.”
That seemed to do the trick, because Matías laughed. “We can’t have that. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, though. From what Sam says, he’s in pretty deep.”
Ben wondered what, exactly, Sam had been saying, and how much of it was actually true. His phone buzzed and he jumped. Pulling it out of his pocket, he swiped through the unlock screen.
“It’s Sam,” he said. “He wants to know when we’re getting our asses out to the boat.”
“Tell him we’ll be there soon. You have swim shorts to put on.”
He grimaced at the thought of parading around in such a revealing pair of shorts. “You really don’t have anything else I can borrow?” he asked, a pleading note in his voice.
“I actually do not.” Matías grinned. “I like tanning and I don’t like lines.”
That was one way to look at it. He held the bright blue shorts between his forefinger and thumb, inspecting them for a moment. Then he shrugged. If he was going to do this, he might as well get it over with.
“Right, then. I guess I’ll meet you down there,” he said.
One thing was for sure. Sam was definitely going to be surprised.