45
Sam
Ben was very visibly upset, but Sam didn’t quite understand why. Sure they had planned to go out for Italian, but it didn’t mean everything was ruined. It was only six o’clock. They had all night left to have a good date. The location didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were together and enjoying each other’s company.
Steering Ben back out of the restaurant, he let his hand drop to his side and linked his fingers with Ben’s. “It’s okay, you know. The world isn’t going to end because we couldn’t do what we’d planned.”
Ben huffed and shook his head, but didn’t let go of Sam’s hand. “It isn’t that. I had everything planned. It was supposed to be the perfect first date, and it got ruined because of my stupid Jeep and the stupid mix-up.”
“It’s not ruined,” Sam said patiently. “Just altered. We can go somewhere else and have just as much fun, okay?”
Reluctantly, Ben nodded. When they reached the car, Sam opened the door for him and then walked around to his side. The Thai place wasn’t too far away. It would be easy to get there, and they would have dinner in no time.
He didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried that Ben hadn’t mentioned the fact that he’d accidentally said, ‘I love you’ as he hung up the phone. Sure, he’d come to the realization he loved Ben during the reunion, but that didn’t mean that he meant to say it so soon after they made up. He hoped that it hadn’t made things weird between them, but judging from Ben’s present state, he had more pressing matters on his mind.
“I mean it,” he said a bit more firmly. “We can have just as much fun without the restaurant. As long as I’m spending time with you, I don’t care if we’re eating pizza at your house.”
Ben looked wary.
“Look, do you think I’ve never had a date like that before? Most of the people I’ve dated aren’t rich. I told you, I only said that to get my parents off my back. I don’t give a shit how much money you earn. I want to be with you. No matter where that is.”
He pulled into the parking lot of Dara, the best Thai restaurant in town, and turned the engine off. Twisting in his seat, Sam looked at Ben, who refused to meet his gaze. He reached out and cupped Ben’s jaw, forcing him to look.
“All I want is to be in your company. I know you doubt that, and I’ve given you more than enough reasons to question whether I’m telling the truth, but I am. I like you. A lot.” He took a deep breath. It was all or nothing now. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you overheard me on the phone, but I love you. And this really wasn’t the way I wanted to say it, in the middle of a parking lot, but I do and I don’t want to lie to you again.”
Ben’s eyes were a bit too bright, and Sam knew he was fighting tears. He leaned in and brushed his lips against Ben’s cheek, and Ben wrapped his arms around him. There was a certain intimacy in that moment that nearly overwhelmed Sam. This was what he had been looking for for so long. This level of connection.
“You want to go in now?” he asked after a few seconds.
Nodding, Ben pulled away and smiled. “Sorry I got emotional. I just wanted everything to be perfect.”
“It will be,” Sam insisted. “And there’s no need to apologize. I mean it. You had a plan and it felt like everything got ruined.”
“Pretty much,” he said. “But Thai is fine. Dara has good massaman curry.”
Sam didn’t have the heart to tell him that he had a low tolerance for heat, and would likely order the pad thai. It was the safest option. For his taste buds. They opened their doors and Sam climbed out. He turned back to grab his wallet from his cup holder and then slammed the door behind him. He took a step and felt a tug at his left ankle, so he tugged back and immediately heard a loud rip. It took a minute to register what had happened. Looking down, Sam found his left pant leg in tatters from the calf down.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he said, his eyes slipping shut.
“What’s wrong? Are you co—oh.”
Ben had crossed around to his side of the car. Sam cracked an eye open to see his stricken expression.
“Hey, you remember when I said we would have just as much fun chilling at your place with a pizza?” he said, doing his best to keep his voice light. “How about we do that, but instead of pizza, we have Thai take-out?”
“I…” Ben was still staring at his pant leg.
“Listen, you’re the one who goes on about the universe. Well I think the universe might not want us in public tonight. Maybe the universe has a good reason.” He smirked. “I can think of a couple.”
Ben sighed in defeat. “Okay. I’ll go in and order to go and then we can wait until it’s ready.”
“Good man,” Sam said with a nod. He pulled Ben into another hug. “It’s going to be fine. Now go order. The sooner we get our food, the sooner we can get back to your place.”
And the sooner they got back to Ben’s place, the sooner the real fun could begin.