“What are you doing here?”

Matthew Edwards stared at Bentley like he’d lost his mind. “I live here, Bentley. What are you doing here?”

Bentley rubbed at his chin as he looked down at his watch. “Well, I know Kit is here. I just thought you’d be at the shop or something.”

“Nope.” Matthew folded his arms over his chest. “I’m here. I closed the shop yesterday and today for the holiday weekend.”

Bentley thought about the fist-full of condoms he’d tossed into the backpack he was wearing and held back a sigh. So much for that.

“Did you think I’d be away and you could come in my home and defile my son in private?” Matthew asked.

Bentley’s honest reply slipped out before he could stop himself. “I was actually hoping your son would defile me…”

Matthew stared at him a while longer, and before Bentley could stop it, the door slammed in his face. He winced a little before shaking his head.

He tried again.

Ding-Dong.

“Mr. Edwards? Pops?” He banged on the door a few times to no avail. Exhaling, Bentley pulled out his cell phone and dialed Kit’s number. He looked around the neighborhood as he pressed the phone to his face.

Kit sounded excited as he answered. “Benny?”

“Hey,” Bentley said. “I’m at the door.”

Kit hesitated for a moment. “I heard the bell… isn’t my dad down there? I assumed he’d let you in…”

“You assumed wrong. Come down, please.”

“On my way.”

Bentley blew kisses into the call before pocketing his phone. He stared at the front door and clutched at the straps of his book bag. Not too long after, Kit could be heard saying something to Matthew as he pulled the door open. Bentley smiled at him.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Come in,” Kit said, taking Bentley by the hand. Kit was wearing an all-black ensemble – a long-sleeve shirt and a thin pair of lounge pants. He kissed Bentley’s cheek before turning to his father.

“Why didn’t you open the door?”

“I did. Didn’t I, Bentley?”

Bentley stuck his tongue out at Matthew.

“I’ll yank it out, kid.”

Kit only shook his head at the both of them. “Let’s go upstairs. I’ve got something to show you.”

“The door stays open.”

“Dad.” Kit deadpanned at his father. “Stop that.”

They turned to leave. Bentley started whistling Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get it On as he followed Kit up the stairs. Matthew threw a roll of paper towels at him but Bentley quickly got out of the way with a laugh.

??

The door was closed and locked by Kit despite Matthew’s wishes. Bentley tossed his backpack onto Kit’s desk chair as he looked around the room.

"What are you working on?" 

"Mikey's Christmas present. Don't tell him. It's a surprise." 

Bentley smiled at the Iron Man pajamas his boyfriend was working on. "You're too much."

Kit stepped out of his house shoes and went over to his phone on the charger. "And you're gorgeous."

Bentley blushed as he smiled. “So, your dad closed the door in my face because I told him I thought he’d be at work. Maybe implied that I came here with naughty intentions…”

Kit shook his head. “I’m not even a little shocked by that.”

“It kind of slipped.”

“We're not doing anything until he's asleep. But you know that. Oh!” Kit started to smile, even jumping up and down a bit. “I got you something! Sit down.”

Bentley arched an eyebrow as he watched his boyfriend skip over to the closet. “What are you up to?”

“Just sit down.” Kit reached into his closet’s top shelf and pulled out a box. He was still grinning as he turned around, prancing over to Bentley who’d finally decided to take a seat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t want to go into a huge speech because I really want you to open this, but what I will say is seeing you take the leap into BMX was so inspirational to me, and that I think you’re making your father proud every single day. I know how much he meant to you, and I think you should represent him a little bit on Sunday. So,” Kit trailed off, finally handing the box over to a suspicious Bentley. “I dug and dug until I could find this. I hope you like it.”

Bentley accepted the box, but not before giving his boyfriend another suspicious look. He shook it initially, noting that it was light and didn’t make much noise. Kit knew he wasn’t much of a surprise guy, but he was fine with it because Kit’s speech did make him a little emotional.

He pulled the top off the box and found a tie-dye shirt that immediately jogged a memory. Just the pattern of purples, whites, sky and navy blues on the shirt told him it was the very same shirt his father had worn in the competition when they’d visited Ohio – his extremely rare tie-dye Pink Floyd Divisional Bell 1994 vintage tour merch t-shirt, a shirt that happened to be an absolute favorite of his father’s. Bentley figured it was because that concert was one of his parent’s first dates, and his dad had always been the sentimental type. He looked up at Kit before finally pulling the shirt out of the box. Bentley was right. The front  had the logo in the pyramid, and the back had all the dates around even more pictures. The shirt had that vintage feel to it, but at the same time appeared in excellent condition. He could not believe it was in his hands.

“Kit…”

“You’re awfully quiet. Do you like it?” Kit asked, still bouncing on his toes.

Bentley stood up and engulfed Kit in the tightest hug they’d had to date. It was like, just when he thought his idea of someone couldn’t get any better, and his feeling toward him couldn’t grow any stronger, Kit would find a way to make him fall even more in love. Bentley ignored how Kit was begging for air and kept squeezing him, the two stumbling over to the dresser where Bentley hoisted him up and sat him there. Still, he refused to let go of his clutch.

“Benny…” Kit laughed, dramatically gasping for air as he tried to break free. “Seriously, let me go.”

“I’m not letting go,” Bentley spoke into his chest. “You deserve a two-hour long hug for this.”

“I’m happy you like it, babe. But I like being able to see your face.”

“It looks the same. Just let me hold you.”

“Oh my god,” Kit chuckled as he spoke, allowing Bentley to hold him as he sat atop his dresser. “Maybe we can compromise? How does a two-minute long hug sound instead? You promised we could watch The Devil Wears Prada and I wanted to be able to at least kiss you for a while before you leave for the radio interview.”

Bentley didn’t know if he liked the sound of a two-minute hug, but he did like the sound of kissing. “So if kissing is the least you want to do…” he looked up curiously.

Kit rolled his eyes and smiled. “Let me down.”

“Fine.” Bentley finally released his hold and took a step back, watching as Kit slid down from the dresser. “I can’t wait to wear that shirt in Vegas on Sunday. You’re seriously the most thoughtful person on this planet. How’d you even find that shirt? My father bragged about how rare they were all the time.”

“He wasn’t wrong.” Kit went to grab the DVD. “I found a dude on Etsy who I tried to haggle, but he wasn’t having it. It cost a pretty penny but just seeing that smile on your face would make me pay three times as much, Bentley.”

Bentley felt himself blushing. “You’re adorable.”

“I’m serious. And, I restocked the Team Benny site with more designs. Now your fans can stop yelling at us. I’ve been on my A game this holiday weekend.” Kit put the DVD in and went to climb in bed. "Will you be joining me?"

Bentley pulled his shirt up and over his head before climbing in bed with Kit. “Fuck, I’ve gotta hurry up and marry you.”

Kit kissed him on the cheek before getting comfortable in his arms. "There's no rush. We've got some time."

“We’re going to Vegas on Sunday, anyway. You and I.” Bentley looked up at the TV screen as he continued, “We’re both consenting adults. We could just find Elvis and –”

“We’re not getting married this weekend, Bentley.” Kit smiled. “I already know when I’m proposing, where, and how, so slow you roll.”

Bentley rolled his eyes. “You’re not proposing. I am.”

“Hilarious.” Kit turned to him and fake-laughed. "Now, can we both be quiet and watch the perfection that is Meryl Streep?"

“We can make out now and watch later. I don’t have to leave for that interview until like 4. Okay?”

Kit sighed. “Fine, but I get to eat you out, too.”

Bentley froze mid-kiss to his Adam’s apple. He peeked up and found Kit staring at him innocently.

“What?” Kit asked.

Bentley smiled. “Nothing, Kitten. I just really fucking love you.”

??

One day more.

Bentley could not have been more excited. He knew for a fact that after tomorrow, he was going to not only be taken seriously, but he’d go down as one of the young BMX stars the sport had to offer. His radio interview the day before had a fair share of people reminding him that he was the new guy and not to be cocky, and Bentley understood where they were coming from. But, there was a difference between arrogance and confidence. Bentley knew he could ride circles around his competitors, despite how long they’d been in the game. He didn’t just get started last night. This was his life.

He pushed his cart through Target shopping for last-minute travel stuff for the flight that Kit sent him out to get, and some things for Matthew who was too busy to make a run himself, because this was his life now. Even though Kit wouldn’t let him put a ring on it just yet, it still felt like he was a member of the family. Best part was, Bentley didn’t mind one bit. He looked down at the list and turned into a new aisle, finding the Pine Sol that Matthew requested.

Eventually, after adding some travel-size toothpaste and deodorant into the cart, Bentley found himself in the condom aisle. He smirked to himself, picking up a box of a kind they hadn’t yet sampled, and wondering how they’d feel. While Bentley hoped one day soon they’d ditch the condoms altogether, he knew Kit would roll his eyes as hard as possible if he brought the topic up now.

“Wait – are those for you and your little boyfriend? You can’t possibly be sleeping with this guy, right?”

Bentley couldn’t help but snap his head in the direction of the familiar voice. He hadn’t heard it in so long, but she still had that effect on him. Zoey was smiling, but Bentley couldn’t tell if it was genuine. He put the box back on the shelf and awkwardly gripped the handle of the cart.

“Hey. Long time no see.”

“I’ll be the first to admit that I did not think this was legit. I thought it was a charade of sorts.”

Bentley stared at his ex, wondering what exactly she meant. “You thought what was a charade?”

She stared at him obviously. “You and the boy you’re seeing. What’s his name again?”

Bentley didn’t have time for this. He took a deep breath and answered her. “His name is Kit. To answer your question, we’re very legit. And we’ve got a flight to catch tonight so I should probably get going –”

“Oh, for sure,” she said, though she continued to block his path. Zoey wore what Bentley knew to be an old UCLA hoodie of his. She had on black leggings and a pair of flip-flops, and her hair had grown out a bit. She pushed it away from her face as she continued, “I heard your radio interview yesterday. My friends always send me clips for whatever reason.”

Bentley tried not to scoff. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. You talked about how much you love him and… I don’t know. It’s weird. I put up with you for almost a year and you never said you love me. It made me wonder – it made me think that maybe you were always gay and just wasted my time –”

“I have a feeling that every time I run into you for the rest of my life, I’m going to have to put up with this guilt trip. I’ve moved on, Zoey.” He looked her in the eyes. “We made a mutual decision to go our separate ways because we couldn’t get on the same page, and I moved on. I know you have, too. So, can we not keep doing this?”

She smiled before stuffing both hands into the hoodie’s pockets. “Are you keeping tabs on me?”

She was flattering herself. Bentley rubbed tiredly at his forehead. “I’m in love with him, and if we’re being honest, I haven’t thought about you in a very long time. But, we’re still Facebook friends. Your posts end up on my feed. I know you’ve been seeing guys and I’m happy for you.”

Zoey smiled, shaking her head slowly. “Yeah. You’re happy for me. That’s great.”

Bentley began to laugh, but it was out of annoyance more than anything else. “I don’t know what it is you want from me, Zo. We really didn’t fight like this when we were together but since –”

“Imagine if I broke up with you out of the blue, threw everything I had away, and ended up with some chick that no one knew.” She took a step forward. “Even though you apparently didn’t care that much about me, I feel like you’d be hurt. Even if it were only your pride.”

“That’s the thing. I didn’t break up with you. You broke up with me. I may not have been over the moon in love with you, but I was happy. Maybe we would’ve gotten there, maybe it would’ve ended anyway. Who knows? But what I do know is that there’s something about Kit… there’s just something about him. I just know that I’d do anything for the guy, and I know he’d do the same for me. He let me sleep on the floor the night you tossed me out in the rain, for crying out loud.”

Zoey seemed like the words Bentley said had hurt her. He didn’t know which part in particular, but he knew that he wasn’t sorry for what he said. Everything was true. She was the one who lost interest and called things off. Bentley wasn’t happy with it, but he respected it. Now that he’d found the person who he wanted to be with forever, why couldn’t she just accept that. There was no cheating, there was no heartbreak… nothing like that.

“I’ve got to go,” he said. He forced a smile, picked the box of condoms back up, dropped them in the cart, and then steered his cart around her. “I wish you the best, Zoey, and I hope that test turns out negative.”

She looked down at the pregnancy test she was holding and winced. “It won’t be yours, so why do you care.”

Bentley didn’t bother to answer. He took a deep breath and focused on his list.

The next item was a ‘12 Gauge Shotgun.’ Bentley rolled his eyes and smiled. Mr. Edwards was sooo funny.

[B] I love you. A lot.

[K] Love you back. I’m in the mood for yogurt. Haven’t had any in a while. Since you’re out….

[B] Anything for you

.