With Jace so often absent, Samson warmed to Ben. At first he was only willing to occupy the same mattress to guard Jace’s side of the bed. Eventually he moved over to cuddle against Ben’s leg. By the end of the summer, Ben would often wake up with the cat sprawled on top of him, something Jace insisted he had never seen the cat do with anyone but him.
The days when Jace was in town were bliss, and he often offered using his airline connections to take them on a short trip somewhere. Ben declined, preferring to have as much privacy together as possible. His appetite for Jace was insatiable. Sometimes they would venture out and explore Houston, searching for nooks of the city that neither of them had yet seen. Mostly they would stay home, taking turns cooking, lounging around and talking with light music on in the background.
Jace met the family and performed stunningly, charming Ben’s mother and managing to talk shop with his father. Karen insisted on being present, which had Ben nervous, but her typically rude comments were parried by Jace’s subtle wit, leaving her puzzled and everyone else laughing. Life couldn’t have been better.
When summer break ended and Ben had to return to Austin, his heart ached as he packed his possessions scattered around Jace’s apartment. He wanted to continue living there, so much so that he seriously considered transferring to the University of Houston. Jace dismissed the idea, reminding him of the complications that came with transferring credits, and that the connections Ben had made in his current school would be crucial in the final year.
These points made sense, but Ben couldn’t help wondering if Jace was slowly tiring of him. Ben supposed that his constant presence might have been too much when Jace was home, but he had been invited, and wouldn’t their relationship lead to living together eventually? Maybe it was too soon for Jace, but Ben had no reservations and was willing to give all of himself to the other man.
His fears appeared to be confirmed as soon as he was back in Austin. Jace’s calls became less frequent, and when they did come his boyfriend sounded distracted, even distant. Ben became convinced that Jace was hiding something from him when he stopped volunteering what he had done with his free time. The third week Jace cancelled a planned visit, and the fourth he didn’t call at all.
Ben could no longer deny it. Their relationship was falling apart, and he had no idea how to fix it since he didn’t have a clue as to what was wrong. He was playing Monopoly with Allison one night, both of them doing shots of tequila every time they landed on each other’s property, when he decided to take action. The results weren’t pretty. He called Jace and left an angry voicemail when he didn’t answer, one that ended with him sobbing into the phone.
Allison tried to console him by breaking out two tubs of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and pigging out with him. Ben was scrapping the bottom of the paper carton when the doorbell rang. He gave Allison a moody look, silently asking her to answer it. Good friend that she was, she complied.
Murmured voices came from the entryway. Ben was straining to hear when Jace walked into the kitchen with an arm full of roses. Ben wiped the ice cream from his mouth and reached up to check his hair, before giving up and blushing.
“I’m sorry,” Jace said, proffering the roses. He set them on the kitchen table when Ben didn’t take them. “Look, I’ve been an idiot, but I think you’ll forgive me if you come with me.”
“I don’t know,” Ben said, his head spinning. He wished that he hadn’t done all those shots and was beginning to regret horking down all the ice cream, too. “I just don’t understand what I did wrong.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Jace sighed. “I was trying to be romantic and surprise you, but I overdid it.”
“Overdid what? Why haven’t you called?”
“Just come with me, okay?” Jace held out his hand. “There’s something I want to show you.”
Ben’s heart melted. He reached out and took Jace’s hand, a shock running through him as they touched. His treacherous heart insisted that his brain forget everything and forgive Jace. He would eventually demand answers, but right now all he wanted was a kiss.
“What have you been drinking?” Jace laughed once their lips had parted.
“Tequila,” Allison said from the doorway. “Sorry.”
“It’s all right,” Jace said, leading Ben toward the front door. “I’ll try to have him back soon.”
“No, you won’t.” Allison smiled knowingly.
Once in the passenger seat, Ben focused on sobering up. He had always been convinced that this was an issue of mind over matter, but the streetlights refused to stop swaying.
“Wait a minute,” Ben said abruptly. “This is your car! Did you drive out here?”
“Yup,” Jace confirmed.
“Why?”
“You’ll find out in about two blocks.”
Jace pulled onto a side street and then into an apartment complex. He navigated a few turns before finding a spot and parking. After he turned off the car he regarded Ben, the engine clicking as it cooled.
“What are we doing here?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Come on.”
Ben stumbled out of the car, wondering what was in store. Did Jace have kids or something? A secret heterosexual life? Or maybe he was being brought to some underground sex club. Oh god! Was he being sold into sex slavery?
“Are you all right?” Jace said, putting an arm around him. “You don’t look so good.”
“I just drank too much,” Ben replied, realizing it was true. Sex slavery indeed. He was about eight years too old to be viable on any black market.
Jace led them up a couple flights of stairs, pulled out his keys, and unlocked a door.
“You’re staying here?” Ben asked, starting to feel excited.
“You could say that.” He opened the door and a familiar ball of grey fur appeared in the entryway.
“Samson!” Ben said in disbelief, reaching down to let the cat smell his hand. He looked up to see more that was familiar. Along with the cardboard boxes stacked in the hallway were souvenirs from Jace’s travels hanging on the wall and the old-fashioned coat rack with the jacket that Jace had worn on their first date.
“No!” Ben said, finally catching on. “No freaking way! You live here now?”
“Since last week,” Jace said in apologetic tones. “I wanted to have everything set up to surprise you, but then I was called away for work and--”
“You’re so stupid!” Ben said affectionately. “I can’t believe you moved here!”
“After this summer I realized it would be too hard to be apart from you,” Jace confessed, pulling Ben toward him. “I hope this doesn’t freak you out.”
“What about your work?”
“Well, you know. It doesn’t really matter where I live with my job.”
“It does if you want to fly international,” Ben said. Austin’s airport was technically international, but didn’t have nearly as many connections as Houston.
“I’ll figure something out,” Jace said with a shrug.
“I love you,” Ben said, meaning it now more than ever.
“I love you, too. Sorry about being so dense.”
“It’s all right. Show me the apartment.”
Jace gave him the grand tour, or rather Samson did. The cat led them from room to room, head and tail held high. The apartment was the standard two-bedroom affair common in such complexes, but already personal touches were evident: fortune cookie wrappers, toy mice, the smell of Jace’s aftershave in the bathroom along with the endless supply of hotel shampoos and soaps he always brought home.