If you remember when I decided to post Leap of Faith, I said this short story had problems? This is where it needs work. Part Four had the chapter break and the story skips forward almost a year, if I remember correctly. The Ben in the first couple of chapters grew a lot in that time and is not the same as the Ben in this chapter.
The story was written for an anthology call with a restriction of 10k. Since I did not think it appropriate for Ben to fall for anyone after that first chapter, I put in the time jump and summarized the changes Ben went through from Dawson's perspective. It's still a cute story but it needs a middle, which I never got around to writing.
Copyright Lexi Ander
Part Five: Leap of Faith
Chuckling, Dawson wrapped
a towel around his waist and sauntered out of the bathroom. The smell of food
was stronger out in the hall and his eyes damn near rolled up in the back of
his head. Ben had made cinnamon rolls. The man was a god in the kitchen. Since
Ben cooked most of the meals, Dawson had to put in extra time at the gym and
Ben had taken to joining him.
Hurrying, Dawson tugged
on a pair of jeans and threw on a shirt. He donned four large silver rings, his
two inch wide leather wristbands, and his brown coconut shell necklace with the
blue bone beads before he made a beeline to the kitchen. Ben stood at the stove
with his back to Dawson. He nearly didn't catch the groan that tried to escape.
Ben was shirtless. The tattoo of a rising phoenix rippled over his strong,
muscular back. The last several months, Ben had bulked up and his once slender
frame had become a work of art.
Dawson noticed all of the
changes, not only the physical ones, Ben had made. The vulnerable, heartbroken
man he'd met a year ago had been replaced by a confident, happy Ben. The
combination made for one hell of a package. Not that Dawson hadn't found Ben
attractive before, because Ben had been smoking hot in those ridiculous shoes
and tiny pants. But Ben had needed a friend, so Dawson had shelved his lust and
given a helping hand.
The last couple of
months, Ben had been different and, lately, Dawson imagined licking the hollow
between those shoulder blades. It was too easy to imagine Ben with his hands
tied behind his back, ass rising up to meet the firm swat of Dawson's hand.
Maybe one day Ben would be interested. Discreetly he readjusted himself before
he walked into the kitchen.
"You made cinnamon
rolls." He brushed against Ben as he reached around for a warm roll and
shoved the whole thing in his mouth.
Ben smirked. His gaze
followed the pastry, his hazel eyes expertly outlined with dark eyeliner.
Dawson loved the touch of color because Ben had amazing eyes. When they were
highlighted like that, Dawson wanted to drag the man into his bedroom and find
wonderful ways to convince his friend that his bed was the best place—the only
place Ben wanted to be. Ben's blond hair was cut short on the sides, the top long
enough to brush the man's earlobes. His friend had become very good at
manipulating the layered lengths. This close he could smell Ben's aftershave.
Dawson had pierced both of Ben's ears, four hoops on each side and a bar
through the top of the left ear.
"Today I had
something a little extra to celebrate." Ben poured Dawson a cup of black
coffee after he tore his gaze away from Dawson's mouth.
Dawson chewed slowly,
aware that Ben was staring. He knew what today was and how important it was to
Ben. "The sale goes through today?"
Ben nodded, blinked a
couple of times as Dawson experimented with licking his lips. "Um, yeah."
Ben glanced down and cleared his throat. He seemed a little flustered. "I'll
sign the documents of sale for my share of the firm this afternoon. David said
he'd bring everything by the shop so I wouldn't have to go downtown."
Dawson took a couple of
long swallows from his cup of joe. The bitter mixed with the sweetness in his
mouth and balanced out his taste buds. "Are you sure this is what you want
to do? You could hire someone to see to your interest in the business. You
built that company from the ground up." He grabbed another roll and tried
to swallow it whole. Damn, he loved those things!
Ben shook his head. "I'm
not that guy anymore. He was the guy who went with the flow, played everything
safe. I'm not sure I was happy being him. I can't remember ever being actually
content."
"And you're happy
now?" Dawson asked around the food in his mouth.
Ben's lips quirked up,
his eyes flicked up to Dawson's. "Yeah," he admitted almost shyly. "I
wasn't sure I'd ever feel right again. My parents didn't help. They made me
wonder if I'd been wrong refusing to work things out with Javier."
Dawson vividly remembered
that visit from Ben's father. Two weeks after Ben had come to stay with him, a
limo had stopped in front of the cabin, and an older man in a three thousand
dollar suit stepped out. Ben had cussed softly under his breath before he went
out to meet his parent. Dawson had leaned against the porch railing, giving the
two some privacy, but not leaving Ben alone. In the brief time they had spent
together, Dawson had not only started to like Ben, but had come to care for him
as well. The scowl on Mr Hamilton's face was a warning of things to come.
"You know your dad's
sorry about what he said when he came by that day." Dawson knew Ben had
shared a good relationship with his father until the fiasco with his fiancé. Mr
Hamilton had been harsh and demanding with Ben, lecturing his son about loyalty
and responsibility.
Ben gave a weak smile. "That's what I get
for avoiding my parents because I didn't want to talk about what Javier had
done. I had to get tested because I was afraid my partner had unsafe sex with
multiple people. That's not something I wanted to discuss with my family. My
parents loved Javier from the moment they met him and they didn't think to
question him when he went to them the day before the wedding. When dad found
out Annie had made the calls to cancel everything—that was a small fortune down
the drain. He had every right to be angry, at least about that."
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