The Nothingness of Ben by Brad Boney Page B

?” Cade asked.
    “Yes,” Colin answered. “But without Robin Williams. Or the unfortunate suicide.”
    Ben sat back, amazed. Colin had absorbed all that about his brothers from one dinner two years ago. “I don’t suppose there’s anything in that bag for me?”
    “Of course there is, Dorothy.” Colin reached into the bag and pulled out a small white box.
    “Are those…?”
    “Peanut butter-chocolate brownies from your favorite bakery onForty-Eighth Street.”
    “I love you, man,” Ben wept, taking the box and smelling it. He opened it up and bit into one of the sweets. “You’ve got to try these,” he said, passing the box to Quentin, who took one and then passed it to Cade.
    “Do you work at the same place as Ben?” Jason asked Colin.
    “No,” Colin answered, chuckling. “I could never work for my family.”
    “Colin has loftier ambitions,” Ben explained. “He works for the ACLU.”
    “Cool!” Jason cooed.
    “You a lawyer too, David?” Quentin asked.
    David grinned and shook his head.
    “No. I’m a pilot with JetBlue.”
    “No way!” exclaimed Cade. “You fly planes?”
    “Yes, I fly planes.”
    “Where’d you learn how to do that?”
    “In the Air Force.”
    That led to a barrage of questions from Quentin and Cade. They wanted to know everything about flying planes. Colin and Jason sat next to each other, looking over the brochures and whispering conspiratorially. Ben knew that Colin had taken him under his wing, and remembered once again that he needed all the help he could get.
    When they left for dinner, Ben noticed that Travis’s truck was in the driveway. They hadn’t seen each other since Wednesday night. Two days. It seemed odd, but he brushed the feeling away. When they got home, the truck was gone.
    That night, Ben was horny and wanted David to himself. So he looked for the shortest two movies he could find, which turned out to be Clerks and Office Space . Almost three hours later, the boys went off to bed and Colin politely retired to the guest room with a wink.
    “We’ll see what Grindr has to offer.”
    “Behave yourself,” Ben chided. “There are children in the house.”
    “Yes, Dad.”
    After he left, Ben grinned at David. They were sitting on opposite sides of the room.
    “Your brothers don’t know we’re dating.”
    Ben got up and moved to the other sofa. He reached his hand out and put it on David’s knee.
    “No. But I’ll tell them if you think I should. In the scheme of things, it hasn’t been important.”
    “Gee, thanks.”
    “You know what I mean.”
    David looked down.
    “You haven’t called me since the airport.”
    “I know. But when I saw you on the porch today… I’m glad you’re here. I mean that.”
    “I’m not going to make a big stink about it. You pretty much get a pass when both your parents die. I just need to know that you want me here. That it wasn’t a mistake, me coming.”
    Ben stood up and extended his hand.
    “You know I’m not good with words. Can I show you instead?”
    David took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled up off the sofa. Ben put his arms around David’s waist and lowered his hands until they were cupping the cheeks of his ass. He squeezed and kissed him. The stubble from David’s chin brushed up against Ben’s lips. He found the bottom of David’s shirt and lifted it over his head. David had a powerful torso and chest covered by a sexy coat of dark, coarse hair. Ben lowered his head and ran his tongue over David’s left nipple, at which he jumped and gave out a small cry.
    That’s when they both heard a knock on the door.
    “Shit,” Ben muttered.
    “Who would be stopping by at this time of night?”
    “I’ll take care of it. Wait here.”
    Ben went to the front door and opened it, knowing exactly who would be there. Travis started talking immediately.
    “Ben, I’m so sorry about Wednesday night.”
    “Travis….”
    “No, please. Let me say this. I had one shot of tequila, which is