Shades Of Blue

37. Revenge

Benjie

September

Age 17

 
He couldn't believe he had hit Neel. It didn't solve anything. The punch only added to the dysfunction of their relationship. It was foolish to give Neel an ultimatum. No one reacted well to those.

Benjie wanted to trust Neel but it was difficult to shake the feeling that he would soon be passed over for Moira time and again. If it wasn't Moira, it would just be the next person. The boulder that lived in his chest grew heavier, pulling Benjie's mood down with it until all he could do was lie in bed, staring at his quarter arched window and feeling sorry for himself after he'd canceled his date with Amina.

As the minutes ticked by, he grew more and more sure that this affair with Neel would soon end in destruction. They had annihilated their friendship over what? A crush? Curiosity? How was it, with all of the precautions he took, Benjie was the one who fell and not Neel? Benjie hadn't wanted any of this in the first place. Now it was the only thing he wanted. For the first time in his life, Benjie wasn't confused. His timing was awful. Neel had loved Benjie when they were younger but now, Neel's feelings had faded. Benjie had waited too long.

A gentle knock rapped at his bedroom door. Ellie finally remembered to knock. With this small victory, Benjie got out of bed and opened the door to see what she wanted. She wasn't welcome to enter his fortress of depression, not today.

His sad eyes widened to see that it wasn't Ellie waiting at his door. It was Moira.

She smiled her sweet, pretty smile and greeted him. "Can we talk?"

This couldn't be good. "Um..."

Moira elbowed past him into his bedroom, shutting the door behind her as he backed away with uncertainty. With no warning, she took off her shirt and dropped it to the floor. Taking a step toward Benjie, she shoved him onto his bed, unhooked her bra, and slipped it off.

As much as he disliked her, Benjie couldn't deny that this moment was arousing. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her left breast as she climbed onto the bed to straddle his lap.

Benjie tried to pull his hand away, his head turned to face the window to avoid seeing her tempting curves. This was wrong, the feeling comparable to peeping instead of being pinned to the bed by her. "What are you doing?" was all Benjie could force out as she pressed her breasts to his chest and nibbled on his ear.

"What does it feel like I'm doing?" she giggled, turning his face to slip her tongue into his mouth.

Struggling to get the poor girl off of him, Benjie didn't hear the creak of his door as it opened again.

"Oh."

Moira pulled away and turned, smirking at Neel as he stood shocked in the doorway.

Before Benjie could plead his case, Moira kissed him once more.

"I'll just..." Neel mumbled, pulling Benjie's door closed as he left.

Panic raged as Benjie freed himself and glared at Moira before he rushed downstairs to catch Neel. He found him waiting on the sidewalk a few houses down the street.

His facial expression was blank as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his zip-up sweater.

"I didn't reciprocate," Benjie informed him, getting that fact out so it was clear. "She must've come over to see Ellie. She showed up in my room and threw herself at me. Nothing happened, I swear."

He nodded his head as a smirk crept across his lips. "I gotta say, I wasn't expecting that."

"Neel, I swear," Benjie insisted, voice quavering with doubt.

Neel grinned. "You were pretty pissed off the last time I saw you, but I know you aren't the type to screw my ex to get back at me."

Optimistic disbelief fell over him. "Ex?"

Smacking his lips, Neel sighed, "I'm in love with someone else, and he deserves my full attention."

Benjie took Neel's hand, carefully studying his face. His eye was already swelling and turning blue where Benjie's fist had made contact. "I shouldn't have hit you. I won't let it happen again. I promise."

Neel bumped his forehead to Benjie's. "I might have deserved that one, though."

Benjie shook his head, his hands sliding down Neel's chest, around his ribs, and down his spine to rest over the small of his back.

Releasing a relaxed sigh, Neel slipped his hand up Benjie's back to rest between his shoulder blades, placing his other hand safely on the back of Benjie's neck.

"Does this mean it's just us now?"

Neel's fingers gently grazed the nape of Benjie's neck. "Yeah. It's just us."