Long Away

Chapter 11

Ben followed Roger into an empty changing room. Without saying a word he plopped down on one of the benches and tried to figure out how to put on his ice skates. His pent up anger translated into poor hand coordination. Roger watched him struggle with concern.
"Is everything alright?", he asked. Ben looked up at him.
"Are you serious?", he spat back.
"Wait, what's wrong Ben?" Roger seemed truly bewildered.
"You were checking out a chick who was so blatantly flirting with you and you can't figure out what's wrong?" Roger's eyes went wide.
"You think she was flirting with me?" Ben put his skates aside and looked Roger straight in the eyes. "She was smiling at you like an idiot the whole time, wanted to get into our band and let us in for free. She is clearly into you." Roger sat down next to Ben.

"I guess now that you say it it is kind of obvious. But I swear I didn't realize it before. I can be really oblivious to this type of stuff."
"Even so you were still checking her out. And when you said you'd keep your options open you gave her that look." Roger put a hand on Ben's shoulder. He looked remorseful.
"I didn't mean it like that. I was only talking about the band, I promise. And as for 'checking her out', she was just pretty. There are a lot of good looking people, and I'm not going blind to that. But it doesn't mean anything. I can still acknowledge someone's attractiveness without wanting to get it on with them. I asked you on this date because I want to be with you. And I'm sorry I upset you. I promise for the rest of the night, I'll only have eyes for you, okay?"

Ben gave him a small nod. He felt guilty for his reaction.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't know why I got so jealous. I guess I just know that everyone would like a boyfriend like you. You have options."
"And still I asked you out."
"I know. And I'm so glad you did. But it's also so surreal."
"Well, believe it or not, it is real." Roger looked at the ice skates Ben had put aside.
"Do you need help with those?", he asked. Ben shrugged.
"I guess, if you don't mind."
"Of course not, silly." Roger kneeled down on the floor in front of Ben. As he adjusted the skates for Ben, he looked up at him.

"And by the way, I won't call Emma about the spot in the band if you don't want me to." 
"It's okay," Ben said. "I trust you. I really am sorry I got jealous. It won't happen again." When Ben had both his skates on, Roger grabbed his hand to get back up. 
"That's good. You have no reason to be jealous." He leaned forward and gave Ben a kiss on the cheek. Ben was completely taken by surprise. He thought he had just messed everything up. Roger was blushing when he pulled back. Neither of them said anything while he put on his own skates.

Ben stacked their shoes in a locker and they walked over to the rink. Flashing neon lights painted the ice. A catchy rock song Ben hadn't heard before was playing. There were quite a lot of people on the ice, and at first glance Ben couldn't see anyone struggling to skate nearly as badly as he had the last time he tried. He hesitated as Roger got on the ice.

"Are you coming?", Roger asked. Ben carefully set one foot in the rink. He always forgot just how slippery it actually was. Roger held out his hand.
"Come on, you can do this. Just take my hand and I'll catch you if you slip." Ben skeptically raised an eyebrow.
"No offense, but I don't think you can."
"Then I shall go down with you," Roger said dramatically, earning a chuckle from Ben.
"Seriously though, what's the worst that could happen?", Roger asked.
"Well, I know a guy who crashed into the railing and broke a rib," Ben said flat-out. Roger cringed.
"Oh. Well, that is not going to happen if you go slowly." Ben grabbed Roger's hand and held on to the railing with his other hand, before carefully lowering his second foot onto the ice. He wavered, but Roger had a tight grip on his arm.
"Don't worry, I got you," he said. 

It took a while for Ben to get used to the ice, but Roger was always within reach. Ever so slowly they skated along the railing. After a couple of minutes, as he gained more and more confidence in his balance, Ben actually started to have fun.
"You're doing great," Roger said.
"Great might be a bit of an overstatement."
"I don't think so," Roger insisted. He came to a halt as a new song started to play.
"May I have this dance?", he asked. Ben hesitantly looked around.
"Are you sure?" Unimpressed, Roger took Ben's hands into his.
"Yes. I am sure. Who cares what anyone thinks?" Their eyes met, and Ben felt a tender flutter in his stomach.
"Then I would love that," he said, hoping he sounded less nervous than he felt.

He let Roger take the lead, and they slid towards the center of the rink. It might have just been his nerves, but Ben thought he caught a few people looking at them for longer than necessary. Roger noticed the unsettled glances he gave them. He brushed his thumb lightly over the back of Ben's hand.
"Hey, we can leave if you want to," he offered. Ben considered it for a moment, but then he shook his head.
"No. Not yet. I'm not giving them that satisfaction. I'm here with the cutest, most gorgeous man I know. They're not going to ruin that." Roger's eyes widened in surprise. Ben was pleased with himself when he noticed his cheeks getting red. He pulled him closer, wrapping one arm around him, while continuing to hold his hand in the other.

He slowly began to turn in small circles. In a sudden rush of confidence, he flexed his muscles that were resting against Roger's back. For once Roger was the one  who turned into a blushing mess. He tried to maintain eye contact with Ben, but his eyes kept drifting down to his lips. When Ben realized this, his heart skipped a beat. Roger wanted to kiss him. Or maybe he was waiting for Ben to do it. But that was not a risk he was willing to take right now, not here in front of so many people. Instead, he leaned forward to whisper into Roger's ear.
"Soon, prescious." A quiet gasp escaped from Roger's lips. For the rest of the song, they continued to gaze longingly at each other. As soon as the last note faded away, they hurried to get off the ice.

***
Hey everyone! How did you like this chapter? Did it live up to your expectations?
I had a lot of fun writing this one. I like the wholesomeness of it. It sure would be a shame if something were to ruin it...

Tay