Double Trouble (discontinued)

Flow

Lazy strobe lights float orbs of color around the room. Benji is a ghost in the twilight. Limbs swim around him in the thrumming bass hum, and he isn't sure where he ends and everyone else begins. Tipsy, he throws his hands in the air. Someone tall takes the chance to pull him closer, grinding against him. Benji sighs, grateful for the pressure. He rests his hands around the neck of this new presence, pressing closer, swiveling his hips expertly. A gasp sounds in the dark, then a hand presses to his back.

"Bold, aren't we?" The voice is quiet, accented with something European, and bouncy with a chuckle. Benji likes the way it feels against his ear. "How old are you, little one?"

Benji traces his lips over the new man's neck. He's just drunk enough to forget doing the same to Jude earlier. "Old enough." He trails his fingers along the man's jaw, feels him gulp when Benji moves his hips closer. "And not your little one." He pulls away a bit, teasingly close.

"Hm, whose, then?" The man trails his fibers up and down Benji's back, dips them underneath his shirt, and Benji shudders. He's good, that's for sure. "If you were mine, I wouldn't be letting you out alone."

Fighting not to arch against the man's hips, not to show how desperate he feels, he hums. "Not anyone's, and certainly not trying to be y-yours." The stutter is barely noticeable, and Benji glazes over it by turning so that his back is against the man, relieved that his crotch will now lead his speech less. "If you're asking to take me home, though, I wouldn't mind it." Or not.

Suddenly grabby, the man slides his hand just barely into the front of Benji's jeans, toys with the band of his underwear. "Tempting. But, I have a few conditions."

"Like?"

"You have to be legal. I'm not kidding. I have a job, and I'm not losing it for a quickie. And, you do what I say, excluding hard limits, of course." His voice, gone hard for a moment, returns to its previous purr. "Aside from that, I'm yours."

Benji smirks. "I'm legal, promise me that. And I can be obedient when I want to be... Let's go." The man slips away from Benji, pressing his entire body against him for one shaky moment, before walking out of the club, Benji clinging to his fingers.

The car ride is quiet, and sexually tense, and the man keeps a hand pressed nearly flat to Benji's thigh for the whole journey. "Sure you want to?"

Benji nods eagerly, shuffling to urge the man's hand the last bit higher. "Yes, yes. So sure."

"Good." The car halts outside of a largish looking house with lots of windows. When he sees Benji staring at them, the man says, "What can I say, I'm an exhibitionist."

The trip up the stairs to the bedroom is short, littered with kisses to neck, collarbone, chest, but never lips. The man barely grazes any bare skin, waits for a nod to continue. Benji, slightly more sober than before, is grateful for the respectful distance of this intimacy.

Moments before the bedroom is opened, the man pauses, hand resting on Benji's hip. Their bodies have had a moment to get used to one another. "What's your name? I try not to have sex with so many strangers nowadays." His time is joking, but it makes Benji a little nervous.

"B-Ben. I'm Ben. You are?"

"Joaquin." He smiles, and his eyes are even paler than Benji thought. They warm into little pools of wax in the low light. "Lovely to meet you, Ben. Listen, my bedroom is just ahead. I'm not sure how far you wanted this to go, but if this is what you want, go on in and get comfortable. I'm going to run to the restroom, and, if you're willing, we can pick things up from there?"

Benji hums, nodding. "Alright. I'll be there when you get back."

Joaquin smiles once more, kisses Benji's jaw, and slinks across the hall. Benji notices that he has a slow, loping way of walking, but he travels quickly. He wonders where he learned that walk, reminds himself to remain distant. The last thing he needs is another man in his life.

Once he's gone, Benji slips into the room. It's dark, lit only by moonlight, heavy with dark wood and forest green paint. There are large windows, with no curtains, and Benji wonders if the neighbors can see him.

With an eager smirk, Benji makes a beeline for the closet. If there's one thing he's learned so far in life, it's that wearing a man's clothes will make you more attractive to him. He selects a thin white button down, and deposits all of his clothing at the foot of the bed. A text from Jude sits on the screen of his phone, goes unread.

Once he's properly situated, Benji lounges on Joaquin's bed. It's fluffy, luxurious, and Benji forgets that it's impolite to doze on other people's beds. He lets his eyes fall shut...

...and is awakened by a shutter click. Joaquin is crouched behind a camera, sitting on a tall tripod, lens pointed at Benji. "Sorry," he mumbles, "I just had to capture that. You look so innocent when you're sleeping; it's bizarre." His hair is wild, swimming around his head a playing in the starlight, and a lazy, crooked smile sits on his lips. He seems sleepy, and Benji wonders how long he's been out. "Do you model, by chance?"

"Uh..." Eloquence has fled, banished by sleep, and Benji struggles to find words. "N-no?"

"Do you want to?" The man has drifted closer to the bed, settling one knee on it, reaching out to card his fingers through Benji's hair. "That's what I do; I own a modeling agency. Pretty popular one, too." He tilts his head to the side, that same gentle smile on his lips. "You could be one of my best boys, little one."

"I don't do porn," Benji blurts, suddenly nervous.

Joaquin laughs, and it's brilliant, and his teeth are the whitest Benji's ever seen. "No, no, nothing sexual, aside from the occasional swimsuit shoot. God, you're cute. No, strictly modeling." He pushes up onto the bed, legs straddling Benji's, now cradling his cheek. "You've got the build for it, and the confidence, obviously. I think you could be great."

"Um, I- I guess I'd have to think about it first."

Joaquin winks. "Smart lad." He pulls away, padding on bare feet to the desk across from the bed. His legs are long and lean, pale in the dark. His boxer shorts have goldfish on them, and Benji giggles at them. "Stop laughing at me," the man chuckles. "I have a card in here someplace, and you can get back to me?"

Nodding, Benji says, "Alright, sure. Sounds great." He looks around the room, awkward in the quiet. "Um. Are we still gonna...?"

Joaquin smiles again, and, in this moment, Benji realizes that he's quite a bit younger than Joaquin. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass, love. It'd be bad press if I'd had sex with you and then hired you. Conflict of interest, you understand." He's been wandering around the room, searching for something as he speaks. Once his hand lights on a folded pair of sweats, he grins, shoving his legs inside. "But, I can drive you back to your car, and we can stop and get you some food, if you'd like."

Benji considers, nods. "Yeah, totally. I'd like that."

It's three a.m by the time they return to the club, both of them full of grilled cheese and milkshakes, and one another's laughs. Benji has accepted the offer before he gets back home.

A/N:
Happy Christmas Eve (or if you don't celebrate, hey there)!
We're officially in the meaty bits of Act 2 now! New character intro: how are you feelin' about Joaquin?

Also, QOTC: What sort of influence do you think Joaquin will be in Benji's life, if he'll be one at all?

Also, how are you guys feeling about the pacing of this story? I think it's a bit all over the place, and I'd like to work on it. If you have any thoughts/tips, lemme know ^^

Love you!
AJ