Love Someone {Hardzello love story}

Two

And twenty days went by a lot faster than one would expect. A little less than a month. There was still so much he had left to do and yet he found himself making time for other things. Currently, he was all alone. Rami and Lucy were on their honeymoon. Gwilym and Allen were in Europe. All he had was Joe.

It wasn't a bad thing, to be exact. He liked having Joe around. He liked having Joe to himself. They had an interesting amount of chemistry. Even when they weren't sneaking away, Ben found himself enjoying his time with Joe.

Apparently, there was still so much Ben had yet to see of California and Joe took it upon himself to show it all to him. He tried not to make it overly touristy. He wanted him to enjoy the finer side of LA without making it seem like they were trying to see all the Hollywood parts.

They went to the boardwalk and beaches. Joe took him to his favorite theaters and Ben took Joe to the only decent English styled restaurant he could find. They didn't hold hands when they walked, they barely even bumped shoulders, but they were close.

And Joe never kissed him when they were out in public, though Ben couldn't figure out if he wanted him to or not. There were times when he thought about it. When Joe was telling him some story about his childhood. He was laughing and smiling, looking so beautiful it was almost annoying.

Ben didn't know why he ever thought Joe was merely average looking. The man was absolutely gorgeous. Whether he was clean shaven or had a bit of scruff. Was dressing up or wearing a band tee shirt. Ben was a model and got paid to look good. Joe did it all on his own and for free.

Ben found himself wanting to kiss Joe. And wanting to hold his hand. To put his arm around his shoulders or waist as they walked down the street, but he never did. Maybe because Joe didn't do it either.

They didn't talk about what this was. Ben wasn't gay. He would look across the way and see all these goddess women and imagine what their bodies would feel like against his own. It was something that interested. He would look to the men along the streets and they were handsome, but they had no effect on him the way women did.

Yet not a single woman could make him flush and smile the way Joe could. Maybe it was deeper than that. Maybe he was bi. Or more. Ben tried not to get into labels. He wanted to be more than that. He wanted to be with him. And he wanted to be with whoever he wanted without having to stick to one specific title.

Joe never brought it up either. They just didn't talk. Ben didn't know if that was good or bad. They weren't hiding anything. They just . . . did what they did. Hiding meant not doing something on the sole purpose of not wanting someone to see. Ben didn't care if someone saw him. But he wouldn't force it onto Joe. He waited for him to make the first move, but he never did. Only when they were behind closed doors.

So if that was what Joe wanted, then so be it. Ben wasn't going to make things weird for them. If Joe was content, then so was he.

They had enough moments to share for him not to worry about losing out on time or whatever. Eventually, he had made his way to Joe's place, finding it comfortable and spacious. It was a home, unlike his practically empty loft. He brought over the expensive bottles of liquor for them to share. Joe played old movies on his big screen and showed him pictures of his family.

They cuddled together on the couch, drinking and enjoying one another's company. Twelve days and counting. Neither of them spoke about it. About what would happen when Ben went back to London. Wasn't like they'd never see one another again. They were still friends. Still in a tight-knit group of pals. For fuck sake, they were in a group chat that spoke every single day.

They could be lying side by side, completely naked after a heavy round of sex that left them both sticky and sweaty, panting heavily. Phones in hand, they would reply to memes that the others had sent. Full on conversations in the chat while they recovered. Once even, while Rami was speaking of something and Joe was going down on him, Ben had taken his phone to rely on Joe's behalf so he didn't miss out on the conversation.