Affair

Prologue

"One. Two. One, two, three, four."

Ben and Jacob start to play in sync. Caleb grabs the microphone, a huge smile on his face. The tune of Lithium by Nirvana is apparent as Frank begins to play.

Caleb taps his foot to the beat before he begins to sing the lyrics through the microphone. His body moves along as he spills his heart into the lyrics.

Ben plays his guitar with lots of enthusiasm, smiling at Jacob. Jacob focuses on his bass guitar before looking up at Ben. His heart skips a beat as his lips spread into a grin.

When the song finishes, loud clapping is heard as everyone in the audience stands. There isn't many people, since Beautiful Destruction isn't a well known band. There's maybe a little over fifty.

"Thank you to everyone who came out tonight. I'm Caleb Raker, and this was Beautiful Destruction. Thank you!" Caleb says into the microphone.

Everyone cheers as the band walks off the stage.

Ben and Jacob walk together. "Great job dude!" Jacob compliments Ben, attempting to fix his blonde hair.

"Thanks, you did awesome, too!" Ben replies, not taking his dark green eyes off of Jacob's hazel eyes.

Suddenly, a girl wraps her arms around Ben's neck. Her red hair makes her recognizable. "You did so great honey!" Melissa, Ben's wife, tells Ben.

Ben returns the tight hug as he responds, "Thanks sweetie."

Melissa pulls away from the hug and quickly pecks Ben on the lips. She then looks over at Jacob. "Jacob! You did wonderful too!"

She then makes sure to hug Jacob. Jacob wraps his arms around her, a smile forced on his face. "Thanks Mel," he says.

Melissa backs away and looks over at Ben again. "I'll be in the car, come out when you're ready," she informs him before walking away.

"Damn, you're really lucky to have someone who loves you like that," Jacob tells Ben as they start walking again.

Ben just shrugs and answers, "Yeah, I don't know how it all worked out so perfectly."

Jacob's heart feels frail, but the two keep on walking.  Suddenly, Caleb runs over to them.  "Guys, you are not going to believe this!" he excitedly says before combing back his blonde hair.

"What?" they say in unison, Jacob raising an eyebrow.

"We're getting signed by Fueled by Ramen!" he exclaims, nearly jumping up and down.

"Holy shit!" Ben yells, his face lighting up immensely.

Frank comes over, a huge smile on his face.  The four guys cheer and give each other high fives.  "Why don't we go have a beer to celebrate?" Frank suggests.

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Jacob says.

"Ben, you should invite Mel too," Caleb tells Ben, a smile on his face.

Ben just nods and the band walks outside.  Cold air hits their faces as they separate to go to their cars.  Jacob gets into his and after he closes the door, hits his face on the top of the wheel.  He just sits there for a minute while everyone else leaves.

Soon, he lifts his face back up and starts to drive.  He goes to the band's favorite bar and, sure enough, sees all of their cars there.

When he walks inside, he sees Ben sitting next to Mel, a hand on her leg.  His heart cracks slightly, but he walks over anyways. He takes a seat next to Frank with a fake smile plastered on his face.  "Hey bartender, get me a margarita," he says, putting his chin in his hand.

Soon, a drink is in front of him.  He grabs it and drinks it quickly.  He then asks for another.

"Dude, you need to drive yourself home you know," Frank intervenes.

Jacob just shrugs and replies, "I'll take a taxi or something."

Frank just rolls his eyes and goes back to drinking his beer.  Suddenly, Ben is sitting next to Jacob.  "Hey, if you get too drunk, I'll drive you home," he offers, smiling slightly.

A large grin takes over Jacob's face and he replies, "Yeah, that sounds great, thanks man."

The three of them sit together for a while, just drinking.  Caleb joins them sometime and the four of them hang out for a good two hours.

"Baby, we have to get going," Melissa begs her husband, grabbing him on the arm.

Ben lets out a sigh before looking at the group.  "Wish I could stay longer but I guess it's time I head out," he says, standing.

"Guess that means I'm leaving, too," Jacob joins in, following Ben.

The men put their coats on and walk outside with Melissa.  Ben steps into the passenger seat, Melissa into the driver's side, and Jacob in the back.  They all buckle before Melissa starts driving.  She keeps a conversation going as she drives Jacob home.

Once they pull up to the large blue house, Jacob unbuckles.  "Hey, good job tonight man.  See you tomorrow," Ben says as Jacob steps out of the car.

"You too dude, see you," Jacob replies before Melissa drives off.

Jacob slugs into his house, feeling emotionally and physically tired.  He opens the door and is greeted by his Border Collie, Buddy.  Jacob closes the door and pets Buddy.  A sad smile takes over his face as he whispers, "Who needs a man when they can have you?"

Buddy wags his tail as Jacob scratches behind his ears. A small tear falls down his cheek as he wraps his arms around his dog. Buddy just nuzzles his head into Jacob's neck.

After a bit, Jacob stands up and closes the door. Buddy follows as he walks to his bedroom in the back of the house. He quickly strips all of his clothes besides his boxers and lays in his bed. He grabs his phone and goes to his messages. He then clicks on his messages with Ben, his chest starting to hurt. He then types a message, but deletes it and turns the phone off.

Jacob: I love you