I'm going slightly mad // Hardzello

Chapter 17

Joe nervously taps his foot on the ground. He already parked the car that he hired in the parking garage from the hotel. Everything he needs for their date is stuffed in the backseat. From his bed, he grabs his phone. He searches for his chat with Ben before sending him a message.

There is no need to dress fancy. Normal jeans and something like a sweater is good enough. I will pick you up in half an hour.

Joe himself put on the back jeans he wore on their first date and a navy blue hoodie. His hair is so fluffy that he didn't even try to slick it back. He threw his Yankees hat in the back of the car in case he needed it. He looks at the clock in his hotel room. The minutes are ticking away very slowly. It seems like hours before it's almost half past seven. Joe looks in the mirror one more time before walking out of his hotel room. 

He knocks on Ben's door which immediately opens. Ben must have been standing directly behind it.
"Hello, sir. May I kidnap you today?" Joe says while holding his arm out for Ben to hook his arm through.
"Of course you may, mr Mazzello." Ben makes sure he speaks out Joe's last name as Italian as he can. After hooking his arm through Joe's. Together they walk down to the parking garage. Ben walks over to his own car.
"No, no I hired a different car for today." Joe walks over to the car. It's a black pick-up truck. Joe has put everything away on the backseats. He covered it all with a blanket. In that way Ben was unable to even try and guess what they were going to do.

"I guess you are not going to tell me where we are going, are you?" Ben asks after half an hour of driving.
"Nope. You'll see." Joe has his eyes focused on the road. Slowly the sun is starting to set. Which makes it more difficult to drive. During their ride, they mostly talk about the past week. There happened a lot in such a short period of time that it is easy to pick a thing to talk about. 

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At the end of a one and a half hour drive, Joe pulls over the car next to the road. Ben looks confused around. They are in the middle of nowhere. There is no building to be seen. Just the plain grasses and the narrow sand road Joe just pulled off of. With a questioned look on his face, Ben turns around to look at Joe.
"Close your eyes and stay here, alright?" Joe asks before hopping out of the car. Ben places his hands in front of his eyes while Joe opens the door from the back seat. He grabs as much stuff as he can carry in one go and throws it in the back. He already secured a two-person air mattress in the back. Now he puts all the blankets and pillows around and on top of them. He hides all the food and other stuff underneath the blankets on the side. He hangs the Christmas lights he found on discount in a store around the sides of the truck. They go on batteries which makes it perfect for this place. When he is done he looks with a smile on his face at the result. He jumps down from the back and starts jogging towards Ben's door.
"You can open your eyes now." Ben removes his hands from his eyes and immediately smiles at Joe who is standing in front of the door.

When they walk around the car Ben looks in awe at the back of the truck. Joe climbs in holding out a hand for Ben to get in. They lay down at the air mattress next to each other. Joe feels his heart starting to beat faster as soon as he realises how close they are laying next to each other.
"It may seem a bit weird compared to the last date but I just love talking to you. And you told me once that you love the night sky. So I thought this would be a good combination of those two things." Suddenly Joe starts to think his idea is lame. He tries to find ways to explain his idea so Ben isn't going to think that he is a dork. Ben immediately picks up the worried undertone hiding in Joe's voice.
"Don't worry Joe. I think it is perfect. Just like you." Ben says a smile slowly creeping on his lips.
"We've been laying here for ten minutes and you already are trying to make me blush?" Joe is more than happy that the colour of his cheeks are barely visible in the minimal light the Christmas lights provide.
"That's my way to go. Does it work?" Ben turns his head towards Joe.
"Maybe." Joe also turns his head to the side. He is blushing so hard that Ben can see it. They look at each other for a little while before Ben turns his head towards the night sky again.
"It's beautiful here," Ben whispers. Joe hums while he still looks at Ben. The Christmas lights reflect in his eyes which make his green eyes twinkle.

After some time and some snacks later they still are laying next to each other. They talk a lot but here and there it falls silent. It's a nice silence. Not one of those silences where you can feel the tension in the air. Now the just feel the comfortable presence of each other. At one point Joe grabs Ben's hand intertwining their fingers. Out of the corners of his eyes, he looks for a reaction on Ben's face. Ben's lips slowly curl into a smile which tells Joe that his move is okay.

"Do you want to sleep here tonight or do you want me to drive back?" Joe asks after a few hours.
"Can we stay here? I love it out here." Ben turns his head towards Joe. The latter sits up to drink something.
"Sure." He says before taking a few sips from his water. Ben sits up to the same. He reaches around Joe to grab his own bottle. With that, he basically traps Joe between the edge of the truck and Ben. He takes a few sips before placing it back. There isn't a second where Ben took his eyes off off Joe. He stares deep in Joe's eyes before letting his eyes slide towards his lips. Ben places one hand on the side of Joe's head. The other one on Joe's back. Slowly he brings his face closer to Joe. He kisses him softly. With all his heart he hopes that Joe will kiss back. Which he does. Joe's hands find their way around Bens' neck. The latter lets his tongue running over Joe's bottom lip. Asking for permission to get in. Joe opens his mouth slightly. It's enough for Ben to slip his tongue into Joe's mouth. Joe immediately copies the action. Both of them are fighting for dominance. They stop for a second to breathe before continuing. Joe finds his way to sit on Ben's lap. The blonde wraps his arms around the ginger pulling him even closer into his chest. They both end up falling backwards. Joe on top of Ben. They never broke the kiss. Joe's hands slowly find their way towards Ben's hair. He lets his hands run through the blonde locks of hair. Ben has one hand on Joe's back. The other travels down until it lays on the waistline of Joe's pants. After a few seconds, they break the kiss. Joe rolls of Ben and immediately intertwines their fingers.
"That was hot." Joe's chest falls and rises in a quick tempo.
"I love you, Joe." Ben turns his head towards Joe, looking him straight in the eye.
"I love you too." Joe looks back and almost drowns in the shiny green eyes.
"The next time someone asks what you are from me, may I tell them that you are my boyfriend?" Joe asks. His eyes are still fixated on Ben's face.
"I would love nothing more." 

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Hey lovies,

I think I made a lot of people happy with this chapter, didn't I? 

Well, just a quick warning this book isn't going to be a fluffy. There will be a lot of drama waiting for y'all. (And yes also more fluff don't worry)

Anyways, I was wondering, in my friend group we always have this discussion about brushing your teeth (yes, me and my friends are weird). When you brush your teeth do you first make the toothbrush wet and then put water on it or the other way around? Or are you a maniac (jk I still love you when I do that) and don't water your toothbrush at all? 

That was all I have to say for today.

Xx Itsametaphorjoe