Jace made small talk in the car, and Ben did his best to respond, but it was hard. He wanted to be selfish and pretend that he hadn’t done what he had, but he couldn’t. Jace deserved to know the truth, even though it would mean the end of everything.

“I meant my home,” Ben said as they pulled in Jace’s apartment complex.

“I know what you meant,” Jace replied gently.

Ben felt as if he was saying good-bye to everything as he entered the apartment. He knew when he stroked Samson, it would be for the last time, and he couldn’t bear to think of all the other things he was about to lose. He had to tell Jace now while he still had the courage.

“I was with Tim. We slept together.”

Jace’s face was strained. “I figured. Got it all out of your system now?”

Ben nodded.

“Good.” Jace slipped out of his shoes and started working on his tie. Wasn’t he going to take Ben home? Or maybe he was expected to walk back.

“Don’t you want to get out of that doofy robe?” Jace asked.

“I don’t understand.”

Jace sighed. “My love for you doesn’t stop just because you make a stupid mistake. An extremely stupid mistake, I might add. I love you, and if you promise to trust my word in the future, then I’ll trust you again, too.”

The strange combination of laughter and tears and relief overtook Ben. Jace helped him out of his robe, took off his own jacket, and led him to the bedroom. Ben crawled into bed and Jace got in behind him, spooning himself against Ben’s back. They lay there for hours, taking turns holding each other while Samson purred contentedly at their feet.

__________

Part Three:

Austin, 2003

__________

Chapter 26

Falling in love is a subtle process, a connection sparked by attraction, tested by compatibility, and forged by memory. In this same manner, Austin had became a part of Ben and Jace’s life. They had dined in Austin’s restaurants, danced in its clubs, and lazed away more than one afternoon in its parks. Austin had everything they needed, and moving would mean leaving behind the backdrop to both good and bad times. Ben and Jace had fallen in love with Austin, and found, quite by surprise, that they were already home.

Allison was staying, too. She plunged into her career, not even taking a summer break. She got a job at a local shelter for teenage runaways, apprenticing at a mental health hospital in her spare time. There she met the man she would marry. Brian was a struggling alcoholic, and proving how strange love could be, Allison found everything she was looking for in him.

Ben didn’t have such instant success. He took most of the summer off, travelling occasionally with Jace and seeing brief glimpses of the country. He spent one month at his parents’ house, the first proper visit with his family since he left for college. When he returned to Austin, he worked as a temp for a year, still uncertain of what he wanted to do.

Allison suggested a position at the hospital where she now worked. A part-time job as a speech therapist had opened there. Allison had enough influence that he didn’t even need to interview. Ben took the position to get away from menial temp work, and almost instantly found the job rewarding.

His clients were varied, to say the least. Some were accident victims who had lost their ability to speak due to physical or mental traumas. Others were stroke survivors, and occasionally he worked with children born with speech impediments. Ben enjoyed breaking the words apart to reshape and customize for each individual to say. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was doing something worthwhile.

Never one to leave things half-done, Allison found him another job to occupy the rest of his time. Brian, who by now had been sober for almost two years, was also part-owner of a dinner theater. There, a play featuring a few musical numbers was scheduled. Unlike speech therapy, Ben did not easily warm to this idea. He had no dramatic training and little urge to perform for an audience he imagined as a sea of bald and blue-haired heads.

He was certain he would turn down the opportunity, but then Jace switched to the international routes he had always wanted. Ben was happy for him but knew this meant even more time spent apart. Deciding it would help keep him occupied, Ben accepted a small role at the dinner theater. His first part only had a few speaking lines and one song; he was playing a poor street urchin who loses his life to the cold, harsh winter.

Everything changed the first night he stepped out onto stage. The magic of theater turned him into that urchin, and he sang with his entire soul. He received a standing ovation, and continued to with every performance. He never would have thought it possible, but he had fallen in love with theater and eagerly took on larger roles.

In what would have been spring break if he was still in college, four years after they had met, Ben and Jace went to Paris. They both knew what this meant, and the air was thick with anticipation as they both waited for the proposal. The moment came when Jace proposed to Ben during a breakfast in bed. He had hidden the ring in a French croissant, which made Ben laugh so hard that he almost couldn’t say yes.

Now the big day had come, and so far it was nothing like Ben had pictured it. Movies were full of grooms with cold feet, but Ben couldn’t be more ready. Choosing to spend the rest of his life with Jace was the easy part. Getting the wedding party organized while juggling the needs of guests wasn’t. Right now Ben was most worried about the tablecloths. Wind was picking up across the lake and threatening to send the table decorations flying through the park.

“I think we’re going to need some rocks,” Ben said.

“I know the caterers are running late,” Allison said drolly, “but I don’t think that’s a good solution.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Do you think I should run to the grocery store and pick up some veggie platters? Or a fun pack of Snickers at least?”

“Everyone is fine,” Allison said. “The food isn’t supposed to be served until after the ceremony anyway. If they’re still not here by then, we’ll order pizza.”

Ben looked to the pagoda they had reserved. White roses covered every inch of the wooden surface that wasn’t already awash in ribbons and balloons. Against the odds, he and Allison had managed to bring a garish amount of decorations together into a beautiful display. The thought of what was about to take place there distracted Ben momentarily from all that needed to be done.

He scanned the crowd until he found the only person dressed in a white tuxedo. More handsome than ever, Jace was surrounded by a gaggle of aunts and cousins, nodding pleasantly and smiling since they wouldn’t let him get a word in. He caught Ben staring and gave a helpless little shake of his head. Ben would have to extract him from his family if they were to ever get started.

“There’s the catering van,” Allison said. “No, you stay here. Brian!”

As usual, whenever Allison called, Brian responded. She may have found someone even more patient than Jace, because Brian seemed to be always running an errand for her or performing some task. The poor man was run ragged, but Brian had nothing but love in his eyes for Allison.

The wedding DJ’s speakers blared into life. Ben’s jaw dropped at the song that was being played. “That’s our wedding march! The idiot is playing it early.”