Miles apart (Man × Man) ✔

18) s u r p r i s e d

They had formed a routine of work and seeing each other at least a few times a week. Sometimes Ash came over to Miles' and spent the night, sometimes Miles went to him and sometimes they went out for a coffee or rode around on Ash's bike. It was a nice routine, one Miles could easily endorse.

"So, you're all rich?" Ash cocked up an eyebrow and leaned his back against the mirrored wall of the elevator. His arms were crossed on his chest and his expression was glum, but Miles could tell the worst edge of his dislike towards "the rich" had evened.

They had been invited to Benjamin's, Ash by Eli and Miles by Benjamin. Right after the invitation Miles had called Ash to ask him to come there with him, just as Ash asked Miles to come with him. What they both had failed to think about was that if Benjamin and Eli's closest friends were coming, they were both likely already included in the guest list.

Be as it may, knowing that Ash would have wanted to take him to the gathering as his avec, meant a lot to Miles. After all, the previous times they had been around Ash's friends had made Miles question whether he was ashamed of having feelings for Miles.

"I guess so." Miles shrugged.

Ash did have a point, because the apartment building Benjamin lived in was one of nicest in the city. Even the stairway was all windows and shiny surfaces, and the elevator was easily big enough for ten occupants. Miles had never actually stopped to think how Benjamin could own such an expensive residence.

"I'm not sure what Benjamin's parents do for a living, he never talks about them." He pondered. "Jeremy Preston comes from a rich family, that much I know for sure. And.." Miles exited the elevator as soon as its doors slid open. "Everyone in Judith's family has made a name in the design field, and her mom owns Kerning. Which is actually the reason she can be late whene—"

"You're here!" Eli slung the door open and squeezed his arms around Ash. Then he proceeded by pulling Ash into the apartment, leaving Miles staring after them with raised brows and an amused grin on his lips.

"Eli might have gotten a headstart with the drinks.." Benjamin's smiling face appeared to the door chink. They both shrugged at the same time and let out a soft laughter, as if to say: those two.. Then Benjamin wrapped an arm around Miles' shoulder and guided him in: "It's nice to see you as well."

Inside the apartment Judith was already chatting with Jeremy Preston, both sipping red wine. Dam-Bi was blabbering with Steven and Shirley, while Brandon sat on the floor taking his distance from everyone. Eli and Ash were still in the kitchen, mixing a Gin and Tonic for Ash, when Benjamin and Miles joined them.

Next up was the awkward hassle of making room by the couch for two more people. Eventually Miles ended up squeezed between Shirley and Ash, sitting so close to Ash he could easily have rested his head in the crook of his neck. He didn't, as he remembered the way Ash treated him like a stranger most of the time if their friends were around.

Ash's friends were a mixed bag. Eli, Steven and Dam-Bi were the kind that never shut up and whose laughter filled the room. Shirley and Brandon were more like Ash, with the exception that they actually laughed and smiled every now and then. But then again, it wasn't like Miles' friends didn't have their differences.

When Miles had started in Kerning, Judith's mom, Casandra, had made her give Miles a tour around the office. Miles, who had been in his nervous blabbering mode, had tried Judith's patience. For his defence, though, the nervousness had a lot to do with the fact he had found her intimidating.

Judith's resolute personality and her strong independent woman vibe in addition to her being as easily read as a locked book written in Hebrew, was nearly unbearable for Miles for the first months he worked at Kerning. That, plus the fact she was overprotective over Benjamin made Miles think she didn't want him anywhere near herself or Benjamin.