Can't Buy Me Love

Part 4

Dating was new to Joe. Not the newest of new, but new enough. He had done it before, but not for some time. Things were he wanted to do, things he wanted to experience but he had given up on those things. He focused on his career because it was the one thing he could control. He wrote his scripts, he directed his films

Studios got involved, but at the end of the day, the final choices were his own.

Life was more complicated than that. People got involved more often than not and things got messed up. It wasn't always worth the trouble. He had a handsome man wanting to take him out and show him a good time. The voice inside his head was telling Joe to shut it down. To forget about it and go back to his safe space, but he refused.

For the first time in a long time, he was feeling brave. He invited Ben out again, finding that he liked doing the simple things with him. Whether it be hanging out at the park or sitting by the beach. They went for coffee this time around, their fourth date. Joe drank way too much coffee but Ben didn't need to know that.

Yet he told him anyway. The blond just laughed and smiled along. He let Joe touch his hand at the table. He didn't avoid his gaze. It was so odd to him.

He kissed him again and Joe found that he liked kissing Ben. His lips were soft and they tasted like vanilla. He didn't know if that was due to the latte he had been drinking or the lip balm he used. They spent the entire day together and when it was time to depart, they kissed again.

When they pulled apart, he heard someone call his name and found Lucy and Rami leaving a nearby restaurant. Lucy was absolutely over to moon to see him with somebody and Rami just kept smiling. Joe still didn't know how Rami and Ben knew one another, so when Lucy asked Ben gave the answer.

"Through business." He mentioned casually.

Rami excused himself and his lady love, leaving the two men alone. When he and Ben went their separate ways, Ben told him that he was going to choose the next place for their date.

How many more dates did two people have to go on until things got real? That was what Joe wondered when he went home that night.

👑

Ben was just settling into his loft when he heard the knock on his door. Frankie, as adorable as she was, didn't fit the bill for a protector. She didn't yip or wag her tail. She stayed asleep on the couch, unbothered by a visitor.

When he opened the door, he found Mr. Malek standing in front of it. He had only met the man once, technically twice if you counted their small interaction earlier in the night.

Ben offered for him to come inside, but he didn't. He just stood in the doorway, watching the blond man intensely.

"I just want us to both be on the same page here, Mr. Hardy. Just to remind you what I'm paying you for."

There wasn't supposed to be any kissing or touching. No sex of any kind. Rami wanted to break Joe out of his funk and he paid Ben a good amount of money to do so. It wasn't the worst job in the world. Ben had been paid less to do more.

Much, much more.

It was a quick contact. An easy job. Rami showed up with the information and a picture of Joe attached. He gave a quick description of the man and his situation. He was currently on a three-year heartbreak, one he apparently refused to break out of no matter what he tried. It was easy to see Rami was desperate and Ben had never had any complaints before.

Rami wanted his old pal to go back to the way he used to be. Back to being fun and lively, not giving in a hell of his own making. He really wasn't asking much. Give the guy a good time and then be done with it.

Rami obviously didn't think Joe would want to see Ben again and to be honest, neither did Ben.

"He made the move, not me," Ben argued. "Doesn't have show improvement?"

"And when you stop coming around? How do you think he'll take it?"

Ben wasn't supposed to make Joe like him. All he had to do was give him a good first date, maybe even a second just to get him out of the house. That was it. But now things were complicated. Ben had dealt with different clients before. Some he enjoyed spending time with and the others he had to remind himself that this is what paid the rent.

Ben didn't live a luxurious life. He didn't spend his money wildly and use it to buy nice things. He lived in a good apartment and took care of his dog. That was it. He could get another job somewhere else. Earn an honest living. But when he first came to America he was desperate and wanted to make a name for himself.

Modeling didn't take off but he found other ways to make use of the looks the good lord have given him. And now it was biting him in the ass because Ben had to be stupid and get attached.

"Just remember what this is, Mr. Hardy. Just remember who you are."

There were a lot of names for it. Prostitute. Man for hire. You could call it whatever you want, but at the end of the day, it was still the same thing. If you paid enough money, Ben would be your guy. Aside from kill someone, there was very little he wasn't willing to do. He had been doing this for five years. It paid the bills and he was good at it. People liked his look, though he was handsome and pretty. Maybe it wasn't the most honest of living but most people who hired him knew what they were getting.

Except Joe had no idea. And that killed Ben inside.