Endless

Fall Into Silence

SAGE'S POV

"You ready?" I asked Ben as I adjusted his tie. He let out a wavering breath, nodding.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Hey, you don't have to do this tonight," I said gently. "If you need more time—"

"No, I'm ready. I am. I'm just... nervous. But it's him, you know?" I nodded softly, smiling a little as I patted his shoulder, before ushering him out of his room.

We joined our friends in the living room, and I felt compelled to go straight to Leo. He peered up at me curiously.

"Why are you staring at me?" I blinked.

"Sorry, I'm just... really excited... that we made it, I mean." Hey, it's partially true. He grinned at me and nodded, pulling me in for a hug. I gave him a gentle squeeze and shut my eyes. Your life is about to change, I thought, because I couldn't tell him aloud just yet.

When we parted, I went to Angel, slipping my arms around his waist. He pecked my lips lightly, smiling.

"Can you tell me the surprise now? It's killing me." I simply smiled.

"Is everyone ready?" Ben called, and everyone erupted in a chorus of 'yes.' The eight of us trailed outside, piling into Terry's SUV. It took just over twenty minutes to get to the restaurant, and when we did, we marveled at the large establishment, coated in luxe.

"Where did you find this place?" Leo questioned Ben, eyes wide in awe.

"I have my sources," Ben winked playfully. Leo snorted, and Ben tugged him up the small hill that the restaurant sat on.

Inside, Ben spoke to the small, crinkly eyed elder woman behind the host's desk. Her eyes were a deep shade of brown with a light I envied. Her deep, mahogany curls blended smoothly with her brown skin, and she smiled warmly at our group.

"Hi. We have a reservation for eight under the name Freed? Ben Freed." Ben leaned against the desk as she — Rose, as her name tag supplied — typed on the computer in front of her, searching for the RSVP.

"Ah, here it is. Yes, Mr. Freed, you'll be right this way," the small woman grabbed eight menus and lead us to a table in the center of the restaurant, with just enough seats for all of us to fit. There were four chairs on each side of the table, and we all settled in.

Ben sat on the very end of his side, with Leo on his left. Terry and Carlos took their place next to them. On the other side, I sat directly across from Ben, Angel to my right. Tommy sat beside him, Riley — his new girlfriend — on the end.

Ben glanced at me nervously, but I watched the anticipation taking over in his gaze. I nodded at him reassuringly, and he sighed softly.

"Everything looks so good, I don't know what to choose!" Terry exclaimed, flipping through the menu.

"Me neither, I want it all!" Riley chimed in, and she and Terry giggled. After nearly ten minutes of combing through the menus, we were all ready. The server arrived shortly after, taking everyone's order.

"Can we also get a bottle of your Dolcetto?" Ben requested politely, and the server nodded sweetly, smiling sheepishly as Ben thanked her.

"She's smitten with you," Leo teased. Ben nudged him in the side, resulting in Leo grinning and taking a sip of his complimentary water.

Soon enough, she returned with all of the food, another server following her with a tray stand. Our server — Emmy — set the tray of food onto the tray before standing straight and sighing exasperatedly. She smiled warmly at us, beginning to pass out the food. She then disappeared back into the kitchen, re-emerging within seconds with the bottle of wine.