Angels To Fly

Hold Back My Heart

Joe didn't overstay his welcome. As he said to Ben earlier in the evening, he was a gentleman. He was not about to stay the night or even simply slobber on Ben for a few more hours. He left promptly at 10.

Joe was still on Cloud 9 as he walked to his car. Ben, of course, walked him to the car, even if it was below freezing and both had to be dressed in several layers to combat the cold. Even though the young men spent the last half hour making out on Ben's bed, Joe's cheeks still felt flushed when he had to find a way to part ways with Ben.

Luckily, Ben spoke first, "Thank you for such a wonderful night. My host family loves you now more than me, I think. You were truly a hit."

Joe gave the blond a shrug, "I'm a hit with the kiddies. If I wasn't going to be an award-winning screenplay writer, I'd be a teacher."

Ben nodded, chuckling lightly to himself, loving how confident Joe was when it came to his screenplay writing, even if he did bash it from time to time, "And when you win your first Oscar, I'll figure out a way to sneak in and congratulate you."

"I'd like that," Joe muttered, thinking about some future that would be such a dream to be the reality. But shit - this was the reality and Joe was left with silence between. Joe began to feel a burn in his stomach as he watched Ben tilt his head an inch closer to him. "No. N-not out here..." Joe said firmly, yet his touch against Ben was gentle. "Good night, Ben." He affirmed, getting into his car suddenly, his eye-wincing when he met eyes with Ben and saw how disheartened he looked. Joe was caught between getting out the car again and giving him the kiss he wanted and peeling out of the driveway as fast as he could as to not avert his eyes back on the blond. He went with the latter.

When Joe returned to his house, his head began to throb again. Strange. He always thought he had a hard head. Yes, when he raised his fingertips to his forehead, there was still a slight bulge but nothing concerning. And yet, there he was, finding it hard to concentrate on anything but the thump-thump pulsating between his temples.

Just as Joe made his way to the kitchen, he was met with his mother, who never actually slept. She asked him to sit and after he explained that he was just here to get some water and pills for a headache, she forced him to sit and she did it for him.

Joe muttered a quick thanks and she paused a moment before cocking her head to the side, "I know this might sound odd but you smell different. Either you used different cologne or the lady you went on that date with tonight has very masculine perfume."

It wasn't until his mother left the room to rest in the living room and Joe glanced down at his shirt that he realized it wasn't his shirt - but Ben's. They were almost the same size. Damn. Joe lifted the shirt to smell the cologne and Joe's mind flashed the scene of the two, hungrily kissing, their tongues even meeting and shirts being thrown off to the side. He must have haphazardly grabbed the blond's when the clock struck 10.

When Joe made his way to his room and peeled off the shirt, he made a mental note to text ben about it in the morning. Joe took a look at himself in the mirror and cursed aloud. The fucker left a mark on his collar bone.

Perhaps he hit his head harder than he realized. He didn't remember Ben biting on his skin or even having how they started kissing in the first place. He didn't want to admit this but so may intimate thoughts of Ben were scattered and Joe had no idea why. It was actually a reason why he didn't text Ben all too much. One, he was afraid as hell to be attracted to a man so suddenly and so deeply as Ben. Second, that all their intimate moment were almost always met with Joe forgetting half of what happened, leaving Ben more confused than all hell (as he should be).

Did he kiss Ben first? Or did Ben make the first move? Who decided to take off their shirts? Why didn't Joe stop him from making marks? He wasn't ready to have a conversation about love bites to his friends and especially not his mother.