Page 29 of A Different Form of Oxygen
Nineteen
Gavin
I knew it was hard for Ben to talk about his father; I could see the strain on his face when he mentioned memories of him. I had a difficult time talking about my father too, but not for the same reason. I haven’t told him much about my family because there wasn’t anything good to tell and I no longer felt they were family. The only family I have is my brother. He is the only family I needed. We’d been fine with just the two of us for many years.
The car ride is a short one and it’s mostly filled with music coming from Ben’s phone and his horrible singing that I can’t help but smile at. I follow Ben into the restaurant and the waitress guides us to a table in the back. I never want to release Ben’s hand when we sit down and hate the few minutes where I’m not touching him. I reach for it again once we’re seated and he meets me halfway, sliding his palm over mine. I automatically wrap my fingers round his, making him smile. He uses his other hand to flip open the menu and his green eyes peer up at mine.
“So, what are you getting, Papi? I’ve never been here before, but I love Cajun food. Honestly, I love all food.” Ben reaches for his water, taking large gulps while continuing to flip through the menu. I can tell he’s anxious by the way he can’t seem to stay still.
I rub circles over his skin with the blade of my thumb again. “Easy; just relax and settle.”
His green eyes meet mine and his back is no longer arching. The glass of water stops shaking in his hand and his other one is lying flat on the menu undermine.
“Sorry, sometimes I get a bit antsy in public places. Usually dancing, joking, or doing something reckless helps get me out of my head.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I usually get the vegetarian gumbo, but Maverick always gets the shrimp gumbo and fried alligator.”
He smiles. “Oh, gumbo and fried alligator sound good. I think I’ll get that.”
I set our menus at the corner of the table. “I think anything would sound good to you right now. Did you not eat today?”
“I had a sandwich for lunch and it’s dinner time now, so it’s not like I skipped a meal.”
The time reads a little after seven on my phone. “It’s a bit past dinner time but I guess we did get a bit distracted, so it’s my fault you didn’t have dinner when you were supposed to.”
“You can prevent me from having dinner anytime you want,”‘ he says with a wink, smiling playfully.
The waitress comes by to take our order and I almost think Ben is about to order everything off the menu. When she’s gone, his focus is back on me.
“Tell me, are you and Maverick from Austin or did you move here? Casey said something about y’all living somewhere else before, and I realized recently that we talk about me more than we talk about you.”
“You’re much more interesting than I am and yes, we moved from Dallas. Our parents are still there though, and they will probably be there for the rest of their lives. We don’t talk to them. Our relationship with them ended when we left. If you could even call that a relationship.”
He frowns. “I’m sorry to hear that. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
I didn’t want to talk about it but the thought of making Ben more comfortable and developing trust in me makes me want to share everything with him. Sometimes it feels like he is holding something back, but that could just be my brain overthinking things.
“It’s okay. Long story short, my parents are terrible people and you will be glad to never have to meet them. I only wish Maverick and I had left sooner, but everything happens for a reason. I ended up exactly where I belong, and so did he.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true. I think I’m right where I belong too, even though I’m jobless now.”
“What do you mean, you’re jobless? It isn’t because you were at the bar keeping me company today, was it?”
He shakes his head, eyes still looking down at the table. “No, it has nothing to do with that. It was time for me to move on anyway, and my boss is a huge asshole.”
“I could have told you that.” I take a sip of my drink. “Well, you have a job at the bar if you want it. I think you’re capable of pouring beer and wiping down counters.”
“And still deal with drunk creeps all night? I think I’ll pass. I think it’s time to do something related to my major. Time to get some hands-on experience at a nursery or something. I was never the type to sit at a desk.”
“That’s good; I think that will be better for you. You are around plants all day anyway so why not be around more and get paid for it?”
Our food comes and we become too busy eating to talk. I hate that Ben lost his job, but I was glad he no longer had to work for Alex. Every time I think of the guy, memories flood back to the way he treated Ben at his birthday party over a year ago. I’ve hated the guy ever since. I tell Ben to wait up front while I go to the bathroom and almost run into a guy with bright blue eyes dressed like he just came from a business meeting.
“Excuse me, Sorry; I didn’t see you there.”
He rests a hand on my shoulder, pressing a little too tightly for comfort. Giving me the perfect view of a titanium ring with a green stone embedded in the center. “No worries, man. Sometimes people just get in your way when they don’t belong there.”
My eyes fall to his hand still on my shoulder. “Excuse me?”
His malicious smile rubs me the wrong way. “I mean, it’s easy to get in each other’s way in small places like this. Anyway, have a good rest of your night.”
There was something unsettling in his eyes when he said those words to me, leaving me feeling uneasy on my way back to Ben. Ben is back to singing and playing music as soon as we get back in my car. I fold his hand in mine as we drive down the road, and I’m already forgetting my strange encounter with the man in the restaurant.
