Page 43 of Operation Sunshine
Ben shrugged, uncomfortable with the sudden vulnerability that spread through him at a slow crawl. “I mean... you’re part of something now. The restaurant. The team. You’re not alone.” He managed a smile. “We’renot.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke, the sound of traffic outside filling the silence between them.
It feels so strange to be so honest.To admit to someone else that he wasn’t the only one carrying around all this baggage. And in that moment, something inside him shifted, creating another tiny crack in the wall he’d built around his heart.
Franco finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’ve been afraid for so long.”
“Of what?”
“Needing someone and not being enough for them. But with you, Ben... I feel like maybe I don’t have to be perfect. Maybe I can justbe.”
The iron band around Ben’s chest tightened even further, that damn lump still in his throat. He wanted to say something to reassure Franco, but the words felt too heavy. Instead, he did the only thing he could think of. He laid a tentative hand on Franco’s arm, a silent gesture of solidarity.
“You’re enough,” Ben said quietly. “I’m not perfect, and you don’t have to be either.”
The words had slipped out of his mouth with frightening ease, but the weight of them landed hard between them.
I’m not perfect, but you don’t have to be either.
He could feel the sharp edges of everything he’d said, ofeverything he’d finally admitted. But before he could regret it, Franco leaned in toward him, his eyes not only soft but open.
The space between them closed with a quiet, deliberate urgency. Ben’s breathing hitched, his body aching for something—anything—to break the silence. He told himself it was simply the closeness, the too-intimate feeling of being this exposed with someone else.
It was more than that and he knew it.
Franco scanned his face, and for a moment, Ben wondered what he was searching for. Then Franco’s hand was at his jaw, his fingers warm and steady. Ben’s heart stuttered in his chest, but it was the kind of fluttering, dizzying rhythm that told him,this is it.
This was the moment where everything broke wide open.
“You sure?” Franco’s voice was a low hum, but there was no mistaking the intent behind it. It wasn’t a question, but more of a dare, inviting, tempting.
Ben opened his mouth, but the words that formed there weren’t what he expected. “I think I’ve wanted this for a while now,” he confessed, his voice rough and hoarse, as though he’d been holding the words back longer than he’d realised.
The tension between them surged, electric, tight, painful.
Ben had never been one to fall for the impulse, for the moment, but Franco made him feel as though there was no choice. Every inch of Ben’s body was alert, his pulse thundering in his ears. Franco’s eyes held hunger and fire. And for once, Ben didn’t want to pull back. He didn’t want to hide behind his walls.
I want this.
Then Franco moved.
The kiss came like a storm, sudden and overwhelming. Franco’s lips were on his, coaxing and slow. It was nothing like the teasing, the light touches that had sparked something during the day. This was deeper, a pressure that made Ben’s whole body ache with desire. Franco’s tongue was insistent, parting his lips with enough force to open him up, sweeping in, tasting, claiming.
Ben was grateful to be sitting. He grabbed Franco’s shoulders, anchoring himself, trying to pull him closer, and the kiss turned frantic, as if there was no tomorrow, no reason to hold back. Their bodies were pressed together, chest to chest, heat radiating between them. It was as if every nerve was on fire, every sensation heightened.
Ben was alive in ways he hadn’t let himself feel in years, if ever.
When Franco withdrew enough to look at him, Ben’s pulse raced. Franco’s lips were swollen, pink, and his eyes had that same hungry look, full of desire and something else.
Something tender.
“You sure, Ben?” Franco whispered again. He slid his hand down Ben’s arm, his fingertips tracing the warmth spreading like liquid heat through Ben’s body.
Ben nodded. “I’m sure.” His voice was thick. He swallowed. “I’m on PrEP.”
Franco’s lips curved into a grin. “Me too.”
“And I just had a test. Everything’s good.”
