Page 13 of Beautifully Damaged

Ben’s smile slipped away. Despite Gordon’s claims about Joey not being unfaithful to him, some things still cut deep, and he had still been screwed out of three years with Joey. It also looked like he might get fucked out of having the rest of his life with him as well. He couldn’t hide the hurt any longer.

“Well, now. That’s not the least bit true, is it? The last I checked, you’re still the superstar and I’m still no one to you. Seems to me the cheater made out just fine.”

Joey held Ben’s stare with his heart in his eyes. “I never cheated on you, and I’m not fine. I haven’t been in a long time. Losing you is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I need to delete that photo from my social media accounts.”

Joey and Ben held each other’s stare. Candace might have said more, but Ben didn’t hear a word. The world disappeared. No one existed for him but Joey.

“I’m so sorry.” The words were barely a whisper, but they sounded like they came from Joey’s soul. “I was scared of losing everything. Then you left me, and I realized you were everything, but it was too late.”

Gordon appeared from nowhere. He grabbed Ben’s arm. “You need to get out of here. No one wants this on the first page of every news site.”

Joey never broke eye contact with Ben. “Gordon, you’re fired. Get all your fucking trash off my property.”

“Woot. Woot.” The guy next to Joey cheered with his arms in the air. It was obvious he was high as a kite. He sat up, and Ben could only blink at the sight of Jessie Thunder.

Joey made a staying gesture in Jessie’s direction. “You can stay. Everyone else has to go.”

Jessie stumbled to his feet. “Nope. You need to spend some time with your man, and I need to help.” Jessie cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Let’s move this party to my place. Drinks on me.” The crowd cheered and headed en masse toward the gate. Jessie motioned Gordon’s way. “You’re not invited.” He pointed at Ben and lowered his sunglasses, giving Ben a once over. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

Ben nodded.

Gordon sputtered, “What the fuck, Joey? You can’t just fire me. We have a contract.”

Joey shrugged. “And I have amazing lawyers. You’ve crossed too many lines and I’ve let you. That ends today. And get your fucking hands off my man.”

Gordon looked two seconds away from falling to his knees. “Can’t we at least talk about this?”

“Not if you don’t leave right this second,” Joey shot back without missing a beat.

Gordon looked between them. His bloodshot eyes and too-red nose screamed alcoholism. It was obvious he didn’t want to go, but it was equally obvious Joey wasn’t leaving him a choice. He shot Ben a look of pure venom before following the crowd. Ben knew then the drama wasn’t over with Gordon, but Ben couldn’t worry about him right now. He had too much to say to Joey.

He waited until they were alone. “I only made it two hours without you.”

Joey nodded, as if he got it. “I told Kirsten Whitehead to call me at the end of the week for my statement on the hotel thing. I decided to tell her about you.”

Ben didn’t know if that was true. It didn’t matter either way. Ben was here now. He didn’t think he had the strength to leave.

A smile exploded across Joey’s face before Ben had time to decide how he felt. A snort of laughter escaped Joey. “You said you were my asshole’s one millionth customer.” Another loud bark of laughter burst from Joey. He held his stomach and howled with laughter. “I’m fucking dead. I didn’t see Mandy’s face. Was it priceless?”

Ben bit his bottom lip. A hint of guilt wormed its way in. “I’m pretty sure her name was Candace, but let’s hope that’s not the quote Kirsten ends up using in her gossip column.”

Joey released a loud sigh. “Fuck it.”

The adrenaline from racing to get to Joey wore off, leaving Ben in shock. Joey had really done it. He had told people about them. Not only that. He had fired Gordon and told everyone to leave… for him. Ben hadn’t dared to hope. They held each other’s stare, as if neither of them knew what to do next.

Ben dropped to his haunches as the weight of everything overcame him. He covered his mouth. Emotion washed over him. Joey’s entire life would change. He had done that for Ben. “You’ll resent me.” The words came out sounding every bit as broken as he felt. Joey would hate him when it finally sank in how much he would lose. There would be people who turned their backs on him. Joey didn’t fully see it yet. Ben had been out as long as he could remember. He knew how people would treat Joey now. Some people would be amazing. Others would be horrible.

Joey shot to his feet and closed the distance between them. He looked determined. “Fuck that.” Joey urged Ben to his feet. His gaze never wavered from Ben’s. “I’ve already been resenting myself for years. You see how that’s killing me. Being without you is murdering me, cookie. I’m choosing life.”

The inches between them disappeared. Ben pressed his forehead to Joey’s. They stared into each other’s eyes. Reality fully sank in, choking Ben with happiness. “You chose me.” Even to his ears, Ben sounded awed.

“I love you more than everything else. I’d choose you in every life.”

Ben’s arms closed around Joey. His chest filled with too much love to contain. When he had chased Joey here from Colorado, he had expected rejection. He had been braced to feel the final nail being hammered into their coffin. Now everything had changed. He didn’t know where to go from here. Ben had no plan beyond the moment.

“What now?”

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