Picky Eater

Ch 24: You seem nice.

Nino didn't speak up. His eyes just flitted down and Ben still felt aggressive, still felt like he needed to struggle against someone not fighting back at all. "You're great. Not just because you help people or because of the things you do. It's who you are. You're just great. I don't know what to tell you. Everybody l—" Ben caught himself before he said the forbidden four-letter word "—likes you. Boohoo."

That tiny little smile pinched Nino's lips again. He asked, "What about you?"

"Me? What about me?"

"Do you need me?" Nino asked, linking their hands together.

"No." Ben smiled and squeezed Nino's hand, shaking his arm. "But I do just want you around."

"So..." Nino smiled, rolling his eyes to the ceiling as he held onto that single pointed note. "So, that means you want me?"

A handful of jokes landed in Ben's head, but that wasn't what he wanted to say. He squeezed Evie's hand and said instead, "Yeah. I guess it does."

Surprise flickered across Nino's face. As he turned to look at Ben, Ben raised up on his toes and pressed a kiss to Nino's cheek. He landed flat on his feet, beaming up at Nino, but Nino still had this surprised expression.

"Are you guys dating again?" Evie spoke up.

They jumped and Nino let go of Ben's hand. He switched his expression fast and Ben bit his cheek, so he wouldn't smile too big at the blush staining Nino's face. He narrowed his brow, covering his embarrassment up with a puffed up chest and a severe, warning point. "You need to mind your own business. You're too nosey. Your mom might kill me if I send you back a gossip."

Evie hummed like she wasn't quite buying it and dragged Ben to the next tank. For the rest of the day, whenever Ben glanced at Nino, Nino would have to look away, caught in the act of staring at Ben. They might bump and Nino would mumble an apology. That charm, that suave demeanor had finally cracked and Ben wondered what it would take to make the whole thing crumble.

***

Sighing, Ben jotted down some dialogue for his book that he randomly thought about earlier. It looked like nonsense, but that was Ben's future problem. Giving up seemed like a viable option all of a sudden. He could get a job at the local grocery store, stock shelves, use a different name, and never pick up a book again.

He glanced at the crowded coffee shop and the line forming at the counter. Ben felt cooler by association just by being here. The café had spray painted murals and open brick walls with neon everywhere.

"Don't make that face," Nino said. "You just got here."

Nino sat a coffee beside Ben's laptop and Evie slid a little plate with a fancy croissant on it, full of molten chocolate and covered in chocolate chips and powdered sugar. Nino sat across from Ben and popped Evie on his lap, crossing his arms around her. She melted there, losing all her bones as she messed with Nino's long fingers. He resigned himself to it immediately.

"I'm going to feel guilty if you don't turn your book in on time," Nino said.

Ben sighed again and tickled the keys without writing anything. He was slogging through the middle, tiptoeing towards the midpoint and to an ending he didn't know. Ben felt just as lost inside this book as he did outside of it. He couldn't slip into this voice again, not when his own demanded so much attention. It was hard writing a vampire romance when you were already in one. Too much of a good thing.

"I extended the deadline," Ben said.

"I know and I feel bad."

"It's no big deal."