"Tim! Oh, shit! My bad."
Jumping alongside Tim, Ben's brows popped up his forehead. It was a beautiful dark-skinned girl with her black hair picked into an afro. Her go-go boots were shiny and if Ben could pull it off, he'd want to wear her outfit.
"Hey," Tim said, gathering himself and clearing his throat. "Uh, Lilly, what's up? "Um, this is Ben," he said awkwardly, unsure of what to do with his hands now that they weren't on Ben.
"Hi." Ben waved, and he wished he hadn't.
The woman, Lilly, smiled awkwardly like an angel and showed them both mercy. "Hi." She looked at Tim with so much subtext, Ben debated never showing his face in public ever again. "I'm so sorry to bother you, you're obviously busy, but I need you real fast and then, I'll never ever bother you for the rest of your life."
"Okay," Tim said and watched her, waiting for her to leave. "Sounds good."
"Right," she realized. "Sorry."
Dropping his head, Tim sighed, and Ben cupped Tim's face, lifting his pouty face back up. Ben kissed him quickly and smiled. "I need to go, but..." Tim grabbed Ben's wrists, cheating with big puppy dog eyes. "I'll meet back up with you?"
"Yeah. I'll see you later."
Tim kissed him again and again until Ben laughed. Ben had to push Tim finally to get him going. "Go help your friend."
Tim pried himself away and Ben rested against the wall. He pressed his hand over his heart to keep it from punching through his chest and running away. Ben didn't know what to do or where to go. It had become more apparent than ever that Ben was in a strange place, and he wasn't sure if his friends were still dancing or not. His stomach twisted. Forcing himself to move, Ben started down the stairs, and he slowed, noticing Nino waiting for him at the bottom. All of Ben's stress melted away. Ben's worry cleared, and he knew where to go.
"Hey," Ben called out and when Nino turned around, he had that lopsided smile that made the butterflies in Ben's stomach go nuts.
"Hey," Nino echoed. "Do you wanna get some air?"
Ben glanced behind Nino, catching Lincoln with the group. His gaze flickered to Nino and the door. Somewhere inside, Tim was waiting for him too. Lincoln nodded and then motioned him to go. Ben nodded and took another step down, taking Nino's hand. "You lead the way."
Nino pushed through the exit first and Ben took a huge gulp of air as if he had just emerged from underwater. Pulling him along, Nino led Ben onto the sidewalk to let his hand go, but that didn't keep Ben from walking by his side. He crossed his arms, enjoying even the faintest whisper of a breeze. "This is nice. I'm always weird about going out, but when I'm there, I'm always happy about it."
"The life of an introvert sounds hard."
"What about you? Are you having fun?" Ben purposely bumped Nino's arm.
"I like watching you have fun."
Ben hummed, unsatisfied with that answer. He stopped and so did Nino, turning to him and waiting. It was that tether again, tugging at Ben's heart and making sure they didn't stray too far apart. Nino's company was the best part of tonight. Ben asked, "Are you ready to go home?"
Pursing his lips, Nino shook his head.
"Should we go back in?"
A wicked little smile appeared, and Nino leaned in towards Ben. "Do you trust me?"
***
Nino sat a full pepperoni pizza at the table with extra pepperonis, glistening from the grease. "Alright, here we go."
"I can't eat all of this," Ben said, practically begging for it to be sent back. Before Ben finished, Nino swiped a slice and took a big bite. Ben's jaw dropped. "Wh-what? Can you do that? Is that safe?"
With a laugh, Nino nodded and chewed furiously. He politely covered his mouth to finish his bite, before saying, "I've seen you eat a whole cake by yourself. Are you supposed to do that?"
"Okay, it was a small cheesecake in my defense."
"And you never even offered me a bite. I'm wounded," he teased, eating more pizza, and sauntering away. Ben shouted after him.
"I didn't know I could!"
Ben laughed, shaking his head, and looking around this old pizza shop. There was probably dust in the corners left over from the 80s. All the furniture in the pizza shop was scuffed, chipped, or defaced. The wait-staff, the bartender, and the kitchen were buzzing, shouting, and so familiar with customers. Everything smelled so sweet, mixed with garlic, and Ben's mouth started watering upon entering.
There was a wall of old arcade games at the back of the restaurant. When he was younger, he used to try games like that in hopes someone didn't finish their game. He never won a thing. Ben grabbed a slice, leaning over to watch a couple of younger girls mess around with the crane machine. They put their hands on top of each other in prayer, their last dollar between them, as they put all their hopes in one final game.
There was a small, pathetic dance floor where a drunk middle-aged couple was swaying back and forth. It was a marvel they were still standing at all. In the corner was a cheap disco ball on the floor, spinning a rainbow of colors everywhere.
"One water," Nino said, placing iced water down first and then a friend in the shape of a jack and coke. "Drink that first. Balance your alcohol."
"I'm not that drunk," Ben insisted. "And the pizza's helping..." His words drifted with his attention back on the girls, crying out in defeat. Bested by the crane machine once again.
"Do you wanna play?"
"Hm?" Ben jumped, his brows flying up his forehead. He looked between Nino and the arcade, trying to play it off cool. "Oh, uh no way." Ben laughed and grabbed another pizza slice. It tasted as bad for him as he wanted. "It's all a scam."
Nino smirked, leaning on the table. "Is it a scam because you've never won?"
"Nobody wins those things."
"Am I supposed to be a nobody?" Nino scrunched his nose. "Ouch."
"This is false confidence." With his finger, Ben pushed Nino's chest. "There's no way you can win something."
"Never doubt me, Ben Robinson. I can do anything." Nino pushed off the table and winked before turning his back. Scrambling to follow, Ben dropped his pizza slice and used the driest napkins in the world to wipe his face. He only took one step towards the machines when Nino yelled behind him, "Water!"
Ben cursed, took several gulps, then rejoined as Nino fed the machine a dollar. He had fiery eyes while messing with the crane. This didn't feel like business. It was personal. Ben kept himself from laughing, from teasing Nino too much in fear he might stop playing.
"Just testing it first," Nino clarified. "So, stop judging me."
"I'm not judging." Ben just smiled, crossing his arms, and leaning against the machine. His attention was divided between Nino trying to finesse his way into getting a little keychain plushie and Nino himself. He was nothing but smiles.
He pressed the big red button and the shaky crane fell, crashing into a little black cat with a little pink tongue sticking out. The stick thin pinchers enclosed, but it was shaky pulling up and dropping it. This didn't shake Nino at all.
"What do you want?" Nino asked, setting himself up to lose another dollar in the machine.
With a methodical hum, Ben looked over the spoils and, as soon as he saw it, Ben grinned. "I want the little bat."
Nino made a face. "Are you kidding?"
"You asked me what I wanted. That's what I want." Ben pushed his finger into the glass. Like all the other animals, it was a pudgy little plushy with a little pink tongue hanging out.
Nino took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and refocused. "Whatever you want."
Nino shifted the crane bit by bit until it was positioned over the bat. Then it moved barely a centimeter. Nino touched Ben's back, maneuvering around him to look on the other side. Ben couldn't stop looking at him, burning this moment into his memories. He never looked younger, or more human, when he was playing around. His joy was infectious.
"Alright, come on, baby," Nino muttered and hit the red button with full force. Ben blinked, shifting to watch the crane go down and grab the little bat, enclosing around it. The crane brought the bat up and it rattled, smacking the top. Ben straightened nervously, suddenly rooting for Nino to prove him wrong. The crane dragged the bat over to the corner and, just like that, dropped it.
"Yes!" Nino clenched his fist and popped down to grab his prize.
"Wow," Ben said and gave him a round of applause for one. "That's actually amazing."
Nino laughed almost giddy, and flipped the keychain back and forth. "Here." He handed Ben the bat.
"Really?" Ben smiled.
"Of course..." Nino was saying when the lights dimmed down and the music changed. The band played something slow and the couples on the floor doubled. "But you gotta dance for it."
Nino slipped his hand into Ben's and dragged him to the floor. A feeling of déjà vu washed over Ben and he shook his head. "So, you'll willingly dance with me here?"
Ben might complain, but his hand still found its way onto Nino's waist, still holding onto that keychain. Nino's hands settled onto Ben's back as he held their hands up, leading this dance in a small, slow circle. Ben's eyes were on him, unable to tear them away.
Nino admitted, "I don't know how to act around a bunch of people I don't know. I'm just more comfortable with you."
Ben nodded, listing all the things he realized. "So, this is what you'd rather be doing. Instead of going to a nice club, you'd rather dance at a weird pizza place, play arcade games, and eat pizza you're not supposed to be eating."
"Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, everything I do with you is not what I'm supposed to do. But it is what I want to do."
"Then why even agree to go out with me tonight?"
"Because it's what you wanted to do, and I always want to make you happy."
Ben hated his brain's habit of filling in the blanks. Nino was telling him he wanted him to be happy, so why was Ben thinking of all the things Nino wasn't saying out loud? He dug through the possible hidden meaning of every word, putting all his hopes in the subtext. No one needed to set Ben up for failure. He was doing a great job of that on his own, living in his own silly little fantasies.
Ben rested his head on Nino's shoulder. Nino rested his head on top of his and they swayed to the song. They didn't speak, but everything they did was loud and all-consuming. Their hands were flirting. Their slow, gentle movements made Ben's knees weak. Nino shifting his head just a little to rest his cheek confirmed to be everything that mattered. Saying nothing and yet bursting with so much feeling, Ben could probably cry.
Ben looked up, heart thrumming. His voice was about as shaky as his heart. "I think... I think we should talk. I mean, really talk."
The panic flashing across Nino's face sounded all of Ben's alarms, but Ben had to say something. Yesterday, the day before, and tonight whenever Ben thought about this being the last time he'd ever see Nino, he couldn't bear the pain of it. Never seeing him again sounded too severe, like something he would not survive.
Ben shook his head. "I need to tell you—"
Nino dropped Ben's hand and in the same sweeping motion, Nino grabbed Ben's face and went in for a kiss. Nino pressed his lips to Ben's, sealing his next word away.
"Nino," was all Ben could get out before Nino kissed him again. Nino dragged Ben's lips open, and Ben clung to his arms, losing his footing.
Ben's heart pounded, screaming out. Ben felt electrified from the tips of his ears to his curling toes. It was like free falling, crashing through clouds and yet never hitting the ground. Just falling endlessly and Ben couldn't find his footing.
The last time Nino kissed him, it was the smallest, sweetest little forehead kiss. That wasn't what this was. Nino was hungry this time, this time he was clinging to Ben, holding him tight to not let him get away. Nino kissed Ben like he was a dying man. Like he was a feast, not for his stomach, but for his soul.
The last time they really kissed, it was in a bathroom in a furniture store, and they were just playing around. Horny like two teenagers. This kiss wasn't messing around.
Breaking the kiss, Nino let Ben up for air. The top of Ben's skin was jittering like static off an old television screen. Nino placed his forehead against Ben's, dragging his hands through Ben's hair. He tugged, pulling Ben's face back. He said, his eyes were so heavy. "I don't want to talk."
The panic had grown, and Ben didn't like the fear in his eyes. Ben didn't know how he was threatening Nino, but Ben could feel the power in his hands. Nino was asking for mercy.
"What do you want?" Ben asked.
Nino's eyes looked back down at Ben's lips. Self-consciously, Ben couldn't help but sucked them in and bite them. His chest clenched.
"Should we go?" Ben asked a question that needed an answer.
Nino nodded, "Let's go."
This time, Nino didn't need to ask if Ben trusted him. He already knew. Nino grabbed his hand and took him away. The only thing Ben took with him was that little keychain.