Chapter 23

Benji

I hung up the phone feeling a little low.  University was on a short break for Thanksgiving and I was flying to visit my parents for a few days to celebrate the holiday with them and whichever Aunts, Uncles and cousins were sticking around.   Jamie and I were going together, leaving tomorrow, and I wouldn't see Ajax for 5 days so I was hoping we'd have dinner and spend the evening together.  When he called to say that he and Nico had a dinner meeting tonight I wanted to say something, but I didn't.  I just kept a cheery voice and told him it was okay, I'd just watch a movie and see him when he got home.

I was at his apartment, so at least we'd be together later tonight and have the morning together too.  I trudged into the kitchen to see what was around for dinner.  The fridge was stocked with a lot of food at least.  Ajax had this housekeeper who also made food for him and she had left some pasta salad, fruit salad, there were some cold chicken breasts already cooked and seasoned, this amazing cole slaw that she makes and I knew his freezer was stocked with meals that just needed to be popped into the microwave.

It was early, but I was kind of hungry so I grabbed the bowl of fruit salad, a fork and brought it into the den to see what was on TV.  I flicked around from show to show while I chowed on some fruit.  Usually when I was watching TV with someone, they wouldn't let me hold the remote because I tended to click around watching a bunch of shows, clicking to another during the commercials or when one got boring.  It drove my friends crazy, but it was hard to find a show that held my attention long enough to stick with it for a whole hour or even half hour, unless it was really good.  Usually the only time I could sit and watch a show without some other stimulation was when I was doing a chore like folding my laundry, but here at Ajax's he insisted that I put any clothes I needed washed into the hamper for his housekeeper to take care of.  It felt weird to me, but when I was here, he was the boss after all.

I got a text from Jamie double checking on the time that Ajax and I would be picking her up for the airport, she was staying over with Dennis.  I was glad I'd have a few days to catch up with Jamie, and we'd also see our other friends from High School.  Neither of us was ready to introduce our 'Doms' to our families, no one back home knew about our adopted lifestyle.  I didn't know if my parents would ever approve so when Ajax and I talked about it, we agreed that when (I thought 'if') he met them, I would introduce Ajax as my boyfriend.  Jamie was going to do the same with Dennis. 

For now, I was just going to let them get used to the idea that I had a steady boyfriend.  They knew I was gay, they had no problem with that luckily, but I knew they would have concerns with the age difference and worry that I would get too distracted when I had to focus on school.  My ace in the hole with that would be how much my grades had improved since I started being with Ajax.  That was undeniable.  As for the age difference, they would just have to understand.  Guys my age weren't mature enough to handle my issues much less understand how to handle me when I was having a freak out; proof of that was how most boys backed off as soon as I either told them or they saw some of my peculiar behaviours.  I was really lucky to have Ajax.  He was perfect and perfect for me.

A little while later I got a text from him.

Ajax:  Hey pet, what are you doing?

Benji:  Just chilling

Benji:  Sir

Ajax:  Did you find a movie to watch? Did you have dinner?

Benji:  Not yet, not yet :)

Ajax:  Find something to eat pet.  If you can't find a movie, log into my Netflix acct

Benji:  Sir, yes Sir :P

Ajax:  Just do it smart alec, you don't want to fly home with a sore ass

Benji:  Sir, No Sir!!!  :O

Ajax:  sigh

Benji:  Heading to the kitchen now!!!!

Benji:  Just made a plate with chkn brst and pasta salad

Benji:  Yummmy!  :D

Ajax: Good boy, find a movie and I should be home in about 2 hours

Benji:  Okay hot stuff

Benji: I mean, Sir

Ajax: 2 words

Ajax: red ass

Benji:  :O

Benji:  tbh I like your hand on my ass

Ajax:  I just had to google what tbh is, don't use chat lingo

Benji:  Swy

Benji:  Sorry, Sir

Ajax:  Okay, I have to get back to this meeting

Benji:  ttyl

Benji:  Umm...

Ajax:  Bye Benji

Benji:  Bye Sir

I took my plate of food and a bottle of water into the den and logged into Netflix, scrolling through the movies until I found one that Jamie always tried to get me to watch, but I still hadn't.  I clicked on it and sat back to watch.

——————————————

Ajax

I chuckled as I put my phone back in my pocket and headed into the dining room.  Nico and I had just finished a very important meeting with some new clients who were in L.A. on a stopover so we met them at a hotel right at the airport.  We booked a meeting room and now that we had finalized most of the important decisions, we were moving to a private dining room for drinks and dinner.  Nico stepped out of the men's room quickly catching up with me.

"You did great in there brother, I'm very impressed.  This is why I handed the reigns over to you, you don't need me anymore."  Nico beamed as he grabbed my wrist to stop me.  "I'm being serious.  I'm proud of you AJ."

I'm sure my face turned red and was glad that Benji wasn't here to see his big Dom blush like a school girl, but Nico was my big brother and I'd always looked up to him.  Always wanted to make him proud, especially after our father passed away, well my step-father even though we weren't allowed to use the word "step" in our family.

"Did you text Benji?" he asked.

"Yeah, that boy is something else," I chuckled.  Nico was always the more serious of the two of us and I wasn't sure if he would have appreciated all of Benji's quirks, but I loved them.  He always made me laugh and when I had a really stressful or really boring day at work, I could always count on him to make me forget all about it.  As soon as I saw him I would relax and he'd soon have me laughing about something.  That was more important to me than the perfect submissive and I wouldn't trade Benji and his antics for anyone in the world.

I stopped in my tracks, thinking over those thoughts.  Yeah, it's true. 

"What's up bro?" Nico asked when I stopped.

"Just thinking about Benji."

Nico grinned, "he makes you happy.  I see it in your face every time you talk about him, I can even tell when you're thinking about him."

"It's true.  We only have a three month contract, and I don't have a feeling for what he'll want to do at the end, but I just realized that there's no way I want to walk away after three months, so I'll do whatever it takes to keep him."

"Jax, I see the way he looks at you too, there's no way he'll walk away after three months."

I let out a long sigh, "he's going away for five days and I'm already missing him."

"Do you want me to take this dinner and tell them you had an emergency?" Nico offered.

"No, it's okay, they have to leave for their flight in an hour, we'll have dinner with them, and then I'll head straight back to the apartment."

"Okay, just don't run off without me, remember we drove together."

"Haha!  No, I won't Nic."

We found the private dining room and our colleagues were enjoying a cocktail and the view out of the large floor to ceiling window.  The waiter took our drink orders and we joined them looking at the view of the planes taking off in the night sky.  When the waiter returned with our drinks we all sat down and perused the menu before we ordered and once again congratulated each other on our joint venture and how successful we hoped it would be.

After dinner when we had seen them to the car which would take the group of three to the terminal where they would be catching their flight, we headed back to my car.  Nico was staying in his apartment which was in the same building as mine; a building we owned of course, so we had driven together.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with Benji, I could pick up Mama and we'll have Thanksgiving together just the two of us."

"Are you kidding, Mama would kill me! She's flying all the way in from Miami and I go out of town?"

"But she'll be here a couple of weeks, she'll understand."

"No Nic, she would kill me," I griped, "besides, she loves to cook Thanksgiving dinner with a Cuban flair.  I'll be fine, I'm a big boy.  I can last 5 days without my pet."  If not, I thought to myself, then I'm really losing it.  We had just arrived and parked in our part of the garage.

"Have a good night Jaxie, see you sometime tomorrow, do you want me to go to the airport with you to pick up Mama?"  Nico asked when we arrived at our building and he was about to get off our private elevator at his floor, just below mine.

"No, her flight gets in shortly after Benji and Jamie's takes off, so I'll just stick around and wait."

"Okay, night bro."

"Night, bro."  I pressed the close button on the elevator and went up one more flight to the penthouse.  Since Nico got the penthouse in our Miami building, and I was a floor below, here in L.A. I got the penthouse.  My brother may have been the slightly older one, but he was always fair and never treated me less than an equal or step-brother, and I loved him for it.  And even though my mother was not Nico's, she treated him as a son and despite his strong love for his mother who had passed when he was very young, he patiently let Mama dote on him.

"Benji?" I called as I entered the apartment.  From the front door I could see the living room and kitchen and he wasn't in either so I figured he was in the den watching his move.  "I'm home pet," I called softly as I entered the den.  "Benji? What's wrong?!"  Benji was sitting on the couch bawling his eyes out, looking completely wrecked as the credits scrolled on the screen for whatever movie he just watched.  "Baby, what's the matter?"

I walked in and immediately went and crouched down in front of him.  Tears were flowing and I saw a whole box of used tissues scattered around the couch and table, he had one in his hand that he was desperately trying to dry his face with, but it was no match for the downpour of tears and snot that was dripping from his nose.

"What happened?  Talk to me."

"I...it's...so....sad...and...she doesn't remember....and he has a heart attack...and when they...umm...he went to war and her stupid mother hid all the letters he sent her..."  he was babbling along between hiccups from the crying and grabbing more tissues from the almost empty box and blowing his nose.

"So, it was the movie, nothing happened to you?" I asked, stressing the word 'you'.  He nodded his head and blew his nose again.

"What movie did you watch?"

"The...."  he blew his nose hard one final time as he finally got his tears under control, "Notebook?"  He said it with a slight inflection so it sounded more like a question.  I was looking at his face, the forlorn look, red, puffy eyes, runny nose, a hiccup shaking his whole body.  I ran my eyes all over him before I ran a hand over his face, caressing his cheek.  Dammit if my heart didn't just melt.

"It's okay baby," I finally said, pulling him into my arms.  "It's just a movie."  I ran circles over his back and shoulders and he rested his exhausted head on my shoulder, his body jolting every few seconds as he let out another hiccup.  I reached over to the table where I saw his water and brought it to his mouth.  "Drink this, it will help get rid of the hiccups."

He downed the rest of the bottle.  "Maybe you should have watched a comedy tonight," I suggested.  I might have even smirked a little, just a slight one.  Okay, I'm a bad person.

"Don't...laugh...(hiccup) at...me,"  he whined.

"I'm not laughing," I said softly.  "Come on, let's go wash your face and get you to bed. You have a big day tomorrow."  Standing up I reached down and pulled him up with me.  I picked up the remote and turned off the TV before I led him out of the room.  I'd clean up the den when I got up in the morning.

Once I had Benji cleaned up and ready for bed I pulled him into my arms and held him closely.  "I'm going to miss you while you're away, pet."

"Me too," he breathed out shakily, like he was going to start crying again.

"But you'll be back quickly and you'll have fun with your family and friends."  I tried to sound upbeat and encouraging.

"Mmhmm." He replied.

"And then not too long until you've finished your first semester!"

"Mmhmm."  He nodded this time.

"When you get back..."  I'm not sure what was happening, but the words seemed to be coming out on their own.  I paused, taking a big swallow, almost afraid to say the next words.

"Yes, Master?"

"Ajax."

"Hm?"

"Call me Ajax right now."

"Okay.  What were you going to say Ajax?" He asked quietly.

"When you get back...move in with me." 

"What?!"

"Move in with me Benji...please?  I know it hasn't been all that long..."

"But...I can't give up my dorm room...when the contract ends..."

"I'll have a new one ready and...I'll do whatever it takes to make you sign it," I blurted out.  "Unless...I mean...I don't...you don't have to if you don't want to.  I don't want you to miss out on stuff at the University."

"Yes!"

"What?"

"I'll move in with you."

I looked down and Benji's eyes were tearing up again, but he looked really happy.

"You won't miss the dorm and your friends there?"

"I hate the dorm.  It's too loud and its smelly and I'm not really friends with anyone there."

"Are you sure?!"

"Yeah...I mean...if you're sure?" He asked nervously.

"I'm sure.  I'm very sure."

I grabbed Benji's face in my hands and pressed my lips against his.  He moaned, opening his mouth to me as I deepened our kiss, then I eased back just enough to turn the kiss soft and gentle.

"Thank you," I whispered, using my thumbs to wipe away fresh tears.

"Are you really sure...I mean, about the contract?"

"Benji, I'm really, really sure," I confirmed confidently.

"I don't want to go now...to my parents."

"No, you have to go.  You need to...well, tell them you have a boyfriend...how do you think they'll take it...you moving out of the dorms?"

"Believe me, when I show them my grades and tell them how much better they got once I started coming here all the time, they'll pack my bags for me."

"They won't care that I'm almost 7 years older than you?"

"I don't think so, my dad is 9 years older than my mom."

"I want you to come to Miami with me for Christmas, but maybe we can go see your parents for a visit on the way?"

"Yeah, that would be great."

We just laid there holding each other, Benji's head was tucked in under my chin and every few seconds I'd give him a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Ajax?" He finally asked softly.

"Yeah baby?"

"Did you just ask me to move in with you a little while ago?"

"Yeah, baby."

"Okay, just double checking."

I gave him a squeeze as I let out a low chuckle.

"Get some sleep baby."

"Okay," he replied with a yawn.

I felt him relax against me as he slowly drifted off to sleep.  We didn't have to leave for the airport until shortly after 10 tomorrow morning, so we'd have plenty of time to make love when we woke up.  I certainly wasn't going to let my boy leave for five days without ravaging him senseless before he left.