Chance Encounter

by David Horne

  “I’ve already been naked on the couch; I don’t think there’s anything more comfortable that you can get in a place.”

  “That’s probably true.” Benjamin crawled into the bed and curled up around the tattooed body.

  Alex’s arms wrapped around the computer programmer, pulling the other body close to his. It was amazing how they seemed to come together and were soon asleep in each other’s arms.

  It was a peaceful night that they shared together, wrapped up together and Benjamin had problems dragging himself out in the morning. Alex was snoring slightly as he padded out of the room and grabbed his laptop. The night before had cleared his head and he was ready to get some more work done.

  The code came easily, and everything was perfect. Especially when he felt two arms wrap around him from behind. “You’re up.”

  “I was a little confused when I woke up alone.”

  “Sorry about that. I woke up with an idea.”

  “Are you still working on it?”

  Benjamin shrugged. “Give me a few minutes. I’m sure I’ll be ready for a break soon.”

  Alex pulled away and went back to the couch where he scrubbed out a stain from the night before. Benjamin laughed when he saw Alex give up and flipped the cushion. “No one will notice, I’m sure.”

  “That’s the way to do it.”

  “There’s another stain under here.”

  “Someone else made the same mistake here before us.”

  Alex laughed. “Looking at it, it very well could be.”

  “This is the apartment they put visitors in when they come to check out the office. Generally, businessmen and programmers that deserve the extra attention.”

  “That explains why it’s so nice.”

  “Buying it was cheaper than paying for hotel rooms.” Benjamin shrugged.

  “I’m surprised they let you use it.”

  Benjamin paused. “They only loan it to employees who have extenuating circumstances.”

  “You went back to work for them.” Alex sighed. “Just to help me. You let go of your dream.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “It shouldn’t be fine.”

  “I really do enjoy working there.” Benjamin sighed. “It’s not a huge deal. I can work on it in my off time.”

  “You’ve got a good chance of making real money with this project. You shouldn’t have sold your skills out for me.”

  “I didn’t just do it for you. I did it for me too.”

  “Do you regret it?”

  “A little, I guess. But I’m not upset at you.” Benjamin pulled away from the computer. He was wearing a pair of pajama pants. “It’s not your fault. It’s not like we had a better option.”

  “I can’t believe that you gave up so much freedom for me.”

  “I would do this for anyone who needed it.”

  Alex ran his hand through his hair. “Thanks.” He plopped back down on the couch as Benjamin moved to sit next to him. “I don’t even know what to say about all of this.”

  “Don’t say anything. It’s fine. You’re as safe as I can get you. That’s what’s important.”

  “I can’t believe you would do this for me.” Alex glanced toward the window. There was a beautiful view of the Kansas City skyline. And it caught his eye. “They made me an offer.”

  “Who?” Benjamin tilted his head.

  “The FBI. They came to see me at the cop shop.” He sighed heavily. “They want to take my little gang down. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

  “What did they offer you?”

  “Full immunity if I testify to their crimes.”

  Benjamin chewed on his lip as he nodded along. “Are you sure you want to take that risk? These guys are so dangerous.”

  “I know exactly how dangerous they are, but with a witness, the FBI can round them all up,” Alex explained slowly. He was still thinking over the offer. He hadn’t really wanted to talk about it yet, but after he had managed to relax with Benjamin, he wanted to get it all off of his chest. “I’m considering it.”

  “It’s the right thing to do, but there’s a lot of things that can go wrong.”

  “What do you think?”

  Benjamin exhale strongly. “I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what the right choice is.”

  “They think I stole from them, but I didn’t.” Alex frowned. “They want me dead. And they’re not above doing something sneaky to have me killed.”

  “Then you probably have to do something. We can’t stay here forever.”

  “I know that,” Alex grunted. “I’ve got to figure this out.”

  “You’ve got a few days to think about it.” Benjamin reached out to put his hand on the other man’s knee. It comforted Alex to feel him so close and he smiled softly. “Take some time. It’s got to be frustrating.”

  “I will. Thanks. My uncle is giving me a couple of days off too.”

  “Must have been hard to tell him.”

  “He knew most of it when he let me come work for him. He’s trying to help me get on my feet.”

  “Sounds like you have a great family.”

  “What about your family?”

  “I don’t really have any immediate family and my extended family never really were close to me.”

  “Sounds lonely.”

  “I’ve got good friends.”

  “I’m still working on making those.”

  Benjamin smiled. “You’ve got me at least.”

  “That I do.” Alex leaned back against the couch and pulled Benjamin in close. “I suppose everything has changed between us now.”

  “Yeah, yeah it has.”

  “That good or bad for you?” He was curious to hear the answer to this question. Even if he wasn’t sure that he had a right to ask it.

  “It’s good.” Benjamin smiled. “Better than I thought it was going to be.”

  “I never expected to end up in a place like this.” Alex stayed close to that programmer, sharing body heat with him as he turned the television back on. They lost themselves in the moment, relaxing simply and easily at the moment. “I’m going to call them up and take the offer.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. This is the only chance I have to have a normal life.” Benjamin smiled at him and Alex could feel it in his gut. He leaned in for a kiss.

  The kiss was strong and powerful, dragging them back into the heat that had exploded the night before. It was like the rest of time just disappeared as the passion slid over them in uncontrollable waves.

  Hands started to roam again. Alex was tugging at his lover’s shirt, nearly pulling it off before the knock sounded on the door, forcing them to separate with pained groans. “Who would come here?”

  “It may be the police.” Alex slowly got up, straightening his clothes as he made his way over to the door.

  There was no peephole on this door, a sad state of affairs in his mind. “Who’s there?”

  “FBI, Mr. Woodward.”

  Alex opened the door, letting the cops in. “What can I help you with?”

  “We were wondering if you considered our offer yet.”

  “Are you really willing to keep your end of this?” Alex went to go sit at the small dining table near the kitchen. The agents sat across from him and pulled out a small manila folder. “We’ve got the full offer here. You may want to speak to a lawyer.”

  He took the paperwork. His hands felt numb when he felt the weight of it in his hand. It felt heavier than it physically was, building up so much more than he ever imagined. “So you need me to read this?”

  “It might be good that you speak to a lawyer so you make sure you’re fully protected. It isn’t exactly going to be easy on you to turn all of these guys in.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll consider it. Thanks.”

  And with that, the agents were gone. They had given good advice, told him to make sure that he was protected in the ordeal. Benjamin walked back over t
o him. “What are you thinking about?”

  “Exactly what all of this means.”

  “It’s a lot, isn’t it?” Benjamin pulled Alex into a hug. “You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do.”

  “I know. I know. But this may be the only way to fix this.”

  “It can’t be easy for you to turn on friends like this.”

  “They weren’t ever my friends.”

  “I’m sorry about that.” Benjamin looked saddened by that fact. “But I kind of get that you need to do this.”

  “I really do. This is the right thing to do. And once they all go to jail I can live peacefully.”

  “Does the deal offer you full immunity?” Benjamin reached for the folder and started to rifle through it. “I don’t understand a word of this.”

  “That’s why I need to see a lawyer.” Alex frowned. “I don’t think I have the kind of education that I would need to understand it.

  “Do you have the cash for one?”

  Alex shook his head. “Not really, but I can maybe ask my uncle to help me out. He keeps a lawyer for his businesses.”

  “That’s not a criminal lawyer though.”

  “He can tell me if I need someone else involved.” He sighed heavily and started to try to understand what was on the paper. It was a pile of legalese that he couldn’t understand. “But I think they’re telling the truth.”

  “What are you going to do if it’s some kind of trap?”

  “I would think that you would respect the police more than I do.”

  “It’s not that I don’t trust them. I just don’t know if they care about you.”

  “Because I’m a criminal.”

  Benjamin sighed. “Well, yeah. A little because of that.”

  “You’re afraid they’ll go back on their word once the testimony is done?”

  “You’ve seen the world that we live in.” Benjamin refused to look at him. “I hate to say it, but it’s the truth.”

  “I’ll make sure to get this all checked out.”

  “You should be safe about this.” Benjamin frowned. “The government sometimes puts little things in contracts that let them take it back.”

  “Yeah. I know. I’ll deal with it. But we should do something else right now.”

  Benjamin smiled. “Like what?”

  “I don’t really know yet.” Alex shrugged, but he was smiling too. They both knew what was on their mind. And soon they found themselves rolling around on the bed, hot and heavy as the clothes that they had worn were tossed to the side and bodies entwined, bound together with the heat of the moment that no one could deny. There was no way to avoid it.

  They couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. Alex was in awe of what Benjamin had given to keep him safe. What he had agreed to in order to be the hero in this story. And Benjamin had indeed become the hero. The one that had sacrificed.

  And Alex made up his mind. He was going to do the right thing. He wanted to take this shot with Benjamin and to do that he needed to clear his past from the situation. He needed to be free. And he was going to do what he needed to do to make that happen.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Benjamin loved spending the next few days in absolute bliss, even if it meant he was back in the office fulltime, his evenings were spent rolling around in Alex’s arms and that was absolute heaven. He hadn’t been so happy for as long as he remembered with someone he was with. It was magical. Or as close to magic as could exist on this planet.

  While he had spent his hours at work, Alex had found himself dealing with lawyers about the deal that he was making with the FBI to take down a gang from the inside. Benjamin could see the strain weighing on the man, but he wasn’t willing to talk about it. And he couldn’t blame the man for it. It was impossible to do much for Alex beyond helping support him when he was home from negotiating with the FBI and giving them information to prove that he had good information to give.

  It was an entire week in the hidden apartment that they had in peace until the phone rang again. But this time it was Alex’s turn to step into another room looking worried. Benjamin considered following him but decided it would be better to let the man talk.

  But it was hard to wait. Benjamin found himself pacing again until Alex came back out of the room. “We can go home.”

  “What?” It wasn’t what he was expecting at all.

  “That was the cops.” Alex looked happier. “They caught Popper.”

  “Wait? They caught him?”

  “Yeah. He was trying to break into my apartment again.”

  “How would the cops even do that in that neighborhood?” Benjamin realized his question didn’t make sense and corrected himself. “Sorry. But the cops don’t exactly spend a lot of time in that neighborhood.”

  “Apparently they were keeping an eye on the place in case he came back.” Alex was actually smiling. “He’s in jail right now.”

  “And you’re going to testify against him?”

  “With the evidence I told them about, they can probably get him for murder.”

  “That’ll put him where he can’t bother you ever again.”

  Alex nodded and walked over to Benjamin. “He won’t be able to bother you either.”

  “I know. I know.” Benjamin laughed. He was so happy. “I’m very ready to go home.”

  “I don’t know. This is a really nice place.”

  “It is, but it isn’t home.”

  Alex walked up and swung Benjamin around in a big warm hug. It was a huge relief of stress to know that Popper couldn’t kill them in their sleep anymore. They were safe. At least for the time being. “Should I go pack?” Benjamin laughed as he was swung around, the large man seemed to be able to pick him up easily.

  “I don’t know. We could eat something first then pack everything up.”

  “We have to clean the place up. They aren’t going to bring in cleaners.” Benjamin frowned as he looked at the slight mess they had left everywhere.

  “Let’s start with the dishes.” Alex walked over to the sink. “You start gathering trash.”

  “Sounds good.” Benjamin smiled at the man that he had spent so much time with over the past few days. “It probably looks worse than it is.”

  “A good couple of hours and we’ll be fine. The only thing we have to worry about is that couch cushion.”

  “Right. Should I go get some upholstery cleaner?”

  Alex laughed. “Do you know how to use that stuff?”

  “Yeah. My mom made sure I could clean up after myself.” Benjamin grinned.

  “I wish I had been so lucky.”

  “I’m sure you did just fine for yourself. But I can show you all the things that you’re missing.”

  “I need housekeeping lessons now?” Alex grinned. “Should I wear one of those frilly aprons?”

  “I won’t complain about that, especially if there’s nothing left underneath it.” Benjamin winked at Alex. The tattooed man couldn’t help but laugh as Benjamin continued. “We could even make it a pink one and you could wear those plastic gloves too.”

  “Would you wear one of those?”

  “I mean if you asked really nicely.” The programmer winked.

  More laughter followed that both of them enjoying it as they cleaned up the apartment, joking about what they were going to do once they got home. “Being a neighbor is going to make this relationship thing a lot easier, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. It really is. I mean, we share the floor with no one else.”

  “Which makes the walk of shame a lot nicer. Especially if I don’t feel like getting dressed.”

  “Are you planning to spend a lot of time at my place?”

  “More than I do now, at least.” Alex couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face. It was a good look on the man, enough to steal Benjamin’s breath as he watched him.

  There was a moment of silence as they both moved closer together. It seemed to come automatically. Benjamin felt his heart catch
in his throat. Something about this guy seemed to drag him in closer with every breath. Everything felt so natural and he realized what it all meant. He was in love with this man, but there was no way to make the heat escape the room.

  They met again for another heart-pounding kiss as they imagined all of the sexy things that they might do together. But eventually, Benjamin pulled himself away. “Sorry. We should get to work.”

  “Should I go into a different room?”

  Benjamin laughed. “It might be the only way to get this done. All of the sheets need to be cleaned.”

  “Let me get these dishes done and I’ll take the bedding to the laundry room.”

  “How good are you at doing the laundry?”

  Alex laughed. “I know how to do it well enough. Don’t mix colors and whites. Wash darks and reds separate.”

  “That’s a good start, and probably good enough for here.”

  “You sure about that?”

  Benjamin laughed a little. “Yeah, pretty sure.”

  “All right. Where am I going?”

  “There’s one on every floor. It’s not far from here.” Benjamin gave the rest of the directions, pointing the man three doors away to a secluded corner on the other side of the elevator where it didn’t share a wall with any of the apartments.

  “Sounds good. Got any quarters?”

  “There’s a laundry card right over there.” Benjamin pointed to the counter. “It’s a pretty fancy place.”

  “There enough on it?”

  “Yeah, there is. Ten bucks at least.”

  “Sounds good.” Alex walked out of the room and let Benjamin think about it. He cleaned while he was worried about what would come next for the two of them. Alex had made a decision that would make him permanent enemies that could cause trouble in his life.

  He hated the fact that Alex was going to have to turn on people that he once considered friends, that he once went into dangerous situations with. People that he once trusted to have his back. He didn’t know what he was going to do about that, but he knew that Alex wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.