A Second Chance

by Edward Kendrick

  “Nope, so quit bitching, okay? By the way, if I am going to be staying with you, we should stop by my place so I can get a couple changes of clothes. What I have on is, well to put it mildly, not exactly clean anymore.”

  Zach immediately made a turn that would take them to Ben’s apartment. “Give me your keys,” he said when he pulled up in front.

  “Excuse me?”

  “The less you use your leg the better right now. Oh, we’d better remember to pick up your prescription while we’re at it. The painkiller shot he gave you isn’t going to last forever.”

  Rolling his eyes, Ben dug out his keys, handing them to Zach. “Think you can find my clothes without me there?”

  “Unless you’re real strange and store them in the kitchen or under the floorboards, I think I can manage,” Zach replied with a grin.

  He did, returning a few minutes later with the bag he’d lent Ben filled with what he’d need. They made a stop at a drugstore, where Ben had to get out of the car since the prescription was in his name. Then it was on to Zach’s house.

  * * * *

  “I am not going to bed, so get that idea out of your head right now,” Ben said, easing down onto the sofa. “It’s not even evening, although it sure feels like it should be by now.”

  Zach shot him an amused look as he walked past him to the bedroom to unpack the bag with Ben’s clothes and then put his personal items and the pills in the bathroom. When he returned to the living room, he suggested they call out for dinner.

  “I’m not in the mood to cook, and for damned I’m not letting you deal with going to a restaurant.”

  “Isn’t that my choice?” Ben retorted, even though he felt the same way. The last thing he wanted to do at the moment was leave the house.

  “Technically, yes,” Zach replied. “But I’m pulling rank.”

  “Yes, boss,” Ben grumbled before smiling at him. “I’m fine with that, as long as we don’t order pizza.”

  “Let’s see what we can get.” Zach sat beside him as he scanned through the choices on his phone. “Chinese, Mexican, barbecue, Indian, or, how about this?” He brought up the website for a deli not too far from the house. “Lots of sandwich choices.”

  “I’ll take one of each,” Ben quipped as he checked out what was available.

  Zach snorted. “I’ve had their sandwiches. You’ll be lucky if you can get through even one, so choose. I’m getting the pastrami special on rye.”

  “I think I’ll have the Reuben and potato salad on the side.”

  With that decided, Zach called in their order, telling Ben after hanging up that dinner would arrive in half an hour. He turned on the TV to a local news channel.

  “Are you trying to depress us?” Ben asked when the first two stories were political.

  “Nope. I want to make certain there’s nothing about what happened at the barn.”

  Ben chuckled. “I can see it now, ‘Massacre at barn leaves four dead, the perpetrators on the run.’”

  “The reason we have a clean-up crew.”

  “What do they do with the bodies?” Ben asked.

  “It depends.” Zach took out his phone and went online. “In this case, it seems there was a fire that totally destroyed the barn before the local volunteer fire department arrived on the scene. They’re putting it down to careless transients who sometimes used the barn as a place to crash for a night or a week.”

  “That works,” Ben replied dryly. “Gives a bad name to homeless who only want a safe place to stay, but that’s nothing new.”

  Zach patted Ben’s leg. “Says the man who knows all too well.”

  “Unfortunately, I do, but that’s in the past, now, like a lot of other things in my life.”

  “Now you have a new one.”

  Ben nodded. “I do, and I’m not complaining in the least.”

  “I hope not,” Zach replied at the same time that the doorbell rang. He went to answer, returning moments later with two bags that he put down on the coffee table. “Dinner has arrived. I’ll make coffee and get plates and silverware, and then we can eat.”

  Twenty minutes later, they were finishing off the last of their sandwiches.

  “You were right,” Ben commented. “One of these is more enough to feed even the hungriest man.”

  “Told you.”

  “And you’re always right,” Ben replied with a grin.

  “Of course. Well, most of the time, or at least some of the time.” That earned him a laugh from Ben, followed by a wince of pain when he moved his leg while reaching for his coffee cup. “Don’t move, I’ll get your pills,” Zach ordered.

  “Thanks. I shouldn’t need them, but I guess I do.”

  “The doc didn’t give you that brace as a fashion statement,” Zach muttered as he left the room. When he returned, he handed Ben two pills and a glass of water. “Take them then you’re going to bed and no arguments.”

  “It’s only…”

  “Ben…”

  “Okay, okay. Wait until you get hurt. I’m going to be the keeper from Hell.”

  “I’m counting on it,” Zach replied as he began picking up the dishes to take into the kitchen.

  “Seriously?” Ben asked in surprise.

  “Yep. This is a dangerous business we’re in. We all need that someone who gives enough of a damn to be there when things don’t work out quite the way we planned. Hayley has Ez, and vice versa. You and I have each other. At least I’m pretty sure we do.”

  “As far as I’m concerned we do, although it’s been a long time since I could trust someone enough to say that.”

  “I know.” Setting everything down again, Zach retook his seat next to Ben. Gripping his hands, he said, “I promise, I’ll never betray your trust.”

  Ben looked at him for a long moment as if assessing the truth behind his words. Then he said softly, “I know you won’t.”

  Impulsively, Zach hugged him before getting up to finish what he was doing. When he got back, he found Ben watching him through half-lowered eyelids. “Now it is definitely time to get you to bed,” he said, holding out his hands.

  Ben took them with obvious relief as he allowed Zach to help him to his feet. “You do realize that at this point all I’m going to do is sleep.”

  “Well…yeah. You’re in no condition to do anything else tonight. And probably for the next couple of days.”

  “Don’t count on it being that long. I have remarkable powers of recuperation, given the right incentive, and you, Zach, are definitely that.”

  * * * *

  It took twenty-four hours for Ben to prove his point. A week later, Doctor Franklin told him he could dispense with the brace as long as he kept it handy. “You do have a tendency to forget yourself in the middle of a job,” he pointed out acerbically. “I don’t expect you to wear it while you’re working, but the minute you’re finished, if there’s even a twinge in your knee, put the damned brace on. Got it?”

  Ben resisted pointing out that there was rarely a time when his knee didn’t bother him, even though he was used to it by now. He didn’t want the doctor to tell Durand that he should be reassigned to a less physical job.

  When he and Zach returned to the house, Ben wondered if it was time for him to suggest that he should stop taking advantage of their ‘friends with benefits’ relationship—which had evolved into his spending all his time at Zach’s place—and tell him he’d go back to living in his apartment.

  That thought became moot when Zach said, while they were eating lunch, “This is stupid.”

  “What?”

  “You paying for a place you’re not using. Yeah, I know, it’s only been a week, but think about it. We’re pretty damned compatible, and I don’t mean just in bed. I’m not promising we’ll spend the rest of our lives together—”

  “Because commitment isn’t you,” Ben said with a smile. He had to get that into the conversation so that Zach would know he was well aware of how he looked at anything even remotely smacking
of a long-term relationship.

  “Let’s say it never has been, but things can change, Ben. I like you. I like our being together. If you’re willing to take a chance on me…” He took a sip of coffee while waiting for Ben’s response.

  “I think I can do that,” Ben replied. “In fact, I know I can. So, yes, I’ll stick around here. Of course I’ll be breaking my lease, but…” He gave a shrug that belied the fact he had no problem with any part of what they were discussing.

  “Trust me, Durand will make certain it happens without leaving a black mark on your record.”

  Ben snorted. “Good. I have enough of those already.”

  “How about we go over there now to get whatever you want to keep.”

  “Zach…” Ben shook his head. “Other than the rest of my clothes, there’s not a damned thing there that’s mine.”

  “The furniture,” Zach pointed out.

  “Okay, I’ll give you that, but I don’t think you want it here.”

  After looking around his well-furnished living room, Zach laughed and agreed.

  And so two men—one who never thought he’d have a chance at the kind of life he’d only dreamed of, and one who until recently had eschewed the idea any sort of commitment—settled into a life that, while not a deathless romance, worked for both of them.

  THE END

  ABOUT EDWARD KENDRICK

  Born and bred in Cleveland, I earned a degree in technical theater, later switched to costuming, and headed to NYC. Finally seeing the futility of trying to become rich and famous in the Big Apple, I joined VISTA—Volunteers in Service to America—ending up in Chicago for three years. Then it was on to Denver where I put down roots and worked as a costume designer until I retired in 2007.

  I began writing a few years ago after joining an online fanfic group. Two friends and I then started a group for writers, where they could post any story they wished no matter the genre or content. Since then, for the last five years, I’ve been writing for publication—my first book came out in February of 2011. Most, but not all, of my work is M/M, either mildly erotic or purely ‘romantic.’ More often than not it involves a mystery or action/adventure, and is sometimes paranormal to boot.

  For more information, visit edwardkendrick.blogspot.com.

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  JMS Books LLC is a small queer press with competitive royalty rates publishing LGBT romance, erotic romance, and young adult fiction. Visit jms-books.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!