2
Oliver
Light streamed into the break room. Oliver sat in his usual corner with a half-eaten sandwich, checking his phone when he came across a text message from his landlord. It was a reply to an email that he’d sent a few days ago. Oliver had explained that he was going to hold back his rent payments until the apartment was brought up to a better standard.
He read the landlord’s reply.
I’ve sent you an email to inform you that your lease is up.
Oliver immediately checked his email and saw the new contract. His breath hitched when he saw the amount he would have to pay if he accepted the new contract. It was absurd.
He felt trapped. Unable to afford this increased rent, he’d have to find a new place to live, somewhere cheaper further away from work. But commuting was going to suck.
Ben was suddenly at his table. He settled down across from Oliver and smiled brightly.
“Hey, why the long face?”
“Landlord,” Oliver said. “Just when I thought the cosmos was giving me a fair shake. My lease is up and he’s raising the rent to an exorbitant amount. I’ll be paying almost double what I pay now. I’ll need to find a new place to rent.”
“Maybe I can help you finding somewhere to live that’s not too far from here,” Ben said. “I’ll ask around.”
When he moved into his apartment a year ago, Oliver was only thinking about the twenty-minute walk to his office building.
“That would be a massive help,” Oliver said. “How has your day been, anyway?” he asked, distractedly. His stomach flip-flopped with nerves as he stared at his landlord’s email.
“It was great. My client’s making excellent progress.”
“Yeah?” Oliver said.
“Yeah. He was about to quit in the middle of our spin class, again. It’s gotten to a point where I can see the fatigue on his face. So, I told him it didn’t matter if he couldn’t see the finish line and that he needed to think of the long-term payoff and to keep moving,” Ben said. “And this guy, who has been my most difficult client ever, dug deep and pushed himself to the end of the session. I was so proud of him.”
“Anyone who takes a spin class and is still able to use their legs must be a Spartan. I guess having you to motivate him was all he needed,” Oliver said. Putting his phone aside, he decided to reply to the landlord later. Ben was so energetic and vibrant that Oliver didn’t want to bring the mood down.
“Hey, what did you tell him?” Ben asked, glancing at Oliver’s phone.
“I’ve decided to do it later. Right now I have other stuff on my mind,” Oliver said, staring at Ben’s salad. “It’s not as if he’ll get back to me right away.”
When he first joined the institute, Oliver hated eating in the break room. For the first few months, he hid in his office and ate at his desk while toiling away analyzing data. Anxiety was like an old friend whenever it came to new social settings. Instead of ignoring it, he surrendered to it. So, he didn’t know what possessed him to go to the lunch room the day he met Ben, but he was happy he did. It turned out to be the best decision he’d ever made.
“If you’re still worried about Erica’s wedding, I’m ready to be your fake boyfriend,” Ben said with a calculating look. “I still think it’s a great idea.”
Oliver recognized Ben’s expression all too well. He wore that very same look when he once asked Oliver to be his wingman. It conveyed excitement. It expressed a thrill for adventure. But for Oliver, it meant trouble.
“Remember when you thought I would make a perfect wingman? Did you ever seal the deal?” Oliver raised an eyebrow. “Or what about that time you thought it would be a good idea if I joined your marathon team? Look how that turned out.”
Ben’s enthusiasm didn’t always lead to success, especially when it involved teaming up with Oliver. He encouraged Oliver to try new things, and he seemed convinced that they could do anything as long as they had each other. Even though Oliver never considered himself to be anything special, it felt great that Ben had so much faith in him.
“I promise it’ll be fun.” Ben stared at him, pleadingly.
“You know, Erica would say those exact same words when we were little. It usually ended with us being grounded.” Oliver shook his head. “Erica and I were inseparable as kids. She was always getting us into trouble. I’m sure you’re going to click with her.”
“It was stuff like that I missed out on growing up. I always wanted a brother or sister,” Ben said. “Hold on, did you just say we’re going to click this weekend? Does that mean…?”
“You’re now my boyfriend,” Oliver said.
Ben leaned over the table and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight. Oliver felt every eye in the break room on them. Feeling self-conscious, he almost pulled away, but he didn’t want to disrupt the soothing sensation of being tightly cocooned in Ben’s arms.
Ben was the only friend Oliver needed. He was deeply caring and fiercely protective, ever since Oliver told him that he was gay one night over a few beers. Ben was the type of guy who wasn’t afraid to take a stand against bigotry. He also shielded Oliver against any potential homophobic people who worked in the building. Thanks to Heidi, Oliver learned that Ben put a stop to several rumors about him.
It was a personal hang-up of Oliver’s, having people talking behind his back. Ben knew it.
Oliver never wanted to lose a friend like Ben. Life wouldn’t be the same. However, he always suspected that Ben could have easily coped without him. Ben was outgoing, funny and gorgeous.
“I know you’re not completely sold on this plan, but trust me, we’re gonna have the time of our lives,” Ben said, releasing Oliver. His smile grew even brighter. “I’m going to love playing the doting fake boyfriend.”
I just wish… Oliver suppressed the thought immediately. He’d pined over his straight best friend for years but managed to keep his feelings a secret. Now he was supposed to fake the romantic feelings he’d stopped himself yearning for in the past.
Ben was hot but didn’t know it. He was beautiful in that symmetrical way in which scientists claim attracts the human eye. He could literally stop people in their tracks. Oliver was interested to know how many passes he deflected daily from simply being oblivious to the fact that he was stunning.
“I’m working late tonight. Would you be able to feed Tucker for me?” Oliver asked. He arranged to send his dog over to the neighbor’s while he was away. He had reservations about leaving Tucker, but he saw no other way.
“Sure, no problem,” Ben said. “I noticed that he wasn’t chewing on the furniture last night.”
“I’ve tried a few things that have helped to stop him doing that. The training is starting to work.”
Their conversation was interrupted when Heidi came to the table to tell Oliver that there was a meeting for the data analyst team after lunch. She quickly added that Josh was giving them a death stare.
“Are you trying to make him jealous?” Heidi asked.
It was odd; up until that point, he hadn’t thought about Josh.
“Thanks, I already got the email,” Oliver said, glancing around the room. He finally spotted Josh glaring at him. He kept his voice cool. “I don’t care about what Josh thinks.”
He was surprised at how quickly he’d got over Josh. All it took was Ben, A Nightmare on Elm Street and popcorn. Of course, Ben had been the main ingredient.
“Okay, great,” Heidi’s eyes darted back and forth between Oliver and Ben. “So, is this your new boyfriend now?”
“Very funny,” Oliver said, rolling his eyes. “You know we’re just friends, Heidi.”
“Aww, too bad. You two would make a great couple. Josh is bound to get jealous if the two of you dated.” Heidi sat down.
“Josh knows that Ben is straight.” Oliver’s eyes shot sparks at Heidi. She had to be messing with them. Observant as she was, she must’ve noticed how awkward she was being. “Besides, I’m already over him.”
&
nbsp; “That was fast,” Heidi said, sounding surprised. She opened her lunch box and revealed a delicious-looking whole-grain pasta salad. “I bet he’ll be crawling back to you by the time you’ve come back from your vacation.”
“Hey, if Josh couldn’t treat Oliver right, he didn’t deserve him.” Ben ate his salad delicately, although Oliver thought he could detect his anger simmering beneath the surface. “You’ll find a guy who really cares for you. I know you will.”
Oliver smiled sheepishly at Ben. “Maybe I should try the single life for a while. You seem to be doing fine.”
He shrugged and smiled. “Well, I can give you tips. But I warn you, it can get really comfortable. I’m more interested in hanging out with you than seeking another girlfriend.”
“Yeah, I’m sure I’m won’t miss meeting the assholes in my life,” Oliver said. “I don’t know, Ben. You make being single look fun. I can’t go a few months without dating. How do you do it?”
“I could use a few tips myself,” Heidi said.
“It’s not really that difficult, guys,” Ben laughed. “Anyway, I’m more interested in making a connection with the girls I date, and I always find that I have nothing in common with them.”
“We have to get back.” Oliver tapped his phone. Lunch was over.
“See you later,” Heidi said to Oliver.
They walked out of the break room area. Oliver was surprised that the weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he was now looking forward to Erica’s wedding cruise to the Cayman Islands. Oliver had been suppressing his crush on Ben for years. Now, he found himself thinking about them as lovers.
They stopped outside Oliver’s office. Thanks to budget cuts, the office space was now crammed with filing cabinets and desks. Oliver found that it made everything feel more intimate and personal.
The office was usually abuzz with gossip about a coworker’s love life. There was no avoiding it, even though Oliver hated knowing that people were talking about him. He also had to accept that people gossiped to curb their boredom. It wasn’t always personal.
Everyone knew that he had been dating Josh. Their breakup was already a hot topic, but Oliver had been working in the office long enough to know his coworkers would find something else to talk about in a few days.
“We need to come up with a story about how we met,” Oliver said. “It has to believable and something that neither of us will get wrong.”
“We could always say that you were my client? It’s plausible and down to earth,” Ben said. “I was watching you work out and couldn’t take my eyes off you.”
“I’ll go for it. I think they’ll go for it too. It’s the kind of story that sounds so mundane people will find hard not to believe.” Oliver laughed. “This might go smoothly after all. I’m starting to feel lucky that you’re going to be my pretend boyfriend on the cruise.”
“I’m going to make you feel more than lucky,” Ben said. “I’m going to treat you right.”
“I look forward to it. Look, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Oliver said. “Text me if there are any problems later.”
“Tucker likes me, there shouldn’t be any problems.” Ben smiled. “Okay, I’ll let you get back to work.”
With one hand opening the steel door to his office, Oliver watched Ben walk down the hallway and disappear down the stairs that led to the ground floor where he worked in the gym. A grin felt permanently stitched on Oliver’s face, and as he stepped into his office, he suddenly wanted to break into a happy dance.
Ben was his fake boyfriend.
3
Ben
“Okay, time to go inside, Tucker.” Ben petted his soft head, and the puppy snuffled his hand. “You cute little Siberian husky.”
They were standing outside Oliver’s apartment after Ben had taken Tucker for a walk. Although Oliver had just asked him to feed Tucker, Ben decided to take him for a walk. The moment he opened the apartment door, Tucker rushed at him excitedly. The little guy was bouncing with energy; he was even more lively than the last time Ben saw him, which was last night.
“Come on, Tucker. I have to get back and check on Oliver.” Ben opened the front door wider and stepped within to indicate that it was time to go inside. However, Tucker seemed more interested in sniffing the wall outside of Oliver’s apartment. Ben waited with one arm resting on the door and the other holding a pizza he’d bought from the restaurant down the street. Eventually, he scooped Tucker up with one arm, and in they went.
Ben placed a warm blanket in Tucker’s crate and gave him his chewy bone. He hoped the walk had tired the puppy out so that he would fall asleep immediately, but this didn’t happen, and Ben had to cuddle him, pet him and lull him to sleep.
He set off on the twenty-minute walk back to the research institute under the inky darkness of night. Ben checked his phone when he reached the building. It was eight o’clock, and he suspected that Oliver hadn’t eaten since lunch; he was always too busy or too tired to eat. Every now and then, Oliver needed someone to remind him to look after himself, something Ben was happy to do.
Posing as Oliver’s boyfriend didn’t seem too far-fetched. They had a friendship that was rooted in trust, compassion, and fun. Their connection was on another level. There was no hesitation or awkwardness when it came to dishing out affection. Oliver had cried on his shoulder when his grandfather died two years ago.
A few years ago, Oliver found out that Ben hadn’t gone home for Thanksgiving since he was twenty. As much as his family hated the idea, that year Oliver stayed with Ben for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Ben rapped on the office window to get Oliver’s attention. When Oliver glanced in his direction, his face lit up before he stood and rushed to the door.
“What are you doing here?” Oliver asked. He looked down at the box of pizza and smiled.
“I thought we could do pizza?” Ben smiled.
“Give me five minutes. I’ll see you in the break room,” Oliver said.
“Five minutes, then. If you’re any longer, I might end up eating this all by myself,” Ben said. He carried the pizza into the break room and set it down on one of the tables. He removed the two-liter of Coke and napkins from the bag.
“Oh, wow, you ordered one half to be pineapple?” Oliver walked into the room, his sudden excitement apparent. “I know you can’t stand them. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Who said the pineapple side was yours?” Ben teased. “Maybe I’ve become a masochist.”
Oliver shot him a withering look, and Ben laughed and slid the box closer to him.
“I love pineapples, I just think they have no place on a pizza,” Ben said.
“You’re just boring,” Oliver grinned. “You should experiment more.”
“I’ll stick with being boring,” Ben countered.
Oliver grabbed two plastic cups, pulled out a chair and sat at the opposite end of the table. With the heavenly smell of bacon, pineapple and cheese permeating the break room, the brief silence lingering in the air, and the background humming of lights, it felt like more than just sitting down to eat with a friend. This particular night, eating while sitting across from Oliver was a wholly more intimate experience. None of the casual relationships he’d had up to this point had fostered the warmth, closeness and trust he experienced with Ben.
“I can’t really take longer than twenty minutes,” Oliver said. “I still have a lot of work to get through.”
“You’ll have to eat fast then,” Ben said, filling their cups with Coke. “I almost forgot about the sauce. Check in the bag.”
“Honey and mustard. Awesome!” Oliver laid the sauces on the table and put the bag on the chair.
Ben wondered if anything would change between them on the cruise. Already, he was starting to feel a little different. Oliver felt like a boyfriend. And although Ben wasn’t into guys, there was period as a teen when he felt an equal attraction to girls and guys. He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d focused his attention on women up to this
point, but he occasionally thought about what it would be like to have a relationship with a cute guy.
Ben took a pizza slice and bit into it. Oliver was cute. He had an approachable mellow air about him. Smart and funny, he was absolutely adorable to hang out with. His laugh lifted Ben’s heart, his smile was warm, and whenever he was embarrassed, a tinge of pink blossomed on his ears. He had a boy next door appeal that made him all the more charming.
Ben hadn’t actually had someone he could reasonably describe as an ideal partner, but he imagined Oliver was the closest thing to it. People often mistook them for a couple, but Ben never put much thought into it. Until now. Oliver ticked all the boxes.
Oliver halted mid-bite while Ben sipped his Coke. He dropped his pizza, grinned and pointed to Ben’s chin.
“You’ve got cheese on your face,” he said.
“Where?” Ben asked, grabbing at his chin.
“There, silly,” Oliver laughed, getting up to sit beside him. When a string of cheese fell from Ben’s face and landed on his lap, Oliver brushed it off. The action was done out of reflex. It was just Oliver being his typical caring self.
But the simple touch of his hand sent heat through Ben that ran up his thigh and to his groin. The heat was slowly rising to his cheeks. Confusion pummeled through his body.
Why was he feeling like this all of a sudden?
He searched Oliver’s eyes. Did he feel it too?
Oliver got up and sat back in his chair. Ben couldn’t tell what was going through Oliver’s head or if he’d felt the same tension, which was obviously sexual. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the tightness vanished and he felt relieved.
“God, this tastes great. I love it,” Oliver said, pulling free a slice. Gooey cheese stretched and fell into the box as he picked it up. “I’m surprised it didn’t get cold.”
“I tried to be here as fast as I could,” Ben said. “Nothing’s worse than cold pizza.”
They ate vigorously, got messy fingers and chatted about everything and nothing. Oliver wiped his fingers with the napkins, then he sat back and put one leg on a chair.
Wedding Fever Page 2
