Wedding Fever

by Ryland Reynolds

  They got to the scuba diving site that had a small store. Grant helped them gear up and assemble their equipment. Then he showed them how to breathe with the regulator and explained what to do if their viewers got filled with water. He also showed them signals for communication.

  Next, he took them out on the water in his boat. Many things went through Oliver’s mind as the realization dawned on him that they were about to go down into the blue abyss. Did Ben and Grant expect him to go down there? He wondered what differences in brain chemistry allowed people like Grant and Ben to react so casually to something so terrifying.

  “Are there sharks?” Oliver asked. He could feel himself shaking with fear as he imagined what kind of creatures might lurk down in the seabed. But no one else seemed to notice.

  “Don’t worry, sharks rarely attack,” Grant said. “They might give you a little nip and then move on.”

  Grant’s joke caused Ben to chuckle lightly. Oliver just hoped he was joking. Ben seemed ready to have a good time, and Oliver wished he could feel the same. However, Oliver was far from an adrenaline junkie and didn’t appreciate the adrenaline whirling through his body.

  When Grant appeared to be distracted, Ben shoulder-nudged Oliver gently.

  “You all right?” he whispered.

  “I’m having second thoughts,” Oliver confessed. It was the SkyRide all over again. “I’m proving to be a gigantic wimp. God, I’m a real buzzkill.”

  Ben looked at him seriously and shook his head. He took Oliver’s hand. “You’re not a wimp. Don’t ever feel like you’re a buzzkill. If you don’t want to do it, we can go and take a walk on the beach. It’s not a problem with me. As long as we’re together, things are awesome. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing.”

  Although Oliver felt that he was chickening out again, it was oddly comforting to know that Ben wasn’t judging him for it. His stomach turned as he looked over the sea, and even though the fear hadn’t left him, he felt an urge to confront his fear with Ben.

  “I want to do it,” Oliver said. His decision even made Ben lift an eyebrow. “I want to give it a try, at least.”

  “Listen, you don’t have to prove anything to me. I meant it when I said I don’t mind what we do. If we have each other, then everything is good with me. I had a good time on the SkyRide, but I don’t want to go without you next time. It's no fun without you.”

  “I know, but I want to do this with you,” Oliver said. “I know you will always keep me safe, and I will keep you safe.”

  Ben smiled. “Gotcha! Then let's do this!”

  It felt good to see Ben grin.

  On Grant’s signal, they dived, and the blue sapphire sea in front of Oliver darkened. It was like nothing he’d experienced before. As he descended deeper, he realized that the sea was a serene, slow-motion world. Peaceful, mysterious and a little scary.

  Then he felt a hand take hold of his and he quickly became aware that it was Ben. They followed Grant, who took them deeper and deeper. Soon they came across a gray mass in the distance. At first, Oliver was a little confused. The amorphous mass looked a little eerie.

  Oliver’s fears grew as they swam closer to the mass. He couldn’t make out what they were, but eventually it became apparent that they were sharks. Hammerhead sharks, to be specific. He felt tense. Panic set in.

  But then he felt a type of security. He was swimming with Ben and knew that he shouldn’t give into his fears.

  They swam closer to the mass of sharks. Deep down in the sea, the creatures seemed like the largest things Oliver had ever seen. Ben looked over at him and gave him a nod. Oliver nodded back, signaling that he was okay.

  They swam onwards with Grant leading the way. Soon they were surrounded by the large hammerhead sharks. Grant signaled for them to stop. The sharks moved slowly, so slow that it seemed like they were motionless. The experience was both otherworldly and wonderful.

  Oliver felt his fear subside.

  And then the sharks were gone.

  They swam onwards. Grant took them to dark caves that became alive with numerous sea creatures as they approached. The sheer amount of wildlife under the waters was incredible. There were hundreds of crabs crawling across the sea floor. There were other types of sharks that Oliver didn’t recognize.

  A turtle swam beside them briefly, and Oliver found himself choking back tears. The experience was extraordinary. What looked like a type of shark emerged out of nowhere and began pursuing a group of stingrays.

  But it wasn’t just the creatures that fascinated Oliver. There were miles upon miles of pristine, candy-hued coral stretching before them. An abundant stretch of plants that looked like Christmas trees.

  Grant offered to take photos. Before they prepared to pose, Ben signed to Oliver. The sign he made told Oliver that he wanted to play a prank on Grant. Confused, Oliver went along with it.

  As Grant took photos of them posing, Ben signed that he wanted Oliver to kiss him. Seeing this, Oliver’s heart leapt in his chest. But it was too late for him to have second thoughts, and he soon found himself locked in an embrace with Ben.

  They removed their regulators and kissed.

  After all he had experienced during the dive, Oliver knew this was the most thrilling. To be hundreds of feet deep in the sea, kissing Ben. He only hoped he would live to tell the tale, because he couldn’t believe there would be such a perfect moment between them and nothing would ruin it.

  He quickly forgot Grant.

  When the kiss was over, they turned to Grant, who signaled that he was ready to take them back to the surface. Oliver didn’t mind. As he swam upwards, hand-in-hand with Ben, he was excited to see the photo. He hadn’t imagined that Ben would ask him to do something so wild. The moment was captured and even when they got back home and Oliver returned to the friend-zone, he would be able to relive the moment.

  They climbed into the boat and immediately started laughing. Neither of them could believe that they had just done all of that. Oliver was glad that he mustered up the courage to go scuba diving. They talked about the sharks and the sights they saw.

  Oliver become aware that Grant was sitting in silence. He started the boat and took them back to shore. The mood had changed, and Oliver was certain that Grant’s ego was bruised after seeing their kiss.

  Although Oliver wasn’t the type of person who needed PDA, he was glad that Ben initiated it. It seemed that Ben wasn’t afraid of letting Grant know that Oliver was his boyfriend. Oliver enjoyed seeing this side of Ben.

  When they got back to shore, Ben asked to take a look at the photos. Oliver felt a dull ache in his back, but tried to ignore it.

  “You put on a pretty convincing performance for the photo,” Grant said. It seemed like he was trying to regain his composure. But his mask of arrogance had cracked, and Oliver could see the type of man Grant was beneath it.

  Grant was the type of man who Oliver no longer wanted in his life. Even though Oliver’s pretend relationship with Ben was going to end when they got back, he knew at that moment that he wasn’t going to be with someone like Grant.

  “You know, Grant, you were right. We had a great time.” Oliver smiled, ignoring Grant’s snide remark. “Thank you.”

  Oliver went over to Ben. He felt great.

  “Can I take a look at the pics?” Oliver asked.

  “Yeah,” Ben said. His voice sounded deflated. “Hey, Grant. I need a little help here.”

  Oliver took the camera and went through the images Grant had taken. Of course, the one he really wanted to see was of him and Ben kissing. But he couldn’t find it. He looked at Ben, who shrugged.

  What’s up, bud?” Grant asked.

  “I can’t find all of the images. To be specific, I’m looking for one. The last one that you took. When we kissed.”

  “Oh, let me see.” Grant took the camera and looked through it. He silently looked through the pictures that he’d taken, and then raised his head. “It doesn’t appear to be on there. I took it, but s
ometimes it does that. I’ve taken a few pictures and they weren’t saved. I’m sorry.”

  At that moment Oliver felt a little defeated, and robbed of his chance to capture their kiss. He didn’t think he would ever get another chance to kiss Ben again. They were caught up in the thrill of it all. The rush and excitement probably had a lot to do with what happened.

  They decided to go back to their cabin.

  Grant probably intentionally never took the picture of the kiss. Oliver expected that much, but it still made him sad not to have a picture to capture the moment. The kiss had been sweet; Oliver wanted to cherish the memory.

  He rested back on the bed while Ben went to the fridge to get them drinks.

  Never in his life had he imagined being kissed under water. It was amazing. The action was completely unexpected and intimate; he never realized Ben could be so adventurous and exciting. More to the point, it fulfilled Oliver’s secret desire to be kissed by Ben. Had Ben been keeping his feelings secret too? Was Ben a curious straight guy?

  Heat that simmered under his skin since the kiss still lingered. Ben had kissed him like he’d never been kissed before, and Oliver greedily wanted more now that he’d got a taste. And now, after going along with Ben’s decision to go scuba diving, he suddenly wanted to take a chance on anything and everything he had to offer.

  A small part of him feared that Ben might have been caught up in the moment and would never want to kiss him again. And of course, they had the picture the photographer took of them standing by the railing. Oliver told himself he was being ridiculous.

  “You okay?” Ben came over holding two cocktails. His abs and tanned skin looked great. “You’ve been quiet since we got back. What’s on your mind?”

  Oliver looked away from the strip of Ben’s stomach. He frowned. Being just friends was becoming extremely difficult. The whole thing was confusing.

  “It’s silly, really. Don’t worry about it,” Oliver said. He sat up.

  “And you know it’s pointless telling me not to worry,” Ben said. “So, share.”

  “I dunno, I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. But what we did back there…it meant a lot to me. I’m just a little annoyed that we never got to capture it.”

  “I can see why you would be annoyed,” Ben said. “I did have a great time. It would have been better if Grant’s camera didn’t conveniently malfunction when we…you know.” Ben let out a nervous chuckle.

  Oliver joined him, then flopped back, dramatically, onto the bed. “I pushed through my fear. For once I actually felt brave. You helped me with that. We got to see so many amazing things.”

  “Kissing you gave me a buzz,” Ben said. He reached out and brushed Oliver’s hand gently with his fingers. “You know what? I couldn’t care less about the picture. I won’t ever forget that moment.”

  “Really?” Oliver’s heart skipped a beat. He was having trouble believing this was actually real. Ben was talking about their kiss. They had actually kissed; it wasn’t a trick of his mind.

  “Kissing you killed my fear completely. I went from finally admitting my curiosity to kissing you. And I’ve been thinking a whole lot lately.”

  “About?” Oliver asked.

  “Experimenting,” Ben said. He started stroking Oliver’s hand, paying particular attention to his knuckles. “I’ve always been afraid to explore my attraction to guys.”

  Oliver felt that he needed to check his ears. Ben’s attraction to guys? This was great news, but Oliver still hesitated. It felt too good to be true, and he didn’t want to jump to conclusions, even though the truth of the situation was now glaringly obvious.

  Ben laughed. “If you could see yourself right now.”

  “I can’t believe…all this time,” Oliver said. He cleared his throat. “So, what do you want to do? Do you want to talk about how you’re feeling?”

  Ben moved a little closer and shook his head. “I don’t really want to talk about my feelings, I just want to show you how I feel, how I’ve been feeling for a long time.”

  “Probably the same way I’ve been feeling since I first met you,” Oliver said.

  Ben’s lips parted as he gasped quietly. “Then do you want to help me recapture our lost kiss?”

  Oliver was silent for a handful of seconds, and when he looked down at Ben’s other hand, he saw it clenching the bedsheets, almost desperately. Ben’s face turned dangerously red. He looked terrified and nerve-wracked.

  It showed Oliver just how hard it must have been for Ben to tell him this. His friend who always seemed dynamic — fearless with nerves of steel — peered at him with a vulnerability in his eyes.

  The realization thudded through Oliver. Ben hadn’t shared his bi-curious feelings with another soul.

  “Are you sure?” Oliver said, biting his bottom lip.

  Ben released the bedsheets and placed his palm on Oliver’s cheeks, his eyes falling to his lips for a second. Then he leaned in for an open-mouthed kiss.

  Oliver stiffened in response. Even though he wanted this more than anything in the world at the moment, he was a little shocked that this was actually happening, that it wasn’t a dream.

  Ben wanted him just as badly as he wanted Ben. With this in mind, Oliver felt his heart clench, and his mind spun with a desire as powerful as gravity.

  Ben pulled back, staring into his eyes. Oliver’s chest was heaving, and his cock stirred in his boxer-briefs. He desperately wanted to taste Ben’s lips again.

  Ben was either a mind-reader or extremely horny, because he laid a kiss on Oliver’s neck, then licked his way up to crush Oliver’s lips with a hot kiss.

  Oliver’s cock felt heavy, and tension coiled in his stomach.

  When they broke this time, Ben’s eyes danced and his smile was filled with warmth. The look in his eyes was one that Oliver had never seen before. He wanted to ask what he was feeling.

  “I wish I could describe what I’m feeling right now,” Ben said. His voice was filled with passion. “What I’m feeling right now is totally out of this world. I can’t describe it.”

  “You can give it a shot,” Oliver said.

  “I can show you?” Ben said. “Do you want to go to bed?”

  Oliver’s stomach fluttered at the thought. “That is something I would like, a lot,” he said. “But are you ready?”

  “Yes,” Ben said.

  They kicked off their sandals and began to undress. Oliver felt like pinching himself, and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. This was really going to happen. It was a dream come true.

  He quickly wriggled out of his shorts and scooted closer to Ben. The outline of Ben’s cock was visible through his shorts.

  Suddenly, he was flushed, the heat radiating from Ben’s body stifling. Oliver’s body shook with a fine tremor of excitement, and his balls tightened at the close proximity. He needed to remind himself that it was still Ben. Despite having the body of a god, he was still the Ben who respected and appreciated him like no one else would.

  Ben’s sudden laugh sliced through the tension, and Oliver find himself joining him. It worked to distract Oliver out of his thoughts.

  Ben motioned his head to the bed. Oliver smiled and nodded.

  They dived under the sheets. It felt like they were two mischievous teenagers doing something naughty. They were about to go all the way. However, Oliver didn’t feel weird, and judging by Ben’s expression, he didn’t seem to feel weird either.

  Both men were eager and excited to be doing this. Still, Oliver felt that he needed to take the lead and make sure that Ben was okay with what he was doing.

  “Any time you want to stop, just say the word, I won’t mind,” he said to Ben.

  Ben smiled. “Yeah. And the same goes for you. Don’t be afraid to tell me if I’m doing something wrong.”

  “Sure,” Oliver said, slightly breathless. He pulled the sheets up.

  Ben reached under the sheets and touched Oliver’s underwear. It was the last item of clothing on his b
ody. He inhaled, deeply, as he felt Ben’s hand caress the fabric of his underwear. His cock hardened, and he couldn’t contain himself.

  Ben’s hand brushed over his erection, instantly sending a rush straight to the tip of Oliver’s cock.

  “Wanna hold me?” Oliver asked.

  “Yes,” Ben said, his voice sounding hoarse. He exhaled.

  Oliver moved closer. He was aware that they were both clumsy. Their clumsiness wasn’t bad; it was a testament to how badly they wanted each other, but neither knew what moves to make. It was new to both of them.

  “I always suspected that your lips would taste great, but…I don’t think I can get enough of them. That kiss was so hot!” Ben stroked Oliver’s face. “How was it for you?”

  Oliver thought about it briefly. “Nice.”

  “Nice?” Ben said, looking a little disappointed.

  Ben was so cute and so perfect, but he was cautious and delicate. Oliver bit his lips a little and watched Ben’s expression. His eyes fell to Ben’s lips; slightly parted, they were broad, full and inviting. It was as if they were made to be kissed.

  “Let me,” Oliver said. He crawled onto Ben, straddled his legs, slipped a hand up his shirt and grabbed a handful of those hard pecs that he was just dying to touch.

  He leaned into the kiss, pushing his tongue into his mouth and met Ben’s own. Ben’s lips were so soft, softer than he’d ever imagined; his breath hot, and there was the hint of Champagne on his lips from earlier.

  Their kiss quickly grew hard and hungry.

  Ben’s murmurs, gasps and groans between the kisses were just as passionate as Oliver’s. Both guys laughed, surprised at the other’s excitement.

  Oliver enjoyed Ben’s sweet kisses. This was something he could get used to. It was clear that Ben was trying to be attentive to his needs, which probably meant he was keeping his own desires in check to pleasure Oliver. This was new. Most guys only cared about themselves. Their kisses were fast and aggressive, their foreplay was brief, and the moment the sex started it was as if Oliver disappeared.