Redemption in the City of Chaos

Ben was a man on the edge. He had always been a man on the edge, though, and he’d never thought he could fall off. That was why he’d made sure to wear his favorite shirt today.

Will was different. He seemed so at ease in these clothes that Ben couldn’t help but wonder if those were the only ones Will owned. They weren’t fancy, not even nice really, but Ben found himself wanting to touch the fabric, to feel its softness against his fingertips as he leaned in for a kiss. He hadn’t felt that way about another man since college.

Ben glanced down at his watch then up at the clock above the bar. “We’re late, aren’t we?”

Will shrugged as he raised his hand to wave over one of the waitresses. “I don’t think so, I mean it is only four-thirty now and we still have a few hours left before dinner anyways.”

Hearing that made Ben nerves relax just a little bit, though he didn’t understand why he was so nervous in the first place. Maybe it was because this was the first date they had ever been on together, or maybe it was because Ben feared what would happen after tonight when they went their separate ways back home.

When the waitress finally came over, Will ordered them two beers with no hesitation at all and then turned to smile at Ben who had already begun to sweat just watching him talk. It took everything in him not to touch Will right then and there and lean in for a kiss as well, but instead he smiled back nervously and looked down at his own hands shoved deep into his pockets instead.

When their drinks arrived, Will picked up both of theirs and handed him one before taking a sip from his own bottle. Ben followed suit quickly taking a drink from the cold glass and hoping that it would cool his flushed skin down some as well. Just as he placed it back onto the table however, Will reached out for it again and set it down on the bar between them instead of returning it to Ben's side of the table where it had been sitting before.