Friday, October 4 - Barcelona
Ben rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand. The alarm on his phone would go off in fifteen minutes. Just enough time to lie there and think about yesterday. Meeting Rob at the bar had been a pleasant surprise. And though Rob recognized him right away, he didn’t act like he was an over-the-top fan who only wanted to chat with Ben for bragging rights later. He just seemed like an all-around nice guy.
Rob was handsome, but there was more to it than just his good looks. Sure, Ben had always found both men and women attractive, but no man had put butterflies in his stomach since Ryan back in college. Until now. Fuck, was there any chance that Rob maybe felt the same way? Yes, he was gay, but his husband died two years ago and he was obviously still in mourning; only natural considering how long they had been together.
What do I know? I haven’t had feelings like this for such a long time—wait, do I have feelings for Rob?
Something is definitely going on here, but I’m not really sure what. Ryan was a great boyfriend, but it was the ‘80s then and we had hidden our feelings from pretty much everyone. We’d known each other for years and just kind of fell into a romance after admitting that we found each other attractive. At the time, there was so much homophobia out there and neither one of us had been ready to be out and proud. Over time, we had drifted apart and then I met Caroline. And while we got along great at the beginning, our relationship had mostly been rocky, if I was being honest. We did have Kyle though, so it hadn’t been all bad.
“Okay,” he said aloud, “I had a short relationship with a guy thirty-plus years ago and then a longer relationship and marriage with a woman a few years after that, and not much of anything since then.” He paused a moment, trying to organize his thoughts. “Both of those relationships had taken a while to develop. I’d never experienced ‘love at first sight’ or ‘lust at first sight’ or whatever the hell this was. Sure, a few dates here and there, but nothing that really felt completely right. For so many years I thought that either I was bi or that Ryan was just a one-time thing.”
But now, after spending just a few hours with Rob, he’s all I can think about.
Ben remembered a movie set he had been on a few years ago. He’d been chatting with one of the crew one day and the guy mentioned that he was ‘demi.’
“Demi? What the hell is that?” Ben had wanted to know.
“Demisexual,” the guy had replied. “I like girls and I like guys, but unless I have an emotional connection to them, I can’t get serious. Casual sex just doesn’t do it for me, but if we connect emotionally, it’s magical.”
That had stuck in the back of Ben’s mind and sometimes he thought that maybe he was demisexual too. He had done a bit of research at one point and it seemed like the emotional connection took a bit of time to develop. That certainly fit in with what he’d experienced before. It had been so long since he felt anything for anyone, he had started to think maybe he was asexual. Now, those emotions were starting to stir again when he thought of Rob. Was this really happening?
Ben’s phone began to chime, so he reached over and shut off the alarm, then got up and began to get ready for the new day.
* * *
Rob’s alarm woke him. He couldn’t believe he’d slept all the way through the night. He hadn’t even got up to pee at three in the morning like he often did, no small feat for someone his age. Parts of a dream floated to the surface of his mind. He was with Ben; they were on the ship, out on the balcony of his suite, and they were kissing…
Stop that!Why was he dreaming about kissing Ben? Okay, he did find him attractive, but they’d just met; he was pretty sure the guy wasn’t having thoughts about kissing him.
Okay, get your ass in gear so that you’re not late for breakfast.
After his much-needed pee, he shaved, showered, and dressed in a pair of chinos and a long-sleeved navy-blue Henley. Checking his watch, he realized he still had time before he was to meet Ben, so he texted Sam. He knew she wouldn’t see it for several hours, but he wanted her to know he was thinking about her.
Hey, Sam! How R U? Guess who I met at the hotel bar yesterday? (think hot actor!) My lips are sealed! CU next week!
Ha, that’ll drive her crazy for sure!He grabbed his phone and wallet and headed out the door. As he neared the elevator, he saw Ben walking toward him from the other end of the hall. Rob noticed how great Ben looked in jeans and a lightweight sweater in sage green, the color made his eyes sparkle.
“Good morning, Ben.”
“Hi, Rob. How are you doing today?”
Rob hit the elevator button. “I’m fine, slept really well last night. I didn’t wake up until my alarm rang.”
The elevator door opened and thankfully, it was empty. The cars were so tiny they didn’t easily fit more than two or three people. They got in and headed down to the lobby.
As they walked to the breakfast buffet area, Rob asked, “And how did you sleep?”
“I slept well. I did wake up at one point, but I was able to quickly fall back to sleep.”
The buffet area was a bit busy, but there were a few tables available, so they picked one and a server came over with a carafe of coffee. Putting it in the center of the table, they asked, “Do you need tea or decaf?”
Both men answered in the negative and the server moved away to take care of another table. Ben poured coffee for both of them, and those first sips had them both sighing. Then they stood and made their way to the food.
“There’s nothing like that first sip,” Ben declared.
Rob agreed, “Amen to that.”
There was a short line, while they waited Ben said, “I don’t know what you usually eat for breakfast, but I’m going to go easy this morning. I need a little bit of something, but don’t like to eat too heavy before a massage.”
