Page 130 of Smart Ass

He tried to sip his cappuccino, but it was still too hot. Good distraction, though.

“Ben, you don’t ever have to say it back. You show your love with your actions. We all see it.”

They did?

“Just trust me that Oliver loves you, and it’s okay for you to let him love you. He’s not going anywhere.”

Ben’s chest felt like it was ripping open, and healing, too.

It meant something coming from Evan. He’d had crappy taste in guys before Quincy, but he’d always seen Ben more clearly than he’d seen himself.

“So, um, if Oliver can always do everything better than me…” Ben started. That seemed like a safe question, and he was just going to ignore everything else. “How do I do anything for him? I can’t even think of anything that he needs.”

Evan gave him a look. “You’re a sub, dude. You don’t have to figure it out. Oliver will tell you what he wants, and all you have to do is submit.”

Good point. That was kind of a relief. Only…“That’s not our dynamic. I’m a brat.”

Except that he was still wearing the clothes that Oliver had picked out for him. He rubbed his hand across his jeans, remembering how pleased Oliver had been, and the delicious threats that he’d made.

Fuck. Was that their dynamic?

“It’s a good thing that Oliver loves brats then, isn’t it?”

Yeah. It made Ben feel all squirrely and impossible and ready to explode with happiness.

“But what can I do for him?” Ben asked, even though he wasn’t quite sure what he meant.

Evan sipped his coffee, then slowly nodded.

What? What was it?

“You want to get him a gift,” Evan announced.

He did?

“You want to give him something really meaningful that’s just from you.”

Uh… that sounded about right. He’d kind of been thinking of something more ongoing. Like his watch that he still didn’t have back?

“What does Oliver enjoy?”

That was easy. “Music. Engineering. People. Sci-fi and action movies. Sex toys. But he can get all of that for himself.”

“It’s still meaningful if you offer it to him. For example, I can buy myself a silly coffee mug anytime, but I still love the Tea-Rex mug you gave me in high school, because it’s from you.”

“Oh.” Ben had spent a lot of time picking it out, spending his carefully hoarded and very limited cash back then. It said T-Rex hates pull-ups with a little bar that the dinosaur couldn’t reach with its short arms. It was the first thing Ben had ever bought for anyone else, and he’d had no idea that Evan still had it or even remembered it.

“You’re a thoughtful gift giver, Ben. I’ve kept everything that you’ve given me.”

Really?

Now Ben felt all squishy and squirrely in a totally different way. He hadn’t thought his gifts meant anything. He just bought random shit he thought Evan would find funny or that would make him feel better when he was down. He couldn’t remember birthdays and things, so he just did it whenever.

Evan was eyeing him. “This isn’t hard. You know Oliver. Just think of something that you know he’d enjoy and give it to him. Even if it’s something he could just order for himself.”

Ben risked another sip of his cappuccino, hoping it had cooled off. What would be meaningful to Oliver?

A musical instrument? A mod? He’d order a bot for Oliver to control, except he knew that Oliver was already compiling a long list of pros and cons for different models, and he wouldn’t want to get the wrong one. Maybe he could still find a special one?

Damn, the coffee was really hot today.

And then he had it.

He knew exactly what to get.

Hopefully this would fucking work.

“I’ve got it.”

Evan beamed. “Well?”

Ben purloined Evan’s phone and started tapping at it. He didn’t want Oliver to know what he was getting. “Would you mind if we got this to go? I’ll tell you all the dirty, dirty details on the way.”

Evan rolled his eyes. “Yes, you may use my phone, thanks for asking. I’ll get your sorry ass a paper cup, and please, do not tell me what you two do in bed. I don’t want to know.”

Ben looked up and grinned. “I didn’t say it was going to be in bed, did I?”