Page 60 of Smart Ass

It was like Max was actually going to follow through and make sure Ben did it, instead of being disappointed in him when he forgot.

“Okay, fine.” He huffed, but he still dragged himself over to the fridge to find some bread to put in the toaster. There was somehow orange juice in there, too.

As soon as the bread started to warm, his stomach gurgled. Maybe he should make four pieces. Or six. He went back to the fridge for some toppings.

He shoved the first piece in his mouth before he managed to get anything on it, though.

So maybe he had been hungry.

“Better?” Max asked.

Ben grunted around his full mouth. God, he was such an animal.

Max was going to get sick of him in a week.

Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to let Max into his home. At least at the office, he had time to pull himself together first.

Ben strolled over to the table, like it had been his plan to eat a whole piece of toast in one bite. It did leave his hands free, right? He took a swig of juice, because that shit was seriously dry.

He ate the second piece with butter, and the third with jam, and the fourth with peanut butter, and now he was feeling mostly human again.

“Mmmmm…” Max hummed as Ben dropped the dirty knives in the sink. “Now you’re feeling better.”

“Are you going to just watch me all the time?” Ben asked again. “’Cause that’s weird.”

And he was maybe feeling a little needy and embarrassed. He didn’t even bring hook-ups back to his place, and now Max was watching what he did with his dirty dishes. (I.e., add them to the pile in the sink, until he ran out of space and finally had to wash them.) There were probably dishes by the couch, too.

“I am,” Max confirmed. “I like watching you.”

Ben felt stupidly warm down to his toes. “That’s gonna get boring.”

“I’ve considered it, and I don’t believe so.”

“I’m a slob,” Ben offered.

He could hear the warmth in Max’s voice. “You’re distracted because you’ve got so many fascinating thoughts floating around your head. I can hire a cleaner if you want your apartment to be clean. But believe me, Ben, when I watch you, you’re all that I see. You shine.”

Ben had to really fight not to grin. Who fucking said shit like that?

The crazy-ass part was that he knew it wasn’t a pickup line. Max actually believed that nonsense.

Ben shone? He was all that Max could see?

Ben grunted. “I, uh, guess I should head to the hospital now and get Evan checked out.”

“Good idea. Let me know if you want me to order anything for his apartment while he’s recovering.”

Ben gave a playful salute and turned around.

He needed to get back to the privacy of his bedroom, stat, so he wouldn’t look like a fucking moron when he did a happy dance and hugged his pillow like a teenager.

He was not going to be all sappy and pathetic.

At least not where Max could see him.