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The Loop
Ben had been low-key dreading the New Year’s Eve party, knowing that it would be a gauntlet of Simon’s relatives and peers. That would be intimidating for anyone, let alone Ben. He was as far as a fish could possibly get out of water and still not be dead. But, to his surprise, people were nice. A few gave Simon and Ben dubious looks, but that was as bad as it got. It was all very anticlimactic, but in a good way.
Ben met far too many people to keep track of, but a few stuck out in his memory later. The first ones were Celia Ingot and her wife, Lisa. Celia looked like a scary teacher but it was clear she held a lot of affection for Simon. Enough, as she pointed out, to fly to Chicago in the winter when they’d been on a beach in Florida. Unlike thin, angular, severe Celia, Lisa was pretty, rounded all over, and never without a sunny smile. Ben liked her immediately.
The next one to stand out was Simon’s nephew, Jeff, who had taken over as CEO. “Simon told me that the day he found you collapsed in front of the building was the same day he dropped me off there after having lunch. I’m sorry I missed all the excitement. But between you and me, I’m glad it happened. Not you getting sick, of course, but you are exactly what Uncle Simon needed and for that I am beyond grateful. You’ve given the old man new life!”
Simon frowned. “Not that old.”
Jeff laughed. “You keep telling yourself that.”
The last person Ben met was Hudson’s date for the party, a gorgeous blond woman he introduced as Eva, not giving her a last name. There was an odd tension between Hudson and his date, making Ben wonder what was going on, but before he knew it, Simon had whisked Ben off to meet someone else.
Shortly before midnight, Simon took Ben’s hand and led him away from the party. “I want to show you something,” he said.
He led Ben to the elevator, where Simon tapped his watch along a sensor. There was a light dinging noise then the doors slid shut and the car shot upward.
“Where are we going?” Ben asked, a bit alarmed at how fast the elevator moved.
Moments later there was another ding and the doors opened.
“The top floor,” Simon said.
“Is this someone’s apartment?” Although apartment seemed like the wrong word. Palace seemed far more appropriate, if you could have a palace at the top of a skyscraper.
“Yes,” Simon replied, not elaborating. He took Ben down a hallway then opened a door into a dark bedroom. The only light to see by was what came in from the hall. “It’s mine.”
Ben nearly stumbled. “Yours?”
“I lived here solely until my mother started having a difficult time getting around the townhouse. That’s when I had the elevator put in and started living there during the times Mother was there, which is during nicer weather and also holidays. She travels a lot and stays in our house on St. Thomas for long stretches of time in the winter. That house is all on one level, so I don’t have to worry about her and stairs. Plus we have a housekeeper there who keeps an eye on her for me. I usually live here when Mother is out of town, but when I needed to take you home with me, I thought you’d be more comfortable in the townhouse.”
From the glimpses Ben had gotten of the sleek, modern rooms, he thought Simon had made the right choice. The townhouse had been intimidating enough, and while luxurious, it also felt lived in. The apartment felt far less inviting to Ben.
“Simon, what’s going on?” He hoped Simon wasn’t announcing that they would live in this apartment. Just thinking about leaving the townhouse made him feel homesick, which was silly, but nevertheless how he felt.
Instead of answering Ben’s question, Simon picked up a remote off a side table and pushed a button. Heavy drapes pulled back and revealed floor-to-ceiling windows in a corner room. “Come here, sweet. Look at this.”
Ben joined Simon at the windows. He felt like he could see forever. Lake Michigan was a dark absence, eating up more than half the view from north to south, and the city was a blanket of peach and white stars. Just beyond them was Navy Pier, all lit up and shining like a beacon. Throngs of people could be seen crowded around it all the way down the pier.
“Are you ready?” Simon asked.
“I think so,” Ben said.
Simon counted down softly in Ben’s ear. “Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”
At first there was nothing, then a giant burst of red lights bloomed beneath them like a burning flower. “Wow,” Ben said. He’d never seen anything like this. Fireworks, but from above, rather than below.
Simon kissed Ben’s neck and ran his hands down Ben’s sides from his ribs to his hips. “Just keep watching,” he said.
Ben did, seeing explosions in green and red and pink and gold and silver appear before his eyes as Simon’s mouth and fingers drove him insane. Simon undid Ben’s belt and the fly in his pants, pushing past the waistband of his briefs and going right for Ben’s hardening cock.
“Oh, god,” Ben moaned.
“Don’t close your eyes. Just keep watching and feel.”
Simon pulled Ben’s pants and underwear down to mid-thigh then wrapped his hand around Ben’s erection. He must have brought lube, or had some nearby, because his hand slid slickly along Ben’s aching length. He wanted Simon to move faster, and he jutted his hips forward to help, but Simon held Ben still with one arm while his other hand continued its slow torture.
Ben whined, already wanting to come, but Simon kept him on the edge, never going too far but also not stopping. It was unlike anything Ben had ever experienced before. Exquisite torture with a light show. That should have made him laugh, but he ached too much for anything to be funny.
