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He almost wanted to scream. He actually appreciated being interrupted, but he couldn’t take one more random bit of weirdness. He turned his gaze, then breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized the man standing beside him. He was one of the cooks, and there was even a smear of cocktail sauce on his forearm.
“Hi there,” Ben said, forcing a smile.
“I’m sorry to bother you on your date, Mr. Weiss, but I wanted to let you know that your lawyer sent a message. He said it looks like they’re not going to throw out the identity theft charge, but since this is only your second offense, you’ll probably only have to serve a few months in county.”
Ben fought back something between a laugh and a scream, and he refused to look over at the bar, where he knew Nova would be watching. Rubbing his hand over his mouth to try and temper his grin, he nodded. “Thank you.” He turned back to Levi and his mom and offered his best smile. “So, I’ll be out of jail well before the High Holidays.”
“Levi,” the woman snapped, “we’re leaving.”
Levi looked small and devastated. “You’re acriminal?”
“Is white-collar crime really that big of a deal?” Ben asked, then bit the inside of his cheek to keep the hysterical giggles from trying to escape his chest.
Ruth all but hauled Levi to his feet, and Ben sat rooted in his chair until they were gone.
After a long beat, the chef snorted and shook his head. “I don’t know what the hell is going on this week, but at least it’s been interesting. Thanks for that.”
“Yeah. Anytime,” Ben said. He finally glanced at the bar, but there was only one of the servers there, pouring drinks from the tap.
“Nova said he’d be in his office. Catch you later,” the chef said.
Ben was on his feet before he was even consciously aware of it, heading down the hall. Nova’s office door was cracked open half an inch, and before Ben could reach out to push it in, it swung back, and he was unceremoniously dragged into warm, waiting arms.
Ben managed a quick laugh before he was pressed against the wall, his face cradled, and then Nova was kissing him. It was breaking all their rules, and he couldn’t bring himself to give a shit enough to call Nova out. All his pent-up want and need was like fire under his skin, racing from the roots of his hair to the bottoms of his feet.
“Mm,” Nova groaned softly, breaking away with small pecks. “I wanted to do that with Levi watching.”
“You’ve definitely got some sort of fetish,” Ben said, but he chased Nova’s lips for a second kiss, which the man gave him without a moment of hesitation. “Tell me this won’t keep going once we’re together.”
Nova sighed and knocked their foreheads together. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to go tomorrow night.”
“And will it bother you for the rest of our lives?” Ben pressed.
Nova hesitated long enough that Ben had his answer. “I’ll get over it. I promise I will.”
“What if we compromise,” Ben said. “What if I meet him in person and just tell him that it’s not going to work? This is the one date I’m not meeting here.”
Nova pulled back, his brows furrowed. “You’re not?”
Ben shrugged. “He asked me to meet him somewhere else. I wasn’t even sure I was going to go, but tomorrow, I’ll just drop by on my way here and let him know that I’m sorry and I hope he finds what he’s looking for.”
“Tell him if he’s got a thing for weird emotional incest, you know a guy and his mom,” Nova said with a shit-eating grin.
Ben smacked him on the side, then surged in for a third kiss. “You’re an ass,” he murmured against Nova’s lips.
“But you like me,” Nova fired back.
He did, God help him. He liked Nova so much that everything that should have been a red flag telling him to run screaming in the other direction was endearing. It made Ben want to cling harder, and hope longer, and believe that maybe there really was a happily ever after with his name on it.
And Nova was right about one thing: this was definitely a story for the generations in their future.
“Kiss me again,” Ben murmured.
Nova’s eyes were blazing with heat and desire. He pinched Ben’s chin between thumb and fingers, lifting his gaze and holding it for a moment that seemed to stretch on until eternity. Then, just when Ben was wondering if he’d have to beg, Nova lowered his lips and obeyed.
* * *
They agreed together to let Nova break his promise of making him come his brains out that night over the phone. Ben was worked up beyond all reason, but after kissing Nova for long, damn near desperate moments in his storage closet, Ben knew the next time he came, he wanted it to be with Nova there to hold him as he came down from the postorgasm high.
