A Love to Last Ch. 03

"Who him?" Jim laughed at the top of his voice. "Trust me, this boy probably doesn't know how to kiss." He leaned towards Amber. "Talk less of sex. All he knows how to do is study."

"Oh my God!" Ben gasped, shaking his head. "You know you're lying Jimmy. I have been in a couple of relationships so your theories are obviously lies."

"Which other one apart from the one you had with Brandon?" He raised an eyebrow. "I know you, Ben, like the back of my hand. I have only seen you in a relationship with Brandon and no one else."

"Brandon, huh?" Amber teased, winking at Ben. "Tell me about this Brandon. Are you guys still together?"

Ben smiled sheepishly, shaking his head. He didn't wanna lose his smile or act like he was pained.

"We broke up almost three years ago." His voice was so low.

"Oh, that's so sad." Amber sympathized. "What happened if you don't mind telling me? It seemed like you loved him a lot."

Ben started going down memory lane to what had happened, how Brandon had been hurt because of him and their painful breakup. Elena had rubbed it in his face and had promised to destroy his future relationships. Guess that was the reason he was scared of being in love. He felt being alone was much easier for him.

"Ben never talks about it." Jim said softly. "Even I don't know what led to their breakup because they had been so much in love. I actually thought they were gonna end up together."

"We were just never compatible with each other." Ben said, trying to force a smile. "But it's been so long, I have even forgotten about it. What about you Amber? Tell us about your love life."

"Hmmm..." She giggled. "Alright then, brace yourselves because this is gonna be quite long."

She told them about her first love, first kiss and the men that she had dated up to date. She was quite an interesting girl with so many stories to tell. By the time she was finishing her stories, they were laughing like kindergartens. It was a fun day.

Ben excused himself to go to the men's room, leaving Amber and Jim chatting. Jim was checking around to see if he could spot David anywhere because he was dying to talk to him again.

"Hey, I can see someone is eagerly waiting to see his crush." Amber teased, making him chuckle.

"I am just looking forward to seeing him again. But I am very nervous, I hope I don't mess up."

Amber held his hand sweetly. "You look amazing, don't try to impress. Be yourself and show him the real you. You'll thank me later."

Jim nodded. "I will do that."

They continued chatting and a few minutes later, Amber's phone began ringing. She answered it happily.

"Hey!"

'Hey!' It was Isaac on the other side. 'How's lunch going?'

"Good actually." She smiled brightly, winking at Jim. "Where are you guys? I've been waiting for quite some time."

'Yeah...' He sighed on the other end of the line. '...about that, we kind of have to go somewhere very important. We won't make it for lunch with you. I am hoping you can understand.'

Amber smiled brightly at Jim before she rose from the chair and went a distance from him.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" She said under her breath. She was so mad but she didn't wanna shout at Isaac. "If I am not mistaken, this was my brother's idea. Hand him the phone right now."

"well... he's a bit busy..."

Before Isaac could finish his sentence, Amber burst into laughter.

"Why do I have a feeling the both of you actually came here? Oh my God!" She gasped, holding her chest. "You're lying to me Isaac because there's no way my brother would have stood me out like that. Both of you were here and if I am not mistaken, you're still here."

She quickly turned and scanned the restaurant but didn't see either of them.

"This was his idea, wasn't it?"

'Fine! You got us.' Isaac sighed on the other end. 'We thought the lunch was supposed to be the three of us but when we got there, we saw you were with someone else. It wasn't too hard to figure out it was Jim. David didn't wanna see him but I had no problem with it. So we had to leave. I couldn't convince him."

"You know what? You're impossible." She groaned, stamping her foot on the floor. "Where are you?"

'Outside but we're about to leave.'

"Stay right there." She warned. "I am coming."

She cut the call, fixed herself and wore a smile before she went back to Jim.

"Was that David?" Jim asked excitedly, scanning the restaurant. "Where's he? Is he coming?"

"Err... that was Isaac. He just called to say that they had to go somewhere important so they couldn't make it."

The smile on Jim's face started fading slowly. He felt coldness enter his life and everything stopped moving for a second. Then sorrow, pain and disappointment all at the same time took ahold of him. Amber saw that and she felt bad for him.

"I am sorry." She put her hands together. "I had put so much hope in you that he'd show up and now I feel bad. But I promise I'll make it to you, okay?"

Jim just nodded, faking a smile.

"And I have to leave right now. I have just realized that I have class. Say bye to Ben for me."

She rose from the chair, hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek before she rushed out of there. Jim sat there feeling alone and abandoned. He couldn't understand why this was happening to him. Normally, he never let guys do this to him and neither did they prove a challenge to him. But David's case was different. It was like something was preventing them from being together.

"What did I miss?"

Jim was gotten out of his thoughts when he heard Ben's voice. He looked at him and found him looking worried.

"Are you okay?" Ben sounded concerned. "You don't seem too bright. Where's Amber?"

"She left." He sighed as he took a sip of the juice. "She had to go for class."

"Okay..." He raised an eyebrow. "What about her brother?"

Jim smiled sheepishly without saying a word.

"I am sorry." Ben rose from his chair and went to hug his brother tightly. He placed a kiss on his head. "I am here, you can talk to me."

Jim hugged his brother tightly, feeling some form of comfort. He had to think of new ways to approach David, something that was gonna bring them closer and he had to do it faster. Otherwise, he needed the man like the air he breathed.

***

"You've got to be kidding me." Amber said angrily, shaking her head. "Do you know how stupid you made me look there? It made me look like a liar."

"I don't remember promising you I was gonna have lunch with him." David said without caring while staring at his phone. "If I remember correctly, I promised to have lunch with my sister."

David was seated on the front seat with his leg on the dashboard. He wore just sweatpants and runners. He looked hot though just because whatever he wore made him look sexy.

"What are you doing, David?" She asked, hitting her head. "I honestly think Jim is an amazing guy. Why don't you give him a chance? It's not like anything could go wrong."

"I have my eyes on someone else. I told you that."

"The mystery boy?" Isaac laughed. "This is someone you don't even know you're gonna see ever again. You don't know if he's gay or if he's with someone. You don't even if he's gonna like you. But here we have Jim who is going out of his way to be in your life. Why don't you give him a chance."

"I wanted to." He sighed, staring at both of them. "But destiny played its part and now I know this boy exists. That is good enough for me. I am gonna find this boy and I am gonna prove to you that he isn't a figment of my imagination."

Amber got closer and held her brother's hand.

"You know I love you so much, David, and I want to see you happy." She was serious. "I want to see you with someone that is serious about you, someone that I know is gonna love you. I think Jim is that guy."

"I love you too." He said with a smile. "But I know exactly what I want. I have made a mistake being in love before and I can't afford to do that again. This boy..." He paused and he just went down memory lane. "...there's just something that calls me to him. I don't know what it is but it is what I wanna find out."

Happiness streaked through David like a comet. He couldn't remember the last time he was that happy and funny enough, he didn't know the end to it all. But he was very hopeful.

"I understand you, but I also understand Jim. I think you're being unfair to him over someone you don't even know. You gave him the impression you were interested at the party. That gave him some hope."

"And I already apologized for that." He said simply, taking a deep breath. "There's nothing I can offer to him more than friendship. If he wants more than that, then I am sorry I am unavailable right now."

"But..."

"I will appreciate it if we didn't talk about this anymore." He said loudly. "I know what I want right now. If Jim doesn't want my friendship, then so be it. But I don't want anything to do with him."

"David..."

"I am hungry. I want to eat something."

"You're unbelievable!" She groaned, angrily opening the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" David called. "I thought we were going together."

"I am going in my car, thank you very much."

She closed the door angrily, leaving David surprised.

"Can you imagine." He shrugged. "She's acting like a child."

"She's not wrong though." Isaac said simply. "You could use someone like Jim."

"Just shut up and drive."

Isaac laughed and started the car.

***

The two boys were having a great conversation over lunch. It seemed Ben had managed to make his brother smile once again. But then something happened that neither of them had expected.

"Hey baby!" A voice spoke, a really familiar voice.

"Mom?" Jim quickly turned to find his mother standing there with a smile on her face.

She looked beautiful in a blue pant suit that made her look sexy and young with her hair tied in a bun with makeup gracing her face and very high heels. She was with another blonde lady who equally wore a smile. Both ladies looked amazing.

"Mom?"

He got up from the chair and hugged her tightly.

"I didn't expect to see you here." He pulled away but still held her. "What are you doing here?"

"What? You didn't wanna see me?" She asked with a frown. "I missed my baby so I thought of giving you a surprise for lunch. That way, I get to catch up with you. These days you always tell me that you're always busy with school."

Jim didn't need to ask how she knew where he was because definitely one of her guards had spied on them.

"Actually, we kinda just finished having lunch."

Her forehead creased when she saw Ben there. When their faces met, Ben smiled at her but she gave him a dismissive look. She smiled at her son once again.

"Wouldn't you like mommy to join you?"

"Of course." He nodded. "You know you don't have to ask me that. Why don't you sit with us?"

Elena and the other woman sat comfortably. Neither paid attention to Ben or talked to him which made the whole situation awkward. He felt like an outsider, which was the truth. Being surrounded by Elena was always so intimidating.

"Wow, Jim." The woman spoke as she eyed him. "You look amazing. Elena really isn't taking any chances about preparing you to run your father's empire."

"Thanks, aunt." Jim couldn't express how happy he was. "That's my mother. She always wants the best for her son."

The woman chuckled before she eyed Ben, giving him the 'you're trash' eyes. Ben felt a shiver go down his spine. He felt like the woman had some beef that she wanted to settle with him.

"Good afternoon, aunt." He greeted her. "How are you doing?"

The woman rolled her eyes and hissed.

"Elena, I didn't know that your son's maid was gonna be joining us." She said wittily.

Elena chuckled, glancing at Ben who was no longer smiling. "What can I say, Jackie? When a dog stays with its owner for a very long time, it starts to feel like it is a part of the family."

Ben felt a familiar ache in his chest. It was followed by a wave of pain throughout his body. He dropped his eyes to the floor knowing very well where this was going. Those words sheeted through him like a monster eating him from the inside.

"You're right." Jackie said with an evil grin on her face, enjoying the pain she was causing the young boy. "But it is our duty to make a dog understand the difference between a child of the family a dog. Like they say, a pig will always be a pig no matter what you do to it."

Jim stared at Ben and felt a wave of fury crashing through him. Resentment clouded his thoughts and he clenched his fists at his side.

"Come to think of it, I don't even know the reason why you even let him school at the same university with your son." She hissed. "Just look at him, always following your son everywhere. He thinks he's gonna be like him one day. But there's always a difference between a legitimate son and a son of a whore."

"How dare you!" Jim said in between clenched teeth. "How dare you speak to my brother like that? Whom do you think you are?"

"Excuse me?" Jackie lost the smile on her face.

"First of all, you disturbed our lunch when nobody wanted you here and you're speaking nonsense." His voice was rising. "Don't you have any sense of shame."

To say the woman was shocked would be an understatement. She sat there staring at the boy she had been praising with wide-eyed. Elena on the other hand was beyond shocked because she had never seen her son speak to anybody like that.

"What do you know about my family and what is going on? Why can't you concentrate on your own." He said harshly. "Oh, I know, your family doesn't have enough drama so you try to create drama in other families. Or maybe your family is so boring that you can't even sit with them for a second? But guess what..." He chirped. "...we don't need your opinion and definitely not on my brother."

"Elena!" The woman furiously rose, breathing like she was in a war. "Are you gonna sit there and allow your son to insult me?"

"Oh, your feelings are hurt?" He gasped in mock astonishment. "I didn't even know a woman who takes pleasure in hurting a boy old enough to be her grandson would even have feelings."

"Jim?" Elena snapped. "Where are your manners and respect? Do you realize she's older than you?"

"With all due respect, mommy, I am not gonna sit here while some random old woman insults my brother." He chuckled bitterly. "I always thought old people had so much wisdom about what should be spoken and what shouldn't, but guess I was wrong."

"You're insulting me because of this bastard?" She yelled, angrily pointing at Ben. "This son of a whore."

"No!" He shook his head. "I am not insulting you because of any bastard, but my brother. And I would like you to leave this place right now if you don't wanna hear any more words from me. Because what I said to you was me being considerate. The next thing I say might send you to your grave. So please, leave."

Anger had coiled in the woman's stomach and it felt like it was burning her from the inside. She had tears in her eyes. No one had ever disrespected her in public like that before. She picked up her bag and stormed out of there.

"Jim!"

"I am sorry, mom, forgive me for what you witnessed. But you taught me never to allow anyone to belittle me or insult me. Insulting Ben is the same as insulting me. I just did what you taught me."

Elena was brimming with hostility. She was immobilized with fury but not for her son. Her head robotically turned to face Ben who didn't even make any eye contact with her. Her fists clenched and her breaths came out harshly.

"This is your fucking fault!" She barked, making him jerk in fear. "I hope you're happy."

She stamped her foot on the floor and rushed after her friend.

Ben was frightened to the soles of his feet. He knew that Elena was never gonna let him go just like that. She was gonna do something bas to him. He slowly raised his face to his brother who stared back at him with pity.

"I am sorry." He whispered.

"You shouldn't have spoken to her like that." His voice was barely above a whisper. "You should have just allowed her to insult me."

"Are you kidding me?" Jim gasped in anger. "That woman deserved even more than she got so that next time she knows when to shut her mouth."

"But you're gonna get yourself in trouble with aunt Elena." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"I'll handle mom. But listen, Ben..." He got the chair closer to Ben and took his hands. "...you're my brother and there are so many times that you've stood for me. If I don't do the same for you then what kind of brother am I gonna be?"

A tear went down Ben's cheek which he quickly rubbed. "I don't know what I did in my previous life to deserve a brother like you. But just know that I love you so much, Jim."

"I know." Jim smiled brightly. "It's the two of us against the world. We're the sons of Jerome Henandez, we're not cowards. We stand up for each other always."

Ben nodded slowly. He didn't wanna show his weakness. He rather pulled Jim into a tight hug.

'Thank you so much, Jim.' He thought as he held his brother tight. 'But how do I tell you that by doing this, you've put me in so much trouble with aunt Elena? I don't know what I did to deserve this but thanks to you. I love you so much Jim."

***

3 days later

*

David arrived home after having a long day at the company. His mother still had things to do so he had to meet the board of directors alone, check out how things were running in the company and meet with his workers. He hadn't expected his day to be that long or coming home late. He was very hungry and wanted something delicious to eat.

He threw his jacket on the couch and sat there like, catching his breath. He could smell something, something delicious and it made his mouth water. All he was hoping for was to be fed and he knew who exactly was cooking.

"Nanny!" He called loudly. "I am hoping that food is ready because I am starving."

But there was no response. It was so quiet that he thought that there was no one in the house. He raised his head to look around but couldn't see anyone.

"Nanny!" He called again but there was no response. "Great!" He sighed.

He got up from the couch and dragged his tired body to the kitchen. The nearer he got, the more that sweet deliciousness hit his nose. When he entered the kitchen, his eyes went to the pots that were on the stove. He didn't need to be a genius to know that the aroma was coming from there.

He rushed to the stove and opened one of the pots. It was full of meat that looked delicious, well marinated with gravy. When that aroma hit him, his stomach rumbled and he couldn't help but put a smile on his face.

There was curried rice, potato soup and potato salads just like he loved them. It was one of his favorite meals. He heard footsteps behind him and he laughed as he turned.

"Hey nanny, how did you know I was gonna come back starving? You actually made all my favorites."

But when he turned, it wasn't his nanny that was there. It was someone else, someone that he didn't expect to see. The smile on his face faded, replaced by a shocked appearance.

"I am glad you like it." Jim said with a smile, almost like flirting him. "I knew you'd come back hungry since it was your first day at work. So I decided to come and make something delicious for you."

Jim was more than happy to see David after so long. It was almost like he had grown even more sexy, that tired face calling to him. Fuck! He wanted to touch that face and lick all over it. Thinking about it made him a little horny.

"Jim? What are you doing here?" David stuttered.

"Surprise!" Jim said happily, opening his arms like he expected David to run into them. "It is nice to see you again. I wanted to see you so bad so what better way than prepare your favorite meal?"