Ben Loves a Challenge Ch. 15

"I don't want you to wear that tonight, and I really fucking want you to wear that tonight," Dean said, obviously fretting.

"Why not? To either?"

Dean bit his lower lip. "God, I can still taste you in my mouth." He hummed happily, his eyes slipping shut for a second as he enjoyed Ben's aftertaste.

"Me too, can taste you. I got some in my sinuses, I can smell you in my whole head. It's gonna be distracting all night."

"Fuck, Ben. Stop saying things to get me to fuck you. I already don't really wanna go now."

"If we stayed home what would we do?" Ben asked, feigning innocence.

"I'd pound your tight ass in that sexy-fine tux. We'd ruin it."

Ben moaned in the back of his throat. "That sounds like exactly what I wanna do."

"No, stop it you evil seductor! We need to go support Zion and Bambi. Metri's been messed up about something lately, and he needs us there." Dean ran his hand through his hair, obviously regretting that he couldn't stay home, but also wanting to be there for his friend. It was cute.

"You really like it?"

"I already told you that you were my wet dream. I've always loved porn where one of the men is in a suit or tux. It's so fucking sexy. I wanna yank your tie while I ride your face, I wanna... I need to stop or we'll never leave."

"I like it, that I looked good for you. That you liked it. Made it worth the money." Dean watched him as he zipped up. "Should I change?"

"Fuck no. I want everyone there to know how fucking hot you are. And I want to gloat a bit that you're mine. That this badass straight boy is mine."

"Shit, Dean, I thought you wanted to leave," Ben purred. "Your confidence just refilled my stiffie. It feels good."

"What feels good?" Dean asked, not even making an effort to get ready to leave.

"You saying that I'm yours, and that you wanna show me off. Makes it a thousand percent worth the money. Oh, I almost forgot, and D'metrius would'a been pissed with me if I hadn't said it, but he told me to tell you that this was his late Christmas present to you."

Dean snorted out a laugh. "He would. Freaking Queen knows me too well."

"I was really having my doubts," Ben admitted. "I was so sure you'd laugh at me and then I'd change and wish I had my money back."

"I'm buying you a tux," Dean announced, then turned and headed towards his kitchen. Ben followed. Dean filled two glasses at the sink and handed him one. He took it and sipped, loving how Dean couldn't take his eyes off him. "I'm buying you ten. Fuck. I don't want to show you off, but I also absolutely wanna show you off. I'm gonna have to guard you all night."

"Oh no, you'll have to stay close to me all night and not let me outta your sight? Whatever will I do?" Ben fake-lamented. "But, these are expensive, don't go buying me one."

"I'll do what I want, bitch, and you'll like it and thank me for it," Dean commanded.

Ben looked at Dean and was nearly overwhelmed by the love he felt for him. "I don't think I ever actually loved Laura, even when I felt the most strongly about her."

"What?" Dean asked, looking confused, and more than a little concerned.

"Like, I dunno," Ben said, blushing. It was hard to say, but he had to get it out or he felt like he'd explode. "What I feel for you, when you look at me like that, or when I can make you happy, shit like that. What I felt for Laura pales in comparison. Like, it's not even close. Not even on the same scale. Where the fuck were you for my whole life, Dean?"

"You're not-"

"Even gay, I know. But, Dean? I don't need to be gay to love you. I love you. I freaking love you so much that it makes my chest so tight it hurts, and also feels amazing. I dunno how to tell you that so you'll hear it."

Dean drank his water, then bit his bottom lip. "I know," he admitted. "You rented a tux and wore it when you didn't even know if Metri was being an asshole, just because you cared enough to want to impress me, and look good for me, and not embarrass me. I don't deserve you, Ben, but I'm sure as hell not gonna let you go, not now."

"We should go soon," Ben noted reluctantly, glancing at the time on his microwave. The g-string was climbing up his asscrack again, since they messed around he couldn't get it back in the right spot where it was just obvious and not annoyingly obvious. He wiggled, trying not to just stick his hands in his pants when he was dressed up for Dean.

"You can take them off," Dean said.

"The tux?"

Dean frowned. "Fuck no. The underwear. You can put something else on, they served their purpose and I can tell they are uncomfortable."

"They were okay until just now," he admitted. "You sure?"

"Ben, I want you to be comfortable tonight, because this's all new for you and I don't want you to hate it. I want you to be part of my life, not just this part, but all the parts. So, go get some comfortable underwear and then we can go."

He nodded, so stupid pleased with himself over Dean's approval. "Yeah, okay." Dean followed him down the hall and into his bedroom. "You know I have to take, like, half of this off just to get the pants off, right?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "You don't. Just unhook the suspenders. I'll help you get them hooked back up."

Ben nodded, then went to work struggling to unhook his suspenders. Finally he freed himself and pulled the now-wet underwear off, then felt silly standing in his socks and tux top with his butt and balls hanging out. He hurried to his dresser and dug around for a pair of boxer briefs.

"You hung it up," Dean said from behind him.

He turned, jumping on one leg as he pulled his underpants up. Dean traced his finger over the painting next to the bed. It was an abstract painting full of warm colors, yellows and oranges in the upper left corner turning to increasingly deeping reds, ending in magenta at the right bottom corner. Pale pastel colors were speckled throughout the entire piece.

"Of course I did," Ben said, stating the obvious. "What'd you think, I'd just shove the physical manifestation of your love for me in my closet or something?"

Dean turned away from him. "No. I dunno." Ben thought he heard him sniffle.

"Are you crying?" he asked, feeling even more ridiculous in his underwear without the pants on.

"No," Dean snapped, wiping his eyes.

Ben nearly dove into his arms and kissed him. "You're adorable," he said, catching one of Dean's tears on his tongue.

"And you're not wearing any pants," Dean replied, pushing Ben away. He wiped at his eyes and looked down, but he wasn't able to hide those rosy cheeks Ben loved so much.

Ben chuckled and pulled on the pants, then began his fight with the suspenders, which, having zero tension on them, had climbed up into his tuxedo vest. "Damn these suspenders," he swore under his breath as he struggled to catch one in both the back and the front at the same time.

Dean laughed. "Come here," he said, closing the distance himself. He caught Ben's suspenders and began hooking them to the spots on his pants where they connected. "You look so good in a tux," Dean purred into his ear. Once the suspenders were connected he pulled Ben by the waist of his pants until their bodys were pressed together. "Thank you for wearing it for me."

"Fuck, Dean, if I knew it made you so hot and bothered I woulda worn one sooner. No, no," he said, batting Dean's hands off his ass. "If we don't leave now we won't leave, and we need to support Bambi and Zion."

Dean fake pouted. "I don't wanna go."

"Yes, you do," Ben said, smiling. "You're staying over tonight, right?"

"Ben, we won't be back until tomorrow morning," Dean said, sounding salty.

"So stay tomorrow night, too," Ben said. "Stay forever."

"Very tempting," Dean admitted.

"And, we need to go so you can make every other guy there jealous about the hot piece of ass you get to bang."

Dean wasn't expecting his comment, and the look on his face made him laugh. "You're such an ass," Dean said, then snorted.

"You got it wrong. I'm such a hot piece of ass," Ben corrected. "Get it right."

"Oh, I'll get you right," Dean promised. "You just wait."

Ben stepped into Dean's body again. "Love you, Dean."

Dean kissed him, just a simple kiss on the lips. "Love you, too, Ben. So much. Now, let's go, bitch. I've got a hot piece of ass to show off."

Dean drove, but they were too late to meet up with Jimmy and D'Metrius, so they went straight to the club. Cold wind whipped around him and he was pouting as they walked the block and a half from where they parked to the club. Dean made him leave his winter coat in the car, apparently they had a coat check that would cost money. He offered to pay but Dean blew him off.

It was much warmer once they finally got inside the club. Dean wouldn't tell him how much his ticket cost, he'd thrust the money at the Queen behind the ticket window before he was even asked. There was a foyer that was a little dismal, though it was well lit. There were long tables that lined each wall covered in silver catering trays with little blue sternos under each one. Big bowls of salad, plates and cutlery were piled high at the end of either line of tables.

"Smells good," Ben noted. "Like... roast beef?"

Dean nodded, hesitating as he turned back to him. "Yeah, roast beef and other stuff. Like, you know, wedding food or something. Anyway, um, you okay?"

Ben hid his anxiety behind a smile. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

Dean scrutinized him, then exhaled. "You don't have to force yourself, if you don't wanna be here."

"Did I say that?" Ben asked. "Have I acted like that's what I wanted? Dean, it's fine. I'm fine. I'm here with you cause I wanna be."

Dean swallowed hard. "Yea. Okay. Thanks, Ben."

Ben stepped closer to Dean and he shied away. He frowned and stayed put. "Listen, Dean. I know you're worried, but you don't have to be. I'm fine, it's all good." He reached out to take Dean's hand, but stopped short, holding it out for Dean to decide if he was ready. Dean bit his lip, then took Ben's hand and squeezed it. Dean's hands were clammy, he really was super nervous. Ben squeezed back. "Let's go?"

Dean nodded. "Yea, let's go." Dean headed towards the set of double doors on the left, there was another matching set on the right, separated by a bar that was unstaffed at the moment. He pushed the door open with one hand, holding onto Ben's hand with his other like a lifeline.

A burst of warm, candy-scented air assaulted him. The next thing he noticed was that the room was pretty dark, but also neon backlit. Other than that, it looked surprisingly like a strip club. There was a central stage with a pole towards the back of it, but much more real estate in front of it than a strip club. Chairs lined the perimeter of the stage, and behind those were round tables circled with chairs. Each table had a centerpiece, bright plastic flowers or something, all a little different.

Dean looked back at him again. "You still okay?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah, it's just not what I expected."

"What'd you expect?" Dean asked, leading him around the edge of a larger group of men, more than half of them dressed as women.

Ben shrugged. "I didn't know what to expect, to be honest. Reminds me of a strip club."

"Building used to be a strip club," Dean confirmed. "They do strip shows sometimes, and the pole gets used surprisingly often during amature nights."

"Amature nights?"

Dean tugged him to a table, then pulled out a chair. "This's ours," he said, motioning to the chair. "And, you know, like, talent show kinda stuff. Guys wanting to get into drag, or comedy, or whatever. Music. Stuff like that."

"You ever do an act for amature night?" he asked, taking the seat that Dean had pulled out. Dean pulled out another chair and sat down next to him. Ben noticed that he was still holding his hand and smiled.

Dean's rosy cheeks bloomed. "Uh, so, ah, what do you think?"

Ben smirked at Dean's obvious admission, though he knew better than to ask now. "It's nice. I mean, it seems nice."

"Good." Dean nodded.

"Um, are the centerpieces just condoms made to look like flowers?" he asked, reaching out to grab one. The one he took was a neon blue condom wrapper hot glued to a fake flower stem.

Dean looked embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's pretty common to find condoms all over this place. You can take it, if you wanted. That's kinda the point."

"Not really. I mean, we don't need any, right?"

Dean cocked his head, then looked at him like he just had an idea that was both wicked and awesome at the same time. "Take it, bitch. Take two, actually."

He looked at Dean curiously. "Yes, sir," he whispered, reaching out for a bright pink condom flower. Dean watched closely as he peeled them both off the stem.

"Give them here, bitch," Dean directed, holding his hand out.

Ben did so and the condoms quickly disappeared into Dean's pocket. "Why do you want them, Sir?"

Dean just smiled that evil smile that made his dick twitch.

Someone turned on music and it pumped into the room through large speakers at the back of the stage, interrupting his thoughts. Dean turned to look at the stage, the movement pressing his knee against Ben's. Ben leaned into it and Dean glanced back at him with a quick smile.

A man dressed in a hot pink, stretchy dress, a cotton candy pink wig with perfectly coiffed curls, white six inch stripper heels, and the biggest white eyelashes he'd ever seen on a person came onto the stage. Ben looked around, suddenly it felt like there were more people in the club than there had been. People milled to their seats as the man waited.

He was huge, well over six feet tall before the heels. He tapped a microphone, then turned it over, looking for the on switch. He turned it back over and touched the top again, but it still didn't seem to be working. Dean's knee started bouncing against his and Ben felt bad for how stressed out this whole thing was making him. Maybe he shouldn't have come.

The man on stage frowned, messing with the microphone some more. "You okay?" he asked, but Dean couldn't hear it, the music was too loud. He leaned in until his lips were maybe six inches from Dean's ear and asked again.

Dean jumped like he'd been slapped, reeling away from Ben. "Fine, yea?" Dean dismissed, putting space between them. The man on the stage looked around the crowd as if looking for someone, squinting as he searched. Dean scrunched down, looking away from the stage and Ben realized he was hiding from the guy onstage. Dean pulled out his phone and tried to look busy.

He couldn't hide, though, the Queen's white-lashed eyes locked onto Dean in a heartbeat. "Dean, sweetness, could you be a doll and help me? Mic is on the fritz again."

Dean flushed, then released Ben's hand like he'd been stung by it. He looked around, as if for someone else to help, then sighed and stood up. He turned back to Ben. "Sorry, I'll be right back." He jogged towards the stage, obviously embarrassed.

Of course he'd be the club's tech support. Ben smiled, proud of his boyfriend. He watched as his boyfriend climbed onto the stage, then held his hand out for the misbehaving microphone.

Someone sat down next to Ben while he was distracted. A touch on his shoulder had him twisting around, smiling, expecting it to be Zion or Bambi. "Hey! What're you..." he trailed off when he saw it was neither of Dean's friends. "Oh. Um. Hi?"

The man was huge, like a mountain. Or a football player. He wasn't fat, but he was big, with a broad chest and huge, cabled arms. His pale shirt, the color indiscernible in the dim but also neon lighting, was just shy of too small. It clung to his chest and biceps like a second skin, which let Ben see exactly how hairy the man's chest was. His head was shaved and he smelled like he'd poured on an entire bottle of Axe body spray just before he came in. He was intense, to say the least.

The man scooted closer, then put one elbow on the table way too close to where Ben's hand was. He wanted to pull away, but it was too late by the time he'd thought to do it and now it'd be awkward. The man scooted his chair closer and Ben backed away slightly without trying to make it obvious.

The man leaned in. "Hey," he said, his voice not nearly as deep as Ben had been expecting. "Haven't seen you here before."

"Yeah, my first time. Is it that obvious?" Ben asked. He didn't know what to do, and he didn't want to embarrass Dean. Though, when he scanned the room, Dean was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't sure when he'd disappeared.

"Handsome, you're impossible to miss," the man said. He held his hand out. "I'm Liam."

"Oh. Hi. Um, yeah, I'm Ben." He reached out and shook the man's hand. The minute his overly warm hand wrapped around Ben's he squeezed way too hard. Ben tried not to flinch as he felt the bones in his hand shift. He tried to pull away but Liam held the shake for another few seconds, clearly showing his dominance. When he finally released him it took all Ben had not to rub his abused hand.

"Nice ta meetcha, Ben," the man said, smiling in a way that made him uncomfortable. "Like I said, you're impossible to miss."

"The tux, you mean?" he asked, looking down, then straightening his tie. "I guess it is a bit too much."

"Oh, no, I think it is exactly the right amount." Liam paused, his eyes travelling Ben's body. He scooted closer before he spoke again. "Can I buy you a drink?"

He suddenly had a moment of clarity. Liam was hitting on him, and once he realized that he felt really, really uncomfortable. Like, he knew how women felt when Hugh and Justin were being themselves. It was very much not a fun time.

"Sorry, Liam, I think, um, no. No drink. I'm here with my boyfriend." Ben scooted back a bit, but Dean's chair was still out and blocking further retreat without actually getting up from his seat.

Liam leaned forward, instantly erasing the distance between them, then gaining ground until he was only inches from Ben's face. "I don't see your boyfriend anywhere..."

Ben forced his chair back, pushing Dean's out of the way. "He's helping-"

Liam grabbed Ben's thigh and squeezed. "Sure he is, Handsome. Why don't you and I get to know one another a little better? C'mon, let me buy you a drink." It wasn't a request this time, but the command didn't trigger him like it did when Dean did it. It jusy made him feel kinda icky.

Ben wanted to push Liam's hand from his thigh, but he also didn't want to touch it, which just froze him with indecision. "No, Liam. I have a boyfriend, I'm not interested in anyone else. Could you please move your hand?"

Liam frowned, but it disappeared into a sly grin. He nodded. "Oh. Yeah. I get it. Playing hard to get. Sure, I'll play along." He didn't move his hand.

Ben flicked his hand but Liam ignored it. "I'm serious," Ben said, getting more than annoyed, but unsure how to navigate this entirely new situation.

Ben didn't notice the blond Queen until he was almost standing next to them. Bambi smirked, a look of irritated angst, then picked at Liam's hand on Ben's leg with ridiculously long fake fingernails. "Liam, lover, you need to keep your paws off this one. He's spoken for, and quite, ah, exclusive."

Ben looked up gratefully, but Bambi's blue eyes were locked on Liam. Liam snatched his hand back, looking up at Bambi with thinly veiled contempt. "Bambi, don't you have something better to do? Like, say, the show? I'm enjoying a private conversation with my new friend Ben."

Bambi was wearing a sequined dress the color of a mermaid's tail, with hair to match. His white painted lips pursed in annoyance. "Listen, Liam. I don't have time for you to be a prick. If Dean finds you getting handsy with his formerly-straight boy-"

"Straight boy?" Liam jumped in, his attention caught.

"Um, yeah, I'm with Dean."