Ben's Day Ch. 02

"I'll be right back," Juliet announced nervously, "I just need to go to the restroom."

Ben and Sam nodded, each taking a slow sip of their drinks as she left.

"She likes you," Sam stated after finishing her sip and putting her cup back down.

"What?"

"Juliet. She likes you. A lot. She has since forever."

Ben nodded dumbly, trying to search Sam's gold-brown eyes for a hint as to what she was thinking. Sam waggled her eyebrows at him suggestively.

"Yeah I know...but—"

"—do you like her?"

Ben froze. Had literally had sex with this woman earlier that morning. Was this some sort of a trick question? Sam saw the confusion in his face and shook her head.

"Look—I told you on the bus," Sam said impatiently, "I wanted to do that for you—and for me, obviously—but I wanted to do it for you because I've been there. It was great—you were great, but I'm not trying to start a relationship or anything. I don't really do relationships. But Juliet really likes you, and if you really like her, I think you'd be good for each other."

"But she's with—"

"—we both know Harry won't last. This thing about the guy at the gym—I could tell from your face that you knew it wasn't him."

"Yeah," Ben admitted, "I...I'm pretty sure it wasn't that guy."

"So?"

"So what?"

"Do you like her?"

Ben thought for a moment. His first instinct was to deny it, but who would he be kidding? It seemed like Sam already knew anyway.

"Yeah. I do. I've liked her for a while. I didn't know she liked be back in college, and then I was with Vic..."

"Do you know what she told Victoria? Why Victoria stopped talking to her?"

Benn nodded.

"Good," Sam smiled devilishly, "well let me just say that I'm game if she is, once everything has blown over. Until then, I don't think either of us should tell her about any fun we have, she might get the wrong idea and think that you aren't interested in her if she knows we're fucking."

Ben was keenly aware that Sam had not used the past tense. He was excited at the prospect of more...but also troubled.

"I...I wouldn't want to lie to her," Ben said, wincing, "that's what Vic did to me."

Sam nodded.

"I'm just saying we let this thing with Harry blow over first. You probably need some time. Then, if you two end up together, I can tell her—believe me, I wouldn't want to hurt her either. I can expl—" Sam stopped mid sentence, looking over Ben's shoulder, "she's coming back."

Ben nodded and took another sip from his coffee nonchalantly.

"So," Juliet said cheerfully, bouncing back into her seat, seeming to have lost all of her melancholy with her new theory about the other Juliet, "what are your plans for the day, Ben? You have a conference or something? We're going to the Red Marionettes show tonight, but that doesn't start until like, eight or nine or something?"

"Eight-thirty," Sam said, nodding along with her friend.

"I've got the conference at twelve-thirty—after that I was planning on grabbing an early dinner in town with Tomm before heading back to his place."

"We should meet you and Tomm!" Juliet said enthusiastically.

"Tommy did text me back—invited us as long as it was ok with you?" Sam added.

"I don't see why not," Ben said, shrugging, "I should get going soon to that conference though. I should probably be done around four or five."

"Ok—oh and also, Tomm said you haven't been answering his texts."

"Oh shit, it's still on silent, let me..."

He pulled the phone out of his pocket, and saw that he now had a total of six missed calls, three voicemails, and twenty-three unread texts from Vic. He ignored them all, instead reading what Tomm had sent him:

T Hey my friend Sammy is coming into town too, with Jules. she said she's on the same bus with you?

T Hey you in the city yet?

T I'm gonna invite Sammy and Jules to join us for dinner if that's ok with you?

T Let me know when you get in

Ben swore again under his breath, frustrated with himself, and tapped out his responses quickly.

B Sorry I had my phone on silent

B I broke up with Vic and she's been calling and texting constantly

B Sam and Juliet are welcome

B I'm actually with them at a cafe right now

T Oh shit! I'm sorry man—I thought you and Vic were still going strong

B Yeah I did too but then I learned a lot of things

B I can tell you all about it later, got to go to this conference

B I'll be done before 5, can meet you somewhere then

T Cool cool. Hang in there, I'll figure out the details with Sammy and Jules

Ben slid his phone into his pocket and looked back up to the two girls he was seated with, who were watching him expectantly.

"I...I had my phone on silent because of Vic. Everything with Tomm is worked out now, he says he'll get in touch with you two about dinner," Ben explained, looking back and forth between Sam and Juliet, "Sorry—I gotta go."

The conference was exactly how Ben remembered it—and after a second time through, he was bored out of his mind, and pretty sure he could quote most of what the speakers had said from memory—but that at least gave him some more time to think. The longer this day went on the more he realized that he really had experienced the whole day once before, that he knew things he shouldn't know. He didn't know what to do with this information, but it wash hard not to wonder what was going on. On top of that, there was the whole situation with Vic, who was still calling and texting him, plus whatever was going on with Sam and Juliet—this relatively boring work trip was turning out to be significantly more complicated than he ever would have guessed.

Once the conference was over, Ben got out his phone. Vic seemed to have slowed down her attempts at contacting him, having only sent one text since the last time he had checked; he didn't read it. There was also a new group text with Juliet, Sam, and Tomm with messages from all of them in it:

T Hey, so I figure this will be easier than sending messages to each of you separately. Ben said he'd be done before 5, there's a few good places we could go around then.

J Ok!

T Solomon's Bar and Grill has pretty good food and drinks

S Sounds good to me

T Then there's an Indian place called Rajkumari that's really great, but they don't serve much alcohol and they don't open until 6

T And then there's The Stable which is a bit pricier but supposed to be really good, I've never been but have a friend who works there.

J I'm fine with whatever

S I'm not really in the mood for Indian food. The Stable looks great as long as everyone can afford it

J Let's wait to see what Ben has to say

There was a break in the messages for a few hours, and then, from just a few minutes ago:

J I think I'm going to have to skip dinner with you guys, but have fun!

Ben quickly checked the menu for The Stable. It was pretty pricey, but looked very good, and he had already eaten at Solomon's the last time around.

B I'm done with the conference, The Stable is good for me. I'll start heading there now

T See you soon

S I'll be on my way in a sec

Then his phone blinked—a message from Sam's number that wasn't part of the group text.

S Juliet's staying back because she wants to call Harry

S Apparently Victoria texted her? She doesn't want me here so I'm still coming

S Just thought you should know

B Ok. Is Juliet Ok?

S I think she'll survive. Better to rip off the band-aid sooner right? Ill let her know you're worried about her ;-)

Ben considered protesting, but then thought better of it. He got his things together and started walking towards The Stable. It was a longer walk than Solomon's had been, which wouldn't have been too far if it weren't for the bitter, biting cold cutting through his inadequate winter gear. As it was, by the time he got there he could barely feel his fingers, and his face stung from the harsh wind.

Just inside the door was Sam, who was in the process of taking off her peacoat, hat, and gloves. She flashed Ben a smile as he walked in, and he smiled back, following her lead and taking off his own coat. The restaurant was warm and cozy, dimly lit with dark wood walls and deep red curtains, and it smelled like fresh baked-bread and a fragrant mix of herbs and spices. The place was pretty empty—it was only just past five, after all.

"Table for two?" the hostess asked with an energetic, friendly smile and a slight french accent.

"Oh—uh, no, we have another friend coming," Ben responded clumsily, "unless he's already here? He's a big tall guy—Tomm Fisker is is name, he said he knew someone who works here."

"Oh yes! Tomm!" the hostess exclaimed, "He isn't here yet. I am his friend! My name is Colette, Tomm and I go to school together."

"I'm Sam—he calls me Sammy," Sam said, offering her hand.

"Sammy! I have heard so much about you!" Colette ignored Sam's proffered hand and pulled Sam in for a hug, kissing both of her cheeks; Sam reciprocated the unexpected gesture awkwardly.

"Hi, I'm Ben," Ben said after the two women had pulled away from their embrace.

Colette pulled Ben in for a hug as well, brushing each of his cheeks with kisses just as she had with Sam—but Ben was more prepared for this maneuver than Sam had been, so he returned the kisses a bit more gracefully. Though clearly a rote greeting for Colette, Ben couldn't help but feel that her short embrace was almost familiar in its warmth as she pulled his body briefly against hers, her bouncy blonde bob haircut filling his nose with the scent of flowers.

"So good to meet you both! I will show you a table, and I will keep an eye out for Tomm for you!"

The table was at the edge of the dining area, just around a corner from the hall that led back to the kitchen, and beyond that, the bathrooms. Ben sat with his back to the corner, clenching and unclenching his toes as he worked warmth back into them, and Sam sat right next to him, her back to the wall. It was a pretty big table for only three people, but not so enormous that it was unwieldy. The table was round, with a long red tablecloth and fully set for five people. Colette made herself busy clearing the extra two places and passing them menus while she talked.

"I have been trying to get Tomm to come here for two months—I know he would like the food but he said he feels silly coming here alone."

From her tone, Ben could tell that Colette was more than a little infatuated with Tomm—in fact, she sounded like she was frustrated that he hadn't taken the hint. Ben wasn't surprised: Tomm had always been the kind of guy that women flocked to—he was tall and handsome and charming as hell—but he had never been one to pick up on subtle flirting, and unless a woman flat out told him that she wanted him, he usually assumed they were just being friendly, especially if they were as attractive as Colette. In college he had always gone out with the most forward of women, mostly because they were the only ones who he was sure liked him.

Once Colette had gone back to her post at the front of the house, Sam leaned in towards Ben with a conspiratorial smirk.

"Tommy has no idea how much Colette wants him. I love that man, but he can be thick as hell when it comes to women."

Ben nodded. Sam checked her phone.

"Tommy says he'll be here soon—I guess they closed off a street because of some accident and he had to go around."

Ben nodded again, just as a young black man dressed in a white tuxedo shirt, a bow tie and a black vest walked up to their table.

"Hi there, my name is Ryan, I'll be your waiter," he said, " Can I get you two anything to drink? Starters?"

Sam looked to Ben for a moment, but then seemed to decide something.

"I think we should probably wait for out friend to get here before we order anything, thanks."

"Of course," Ryan said, filling their water glasses, "I'll keep an eye out. If you need anything, just ask."

Ryan left, and there was an uneasy moment of silence, but then Ben asked the question that had been weighing on his mind.

"Are you sure Juliet's going to be okay on her own?"

"Yeah—she'll be ok. It'll be rough, but Harry's still barely even a thing—they've only gone on like, two dates. Besides," Sam leaned in and waggled her eyebrows, putting a hand on Ben's thigh, "now that you're back on the market, I think Jules is probably more ok with being single herself."

Ben blushed and looked away from her sparkling, mischievous eyes—and noticed that Sam wasn't taking her hand off of his thigh. He looked back at her with a questioning look just as her hand started to glide up his leg smoothly.

"What? Is something wrong?" Sam asked, feigning innocence as her hand found his groin, giving him a friendly squeeze.

Ben blushed even redder and looked around with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. He had not expected this—but he certainly didn't want it to stop now that it had started.

"N-no, nothing's wrong," Ben said, trying to keep his cool; his cock pulsed under her touch, and she made a quiet, appreciative noise as it grew.

"I just was thinking about how much we enjoyed our time on the bus," Sam said, "and I realized that I didn't want to wait before I had some more—and I thought, if you liked sneaking, this is quite the opportunity."

Ben nodded, trying but failing to stop himself from grinning.

"What about when Tomm gets here?"

Sam shrugged, her hand leaving his groin to start pawing blindly at his belt.

"I guess we'll find out—maybe he'll be distracted by Colette."

Sam was struggling with the belt buckle, but doing a remarkable job keeping everything above the table looking nonchalant. Eager to feel her hand on him, Ben made a show of unfolding his napkin and putting it on his lap, allowing his right hand to snake under the tablecloth quickly and unbuckle his belt and pop the button of his fly. Sam's searching fingers found his zipper easily, and soon was peeling back the two sides of his fly and pawing at the growing tent in his boxer briefs.

"Sammy! Ben!" Tomm's big booming voice called out as Colette led him to their table; Ben was so surprised he practically jumped, looking up nervously. Sam's hand was suddenly gone from Ben's crotch as she jumped out of her seat to hug Tomm.

"I almost forgot to tell you I was in town!" Sam squealed as she squeezed him; Tomm chuckled, hugging her with one arm and waving at Ben with the other.

Ben waved back, refraining from standing himself since his pants were undone and his cock was standing at full mast, tenting his boxer-briefs under the table.

"You've both met Colette?" Tomm said, gesturing to the French girl who was practically beaming with glee just from hearing Tomm say her name, "we have a few classes together—she's my study buddy."

Sam and Ben both smiled and nodded, sharing a look.

"Sorry to hear about you and Vic, Ben," Tomm said as he began to sit down, "I thought you two were in it for the long haul."

Ben nodded glum, feeling a weight drop in his gut him as his mind was brought back to Vic. Sam sat back down next to him, but refrained from putting her hand back on him. He tried not to look too obviously disappointed.

"Yeah—I just learned a lot of things recently," Ben responded vaguely, "I don't know what's going to happen when I get back—we live together, but I don't think I can do that for one more night after all this, so we'll see."

"Anyway," Sam said pointedly, steering the conversation away from Vic, "You haven't told me about this Colette girl before. You like her, Tommy?"

Tomm immediately blushed and looked around to make sure no one was listening—and at that moment, their waiter reappeared. that stopped the conversation short, and they ordered a bottle of wine and some appetizers. Once Ryan was gone, Sam pressed again.

"So? Tell me about her."

"She's just a friend," Tomm muttered under his breath, clearly uncomfortable discussing her while she was standing just a short distance away, "I mean—she's friendly and...and pretty and everything, but I don't think she'd be interested in me. We're just friends."

Sam gave Tomm a long look, then leaned forward to speak more quietly.

"Ok. But you wish she was interested in you?"

Tomm shrugged uneasily, blushing—all of which looked all the more ridiculous on his giant handsome frame.

"Yeah. I mean, of course."

"Your wish is my command," Sam said with a smirk, and then gestured toward where Colette was standing at the front of the house dramatically.

Tomm's expression went from confused, to suspicious, to shocked in a comically slow progression.

"You...you think?" he asked, glancing back towards Colette.

"I don't just think, Tommy, I know," Sam said with a smirk.

As she spoke, while Tomm was looking over his shoulder at Colette, Ben felt Sam's hand slide back between his legs. She rubbed her hand up the length of his still-hard cock through the smooth fabric of his boxer briefs, then her hand wandered to his waistband, her cool fingers slipping under the elastic, reaching through the prickly curls of his pubic hair before wrapping around the hot flesh of his pulsing erection.

From there, she just stroked him—almost absentmindedly—as Tomm turned back and the three of them looked over their menus. When Ryan returned, they all made their orders, and Sam's hand was still on him, stroking him agonizingly slowly. After a few minutes of this, Ben felt his own precum start to lubricate her strokes, and she took that opportunity to speed up the pace just slightly, squeezing him just a bit tighter whenever her hand reached the head of his cock. Ben did his best not to shudder visibly as Sam distracted Tomm, teasing him about his crush on Colette.

Ben was beginning to feel himself lose control—on the brink of orgasm—when Sam's hand again left his throbbing cock suddenly, leaving him breathless, his heart pounding, teetering on the edge of a cliff.

"I think I'm going to sneak off to the bathroom before our food gets here," she said, turning to wink at Ben, "be right back, boys."

Sam stood up and squeezed between Ben and the wall, turning the corner towards the bathroom, but she stopped once she was out of Tomm's line of sight. Ben looked over to her, and she put a finger to her lips. Ben gave her a confused look, and she rolled her eyes before pointing below the table, waggling her auburn eyebrows. She held one hand in front of her mouth and pumped it, sticking her tongue in her cheek to the same rhythm, miming a particularly enthusiastic blowjob.

"—hey, Ben! You there?" Tomm asked with a curious look.

Ben realized that Tomm had been saying something to him, and he blushed and shook his head.

"Sorry, I've, uh, been kind of out of it today. What were you saying?"

As he spoke, Sam slipped under the tablecloth out of Tomm's sight, crawling on all fours.

"Oh, yeah don't worry about it—I'm surprised you're doing as well as you are so soon after breaking it off with Vic. I thought the two of you were in it for the long game."

Ben nodded glumly as he felt Sam start to tug at his chair. He scooted it forward just a bit for her, and before he knew what was happening, he felt her tongue on him—she had pulled his jeans and underwear down just enough to get at his balls, and was pressing her tongue against them, licking her way up from his sack to the base of his cock, and then all the way up to the head in one smooth motion, one of her hands finding his shaft in the process and holding it steady. After one long lick, she started another, and another, each faster than the last. Her hand started stroking him after several long licks, lubricated by the mixture of her saliva and his precome.