Friends Become More Ch. 08

***Alex's Point of View***

Our one year anniversary rolled around, Ben said he's planning the night. I told him not to go crazy, all I care about is being with him.

I got home from work and Ben wasn't there. Weird, considering I thought he's supposed to be off tonight.

"Babe?" I called out, looking around the house. "Ben?!" I searched all four floors, weird cause I rarely go up past the second floor with the master.

He's not here? Maybe he went out to get something. I sent a text asking him where he is.

Hey Ben, just got home. Wondering where you are. Just let me know, love you.

Twenty minutes, no response. An hour, no response. I texted him again. Twenty minutes later I finally get a call from him.

"Hey Ben, where are you?"

"Hi Alex." A woman said through the phone. "It's Meg, I'm a nurse at the hospital. Ben got called into an emergency surgery. He's not sure when he'll finish up. It's looking like a few more hours. He asked me to tell you how sorry he is, and he promises to make it up to you."

"Thank you for letting me know, Meg. Please tell him not to worry, take care of his patient."

"I will."

Hours passed and still no sign of Ben. I get it, he's saving lives and I love that he does that, but it still sucks that he's not here tonight. It got late, and I started dozing off on the couch. I decided to call it a night, go to bed.

This really sucks. You always think relationships are so perfect and so easy, but there's times that make it really difficult. I know he loves me, and I know it's his job, his passion, but man is it really hard that he wasn't here today.

The next morning I woke up and found him in bed with me. I got up and went to work, letting him sleep in. I also wasn't sure what to say, I'm still kinda upset about last night.

***

***Ben's Point of View***

I woke up to an empty bed. Alex must've gone to work. God, I really screwed up. I had no choice, I was called in. I mean, I guess I could've said no, but the doctors on call were already swamped. Still, I feel so bad about it.

I went to work, not getting home till late, past 8.

"Hey." I said when I walked in.

"Hey." He said. I could tell he wasn't super happy with me. I sat down next to him, ready to talk when he spoke. "Did the surgery go well?" He asked coldly.

"Yeah, went smooth. Patient is doing well. Look, I'm so so -" I started apologizing when he cut me off.

"I know it's your job, I get that. I know you don't plan for these things, and I'm so proud of what you do. But you were supposed to be off. Did you have to go? Was there no other option?" He sounded hurt.

"I'm sorry." I sighed. "All the on-call docs were busy, and no way was I gonna let the trauma surgeon do a hack job on the patient."

"What about any other cardio surgeon off? Couldn't one of them take this one?!"

"I, I guess. I should've said no, I should've had someone else do it. I'm sorry, Alex."

"I know you are. You know, all I wanted was to spend the evening with you. Our jobs don't have easy hours, I get that. But we were supposed to set this time aside for each other. And that really hurts, you keep putting work ahead of us, of me."

That hurt. "It's my job, I do it because it's what I'm good at, it's what I've done for years. School and work, that's all it's been. It's my job, it's my life. It's all I have!"

I realized what I said too late, the look on his face showing that. "I know how much your job means to you." He started softly. "But I didn't realize it was all you have. I thought you had me, too. But I guess you don't see it that way. I guess I'm not as important to you as I thought, as important to you as you are to me." He got up and walked to the door, grabbing his keys. "I need to go out for a bit." He opened the door and left.

I can't believe how stupid I am. I made a bad situation even worse. I don't know what to do. I don't want to lose Alex. But how can I prove that to him? I mean, I don't want to give up my job. I could do more research, but surgery is what I love doing, love working on and improving and innovating.

Tears are streaming down my face. I just don't know what to do.

I decided to distract myself by cleaning. The house is clean, but can always do with a good dusting. I cleaned the entire first floor until everything was spotless, giving up on doing the next floor. I plopped onto the couch, giving up on distracting myself.

I pulled out my phone and started to text him. No, give him space.

I opened the photos app, scrolling through all of the cute, ugly, and random photos of Alex and me, or just Alex.

I reached photos over a year old, back before we were dating. Were we better off as friends? I mean, we're so different. Maybe we should go back to being friends, if he even wants to be my friend after this.

Of God, what if we can't be friends after this?

No.

We aren't breaking up. I don't want that, I don't think he wants that. What am I thinking? We are a team, we always work through things. How can we work through this, together? We're meant to be together, we are not supposed to be just friends. We have to sit down and work through it.

I mean, I want to, but will he? Oh God, I really hope so.

I decided to go upstairs and take a bath. I need to calm down, I'm going crazy. I think I'm even shaking, like physically trembling right now.

I undressed and got in the tub, the water perfectly hot, almost too hot. I brought my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms tightly around my legs. I soaked in the water, rocking back and forth slightly. I'm not sure which filled the tub quicker, the spout or my tears. My eyes clenched tight as I let go, the sound of my sobs bouncing off the tiles.

"Ben?" I heard a knock on the door, scaring me. It's Alex. "Can I come in?" He asked.

I wiped my eyes quickly and splashed my face so I didn't look like I've been crying a lot. "Yes, come in." I answered him.

He opened the door, and as he stepped in I turned to look at him. He put the toilet seat cover down, sitting on top of the toilet set across from the tub. "Do you want a towel or anything to cover up? I mean, only if it makes you more comfortable." He offered lovingly. He looks like he's been crying, he looks sad.

"You've seen me naked before, I'm fine, thank you. You can join me if you want." I paused before correcting myself. "I mean, you can just sit in here with me, not in a sexual way." I shook my head at how awkward I sounded.

"Sure." He stripped out of his clothes and joined me in the tub, sitting on the opposite side. "I'm sorry I walked out. I shouldn't have left."

"I understand why you did, you don't have to apologize for that. I'm sorry that I hurt you." I said, matching his level of calm. "I'm sorry for standing you up last night. And I'm even more sorry for what I said earlier." I couldn't hold back a tear as I choked up. "I didn't mean to say my job is all I have. That's so far from the truth, you are the most important thing to me. You. You are my life, all I have."

"I know that, it just really hurt hearing you say otherwise." His eyes searched mine for more answers. "I need that affection, I'm scared of being alone in this, I never want to feel like we're slipping away."

"I know. I'm sorry. I never want you to feel alone in this, cause you're not." I decided to open up more than I ever have with him. "You know my parents were both surgeons. I grew up in the hospital. When my parents died, all I had was this house and the hospital. And at first, being here was too painful, so I threw myself into my education and then into my work. I'm so good at what I do because it's all I had left. I've gotten so good at being alone, ever since I was young. And then I slowly made friends and this place started feeling less cold... And then when I met you, this place finally felt like my home again. I haven't felt that in so long, it feels so good." I sighed, tears streaming down my face. "The point is, I'm no longer alone. I know that. I have to adjust my priorities. I shouldn't - I don't want to put work first. I want to put you and us first. I'll step down as head of cardio, I'll move into research and do less surgery."

"No. I won't let you do that, you've worked so hard, you deserve your position and you are in love with surgery, I'm not gonna take that away from you."

"I don't know what else to do though. I love you more than anything else. I choose you, I pick you over everything else."

"We'll find a balance, it'll take time, but we will do it. We'll start by clearing one evening a week to be date night, just me and you, spending time together. We'll figure out more as we go." He scooted closer to me, grabbing my hands and holding them in his. "It's you and me, we're a team."

I shook my head. "When you left, this place felt cold again." More tears started falling down my face."I'm so scared of losing you, of losing what we have."

"That's why I left, I couldn't bare the thought of losing you, either."

He pulled me to him, pushing himself back against the tub wall and letting me rest my head upon his shoulder.

"I'm so scared of losing you, too. Thank you for telling me about your parents, about this place, and your past. I know it's not easy for you." He kissed the top of my head.

"Are we okay?" I asked him bluntly. "Cause I don't want any issues unresolved. I want to make sure we're good, make sure our feelings are all out there..."

"We're good, Ben. We're better than ever, and we have plans on how to better ourselves and this relationship." He strokes my back softy with his fingers.

I wrapped my arms around his torso, clutching onto him so very hard.

"Now, lets dry those eyes of yours." His thumb wiped away the tears under my eyes.

"Yours aren't so dry either." I smiled up at him.

"They're better now..."

We laid in the tub for so long, not moving, wanting to remain as close to each other as possible. I love his chest, I love laying on him like this. I think I even fell asleep for a brief moment, which is not safe to do in a bathtub, but I felt so safe and comfortable in his arms.

"Let's go to bed." I said.

"That sounds great."

"And tomorrow, we're going on that date I owe you." I declared, standing up and getting out. I passed a towel to Alex, and used another to dry myself off. We're both off tomorrow, so I can't wait to make tomorrow special for him.

"I can't wait, baby." He stepped out of the tub and kissed me, kissed me so deeply I felt it in my toes.

***

I woke up early, in his arms. The sun was rising, filling the room with a beautiful morning light. I tried to sneak out, but apparently he's up, his arms pulling me back towards him. "Where you think you're going?"

"To make my beautiful boyfriend some breakfast." I answered. "I thought you were still sleeping."

"I've been up for a while. Enjoying watching the sunlight trace up your beautifully soft skin." His finger traced up the side of my arm. He kissed my neck, nestling his head there.

"Here I was thinking I'd wake up before you for once. Let me go make you breakfast, stay here." I tried to get out again but he, with little effort on his end, managed to keep me in bed.

"Stay here with me, baby. We'll make brunch instead." He offered.

I turned around to face him. "If that's what you want." I rested my arms on his upper-stomach and lower chest, then laid my head on my interlocked hands. I smiled at him.

The sun was now completely filling the room. He pulled the sheet up over our heads, letting it linger in the air for a while before falling down over us. The light beamed through the bright white sheets, making everything glow and shining on his beautiful face. I kissed his hairy chest. "You should shave."

"Shave what?" He laughed.

"Just your face, I don't want to kiss you and feel like I'm getting attacked by a scratchy possum or something." I joked.

"Ah, okay, consider it done. I was worried you wanted to shave my entire body for a sec."

"No way, I like you just the way you are. Actually, this lighting is doing you very good."

"Well, you're backlit, so I can't say the same for you." He quipped. "Let me fix that." He swiftly flipped us over, getting me on my back and getting on top of me. "My my my. Yup, just as gorgeous as I expected." He ran his hands over my hair, framing my face.

He moved down to kiss me. I turned my face. "Please let me brush my teeth first!" I begged.

"Fine. Go to the bathroom, I'll go after you." I got up and walked to the bathroom.

"And then I'll make you breakfast."

"Dang, you are sneaky, boy." His Texan accent really shined with that sentence.

After I finished in the bathroom, he went in. I grabbed a sweatshirt from his closet, putting it on. It's one from his high school, and even then he was still bigger than me. The sweatshirt fell over my underwear, but didn't go much past them. I love wearing his clothes, they smell like him, and that makes me feel so good.

I put on slippers and headed downstairs, getting ready to make waffles and eggs and fruit and anything else he wants.

"You really love stealing my clothes, don't you?" He grinned, walking in.

"Oh, so very much." I answered as he turned me around, then kissed me passionately.

"Breakfast will be ready soon. Want anything else?"

"It looks like you're cooking for the entire neighborhood, I think I'll manage to scrounge a few things to eat." He joked.

"I'll take that as a no. Now, sit down and let me make you a cup of coffee." He smiled, moving around the counter to sit down.

"My boyfriend is so smart. And cute. And looks really good in my sweatshirt..." he smiled at me.

I finished the first two waffles, putting them on a plate for him. The eggs followed shortly after.

"Thanks, baby." He said after I finished making everything. "You know, I love how warm this food is. And the coffee. My stomach is nice and toasty." He started.

"Uh, great?" I laughed, confused about his statement.

"My stomach is warm, but my lap is fairly cold. Why don't you come sit on it and warm it up?" He gave me a dirty grin, slapping his naked thigh.

"Are you sure you don't want to put on more clothes? I mean, just those briefs boxers must not be enough."

"Shut up and sit on me while we eat." He started me down. I gave in, sitting sideways on his lap, wrapping my arm around his neck. "Ah." He sighed. "That's much better." He wrapped his arm around me and used his other to continue eating. I struggled to cut my waffle with just one hand as I ate, but it was definitely worth it.

"This isn't very practical, you know?"

"Practicality isn't my strong point." He responded.

"I'm not mad about that." I smirked, grinding my butt against his crotch.

He bounced me on his leg playfully. "Neither am I." He kissed me on the cheek.

We finished eating and I started cleaning up. I was standing at the sink, washing off a few dishes when Alex came up behind me.

"I think you're a little too overdressed, wouldn't you agree?" He whispered in my ear. I felt his hands move under the sweatshirt and dip under the waistband of my underwear, pulling them down.

"Mmm. Don't tease me. I want to wait until tonight, Alex."

"Why wait?" His right hand cupped my balls while his left teased it's way down my ass.

"Because I want to make today extra romantic, and after dinner I want to make love to you." I turned around. "Trust me, you'll be grateful later you were patient now." I kissed his Adam's apple.

He groaned. "Fine. Want to go back to bed? Watch some tv?"

"Sounds good."

We watched tv all day, laying in bed and snacking. At around 6, I decided to start setting up my surprise for Alex. "Stay here and relax while I get dinner ready. No leaving the bedroom, promise?" I held out my pinky.

"Promise." He locked his pinky with mine. I grabbed a pair of shorts, telling him I'm cold without the blankets.

I first snuck up to the rooftop, setting up a romantic table for two. I laid out a table cloth, candles, and rose petals. Then I hung lights on the wall right by the table and all along the railings. There's already a couch and chairs out here for us to sit on after dinner if we want.

Then I headed downstairs to make a nice mea, filet mignon and mashed potatoes, as well as brownies for dessert. I plated the food as best I could, covering them in silver bowls, then brought the plates and brownies upstairs and set them on the table. I decided to wait to light the candles until after I bring him up for safety reasons.

I turned on the lights and made final adjustments. I attached my phone to a Bluetooth speaker and put on a playlist of romantic songs we both love.

I headed back down to get Alex. "Hun?" I knocked on the door, opening it to see him where I left him. "Ready for dinner?"

"Yeah." He got up, still in just boxers.

"Oh, babe, it's freezing downstairs, you'll want to put on some clothes."

"Wow, only took one year for you to be repulsed by me!" He teased, heading to his closet to grab shorts and a tee.

I let him go first, heading halfway down the stairs before talking. "Where ya going?" I asked, in a mock curiosity.

"To eat... downstairs... where you said it was cold...?" He responded.

"Oh yeah, I lied. Follow me." I smirked, turning around and heading up the stairs. We reached the top of the stairs leading to the door to the rooftop. I opened it and let him step out onto the rooftop.

"Oh my god, baby. This is beautiful. I can't believe you did all this." He hugged me. "I love you, Ben." He kissed me.

"I love you, too. Let's eat before it gets cold."

As we ate dinner, the sun set over the city. "This is really beautiful. You did good, kid." He reached for my hand over the table. "And damn, these brownies are good." He aggressively took a big bite, making me chuckle.

"I'm glad you like everything. And when this is done, I'm taking you back to the bedroom."

"God, you're so sexy."

"You're quite sexy, yourself."

He poured more wine in our glasses, then moved to sit on the couch.. "Want to join me?" He asked, resting his feet on the table. He ran his hand over his leg, pulling his shorts up with it. This gave me a very good view of his balls, and a sneak peek at his penis.

"You're such a slut." I laughed.

"What?" He laughed in a way he had no idea what he did.

"I can see your bits, babe. When you pulled your shorts up you gave me a great view of your balls." I explained, unable to keep a straight face.

"Oh dang, did I?" He chuckled, not bothering to readjust.

"I actually always found that to be quite the turn-on, a guy accidentally exposing himself like that."

"Oh, did you now?"

"I did." I laughed. "What about you? Any innocent turn-ons for you?" I took a sip of my wine, locking my eyes on his.

"I've never admitted this before, but I did take my sweet time in the locker rooms in high school and college."

"What about now?" I pushed, a small grin on my face.

"I'll be honest, I still don't look away, but nothing has ever happened." He responded.

"Naughty, naughty." I grinned playfully. "Guess I'll have to go to the gym with you next time, maybe sneak into your shower in the locker room when no one's there..."

I saw his dick twitch, growing a little. He saw where my eyes were looking. "...you never answered my question earlier, you gonna join me?"

I answered without speaking, getting up from my seat and walking over to him. With one foot, I stepped over his legs, slowly sitting down on his lap, facing him. I took a big sip of my wine, staring at him as I did. "It's getting dark."

"Is it? I got stuck in your eyes, never really had a chance to notice."

I put my thumb on his on bottom lip. "Those lips, they're so beautiful, yet tell such lies, such cliché lies."

"Just 'cause it's cliché doesn't mean its not true." He stated, tilting his head a little.