Glancing up, Danny gave Ben a smile so sexy that Ben had to bite back a groan as a wave of desire slammed into him. Now how fucked up was that? Here Ben stood, head pounding, hung over and still wearing the stink from the day before, but he was lusting over a virtual stranger. If his friend Ricky ever found out about this, he'd rib Ben for the rest of their lives.
"Hi?" Ben hedged, for lack of anything better to say.
"Hey, how are you feeling this morning?"
"My head hurts, but after how much I drank last night, it's not anything I don't deserve."
Danny stood and opened the fridge, as if he'd been living at the place all his life. Taking out a bottle of water, he passed it over. "Here, drink this. You need to get rehydrated."
Since Ben knew Danny was right, he took the offering and sat down. Twisting off the cap, he took a deep drink.
"You may want to take it easy until you see how your stomach is going to be feeling," Danny advised.
"I never throw up the night after drinking. I just get a massive headache."
Cocking a brow, Danny asked, "So you drink a lot?"
Realizing how bad his own comment had made him sound, embarrassment flooded Ben. "No, I hardly drink at all. In fact, I think I usually just go home or hang out with my friends. I've only been to Rocky's twice in my entire life."
"I know you're not a regular there," Danny assured Ben.
"How?"
"Ever since the rash of gay bashings has been going on, I've been making a habit of keeping an eye on the place. I've never seen you there before." Giving Ben a heated once over, Danny added, "Believe me, there is no way in hell I would have missed seeing you."
A shiver went through Ben as he finally asked the one question that had been nagging him the most, "Where did you sleep last night?"
"On the couch."
"Oh," Ben replied, surprised at how much that revelation disappointed him. "Is it because you think I am ... well, you know ... a slut? Because I'm not. I know you saw me hooking up last night, but I usually don't do that. I swear it. Not that I'm a virgin or anything. I just don't usually sleep with just anybody ... but you would be..."
Ben trailed off, clamping his lips shut as he realized he'd been rambling on. Something he never usually did. For once, though, he couldn't help himself. He had the burning desire for Danny to know that Ben wasn't some kind of party boy who bed-hopped like a horny bunny on Viagra.
"I slept on the couch because I'm not the type to take advantage of somebody," Danny gently informed him, then added, "but that doesn't mean that once you feel better I won't take you in there and fuck you into the mattress."
Ben sputtered on the large drink of water he'd just drank. Coughing a few times, he finally managed to get out, "I feel much better. I promise."
Okay, maybe begging wasn't the best way to show off his un-sluttiness, but he wanted Danny--badly. More so than any other guy Ben had ever met.
)
