Page 121 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

Somehow Ben always managed to forget his mother had spent her entire life in the company of sailors. He scrubbed his hand over his face. “That too, yeah. But, look, I think I maybe jumped the gun, okay? I’ve had a lot of time to think the last few days, and I’m gonna find Gav and set things right, okay?”

When did he lose the ability to say the right thing in the right moment? His mother’s response had him cowering on his own couch, over a thousand miles away from her.

“You don’t even know where he is?”

Ben winced. It sounded bad when she put it like that. “There’s only so many places he’d go. It’s fine. I’ll find him.” Christ, he hoped he’d find him.

“You had better. So help me God, if he gets hurt or does something stupid…” Maybe she knew she didn’t need to finish the threat. “Right now. You go find him right now. I love you. Call me when you find him.”

She didn’t even wait for him to say goodbye before she hung up.

Finding Gavin right now wasn’t really an option. Ben had been on the road for more than six hours. He was exhausted and hungry and felt like shit on so many levels. But Ben had a battle plan. Shower, food, nap, and then Gavin. He’d tried calling Tony, Gavin’s best friend, but he wasn’t answering Ben’s calls. That alone was enough of a clue. If Gavin wasn’t with Tony, Tony at least knew where Gavin was.

Ben’s nap was a joke. After he’d showered, searched for the remotes for fifteen minutes before giving up, and then eaten, he fell onto his bed and inhaled deeply. He was trying to catch the faint scent of Gavin on his sheets, but of course Gavin had changed the bedding before he left. All he could smell was the fabric softener Gavin used, and that wasn’t even close to good enough. He’d pulled Gavin’s pillow tight against his chest, tossed and turned, and finally decided it was pointless. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since he’d broken things off with Gavin, and, well, hell. He probably deserved that.

When he finally decided to call his nap a wash, it was a quarter till nine. If Ben was right and Gavin was out with Tony, they’d be hitting the clubs in less than an hour. Ben forced himself up and into some jeans and grabbed his extra helmet—Gavin’s helmet. Gavin could be a stubborn, persistent bastard when he wanted to be, but one way or another, Ben was determined to bring him back home tonight.

Chapter Two

Gavin

Gavin stood at the sink and dried his hands when he heard the door open. “Why are you back so soon?”

Tony stepped inside and stared at Gavin. “Why are you naked?”

“I asked you first. And, where’s your shirt?”

“Some guy threw up on me at the bus stop.” Tony tossed his shirt at Gavin.

“Ugh, it smells like the floor of a bar after closing.”

“You oughtta know.” Tony took the sting out of the insult with a smile. “I’m hoping he puked because of the booze, but with my luck he has Ebola too.” He ran a hand through his dark brown hair, pushed it back off his forehead, and gave Gavin another once-over. “Now you. Explain to me why you’re standing naked in my kitchen? Do you do this every time I leave?”

Gavin held the T-shirt away from him, trying not to smell it again. “I was doing the dishes and didn’t want my clothes to get wet. I’m wearing underwear, in case you didn’t notice.” He glanced at the shirt. “You want me to wash this?”

“Burn it. I need a shower.” Tony started to turn out of the small kitchen, but he stopped and looked at Gavin as if he had something to say but didn’t want to say it. “Ben called again.”

Gavin’s heart kicked up a notch, just like it always did when someone mentioned Ben’s name. “What’d you say?”

“I let it go to voicemail again. He’s getting desperate. He actually left a message this time.”

“What’d he say?” Gavin scowled as he tossed the shirt into the garbage. The smell was overwhelming. Maybe he really should burn it.

Tony looked concerned, his brows knitting together before he spoke. “He said he needs to speak to you and would I please call to let him know you’re okay and to tell you to call.”

“He probably just wants to know where I hid the remotes.”

“What remotes?”

“TV, cable, stereo, Blu-ray…” He should probably feel bad for being so childish, but Ben thought he was too young anyway. Why not prove his point? “I hid them in the dumpster.” He didn’t tell Tony he’d left the television on C-SPAN and the volume on the sound system all the way down before tossing the remotes. Or that he’d felt guilty after the fact and left some meals in the freezer for Ben.

Tony didn’t call Gavin out on being an immature twat, but he did laugh at him. “Remind me not to piss you off.”

Gavin’s only defense was a shrug and a smile. “He needed to upgrade to a universal remote anyway. He’ll thank me one day.”

“I highly doubt that.” Tony turned again, probably for that shower he desperately needed, but he said over his shoulder, “We should hit the clubs tonight.”

“Haven’t you met your quota for getting puked on by strangers?”

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