Page 13 of Treehouse Whispers
“Just hurry up.”
Benji stood watching as Jamie left the house and tried to figure out what was going on. Surprises weren’t awful, but they did ramp up his anxiety. Jamie knew that, but because itwasJamie, Benji was alright with it.
He blew out a breath, shook his head and went to the bathroom for a shower.
****
He entered Jamie’s house. “Hey, I’m here. Where’s the fire?” he called as he shut the door behind him.
“Come through to the kitchen.”
Gliding into the kitchen, he saw Jamie rising from the table with a mug in his hand and moving to put it in the sink. He had a quick look around but couldn’t see anything out of place. “What’s going on?” Benji asked.
“You’re impatient, Benji.” Jamie snorted. “Come on, let’s go to the treehouse.” He cocked his head towards the back door and drifted that way. Benji followed, shaking his head.
“You do realise I don’t care for surprises, don’t you?” Benji said. “How long have you known me?”
“Long enough to know you don’t mind surprises when they’re from me. You’ve told me before,” Jamie answered without hesitation. Benji smiled behind Jamie’s back because they knew each other so well.
“Come up.”
“I can only climb as fast as you do, you know,” Benji griped as he climbed the ladder.
“Oh, stop complaining.”
Jamie moved from the entrance, and Benji was able to get his head through, but came to a complete stop, gripping the ladder tight, gaze darting around the space. In front of him, the inside of the treehouse was lit in a soft glow. Small battery candles dotted around the room, and there were several blankets across the floor, hiding the wood. Thin curtains hung over the windows, blowing softly in the breeze, and two large cushions were laid next to a picnic. All this was seen through his eyes in a matter of seconds but would forever be etched into his memory.
His gaze found Jamie and saw him standing in the corner with a strange expression on his face. “What…?” Benji couldn’t find the words to ask the question he wanted an answer to. He didn’t even know if he had a question.
“Come up,” Jamie whispered, hands linked in front of him.
Benji took a breath and finished his climb. The whole treehouse felt more homey than it had in the entire twenty-five years since it had been built. Why they hadn’t done it previously, he didn’t know.
“I don’t know…” Benji blew out a breath, shaking his head, more confused than ever. “What is all this?”
Jamie sank onto a cushion. “Sit, please? I have a lot to explain.”
Benji collapsed onto the cushion before righting himself. They were adjacent to each other and close enough for him to see Jamie well enough in the available light without straining his eyes. He had many thoughts going around his head, but nothing was making sense.
“My life has been easy compared to some,” Jamie started. “I have a job I enjoy, a house, friends, family. I had relationships, but they never lasted, and I could never figure out why. Why did the men I dated never live up to this unidentified…pedestal I tried to put them on? I never understood it. Until recently. I had no way of knowing the pedestal was the perfect vision of a man I’d already met.”
Benji’s heart sank. Jamie was in love with another man. Benji didn’t know if he could take it.
“Benji, you mean so much to me. I love spending time with you. I love taking care of you. I love your quirks. I love being able to help you do what you want to do. Our lives have been intertwined since birth, but it’s only recently that I realised how much more you meant to me than being my best friend or as close as family,” he took a breath, “and we should have been more than friends a long time ago. You are amazing, and I would love nothing better than for you to be my boyfriend.” Jamie paused then cackled. “God, that sounded cheesy, sorry. But it’s true. I’m in love withyou, Benji. And I have been for longer than I’d thought.”
“What?” Benji stared, his mouth and eyes wide, at Jamie.
“I love you.”
“As more than a friend?” He wanted to be certain of the facts before reacting.
“As more than a friend,” stated Jamie, reaching forward to grab Benji’s hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about this before now, but I wanted everything clear in my head. I wanted to be able to come to you with answers to any questions you may have. And I couldn’t do it before now.”
“Jesus, Jamie. This is a lot to take in.”
“Do you feel anything similar to what I do?” Jamie frowned.
Benji studied him, gaze roaming Jamie’s face and smiled. “For longer than you know,” he breathed.
