Page 26 of Treehouse Whispers
Three Years Later
“I don’t want to do this, Jamie.” Benji’s voice shook as much as his hands did as he tried to knot his tie. Undoing it for the hundredth time, Benji sighed, rubbing his hands over his face, squeezing his eyes shut as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Jamie came over to him, whirling Benji to face him and knotting the tie himself. “I know you don’t. And, remember, you have the option to stay home, which I will fully support if you do. But, also remember, we have gone through all the scenarios that could happen, and we have thought of different ways to overcome them. I will not be leaving your side tonight.” He waggled his head from side to side. “Except if I need the toilet, but apart from that.” Jamie chuckled, causing Benji to snort. “Much better.” He cupped Benji’s jaw, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. “We’ve been working towards this for three years. You can do this.”
As he gazed into Jamie’s eyes, his mind wandered to the past three years they’d spent together. Jamie had been a constant support by his side, day in, day out. They had been steadily increasing his exposure to triggers and working through them together rather than avoiding them to make life easier. It had been Benji’s choice to do this; he hadn’t wanted Jamie to become as reclusive as he was. So, he had pushed for more psychologist appointments, and this was the decision they’d decided upon.
These three years had been the hardest, but also the most rewarding he had been through.
“Come on. Let’s finish getting ready because we need to get there before the other people arrive.” Jamie shuffled over to drawers and picked up his cufflinks, bringing them back to Benji. “Can you help me with these stupid things. I can’t get them in.”
Benji smirked. “Only you would insist on wearing cufflinks to an art gallery show.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. It’s a bit fancy, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t that what a gallery show is? Fancy outfits? Shiny shoes? Quaffed hair?” He held out his wrist.
Benji began pushing the button through the hole. “I don’t think they are as fancy as you’re making them out to be.”
“You’re wearing a suit with a tie. Is it not fancy?”
“No! You could wear a suit on a date.”
“Perfect! We’ll think of this as a date. You in your fancy suit, me in my fancy cufflinks. We’ll make a perfect pair.”
Benji finished buttoning the cufflinks and slid his arms around Jamie’s waist. “It’s a date.”
Jamie pressed another brief kiss to his lips, but Benji wouldn’t let go this time. He lifted onto his toes and chased Jamie’s mouth, their tongues duelling as their kiss intensified. Jamie groaned before lifting his head. “We have to go.” Pressing one last kiss to Benji’s bruised lips, he pulled away. Holding Benji’s hand in his, Jamie dragged him through the door to the car.
The journey was uneventful, except for Jamie having to talk Benji through another patch of uncertainty, and they soon arrived at Fine Art Gallery. Benji took several deep breaths, working his way through his training exercises, instructing his brain to calm itself.
With a deep inhale, he exited the car and strode to the entrance accompanied by his husband, who had a lot more faith in Benji than Benji had in himself.
“Good evening, Mr Walker, Mr Walker. Good to see you again. Everything is ready for the show to begin. As soon as you are settled, let us know, and we will begin allowing the guests to view your paintings. I want to say how honoured we are you decided to continue our relationship during the last few years. We appreciate your monogamy.”
Benji grinned inwardly, biting his lip to keep his amusement hidden. He knew they were happy with him because he brought them a good amount of commission. Who knew people paid exorbitant amounts of money for paintings where the artist was reclusive and rarely seen in public?Hecertainly hadn’t. Those first five paintings he sold in the beginning were the foot in the door he needed, and his limitations made his work more valuable. He had sold hundreds of paintings since and had made the gallery, and himself, rather wealthy.
“Thank you, Mrs Lusher.” He tried to keep the tremble from out of his voice, but only partially succeeded.
“Mrs Lusher? Is everything else prepared as I spoke to you about?” Jamie rescued him, squeezing Benji’s hand as he took control of the conversation, allowing Benji to calm himself while listening to their conversation.
“Yes, Mr Walker. Everything is in place. The room is available in the back at any point during the evening, fitted out with the items you requested, and no one will enter without your express permission.”
“Perfect, thank you.” Jamie swung back to Benji. “Shall we take a quick look around, so you’ll know what to expect before we give the go-ahead?”
Benji nodded, his stomach somersaulting, but he remained certain this was what he needed to do. They strolled through the gallery, carefully examining the twelve various-sized canvasses that shone under the spotlights. Every time Benji saw the wonder on Jamie’s face, he felt embarrassed to be the reason for it, but also extremely grateful he was able to put the expression on his face.
“You are amazing,” Jamie mumbled, eyes roaming across the final painting: a riot of rainbow colours representing the undervalued LGBT community. It was a fairly simplistic idea, but one which ended up surprisingly effective.
“Okay, let’s get this show on the road. I need to grab a drink.” Although it was Benji who decided it was time, his mouth was extremely dry. As far as he was concerned, the quicker they started, the quicker they finished.
“Mrs Lusher? We’re ready,” Jamie called across to the host, who nodded in return. “Come on. Let’s greet your guests.”
****
Jamie had been true to his word; he’d stuck by him the whole night, never leaving his side once. He had made sure to visit the bathroom when Benji was safely ensconced in the room the gallery had set aside for Benji to calm and take a breather. Benji hadn’t known Jamie had asked for it, but he was eternally grateful for it.
