The next day Zac came back home to Tulsa with his family. After getting directions to Ben's new place, the first thing he did was head over there, not even bothering to unpack (knowing full well he'd be leaving in another few days anyway) or say hello to his mother, who'd opted to stay home with the kids this trip.
"Zac!" Ben jumped into Zac's arms and kissed him. "I missed you!"
"I missed you too, baby." Ben kissed him again. "Geez�I thoroughly enjoy this greeting."
"I love you."
"I love you too," Zac said. "So, this is your new place?" Ben nodded, taking Zac's hand and bringing him inside. "Give me a tour." Ben smiled.
"Well," Ben said, "this is the front room, if you can call it a room, considering it's about two feet big." Ben walked forward a couple of steps into the living room. "This is the living room. It's where I spend most of my time when I'm home, except for when I'm sleeping. Over there is the kitchen. That's where I do my cooking."
"Ben, I'm pretty sure I know what a kitchen's for." Ben gave him a look but pulled him to the room on the left. He opened the door.
"Anyway, this is my bedroom. Over here is where I lay down and think about you," Ben said, and flopped on the bed. "Oh, where is Zac? What is he doing? Is he still hot?" Zac smiled and climbed on top of Ben.
"You know I wish I didn't have to be gone so much," Zac said, pausing briefly to kiss him. "Did you see me on TV?"
"Yes I did," Ben said. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. There was you looking sexy, and then there was a half naked you in the background on a billboard. And you had on my necklace." Zac pulled the necklace out from under his shirt.
"Well yeah," Zac said. "I never take it off."
"Oh, honey, you don't?" Ben asked. Zac shook his head.
"Nope." To ruin the moment, Zac's phone began to ring. Instead of checking to see who it was, or pick it up, Zac kissed Ben, who pushed him away. "What?"
"Aren't you going to answer that?" Ben asked.
"Whoever it is, they're just looking to make me do something that's away from you. Right now all I want to do is be here with you." Ben smiled. "If it's important they'll leave a message."
"Well turn it off, at least, because it's just going to keep ringing," Ben said. Zac pulled the phone out of his pocket, turned it off, and set it on Ben's nightstand. "You know, I've been thinking�"
"Have you?" Zac asked. Ben gave him a look. "I'm sorry."
"Anyway, we've been dating for nearly four months now. I was just wondering when we were gonna, uh, you know�" Zac looked at him carefully.
"You mean have sex?" Ben nodded. "Wow, Ben, I don't know. I don't even know how that would work."
"All the more to do it," Ben said. Zac sighed.
"I'm just scared."
"I know," Ben said. "But it's just me here, baby! I love you and I want to show you that. It's only me." Zac put his head on Ben's chest.
"I know."
"And we don't have to do it right now or anything like that," Ben said. "But I think we should at least talk about it."
"Or we could just do it," Zac said.
"Really?" Ben asked. Zac nodded. "You're sure?" Zac nodded again. "Okay." Zac kissed him. Ben turned him over and pulled his shirt off. Ben openly smiled at the sight of Zac's bare chest. "You're so hot, babe."
"Do you only love me because of my body?" Zac asked.
"Of course not!" Ben said. "But not now, okay?"
"Okay."
"Hold on," Ben said. He opened the drawer and pulled out an unopened box of condoms. Zac paused.
"What the hell are those for?" Zac asked.
"What do you think?" Ben asked.
"It's not like I'm going to get you pregnant, Ben," Zac said. "Why do we need a condom?"
"Uh, maybe so we don't contract various diseases?" Ben asked, giving him a look. "I mean, who knows what I might have, or you might have�" Zac paused. "It's just safe, Zac. Didn't anybody ever teach you about safe sex?" He made a face.
"I just don't want to wear a condom�"
"Whoever said you were going to wear it?" Ben asked.
"Oh, I'm going to be the one wearing it, thank you," Zac said. Ben shrugged.
"Whatever."
"Dammit, Ben�"
"What?"
"You've just got me thinking now," Zac said. "I don't know what I might have." Ben shrugged and shook the box in his hand.
"That's what the condoms are for." Zac gave him a pressing look and Ben sighed. "Would you feel better if we got tested? I mean everybody should anyway." Zac nodded. "All right. We'll go right now." Ben put the box of condoms back in the drawer and closed it. He got off of Zac, who put his shirt back on. They went outside and Zac hesitated. "Baby, you okay?"
"Do you think we should be doing this together?" Zac asked.
"Why not?"
"Well, we're going to walk into the place together to get tested together, do you think that maybe someone would notice?"
"We can go to one of those confidential places," Ben said. "And we don't have to go in together or anything like that. We can even get those, like, take home tests."
"Take home tests? This isn't English class, Ben!" Ben gave him a look.
"Listen, baby, you just sit down here," Ben said, sitting Zac down on the couch. "I'll call around and see what we can find, all right? Some of the places they send you a test, you get some blood on the there, you send it back, and you get you answer by phone. No names, no nothing. They have no idea who you are."
"That's good," Zac said.
"But it does take longer."
"That's bad." Ben shrugged and pulled out a phone book. Zac turned on the television, letting Ben take care of finding a test. Zac was slightly annoyed to see himself on a commercial and quickly turned the channel. Carson Daly was right�he couldn't turn on the television without seeing himself. Zac settled on a rerun of Will and Grace and allowed himself to relax.
"So baby, are you going anywhere for Thanksgiving?" Ben asked. Zac turned around and looked at him. He was leaning on the counter, a phone to his ear, obviously on hold.
"No, it's just going to be dinner at home. What are you doing?" Ben shrugged.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? You're not going to sit around here all day, are you?" Ben nodded. "Oh, baby, no!"
"I don't care. Thanksgiving isn't exactly my favorite holiday. Something always happens that isn't to my advantage," Ben said.
"You should come to my house," Zac said. Ben shook his head. "Oh, come on!"
"Listen, baby�hello?" Ben began talking on the phone again and Zac turned back to the television. A couple of minutes later Ben appeared in front of him.
"So?" Zac asked.
"I'm going down there now to pick it up," Ben said. "You coming?"
"Why are you going down there?"
"It's quicker," Ben said, plopping down on Zac's lap. "This way I can go down there, pick it up, we'll take it, send it back and be fucking by Wednesday."
"I can't wait," Zac said.
"You know, even if we both come back absolutely clean, we're still using a condom." Zac groaned. "I don't like it any more than you do, but that's the way it's going to be, okay?"
"Fine."
"I love you," Ben said and kissed him. "Are you coming with me?"
"Sure." Ben got up, pulling Zac up with him. Zac shut off the television before they left. "I'm serious about you coming to my house for Thanksgiving. I don't want you here by yourself." Ben sighed.
"Won't that be a little obvious, though?"
"I was actually thinking about telling them then." Ben looked back at him.
"Really?" Zac nodded. "Good. Do you know how you're going to do it?" Ben pressed the button for the elevator.
"No."
"That's usually the best way." The doors opened and they went inside. Ben took Zac's hand, who smiled.
"I'm nervous."
Zac was sitting in Ben's apartment with the envelope containing the results of his test. He was incredibly nervous but Ben was playing it off as if he was holding his phone bill in his hands. "So are you going to open it or should I?" Ben asked, giving Zac a look.
"Aren't you nervous?" Zac asked. "I mean you could be seriously fucked up."
"I seriously doubt that, Zac," Ben said. "Come on, open it. The sooner we find out the sooner the good stuff starts happening."
"Is this all about sex to you?" Zac asked. Ben sighed.
"No, Zac, it's not and you know that," Ben said. "I'm just making light of the situation. Of course I'm nervous, but if you have a smile on your face nobody would ever know the difference. Open it." Zac sighed and opened his envelope the same time Ben did. He pulled out the piece of paper and looked at it, a small smile crossing his face.
"I'm clean!" Zac said. "Yay!" He looked at Ben who was still looking at his results. He had a serious look on his face and it worried Zac. "Baby? Are you okay?" Ben glanced up at Zac momentarily before looking back down at his results. "Baby?" Zac got very worried when suddenly Ben burst out laughing.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm fine."
"Ben! You scared the shit out of me!" Zac said, hitting him in the arm.
"Ow," Ben said, putting his hand over his upper arm and giving Zac a look.
"Don't ever do that again!" Zac said.
"I'm sorry!" Ben said, a large grin on his face. "I had to." Zac huffed and turned away. "Oh, baby, come on!" Ben put his paper down and put his arms around Zac. "I love you!" Zac turned further away. "Kiss me, baby."
"No."
"Fine, I'll just kiss you." Ben began to kiss Zac's neck. Zac tried to push him away but he kept insisting. Zac finally turned to him and kissed him. "I love you."
"I love you too," Zac said.
"Do you seriously want to do this?" Ben asked. "Because you don't have to if you don't want to."
"No," Zac said, shaking his head. "I want to." Ben smiled. "Come on." Zac got up, pulling Ben up with him, and walked backwards into the bedroom.