RATED PG
Benny lay in bed, watching Ray sleep next to him. Benny smiled, feeling completely happy for the first time in a very long time. He could definitely get used to having Ray sleeping next to him; and he could look at Ray forever.
After a few more minutes, however, he got out of bed. Slipping into his boxer shorts, he picked up his journal and a pen and sat down at the kitchen table.
Earlier that week, he and Ray had finally admitted their feelings for each other and become a couple. Ray’s old-fashioned side had kicked in, and he had insisted on “courting” Benny before they made love.
So they had gone on several dates, and had spent hours and hours kissing each other, and tonight they had made love for the first time.
Both Ray and Benny had been nervous on top of all their other emotions, and they had started out slowly, each man learning and adjusting to the other’s body. Their lovemaking had been awkward and sweet and fumbling and passionate and beautiful and perfect.
Opening the journal to a fresh page, Benny paused with the pen above the page. He literally could not think of the words to describe what he was feeling; what had just taken place in his life.
There were no words adequate to convey his emotions; it felt as though words would only lessen and cheapen what had happened and what he was feeling.
He dropped the pen onto the table and went back into the bedroom. Quietly opening the nightstand drawer, he pulled out a pencil and went back to the kitchen table. Opening the journal again, Benny stared at the blank page for a few moments, then with a soft smile, he began to draw.
He began sketching Ray’s face, and as he drew, all his emotions were poured into the drawing. All of his love and passion and wonder and joy transferred to the page; and when he was done, Benny put down the pencil and picked up the journal, looking at the drawing he had just completed.
As he looked, a smile crossed his face. He was looking at the best drawing he had ever done. Ray smiled up at him from the journal page, alive and vibrant. His incredible energy and vitality were showing in his eyes, as well as all the love he felt for Benny.
He was smiling his beautiful, infectious smile, and he looked strong and proud and sexy.
Benny started at the sound of a quiet footstep behind him, and turned to look at his lover. His lover. He liked the sound of that, and he smiled. “Ray.”
“Hey, Benny.” Ray bent down and placed a kiss on Benny’s cheek. As he stood back up, Ray’s eyes fell on the journal and he took the book from Benny’s hands. He stood staring at the picture for a long time, and Benny started to feel nervous.
Finally, Ray lay the journal on the table, leaving it open. “Is that really how you see me?” he asked quietly.
“Of course it is, Ray. It’s how you truly are.”
Ray looked back down at the picture. “That’s not me, Benny,” he said, shaking his head.
Benny sighed. “That’s true. I could never adequately capture your spirit and life force, but I got as close as I could.”
“Benny...”
Benny brushed his fingertips gently over the picture. “This is you, Ray. Strong, completely alive, loving, beautiful, sexy. This is the man with whom I fell in love.”
“In love?”
“Yes.” Benny stood up and turned to Ray so they were standing face to face. He noticed that Ray was wearing the t-shirt that Benny had discarded on the floor earlier, and he smiled and wrapped his arms around Ray’s waist. “I am in love with you. Have I not made that clear?”
He kissed Ray, but Ray pulled away. “You told me you loved me, but…”
Benny removed a hand from Ray’s waist to cup his face. “I’ve loved you since almost the moment we met, as a friend. The feelings I have for you now run so much deeper than those feelings, as lovely as they were.”
“Benny, I love you, too. I mean, I’m so in love with you… you know that, right?”
“Of course I know that, Ray. You show that to me in a hundred different ways.”
“Good.”
Ray kissed Benny, but this time Benny pulled away. “I think we should go back to bed now,” he said.
A smile lit up Ray’s face. “Excellent suggestion, Benny.”
The two men walked hand in hand into the bedroom, the picture of Ray still smiling up from the table.
THE END
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