The following day, Anakin thought often about the stranger as he cleaned the house or went on with his other chores.
During the four years he had been a whore, he had met many kinds of men. The kind and the violent, the ones looking for an illicit thrill and those just looking for company and a gentle touch to ease their loneliness. He had had clients that had wanted him to beat them, and even a couple of perverts that had told him to call them "dad" and pretend to be their son as they fucked him. He had been tied to the bed or ordered to dance naked, but never before had a man simply asked him to sit and relax as he too, apparently, had done the same.
Later that evening, Toradiur went to greet Anakin as soon as he put a foot inside the brothel.
"It looks like you have a new regular, Anakin," the old brothel's owner said. "One that not only seems to have plenty of credits, but that is also good looking—quite a change from your other regulars."
Anakin frowned, as something inside him whispered, it is the stranger; he is back. "What are you talking about?"
"The bearded guy of yesterday evening is back. He is already waiting in your room, and this time he has paid for a whole hour."
Anakin arched an eyebrow. A hour? What would the stranger want to do for an entire hour? Surely he would not spend all the time like the previous evening?
Without losing more time, Anakin went to the stairs and quickly reached his room. He opened the door and found the stranger sitting on the armchair, a welcoming smile on his lips.
"Good evening, Anakin," he greeted with his pleasant voice.
"You know my name?" Anakin dumbly asked, slightly upset by how his body had shivered upon hearing his name roll off the other man's mouth.
"Your employer told me."
"Then you have an advantage over me, for I don't know yours."
"You can call me Ben."
"I could, but it isn't your name," Anakin commented with quiet certainty.
"It will be my name while I stay here on Tatooine."
"Will you stay here for long?" Anakin asked as he moved to sit on the bed, and he was surprised to feel his muscles tense as he waited for an answer.
"I don't know yet. A month, maybe more."
The young man nodded. "Do you plan to come to visit me often during that time?"
Ben folded his arms on his chest. "Maybe. Does the idea displease you?"
Anakin shook his head. "No, not really. It's just… I think you're strange, Ben."
Ben arched an eyebrow, but did not comment, so Anakin felt entitled to explain, "You're spending a lot of money for me, and yet you don't seem interested at all in… fucking me." He said the last two words looking at the older man from beneath his slightly lowered eyelids, in what he knew was one of his most seductive gazes.
Ben did not react as he had…what? Dreaded? Hoped?
He just tensed and remarked, his consonants more clipped than ever "Don't speak like that in my presence. I am not here for that. I am here just because I enjoy your presence. I don't want to do anything but stay here near you, talking or in silence, it doesn't matter. But if we talk, I don't want to hear you use that language again."
Anakin nodded without comment, willed to agree by the other man's steely eyes and powerful personality.
Silence fell on the room, as Ben relaxed against the armchair, his eyes closed, and Anakin scooted up the bed, leaning his back against the wall.
The rest of the hour was spent like that, in amicable silence, until Ben opened his eyes, smiled at Anakin and stood up.
"Thank you for your assistance, Anakin," he said with a slight bow. "I really enjoyed this time together. I will return soon." Then he turned on his heels and walked away, his grey cloak whirling around him.
"I look forward to seeing you again, Ben," Anakin whispered in the empty room, and it was not the meaningless line he said to all his costumers.
This time he meant it for real.
The next day, Anakin passed the afternoon working at Watto's shop. His former owner often called for him when the Toydarian had something difficult to fix.
It was something Anakin loved to do, for it helped him to make some extra credits and because it kept his mechanical skills honed. However that afternoon, he fond difficult to accomplish the repairs he had been asked to do. He kept on thinking of Ben and replaying the previous night's encounter.
Anakin could no longer deny it: he was intrigued by that mysterious man, even fascinated. He did not pretend to understand why Ben liked to spend time with him, but he had to admit he felt flattered someone was willing to pay so much money just to be near him. And also there was the curious fact that Anakin had felt exceptionally relaxed after Ben had gone away the previous evening, so much so that he had managed to remain so even when his next client had taken him quite brutally.
It was thanks to that relaxed state that Anakin was able to sit and move around with minimal discomfort, and the young man was curious to see if it would happen again the next time he and Ben would meet.
Anakin could barely restrain himself when, two hours before sunset, he entered Toradiur's brothel. He knew Ben was there, waiting for him, even before his employer caught his glance and nodded, raising his thumb.
One hour, Anakin thought, a whole hour with Ben. He was determinate to take a full advantage of their time together.
He covered the steps two by two and almost ran toward his room, slowing down only at the last moment, for he did not want to look childish. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but when he entered the room, Ben's wide smile made him think that the older man knew how agitated he was.
Anakin found himself liking the idea very much.
"Good evening, Ben," he said, walking straight to the bed.
"Good evening, Anakin. Am I right in saying you had a good day?"
"Yes, you are. I did. Watto asked me to help in his shop and it is something I love to do." Anakin answered with a grin, before he remembered that Ben was not from Tatooine, so it was improbable he knew who Watto was and what the Toydarian had been to Anakin.
"Watto is what I call a "junk ship" dealer, he sells spare mechanical parts of every kind. My mother and I used to belong to him."
"Used to belong? Were you a slave?" Ben leaned forward and Anakin could almost sense the horror pouring out of him.
"Yes, I was, but he wasn't a bad owner, compared to the one before him. I won my freedom and my mother's when I was sixteen. I was a pod-racing champion, you know? The only human able to pilot them." Anakin said with a proud smile, deciding to move the conversation away from his past as slave. "Are you familiar with pod-racing?"
"I know they're very fast, very dangerous."
"Oh yes, they are, but they are also very exciting. I loved to race."
Ben nodded with a slight smile then asked, "Why did you stop?"
"Because I grew too tall to sit comfortably inside a pod. The last time I ran, I inadvertently pushed a lever with my knee and I smashed the pod against a rock. It was a miracle I managed to jump down just in time and escape with just a few scratches." Anakin touched the scar near his eye almost without noticing it.
Ben nodded again, this time in approval. "You were very wise to learn the lesson and stop before something worse could happen."
"I know. I was sorry to stop racing, but I couldn't risk leaving my mother alone." Anakin shook his head and added, "Alas, the end of my career meant I had to find another job to support Mon and me…and so here I am." He moved his arm to indicate the small bleak room.
"Weren't you able to find another job?" Ben asked gently, no trace of judgement in his voice.
"There aren't many jobs for free people here on Tatooine. Most of the employers find it cheaper to keep slaves. I tried to work as a free-lance mechanic, but the money I made wasn't enough to pay the bills." Anakin took a deep breath and went on, his voice softer. "When I bought our freedom, I had a surgeon remove the transmitters placed in our bodies, the ones the owners use to find fleeing slaves. Mine was located in my shoulder, but my mother's was near her spine. The surgeon that operated her did something wrong, and left her paralyzed. She needs medicines for the pain, expensive medicines, and the money I made as a mechanic wasn't enough. So, since I knew I was attractive, I decided to accept Toradiur's offer to work for him." Anakin lowered his head, ashamed.
"I am sorry, Anakin, really I am," Ben said softly, but with conviction. "But you must not be ashamed for what you did. You did it for a greater good. You have suffered so much in your young life, but you still retain a very big, generous heart. I am sure your mother is proud of you."
Anakin ducked his head, his cheeks pink with embarrassment, but also pleasure. "Yes, she says she is."
"And what about your father? Could he have not helped you?"
"I have no father." Ben's eyebrow arched at the definitive edge in his voice and Anakin pressed on. "I know you won't believe me, but I didn't have a father. Mother told me one day she found herself pregnant with me, without having been with a man. She never knew how it happened."
Anakin fell silent, as he studied Ben's pensive face. Maybe it had not been a good idea to tell him about his lack of father. He would think as the others that his mother had lied to him, that she had been raped and tried to forgot the whole episode, that-
"Peace, Anakin, calm down. I believe you. I am sure your mother told the truth," Ben said quietly.
"How did you know what I was thinking?" Anakin blurted.
"I am very sensitive to other people's moods, especially when they broadcast their feelings as strongly as you were doing."
Anakin nodded. He had heard of persons like that. In fact he considered himself one of them. Was not he able to tell what his clients wanted before they asked for it? Could not he sense when they wanted him to be gentle and submissive or rough and domineering? Thinking about it, Ben was probably the only man he was not able to read—perhaps because he was so much like him?
Anakin decided then that it was about time he asked some questions of his own, for he was getting more and more curious about the man sitting near him.
"Where do you come from, Ben?"
"I am from Coruscant."
"Coruscant? Wow, that's pretty far from here!"
The older man nodded, "You can certainly say so."
"Was it not dangerous to cover such distance? I heard the pirates and the smugglers are still raiding the Mid and Outer Rim even now that the war has ended. And what are you doing on Tatooine? Are you here for business reasons?"
Anakin clamped his mouth shut when he saw the grin spreading on Ben's face. A part of him was embarrassed by how he had buried the man under his questions; the other instead was quite taken by his companion's face. He looked so handsome when he grinned like that!
Anakin was brought back to the present when Ben began answering his questions.
"The journey here was safe. The Republic has appointed several cruisers to patrol this area, and the number of pirate attacks has decreased greatly. I am not here to work; quite the contrary, I am on vacation."
"On vacation? Here! Oh Ben, you're indeed a strange man! Where are you staying? No, don't tell me, let me guess. You're living in a Tusken Raiders' camp!" Anakin exclaimed, his voice full of surprise and irony.
"Quite close. I am living in a small, abandoned hovel I found in the Jungland Wastes," Ben answered calmly, folding his arms over his chest.
Anakin's mouth fell open in shock. "You are joking, aren't you?" Ben shook his head. "You're really living in the desert?" A nod. "Are you aware of how dangerous it is?"
"Yes, my young friend, I am aware of it. But it's the perfect place for a man to be alone with his thoughts. And now, Anakin, I think my hour is up. It's time I go home; I prefer to travel while there is still light."
Anakin lowered his eyes to check his chrono. Ben was right, the time had expired. He felt the desire to ask the older man to stay a little longer, but then he remembered all the road he had to cover to reach his place and the imminent sunset. Thus he keep silent and stood up as Ben did the same.
"I wish you a good trip home," Anakin said, and this time he too bowed in salute.
"Thank you Anakin. I wish you a good evening."
Anakin watched as Ben walked toward the door, then suddenly called, "Ben!"
The older man stopped and faced him. "Yes, Anakin?"
"Please be careful."
"I will, Anakin. I will," then Ben turned around and left the room.
In the precise moment his lithe, compact form disappeared from his sight, Anakin experienced a sense of loss, as if a part of him had just left with that intriguing, kind, handsome stranger.