Ben could feel eyes on him, but was overwhelmed with thoughts of events prior. Once the lift reached its destination and the doors opened, Alan came back down to earth and stepped off the elevator, but Ben stayed, not realizing that he was to get off on the same floor. As Alan and the girl walked away and the elevator doors closed, Ben looked up and managed to catch Alan looking back at him, as if he'd seen him somewhere before, or at least that's how Ben felt about the encounter. Ben was feeling a bit creeped out that another man would be staring at him like this man had, but, in the brief moment they caught one another's eye, there was something... intriguing about the older man. The elevator doors closed and Ben was left alone to think of how and why he hadn't noticed the man even getting on the lift. For a few minutes, Ben could do nothing but think of what could have been said between the two men and whether he himself was being rude about not even acknowledging the other. He then realized he'd been sitting in the elevator a bit too long, thinking of how security must've felt seeing him standing and pondering in there all by himself, so he pressed the 'open door' button and wandered off of the lift.
Walking to his room, he couldn't help but wonder, out of curiosity, what part of his floor the older man was staying in, or whether he'd encounter him ever again during his stay. Chances were that Ben would be staying there for a while, at least until he found a place of his own and got himself settled. Upon entry, he stood against the door once it shut. That look, from a complete stranger. Ben had never seen him before, or paid much attention to the fact that he had someone with him, but he would NEVER forget that look. The scenario played again in his dreams that night, and when he woke up the next morning, rolled out of bed and went to check himself out in the bathroom mirror, he noticed his face wasn't puffy; he'd managed to avoid crying himself to sleep. Maybe this man was the bit of help that he needed for the moment.
Ben didn't know know it then, but this man would eventually change his life...
As Alan's room door closed, he gently pushed the woman against it and began whispering in her ear. She started getting worked up just hearing his velvety voice whisper naughty things in her ear. What she didn't know what that he was using this tactic to take his mind off of that guy in the elevator. As the girl began kissing and sucking on Alan's neck, he began to lose focus, but not from arousal; he wondered what room on the floor the young man could be staying in. He wondered whether or not he was going to see that man again, soon realizing what had invaded his thoughts and puzzled as to why he was even thinking of such trivial matters while this beautiful young woman was marking her territory on his neck. The blond, named Anna, had undone Alan's pants and, with her free hand (the other was ruffling through Alan's hair) began stroking his manhood, bringing him back down from his thought process. He had "business" to take care of...
Since he got off the elevator and got into his room, Ben had been curled up under the comforter, crying his eyes out for four hours. It had become a habit within the course of four days, with Ben getting out of bed and, upon seeing his puffy, red face in the bathroom mirror, splashing cold water on it. Normally his face felt raw when he cried, but he'd gotten used to the pain at this point, especially since Ben couldn't help himself.
Once the sobbing stopped and he'd cleaned himself up, Ben called for room service and turned on the television; his head needed to be somewhere else. Just then he remembered the older man he saw walking off of the elevator with his date, how he looked back at Ben with a... longing look on his face. That look bothered Ben a bit, but he wished it kept bothering him once he got into the shower. The minute he shut the shower door, the image Kate in her gown on their wedding day crept up on him, bringing him to tears; he was moved in the same exact manner on that day, when he saw her stepfather walking Kate down the aisle, salty drops slowly building in Ben's eyes and slightly blurring his vision. She was so beautiful, but how could someone so stunning do something so evil and disgusting as she did?
Time to stop thinking about it, Ben told himself. He knew it was time to move on or he'll forever be at a standstill, and if it meant thinking about how another man, a much older man, stared at him after getting off an elevator they shared, then so be it.
One thing that engrossed Ben was that this man may be older, but he's definitely a good-looking, attractive guy. Dressed neatly, looked fantastic with white hair... Ben acknowledged why such a young woman would accompany this man to his hotel room and spend some quality time with him. "Silver fox", Ben whispered to himself. He then shook his head at the revelation, and when his room service arrived, he ate and stared at the television for the next few hours.
After eating, Ben treated himself to a Top Gear marathon and, during one of the commercial breaks (he's watching it on BBC America, because we believe in commercial breaks), he called his job, asked for and was granted a month's leave of absence. He didn't get into details, but he also called one of his colleagues, asking for help with the divorce proceedings as well as the move to a new place when he secured one.
He later dozed off during one of Jeremy Clarkson's challenging attempts to justify how the car he drove in was better and faster, this after losing a race against co-host Richard Hammond. Ben was utterly exhausted from EVERYTHING, and needed the rest. He began to dream, however, of the man he'd seen in the elevator.
The two men were in a room, everything was white: the walls, the bedding, the carpet, the drapery. On the king-sized bed, Ben and Alan stared at one another; Ben's eyes darted from Alan's face to scan the surroundings, confusion occupying his face, while Alan ogled at him with longing. Alan carefully examined Ben's facial features: the high cheekbones, the smooth, porcelain skin, piercing blue eyes. Alan realized he'd never come across a woman with eyes as beautiful or lips as supple as Ben's... Ben opened his mouth to speak, but before a word was uttered, he found Alan's lips pressed against his. He was nonplussed by what was happening, but he didn't stop the man. For some reason, this moment felt right to him. Finally closing his eyes, Ben surrendered to the kiss, sliding his hand onto the nape of Alan's neck. The kiss was roughly broken, heavy breathing commenced, and the men got touchy-feely with one another. Ben exclaimed a soft grunt as Alan gently brushed his left hand against Ben's manhood, stiff from the start. Alan kissed Ben again, their tongues wrestling with each other, and as he pulled away, Alan's teeth grabbed onto Ben's lower lip and let go after a few seconds. Lust smoldered from stunning blue and sensual amber-hazel eyes as the two men began removing articles of clothing from one another.
But as soon as their shirts fell onto the floor and Alan sucked at and nibbled on Ben's long, slender neck with Ben moaning in ecstasy, Ben's eyes fluttered open.
