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cruel. Ben began to read the biographic information on him, which was impressive.
British, huh. I wonder if he s gay&
* * * * *
David didn t recognize the number on his cell phone. Hello?
David. I hope I didn t catch you at a bad time? David felt his face heat as he
realized it was Nigel, his voice rich and deep and deliciously British. Ben, who was
sitting in his favorite reading chair with a book, glanced up. David smiled nervously at
him and stood, taking the cell phone into the kitchen.
No, no. It s fine. What can I do for you? he said, lowering his voice.
Oh lots, I d imagine, Nigel laughed. But right now I just need a few moments of
your time. I hope you don t mind my calling your cell. They had exchanged business
cards as they d parted that morning. I tried your home number first but got your
machine.
No, that s fine. I ve got plenty of minutes on my phone. I hardly ever use it. What
did you need? David realized Ben had followed him into the kitchen. He was at the
refrigerator, pulling out a can of his beloved Dr. Pepper.
I just wanted to clarify a few points from this morning. If you have a moment, it
won t take long.
Oh. Sure. Go ahead. David glanced at Ben, who was looking at him as he popped
the lid of his soda and took a drink. It s Nigel Kensington, David mouthed silently
toward him. Ben watched him a moment longer and then turned and left the kitchen,
leaving David to sit at the table and elaborate on a few remarks he d made at breakfast.
When he hung up, he returned to the living room. That was Nigel, he repeated.
He had a few more questions to round out his article. He s going to send me a preview
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Odd Man Out
copy of it online because he needs to hand it in by tomorrow afternoon and he wants to
make sure he has all his facts straight. David found himself annoyed at Ben s hangdog
expression. It wasn t as if he were lying! Why did he feel as if he were? Almost
aggressively he said, I gave him your email address, the one printed on your card that
I keep in my wallet. I hope that s okay.
Ben answered pleasantly, Sure, no problem. That s my work email but we can
access it from here too. David realized he was probably imagining Ben s disapproving
expression and he felt contrite. Ben added, You know, we can set up an email account
for you on this computer. You re here all the time anyway. Would you like your own
account?
Yeah, I guess that would be good. It s about time I entered the twenty-first
century, right? He grinned, recalling how surprised Ben had been to learn he had no
computer or even an email account for access at an Internet café. Always on a budget, a
computer had seemed like an extravagance he couldn t afford, and never having had
one, he didn t miss it.
Come on, I ll show you how to do it.
They sat side by side in front of Ben s computer. Ben showed David how to access
his work email from the apartment and then how to set up his own account. Now,
Ben said, you need to choose a password that s easy to remember.
That s easy, I ll pick
No, Ben said, putting his fingers over David s lips. You don t tell anyone. Not
even me. It s your own private account. I wouldn t read your email, just like I wouldn t
read your personal letters, unless of course you showed them to me.
David nodded soberly, but then said, But you just told me your work email
password.
Oh. Ben waved a hand. That s different. All I get in there are assignments from
my bosses and junk mail.
And he d be getting Nigel s email.
David felt a cold finger of anxiety slide across his innards. Of course Nigel had only
said he d be emailing the article, but what if the email said more? He hadn t wanted
Nigel to think he was unsophisticated, so he d pretended Ben s email address was his.
What a stupid, risky thing to do! Did he want to sabotage their relationship?
This was why he avoided getting too close in the first place, he realized, annoyance
again sliding up to cover his guilt. He didn t want to have to always be watching out for
someone s feelings, checking his every move to make sure it didn t upset his lover.
Even as he thought this, he knew it wasn t fair. Ben had never hovered over him or
asked him to account for his time when they weren t together. If anything, he d been
the one who seemed more anxious to be with Ben than vice versa. For some reason this
annoyed him as well he was definitely not used to being the needy one in a
relationship, if that was what he was. No, of course he wasn t. David would never
permit himself to be put in that position. He was being ridiculous.
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Claire Thompson
He glanced sidelong at Ben, who was busy clicking away at the computer, unaware
of the turmoil in David s head and heart. The troubling issue of Nigel s email still
remained. David knew suddenly what he would do. The second Ben left for the office in
the morning, he d log on to Ben s email account and see if Nigel had sent anything. He
would read the article and delete the email and that would be that. If by some chance
Nigel said something indiscreet in the body of the email, Ben would be none the wiser.
Check this out, Ben said with a sly grin. He leaned back so David could see. Two
naked, muscular men, their skin oiled and tan, appeared on the screen. One crouched
on his hands and knees as the other moved behind him, his long, thick cock hard in his
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