There was a knock at the door. Selene, Peter, and Lucy were in the living room of Selene's house, watching TV, while waiting for Ben. Selene, who was sitting in between her friends on the couch, turned off the TV. She looked at each of them as she got up. When she got to the door, she looked back at them and said, "Here goes nothing." Lucy had scooted next to Peter, who was closest to the door. They were both still seated.
Selene opened the door and Ben was standing there, hands holding two bouquets of flowers. One bouquet was of colorful gerbera daisies and wildflowers, which were Selene's favorites, and the other had pink roses, which were Lucy's. He was wearing a black short-sleeve designer shirt with black jeans with cargo boots. She took it all in with one sweep of her eyes and then met his sideways hug. He gave a peck on her cheek.
She said, "Come in," as Peter and Lucy got up from the couch. The atmosphere grew tenser by the second as Ben came, handing Selene the bouquet. Johnny came in after him, exchanging greetings with Selene and handing her a small potted plant. She was taken aback a little but managed to say, "Thank you."
Selene closed the door and the five of them were just standing there in a semi-circle around the coffee table, with Selene at the long end. Ben was the first to speak as he handed the flowers to Lucy and said, "Hello Lucy, these are for you. It's nice seeing you again." Then he turned to Peter and added, "Both of you."
Lucy's eyebrows went up and she shot a look at Selene, who just gave her a smile. Her eyes, however, clearly indicated, "Please? Look, he's trying."
So, Lucy took the flowers and said, "Thank you."
Ben put his hand out and said, "Peter, it really *is* good to see you."
Peter looked at Selene just with his eyes, very briefly, and then shook Ben's hand, responding with "You too, Ben." The handshake was firm but brief.
Selene thought it best to quickly move on, so she gestured to Johnny and said, "Hey guys, since you both know Ben, let me introduce you to his bodyguard, er, and friend, Johnny…umm…I'm sorry, I guess I actually don't know your last name."
"Masterson," Johnny said in a curt English accent, with his usual stoic expression. He was giving off a vibe as if he was wearing sunglasses even though he wasn't.
"Yes, Johnny Masterson," Selene repeated nervously. "And Johnny, this is Peter Chen-McDermott and Lucy Valentine."
Johnny gave a slight bow to Peter and said, "Nice to meet you, Peter." Putting his hand out, he continued, "Quite a strong name you have there." There was a small yet noticeable glint in his eye and an ever so mischievous upward turning of his upper lip.
Peter took his hand firmly and said, "The pleasure is all mine," shaking his hand. "Yours isn't too dull either." Peter felt a little jolt go through his arm, but he maintained a calm exterior. The only hint that he had been at all affected by Johhny's look was a slight tilting of his head and the start of him going to bite his lip but then catching himself and stopping.
After they broke the handshake, Johnny gave the same bow to Lucy, who nodded her head once in return. He held out his hand again and they both shook their hands as he said, "Lovely to meet you, Lucy Valentine."
Lucy gave a shy smile and said, "It's nice to meet you as well." Inside, she was thinking, "How is this guy so handsome? So tall with that golden blonde hair and those sensuous dark blue eyes." She had to stop herself from staring.
All of this did not go unnoticed by Selene, and she made a mental note of it. She also thought, "I didn't know Johnny had an English accent. How did I miss that? Was I just too nervous then? Have I ever even heard Johnny speak?" She shook her head slightly to bring herself back to the silence that followed the introductions and said, "Great! Now that we all know each other, let's go and put these beautiful flowers in some water and then we can head out." She gestured to Lucy, who started moving toward the kitchen. Selene went around Ben and Johnny, heading that way as well. She turned around before leaving the living room though and said, "Why don't you all sit down, and we'll be right back. In her mind she thought, "Yikes, they'll be alone. This can't be good."
Selene and Lucy made it to the kitchen and while they were finding vases for the flowers and going through the necessary steps to put the flowers in them, there was silence in the living room. Selene whispered, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how awkward was that?"
"A thousand," Lucy confirmed. "But it was nice of Ben to get us flowers. A sweet as ever."
"I know right? And I don't think they're bribes you know what I mean? He just has good manners like that," Selene felt the need to say.
Lucy gave her a reassuring look and said, "I know. I didn't think that."
Meanwhile, in the living room, Ben broke the silence and said, "I know this can't be easy for you Peter. You've known her the longest and I know you probably don't trust me…." He sighed, then continued, "But I promise you, I won't hurt her again."
Peter looked down for a moment and then looked up at Ben, who was across from him on the couch. Johnny had pulled up a chair from the kitchen table and was on the other side of the coffee table across from them. With a slight look of pain in his eyes, Peter said in a low voice, "This is going to take a much longer conversation and more time. You weren't there. You didn't see her. I did. Lucy did." He took a breath and continued, "I'm giving you a chance because of Selene. Because she asked me to, and I trust *her.*" Peter's voice became strained as he continued, "But I swear to God, Ben. If you pull that same shit again, I will kill you."
Ben nodded calmly and said, "I completely understand. I really do. I promise on my life, we will never be apart again."
Peter relaxed and nodded. "As long as we understand each other."
Ben said, "We do…Thank you."
"Okay," Peter replied.
Johnny thought, "Hmm, I like how this guy stood up for his friend with no mercy. Also…sexy."
Peter had been looking at Ben or looking down, but when the conversation with Ben ended, he glanced at Johnny briefly. But in that short moment, he caught the look in Johnny's eyes before his face returned to his normal unreadable expression. Peter was puzzled. "Those piercing dark blue eyes had a look of admiration mixed with lust? That couldn't be. He had just made fun of my name, the jerk. Still…," he thought.
Fortunately, the silence that followed did not last long as the women came back. Both took their purses from the kitchen table as Johnny returned the chair. Selene said, "Alright, let's head out."
They all drove to the place Selene had chosen in Ben's SUV, as it could fit all of them. Johnny was driving so Selene suggest that Peter sit in the front seat. For no ulterior reason at all. She and Ben took their usual seats, and Lucy was in the last row. She said she didn't mind since she was short.
Peter and Johnny sat mostly silence during the drive. Peter was still a little annoyed by what Johnny had said about his name. He knew it was long but since he was adopted at a later age, he had asked his adoptive parents if he could keep his only connection to his culture of origin and his biological mom. They were understanding and agreed without hesitation. Thinking of his parents made Peter smile. He was so lucky. His experience in foster care wasn't bad, especially compared to Selene's. He sighed and his face darkened thinking about the differences.
Johnny noticed and thought he would take it as an opportunity to break the silence, He casually enquired, "That was a deep sigh. Having some deep thoughts over there?"
Peter was a little surprised by the question as it wasn't the usual small talk strangers engaged in, so he didn't know how to respond. "Um, just thinking, you know, about all this," he answered slowly. He waved his hand in a circle.
"Makes sense," said Johnny, nodding a little. "Do you want to talk about it?"
In the back seat, Ben was in disbelief. The Johnny he knew would never ask someone to have such a conversation. Too bad the partition was open otherwise he would say something to Selene right now about it.
Once again Johnny surprised Peter. He didn't know what to say to the man, who now did have sunglasses on, so he turned his head back to look at those in the backseat. He then looked back at Johnny, and it seemed like Johnny got the hint because he said, "Right. We can talk another time."
"Another time?," thought Peter. "What is going on here? We don't even know each other."
It was getting harder for Johnny to keep up his stoic façade. He thought, "What am I doing? What are these words that keep coming out that I can't seem to stop? I just need to stop talking. New plan."
The rest of the car ride, they did not speak, and neither did anyone else. Once they got to the restaurant, Cancun Fresca, however, it was different. Ben started the conversation by saying, "This looks like a great place. Good choice, Selene." He wrapped one arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug.
They were at a table for six with Selene, Ben, and Johnny on one side, and Peter and Lucy on the other. Johnny was sitting next to Ben and directly across from Peter. Peter wondered if this seating arrangement was a coincidence. Johnny thought for sure he had to sit next to Ben when they were awkwardly figuring out seating arrangements because he had to be ready to protect him at a moment's notice. That was surely it.
Lucy followed up with, "We come here occasionally."
"More than occasionally," Selene teased Lucy and they both laughed.
Peter let out a chuckle.
Selene went on, "The nachos here are to die for. I get them every time."
"Not to mention the margaritas," Peter pointed out.
They all laughed, and Selene conceded, "Okay, those too. I admit"
"What else is good?," Ben asked, smiling at her.
After they figured out what they wanted and ordered everything, Selene said, "So, Johnny, since you're the only one we don't know among us, tell us a little about yourself."
Ben nudged her with his shoulder, while Lucy said, "Way to put him in the hot seat."
All Peter did was lean back in his chair, cross his legs, and lay one arm over them. He was a little curious too.
Johnny kept his cool, however, and said "It's ok, there isn't that much to tell. I'm a transplant from England as you can probably tell from the accent. And I work for Ben here as his bodyguard. But, of course, we are friends as well."
"Is your family here too or are they in England?," asked Peter, before he realized he did, so he quickly added, "I'm sorry if that's too personal."
Johnny waved him off with, "No, no, it's fine. They're all back in England, but I see them once in a while."
Peter felt a little sad for the man. He thought Johnny probably missed his family.
Johnny noticed the shift in Peter and wondered what caused it. Wanting to change the mood, his eyes went to everyone around the table as he asked, "What about you lot? Tell me about yourselves as well," he said.
They spent the rest of the dinner getting to know each other a little better, but mostly superficially. By the time they were done, and sitting back in Ben's car, Selene felt that she had accomplished her goal, which was simply to have a nice meal where everyone could just get used to being around each other again. She didn't intend for any deep conversation or major resolutions. She just hoped for a start.
Ben too thought the dinner was a success, as he looked over at Selene, and kissed her hand. Even Peter engaged in conversation with him. It took a long while, but it happened eventually, and Ben considered that a win. The revelation about Peter being a prosecutor did create a new problem for them to manage, but he'd have to talk with Johnny about that later. It was nice seeing Lucy though. She didn't look like she'd changed at all from when he last saw her except maybe for her hair. He looked back at her and smiled.
Lucy was happy for Selene. Once she saw her and Ben together, she immediately knew that what Selene had been saying was true. It was still a little awkward having Ben back, but the dinner was a good start. It would just take time to get used to him being back and part of their lives. Speaking of being part of their lives, she was also curious about this new friend of Ben's. Like Selene, she had also noticed some sparks between Peter and Johnny, both at the house and during dinner. This needed further discussion with Selene. But for now, she saw Ben smiling at her so leaned over to ask him more about the work UniTech was doing with Smart-beds in hospitals.
Johnny was glad that things were moving along well for Ben. So far, moving up the schedule didn't seem to be affecting their plans so there was time for Ben to reclaim his relationship. And dinner had not been as bad as he had thought it would be. His old friends were nice, down to earth people. Johnny just hoped it wouldn't distract him from their goals and all the other elements at play. He had to tell himself that too because he was feeling an interesting pull toward Peter. Something he had never felt before. And it was making him say things that were out of character for him. And he couldn't explain it. "Wait a minute," he thought, "Did Peter just sneak a glance at me? Can't be."
But that made him think back to the conversation they had together while the three others were talking about something else. Peter had asked him about how he had gotten into being a bodyguard and whether he'd been in the military before, because in his experience a lot of bodyguards had that background.
Johnny answered "Yes, I was in the military prior to this position."
This prompted Peter to follow up with "Which branch of the military did you serve in?"
Johnny hedged and said, "Sorry, that's classified," and tried to brush if off with a smile.
Peter chuckled. He took a sip of his margarita, and then leaned in across the table. He whispered, "You know, as a prosecutor, I do have some access to classified information." He stared into Johnny's eyes and Johnny felt a heat like he'd never felt before. He smiled at Peter but took a swig of his beer as Peter leaned back.
Johnny tilted his head slightly a came back with, "What, do you want to compare notes on who has a greater classified status then?"
Peter smiled and said, "Not necessarily. Unless you want to, of course. But I am curious how you became Ben's bodyguard."
This made Johnny think "He *is* persistent. I guess you'd have to be as a prosecutor." He answered, "After I got out of the military, I applied for the job with Ben, and it was that simple."
"That simple," repeated Peter. "Guess it was fate," he continued and then was quiet for a moment. They both took a drink from their respective beverages and for a moment their eyes locked. Before they could look away something passed through Johnny that he couldn't explain. He wanted this man. But before he could say or act on anything, Peter said, "And now here you are, having dinner with us. Lucky you." He raised his margarita for a toast and Johnny obliged with his beer.
He didn't know what this attraction was, but Johnny did know that he did not have time for a relationship right now. So that would not do.
Peter was still uneasy about Ben but was starting to see what Selene was saying. He thought the new Ben seemed like the old Ben, but also different somehow. He carried with him more confidence, but Peter sensed something else; he just couldn't put his finger on it. It wasn't something necessarily bad though. His gut wasn't sensing any red flags. Overall though, he thought the dinner went well, especially with the addition of this new variable named Johnny. He didn't seem like a just a bodyguard though. Peter was good at reading people and that was one of the things that made him good at his job. And right now, his intuition was telling him that there was more to Johnny than met the eye.
He had to admit, he was also intrigued because there was definitely some kind of feeling he was having for this man. And it wasn't a feeling he had had ever before. He didn't want to get too excited thinking maybe this was "the one" he'd been waiting for all these years, but, ugh, wouldn't that be wonderful? Still, this was, after all, a tricky situation, what with him having a connection to Ben. He would need to seriously think about this. "What am I thinking?," thought Peter. "I may never even see him again. I need to not get ahead of myself." He snuck a glance at Johnny and thought, "He is pretty cute though. That would be a shame."