FicWad

Chapter Four

Ben found him first, hiding in his office in hopes that no one would look there. What a ridiculous ploy, to hide in plain sight. Adam had no chance of running away. He'd practically cornered himself. That is was the brit thought as he slipped inside and twisted the lock on the door. When Adam realized what he was doing, he kept a close eye out, much more guarded of himself than the night before.

"Feeling any better?"

"Fine, thanks," the blond replied, but Ben just laughed.

"You're not a very good liar, are you?" It must have been written all over his face. Ben sauntered across the room, taking his time to close the distance between them. His eyes darted to the décor that wasn't there last time. "Have you thought about confronting Miles?"

Adam went wide-eyed and tore his gaze away, acting as though he were shocked at first to hear such a suggestion. "No," he said, "I hadn't really thought of that," but soon his words were dripping with sarcasm. "Of course," Adam spat, feeling a little offended. "It's not like it would do any good now."

Ben shrugged, "Who knows? Stranger things have happened."

"Yeah, like Miles has been waiting to hear me confess to him for all these years. How the hell do you get off thinking something like that would even be a remotely good idea?"

"Dunno. It seems you think there might be at least one iota of a chance that he might feel the same way, what, with your behavior lately. Even so, if that's not the case, he's still your best friend. I think he would want to know something like that."

"I think not," Adam spat, going back to busying himself with shuffling papers. He couldn't look at Ben right now.

"It's worth a shot; if not to take that chance, then to at least get it off your mind."

"I'm not telling him," Adam said, matter-of-factly.

"Then you plan on keeping it a secret forever?"

The blond considered the idea for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Well that's not a very good idea."

"Then why don't you tell me what is?" Adam sighed, dropping his fist heavily on the desktop. "As much as I wish I could...talk to him, doing that would probably be the worst thing. He'll hate me."

"Oh, he won't hate you," Ben scoffed and leaned forward over the desk. "I don't think Miles is the kind of guy who could hate another person. It's just not in his nature."

"Yeah, we'll he'll hate me," Adam said, tearing his gaze away. "Besides, it's better this way. I've already screwed myself over by telling you."

The brit seemed rather hurt by this, and feigned as much with a bit of over exaggeration. Ben grabbed at his chest, frowning. "That hurt," he groaned, though it earned him nothing but a glare. "What? You don't trust me?"

"…Can we not have this conversation?" Adam snapped, finally meeting the other's gaze as he stood from his seat.

"Why do you always run away?" Ben wondered. It seemed to be a running trend with him; especially now. "You think I'm just havin' a laugh?" Adam rounded the corner of his desk to move passed the brit, but he was stopped before he could get any further. Ben moved in front of him, using his body to block Adam's path, but the blond stepped to the left only to be blocked again.

"Get out of the way," Adam said, his voice firm.

Ben was even firmer. "I won't."

It wasn't that he was being intimidating or trying, in any way, to threaten Adam. There was a genuine sense of concern that the blond felt and it scared him, to be honest. He didn't know what to think. Ben wasn't the kind of person to coddle and console you. He was brazen and uncouth; seemingly uncaring of anyone's feelings other than his. But this…this was different. This wasn't the Ben that Adam used to know and it wasn't the Ben he knew around anyone else. For whatever reason unknown to him, Ben cared.

"Move," Adam said, a little louder this time, using his hands to move Ben aside. It didn't help one bit. When Ben put his hands on Adam's shoulders and came down to look at him at eye-level, his heart jumped into his throat.

"Just calm down," the brit replied. Adam was damn near panting he was so riled up; the touch had him tense. He went even more rigid when those hands came up and cupped either sides of his jaw. Adam swallowed a thick lump down his throat. He couldn't think. There were no thoughts in his head. All he could do was stare back into those eyes.

He hardly even realized when a knock sounded and the doorknob jiggled. Ben was the first one to pull away, rather quickly as if they had been caught. Adam finally regained some sense, enough to remind himself to breathe again. He remained by his desk for the moment as Ben undid the lock to let their company in.

Miles stared at Ben, surprised to find those two in there with the lock engaged. "Hey, why was the door locked?"

"Was it?" Ben asked, looking rather shocked at the revelation. "Hm…we'll have to get maintenance to look at that. Anyhoo, Adam, good chat," the brit said before leaving the room. "I will speak to you later." The moment Ben left the room, Adam let out the breath he'd been holding.

-

For some odd reason, he was the only one on the track. It didn't really matter in any case. Adam much preferred it that way; at least now, where he could think alone. No one would notice the odd expression or when he stopped at the finish line and doppled over, onto his knees. He was covered in sweat, chest heaving as it needed air; his face a bit of a reddish color from having been running so hard. Miles was there too, somewhere, in the large gym facility. It had been recently constructed and was the closest one between work and home. He'd needed a moment to distract himself from both Miles and now Ben and did so with a good, hard run.

Seeing as how he was alone, Adam collapsed and rolled onto his back. He had to admit, he'd been running a lot harder than usual, probably overdoing it, but it felt good to rest. He did not stay alone for much longer. Someone burst through the double doors, but Adam really had no strength left in him to sit up.

"There you are," Fortunately, he did not need to. It was Miles. "What, d'you run yourself into the ground?" the brunet wondered, and came down to his knees at Adam's head. He was carrying a basketball one arm, which he set on the ground. "You know you should keep moving…stretch or something."

Miles was right. He didn't want to cramp up, regardless of how tired he was, but Adam could hardly catch his breath.

"Here…" Miles stood up and came to his feet, lifting one leg up so that Adam could stretch his aching muscles. "How long has it been since you last ran?"

"I stopped a…few months after…ahnngh!" Adam cried out and hissed through his teeth when Miles pushed harder. "…After I m-moved to London."

"You used to run every day." This time, Miles pulled back a little and paused before stretching the leg again. He moved onto the other one next. That one seemed a little more flexible. "Why'd you stop?"

"I don't know." Adam shifted himself on the track. He never really thought about it. Being big on running in high school and even college, it was quite a bit of a mystery to him, too. "Guess I just lost motivation. There wasn't a gym nearby and the weather was lousy…" Adam fought back a groan, biting his lip. It felt good to stretch. To have Miles helping him, hands on his calf and thigh, positioned so dangerously only added fuel to the fire. He realized he wasn't just feeling the burn out of graciousness. His body was reacting to the touch as well. He needed to get up off his back and out of there; at least keeping on the move.

Before Miles could finish, Adam rolled to his side and stood up, snatching his bag from the bench near the wall, grabbing a towel out so that he could wipe off the sweat. Miles followed, sticking close by. They passed the bathroom just down the hall where the showers were which prompted him to speak up. "You're not gonna clean up?"

There was no way in hell would he get naked now, of all times; not when he was so…close to Miles who would probably do the same-definitely not in front of Miles. "Nah, I'll do it at home," he said. He fully intended on leaving immediately, getting out of Miles' presence and back to his apartment where he could have some room to breathe.

"Alright, well, before you go, I was wondering if you were free in a few weeks." Adam turned to face him; his curiosity struck. "John and Alex are planning my bachelor party for the 14th next month since the following Saturday is the wedding. Don't want to be too trashed that morning either, so we can't have it the Friday before. Alison'll kill me." Miles chuckled softly just thinking about it, but the humor was short lived. "Adam?" No answer. He seemed to be a little out of it. "Hey, Adam?" Miles smacked his arm, enough to bring the blond out of his stupor.

"Huh?"

"You just zoned out. Did you hear what I said?"

"…Wh-"

"About the bachelor party…?"

Adam frowned and cocked his head some. Yes, he'd heard, but part of him wished he hadn't. "Oh, yeah," Adam said and nodded. "14th. Sure."

"Is…that okay?"

"Yeah."

Miles stared at him, and for good reason. He'd been acting pretty strange for the last few days, especially with regards to Ben, and now this.

"I'm fine," Adam reassured him. He could probably get away blaming it on his first, hard run in a few years.

"Okay." For good reason, Miles still seemed wary, but Adam could only assure him again. "See you tomorrow then."

-

"God damnit!"

As if dropping that heavy bag in the entryway wasn't enough venting, Adam chucked his jacket at the couch, but the thing just hit and slid off the cushion. He was livid, mentally beating himself up for acting so carelessly. The last thing he wanted to do was give Miles any reason to believe something really was wrong.

He dropped onto the sofa with a thud and cradled his head in his hands. Not only did he have the party to worry about and whether he was being honest about his intention to show up, but his workload had increased by tenfold. That rest of the week and the next were filled with meetings with both clientele and colleagues. Just thinking about it made his stress level skyrocket.

'No,' he thought. He couldn't let it get out of control. He wouldn't. Adam stood from the couch and moved into his room. Leaning against the dresser for balance, he slipped his tennis shoes off, kicking them wherever they landed. Next came the shirt, which he used to wipe off his face. He felt dirty and needed a shower before going to bed.

In the bathroom, he went straight for the shower, turning the knobs so that the water could flow to a hot enough temperature. His shorts and socks joined the pile of clothes in the bedroom outside the door. Adam cracked it and pulled open the door to the shower, greeted by a wall of steam. The water was a little hot at first as he stepped under the stream, but he quickly got used to it. He liked it best when they were hot, even more so now that he was covered in sweat from the run.

A shower was exactly what he needed. The moment the water hit his skin, he could feel the tension melt right away. That groan he'd held back earlier escaped him and his body went weak. Adam leaned against the wall in front of him, taking a moment to revel in the feeling. His head had gone blank then, but as he let out a heavy breath, one thought came to mind. At the gym and on the way home, his attempts to not think, just to go through the motions to get home, had been difficult enough. Now that he was alone in the privacy of his apartment, of his bathroom, Adam had no worries; no Ben trying to force an answer out of him and no Miles driving him insane.

Perhaps it was the way the brunet had touched him or the position they were in as he stretched his aching muscles. It had to be. He was shameless thinking about it there at the gym and shameless about it now. No one could see his hand sinking lower or the slight frown pulling at his features. He didn't have to be discreet about it. It was his shower. Another groan sounded, this one a little louder. It had been ages since he'd thought about his best friend like that. As much as he was reluctant to now, the urge was just too great to fight off.

A little faster now, hitting all those places he knew would drive him wild. Adam bit his bottom lip. Flashes of Miles hand trailing up his thigh, under his shorts.

He was going to regret this later on, but not now. Maybe tomorrow when he came to work and ran into Miles, but not now.

Adam moaned this time, water streamed down the back of his head. He spat away the hot flow that flooded over his face. He wouldn't last much longer now.

God, how Ben would laugh if he could see him. Why was he thinking about Ben? It wasn't so much of a turn off, surprisingly. Adam was too far gone to care. He chuckled a little at the thought, but it was not on his mind for much longer. His time in the shower ended quickly, already tired from his run and even more so after letting out all of that tension. Adam steadied himself against the tile, just breathing. His body shivered and settled.

Yeah, he would totally regret this. But for now…

-

Two Weeks Later

"Hey, hey! There he is." From over the wall of the cubicle, Adam spotted John and Alex, both waving him over to their workspace. The employee base was not a terribly big one and these two had been here since before Adam left for London. Although he was not as close to them as Miles, they could be considered friends…or acquaintances. "We need the best friend's opinion," John said.

"On?"

"Where to have Miles' bachelor party."

From what he could see, they'd been doing research on the computer; a couple of places, which looked to be strip clubs, had been pulled up. Adam rolled his eyes inwardly, but if he had any say in the matter, he would at least lend his opinion. He was expecting this.

"Okay," John began, keeping a straight face, "we know you're not all into naked chicks dancing around and whatnot, but bear with us for a moment." He tried to keep from laughing, but Adam simply wrote the hilarity of the situation off as immature. "So there's this place…"

Right away, he thought it to be nothing but a dump and expressed the opinion with a firm 'no'. John clicked onto the next page.

It was better, but not by much. "The girls here are ridiculous, Adam," said John, but his answer was no again.

"Alright, there's only two more left. This one is a little bit on the pricey side; food's not too bad, somewhat classy girls, but the reviews aren't all that great."

"No," Adam said again and came to his knees in front of the computer. He took control over the mouse, clicking out of the last page which didn't need much scrutiny just from the looks of the front of the building. He was not going to have a bachelor party for Miles in a run-down brick building with bright flashing lights and a marquee -- no way in hell. That was all fine, as the last page didn't scare him off so easily. It was actually not too bad; low-key, lounge-type feel with an interesting atmosphere he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"This one is more like a hostess club, you know? It's got a restaurant and a bar, too. They've got private rooms as well, but there's no hanky-panky going on…unless you want."

"Yeah, well, at least here it would probably be more legit," Adam grumbled. Lord only knew what those girls would be doing at the other places. "This one," he said. He knew Miles well enough that the guy probably would have been fine just going to a lounge that didn't have strippers. Miles had never been that kind of person; at least, he was not so blatant about it. What straight guy wouldn't love to watch a woman parade around in hardly any clothing and high heels?

"Are you sure?" Alex asked. "The first one had a discount!"

"I'm sure," Adam said as he stood up. He hadn't noticed that Ben was walking towards them, but this time, he didn't really have anywhere to run.

"What are you boys up to? Not looking at any porn, I hope?" the brit wondered, sharing a look with the blond.

"No, actually, we were consulting Adam on where to hold Miles' bachelor party. Oh, hey, you're coming, right?"

"A stag? I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Uh, listen," Adam said softly, interjecting. "I'll talk to you guys later, okay?" John and Alex waved him off, going back to check out the page they'd just been browsing, but Ben followed hot on Adam's trail, much to the blond's annoyance.

"Are you really going?" Ben asked, and shut, but not locked, the door behind them.

"That's what I told Miles," Adam replied, setting his bag down behind the desk.

"You don't sound too convinced." When he received no reply, Ben continued. "I won't go if that's what you want."

"Why would I want that?"

"Dunno," Ben shrugged, arms crossed over his chest. "Contrary to what you've told me, it doesn't seem like we've been getting along very well."

No, Ben couldn't not come. He needed to be there; for whatever reason Adam wasn't entirely sure of. Why that made him panic was beyond him. All he knew was that Ben had better show his ass up or he would end up hating the brit.

"You're his friend, too," Adam said, voice calm and collected, much unlike how he felt on the inside. "You should come."

There was a brief pause before anything was said. Apparently, Ben had really meant it when he said he wouldn't miss it for anything. "Good," Ben smiled, "I was going to anyway."

"Then why did it matter what I thought?"

"It didn't," he said, shrugging. "I'm just concerned about you lately. Are you going to be able to handle it?"

Would he? That was a good question. They would soon find out soon enough.

"We'll see."