Old Habits Die Soft

Chapter 4
Old Habits

Chapter Description: Ben and Chris celebrate, but at what costs?

[img align=left; footer=’’; border=0; showfooter=1;]http://i.imgur.com/X4oEk.jpg[/img]

The following week was incredible. Ben hadn’t had a cigarette in five days. It wasn’t that he didn’t think about it, he did, it’s just that the thought of having one didn’t persist. He would think about heading outside for a smoke and then, suddenly, he’d find himself working on a new catalog entry at the library or thumbing through some of the new magazine arrivals. It simply didn’t cross his mind anymore!

Eden loved it, too. He didn’t come home smelling like smoke, and he didn’t have to interrupt their date nights with fifteen minute smoke breaks. The sex was incredible now that he didn’t have to start the mood from scratch every time he came back in from a quick puff. The only side effect he seemed to notice was a slight throbbing headache, which he assumed was just part of the nicotine withdrawal. He even took Chris and his mother out to dinner to celebrate.

“You know what the best part of this is, though, Chris?” Ben said, holding a tumbler of whiskey.

“What?” inquired Chris.

“I don’t have to listen to your loud-ass mouth crunching away. You’re chewing with your mouth closed!”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Chris said, twirling spaghetti onto his fork.

“Take it how you want, I’m just happy not to be covered in pieces of your chewed up dinner,” he laughed.

“Come on, boys, just be happy!” Mrs. Heben said, smiling at the two young men.

“Yeah, be happy! Like me!” Chris said, flicking a meatball at Ben with his spoon.

Quickly dodging out of the way, Ben picked up his own spoon and loaded a meatball onto it, sending it sailing into Chris’ laughing face. Sauce hit everywhere, getting on his white button-down shirt as the meatball pieces rolled down his lap onto the floor.

“You’re such a mess, Christopher,” Mrs. Heben said, grabbing a napkin and wiping the marinara sauce from his face.

“Mom! Come on!” he protested.

“What? You’ve got sauce all over your face,” she explained, scrubbing his face clean, “and your shirt is ruined.”

“Leave me alone, Mom! Ben is right there!” he pleaded, imploringly to his mother as she licked her thumb to better remove the red sauce from his face.

“Ben doesn’t care, calm down,” she replied, ignoring her son’s requests to stop.

“Well, I should get going, I’m having a date night with Eden,” he said, paying his portion of the bill.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Heben said, pushing the crisp bills back toward Ben, “that won’t be necessary, I’ve got it, it’s all on me. Consider it part of your payment!”

“Thanks, Rebecca!” he said, scooping his money back into his wallet.

“My pleasure,” she said.

As he went to leave, he found his shoelaces untied. He bent down to tie them, but when he came face to face with the two untied laces, he felt confused. He grabbed the two ends and clumsily passed them through one another only to have them fall back out again. Maybe it was the whiskey? The headaches from the withdrawal? He couldn’t tell. To escape from the awkward situation of someone seeing him unable to tie his own shoes, he slipped the loose ends into the top of the shoe as quickly as possible and walked out.

Back at home, Ben came in to his small apartment to find Eden reading on the couch. She was absolutely gorgeous: her dark, curly hair framing her face and thick-rimmed glasses. She wore a dark emerald sweater that he had bought for her last Christmas and a delicate silver necklace that he’d gotten her for their fifth anniversary. As he came in, she glanced up briefly, finished the sentence she was reading and put the book down.

“Hi there,” she said, reaching for a cup of tea that she had placed on a nearby end table.

“Sorry I’m late,” he proffered, “Dinner ran late with Chris and his mom, we were talking about the treatm—“

“Your shoe’s untied,” she said bluntly, pointing to the offending foot.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot,” he said absentmindedly, kicking his shoes off.

“Hmm,” she said, glancing at the clock which now read 11:23 PM.

“Well, ready for date night? Want to watch a movie or something? We can see what’s on Netflix, if you want?”

“I think I’m just going to go to bed, actually,” Eden said, flatly.

“Eden, I’m sorr—“

“No, it’s okay. I just hoped you would be more responsible. I’m not mad, I’m just a little disappointed with how childish you are sometimes when it comes to keeping dates.”

“I’m sorry! Honestly, I—“

“I know, I know, it’s okay. Really. Let’s just go to bed, I have to get some sleep since I’m shopping with the girls tomorrow!”

Climbing into their full-size bed together in their cramped apartment, Ben and Eden cuddled up close to one another. After snuggling for a few moments, she seemed to cheer up, reaching down playfully to please her boyfriend. Only a moment or two later, Ben gasped and Eden withdrew her hand from his boxers.

“Already?!” she exclaimed.

“I’m sorry! I…I haven’t had that happen since high school, I swear!” he said, apologizing profusely.

“It’s okay!” she laughed, “I know how little boys like you can’t last with real women like me!” She poked him playfully in the ribs with her index finger. “Maybe next time,” she said, rolling over and falling fast asleep.

Ben rolled over shamefully and tried to get some rest.