The Misadventures of Johnny Driver, Season 2, Chapter 5: A Budding Romance

It was certainly turning out to be a rough summer for Johnny. Not only was he working a lot of hours at the shop, but he had been teaching summer school in the mornings, as well. Having a new designer at Wellington's brought about a lot of disorganization that caused Johnny to work later than his scheduled end time virtually every day. Working at Wellington's that second season wasn't all bad, though. There were one or two bright spots to Johnny's summer.

One Saturday in July, the shop had a visitor. Ben had come to Stewart's rescue a little over a month earlier by coming out to Southampton late to fireproof the driftwood for the Blumenthal Nature Conservatory Benefit. Johnny had been tasked to work with Ben and the two hit it off. Johnny was greeted with a pleasant surprise when he returned from making some deliveries.

"Hey Johnny, look who's here?" Stewart was jovial. Johnny had told him about Ben.

"Hey Johnny!" Ben was clearly happy to see him. Johnny was tickled inside. He'd figured he'd wasted his chance with Ben the last time and that he'd never see him again. Being newly single after twenty years of being spoken for, Johnny was out of practice. Unbeknownst to him, Stewart had shared Johnny's feelings with the object of his affection only a few minutes before Johnny returned to the shop.

Stewart made an excuse to disappear into the basement, leaving the two of them
alone.

"So how've you been Johnny?" Ben broke the silence.

"Good, good, and you?" Johnny was nervous.

They chatted for awhile and then Ben asked if Johnny would like to grab a bite. Stewart said he'd take care of things while Johnny was gone. Johnny couldn't help but smile the whole time he and Ben were together. He was really attracted to this guy, he was tall and handsome, and very sweet. And to top it off, they both shared a great affection for roller coasters and Madonna. Almost an hour flew by without Johnny noticing. He looked at his watch.

"Oh my God, we've been gone almost an hour. Stewart's gonna kill me."

"I'm sorry for taking you for so long. I'm going to let you go." Stewart continued, "You know, Johnny, I really like you a lot. Would you like to have dinner sometime?"

Johnny's face turned a shade of pink. "Definitely!" Johnny smiled at the suggestion and asked the waitress for a pen so he could write down his phone number on a napkin at the table. With that, Johnny returned to the shop and Ben headed back to Nassau County, where he lived. The rest of the day, Johnny worked without any stress, grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of seeing Ben again.