"That's more than true," he said, grinning. Not that he thought that Charlie and Callum had any love for his piano, but they were big on bonding and respecting each other, and turning someone's possessions into firewood seemed to be a direct conflict to both of those rules. "It's nice down here, though I'll admit I do miss my friends. But it's enough knowing their as safe as they can be up there. I don't think I'd trade this for anything, except for the attack never to have happened in the first place."
Ben sighed. It was difficult to explain his reluctance to himself, let alone to someone else. But he'd opened the discussion now, it was hard to back out of it. "No, he wouldn't." He was quiet for a moment. "I used to have no problem with causal shagging. Sex was sex, whether it was with strangers, friends or an acquaintance; and romance had no part in it. But...I don't know if I could go back now, not now that I know what was missing."
He smiled, wistfully, as he recalled that first date. "You know, I'm not exactly sure. He wanted to show me something I'd never seen before, and that's where we ended up. Diving for sea urchins, on a small beach with just the two of us. Clothing optional, of course."