Page 49 of Whiskey & Honey
He smiles and nods but, ever the gentleman, doesn’t respond until he has swallowed the last bite.
“Yeah, I tend to forget dinner when I’m working at the house.”
Nodding, I set my sandwich back on the plate and nestle into the corner of the couch as far from Ben as I can get. This movement doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Why are you all the way over there? Scooch here,” he says, patting the spot next to him.
“Nope. We need to talk and I don’t trust you to use words if I’m over there.”
“Good point. Okay, so let’s talk.”
After finish finishing the glass of water I brought him in a single drink, he mimics my position on the other end of the couch.
“First, thank you for taking me to your house tonight. It’s really going to be magnificent and I am so excited for you.” He doesn’t reply, only smiles. Okay, I guess I’ll keep going. “And, I uh, thanks for everything else, too?” The last part of my statement more of a question laced with nerves.
“Did you just thank me for an orgasm?”
“Oh my God, please don’t talk about it!” Mortified, I bury my face in my hands. I feel his hands tugging mine from where they are hiding the horror of this moment from him.
“Princess, look at me.”
I do. Through my fingers. Expecting to see him laughing at me, I am instead faced with a solemn expression and kind eyes.
“Why wouldn’t I talk about it? It was probably one of the single most spectacular things I’ve ever seen and I, for one, cannot wait to see it again.”
“Oh, God!” I declare, not only using my hands to cover my face but the tops of my knees to really send home how mortified I am. This time, he responds like I expected a few minutes ago.
“Yep, just like that but with more passion.”
Grabbing the pillow from behind me, I throw it at him, making him laugh even more. I join him this time.
“Seriously though, Piper, please don’t be embarrassed. I think we should table the orgasm talk for now and focus on the bigger issue.”
“Ben, I told you it can’t happen again. It was a lapse in judgment. I’ve just…”
“You what?” he asks me as he inches closer to me and I remain still.
“I just … This is so stupid. I missed you, okay? I did. I missed hanging out and talking. I thought we decided to be friends when we talked before and then you just went away. You stopped coming to family dinner and you have barely even talked to me at school. I thought that tonight we would hang out and it would be fun. I mean, it was fun but I wasn’t expecting that kind of fun.”
Now invading my personal space, he’s pulled my feet so I’m forced to climb onto his lap, straddling him. This position makes it almost impossible to not look at him. He never stops looking me in the eye and never once do I break the eye contact. Normally this much eye contact makes me uncomfortable. Ben doesn’t make me uncomfortable in the usual sense; I feel connected and natural with him. That makes me uncomfortable.
“My turn?” I confirm it is in fact his turn to respond with a simple lift of my chin.
“I’ve stayed away because I needed space. Piper, I was honest with you at the lake. I know that we have something I want to pursue but I also know that Ashton is likely to lose her shit if we choose to take this step. But that’s the thing, I believe it’s worth it. Don’t you?”
I open my mouth to reply but he cuts me off. “Don’t answer that, let me finish.” I nod ever so slightly.
“I love my sister and you love my sister. Do you know who she loves?”
I shake my head.
“Us. She loves us. I know she’s kind of bitter and anti-love or whatever but I think once she gets over her initial shock and selfishness she’ll see that you and I make sense. We make sense, Piper.”
Oh great, now he’s got me all swoony and girly.
“If you want, we can take it slow and keep this between us for a while. Just spend time together as friends. Friends that are getting to know each other and see where it goes from there. What do you say?”
He makes it sound so simple. And I think he has a point. I know there’s something between us but I also know that I will never do anything to hurt Ashton. Maybe if we’re just friends hanging out we’ll discover there’s nothing really there and I’ll have worried for nothing. But those kisses. Friends don’t kiss. I slowly run my tongue over my bottom lip at the thought of Ben’s kisses.