23. Slumber Party
23
Slumber Party
The swimming pool—pardon me, the aquatic center —of Central was double the size of ours, with rows upon rows of bleachers on both sides of the pool. A separate diving pool sat at the end of the lanes, the two pools separated by a three-foot-wide walkway. Teammates working as lap counters sat along the walkway, waving their numbered boards underneath the surface as the long-distance swimmers raced. The entire room echoed with the shouts of cheering parents and coaches.
As I entered the room, the humidity smothered me like a thick, wet blanket. I shrugged out of my winter coat to alleviate the uncomfortable heat. I searched the bleachers for purple streaked hair but couldn’t see a damn thing through the crowd.
Since Central was our rival school, the turn out for the meet was larger than normal. Parents donned our school colors of red and gold as Central supporters wore blue and silver. I didn’t care much for competition between the two schools; I was only here to support Ben.
Awkwardly stumbling through the bleachers filled with red and gold clothing, I avoided squashing the toes of strangers as I fought to gain Ben’s attention. He was focused on the 500-meter race taking place and didn’t see me.
My phone buzzed in my hand, and I read the text from Esther.
Esther: Three rows behind you.
Spinning on my heels, I grinned as Esther stood on the seat of a bleacher, waving her arms. Even though she attended Central, she wore our colors to support Ronnie. I climbed over disgruntled adults to reach her.
“Hey.” I stole a quick hug. “I was hoping you hadn’t abandoned me.”
She knocked my torso with her shoulder. “I told you I’d come.”
“Well, thanks for saving me a seat. What’s the score?”
We sat down as Esther pointed to the board. “We’re winning.”
“We, Central? Or we—”
“We, as in, the team we are both rooting for.”
I tucked a stubborn strand of purple hair behind her ear. “You look nice.”
She dropped her eyes with a shy smile, her pale cheeks pinking. “Thanks. You, too.”
With a snort, I glanced down at the plain white T-shirt I’d decorated for Ben. It read, Go, Ben, Go! on the front and on the back I’d written, World’s #1 Boyfriend/Diver. I hoped wearing another homemade shirt would inspire him.
“I don’t look half as good as Ben does in that Speedo, that’s for damn sure,” I said.
Esther snorted, her blush darkening. “If my mother heard you talk, she’d put pepper on your tongue.”
“That sounds like child endangerment.”
“It’s called discipline.” She rolled her eyes, bringing a bottle of water to her lips. “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”
“Spare the rod? If that ain’t a gay anecdote, I don’t know what is.”
She choked on her sip of water, and I patted her back as she hacked up half a lung. When she caught her breath, she punched me in the shoulder, and I cowered away, cackling like a witch.
As she glared, I huddled close and plopped a wet kiss on her cheek. She shoved me away with an exasperated growl, but her lips twitched. Ignoring her annoyance, I rested my head on her shoulder, and she relaxed.
When the lap pool emptied and the judges took their seats near the diving pool, we both straightened in our seats. Ben stood beside Julian, talking with Coach Kane, and when he searched the bleachers, I stood and flailed my arms like a wild man until he found me.
His face brightened, and he waved, his teeth gleaming. Julian smacked him on the back of the head and pointed to the pool.
“Get your head in the game, Ben,” I mocked Julian’s likely reprimand under my breath as I sat back down.
Central’s team had three divers pitted against our two, and it was clear from the first dive, Ben held the advantage. He and Julian were going to sweep the pool floor with them.
And that was exactly what they did.
Finishing first and second, Ben and Julian earned enough points to cement our lead. The only way we’d lose was if the swimmers did an atrocious job in the last few races.
They didn’t, and we won with flying colors.
Esther and I stamped our feet on the bleachers, cheering loudly as our team celebrated the win.
“In your face, Central!” I said to Esther.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I was rooting for you.”
“Do you ever root for your own school?”
As she considered the question, we traversed the dangerous bleachers to escape the humid room. “Well, when I play for competition, I do.”
“What sport do you play?” I asked before I thought better of it, and a jeering chuckle scraped her throat.
“I don’t play sports, Silas. What team would let me?” The bitter bite in her tone sounded wrong coming from her mouth, and she cringed in apology. “I play in the orchestra.”
“Oh? What instrument?”
“Cello.”
We lounged against the wall, waiting for Ben and Ronnie to come out of the locker rooms. Our shoulders touched, her hands tucked into the pocket of the red zip-up hoodie she wore. I tugged on the string of her hood.
“The cello? That’s cool. You any good?”
“I’m not bad.”
“Well, my mom tried to teach me piano, but it never took. You playing any instrument is impressive to me.”
“Maybe we could play together.”
I barked a sarcastic laugh. “Yeah, we can rock a Chopsticks duet.”
The hallway bustled with parents and students alike, and Esther scooted even closer to avoid getting bumped. I slipped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed the top of her arm.
“Well, if you ever do want to play together, there’s a piano at my house,” she said.
I laughed. “You really don’t want to hear me play the piano. Trust me.”
“Just ask your mom to teach you again.”
The joking mood plummeted, and it was my turn to chuckle bitterly. “Well, I haven’t seen her in six years, so chances for piano lessons are pretty slim.”
“Oh.” She leaned into my side, lending me comfort. “Sorry.”
“Shit happens,” I dismissed, relieved when Ronnie’s obnoxiously tall frame lumbered down the corridor in our direction. “There they are.”
Ben shoved Ronnie aside, his smile wide as he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off my feet. “I’ve never gotten that high of a score before! Did you see?”
“No, I didn’t. I was too busy checking out all the other half-naked guys in Speedos,” I sassed as he spun in a circle. “Of course, I saw, you idiot. You did amazing!”
He kissed me square on the mouth. “I couldn’t find you, at first. I thought you didn’t come.”
“I said I would. You think I’d stand you up?”
“Of course not.” Our foreheads met, and his eyes splashed with delight. “I’m just glad you came.”
I pecked his mouth and winked. “Well, I’m very glad I could grace you with my presence.”
“Smartass.” With his arm around my shoulders, he addressed Ronnie and Esther. “You guys wanna go by the drive-in?”
“Better than Troy’s after-party,” Ronnie harrumphed. “We’ll meet you guys there. I’ll let Julian know.”
I twined my fingers with the hand hanging over my shoulder. “Do you have to take the bus back?”
He nodded. “My car’s at the school.”
I snorted when he missed my forehead and landed a sloppy kiss on my eye. “I’ll drop you by the school to get your car.”
“You don’t mind?”
I scrunched up my face in confusion. “Why would I mind?”
He grinned and shrugged. “The drive-in’s close to your house. I’ll follow you there in my car, then take us to the drive-in.”
That didn’t make sense.
“Or I can just meet you there. Why the extra driving?”
He bit his bottom lip and mumbled, “I just like driving with you. But you’re right, it’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid. It’s... cutesy.” He glared, but I kissed him anyway. “I’ll wait at my house for you, and you can pick me up like we’re going on a date.”
“I owe you a lot of dates, don’t I?” he mumbled against my mouth.
“You don’t owe me anything. We do fun stuff together and hang out all the time. Those are dates.”
As we walked outside, the winter air chilled my lungs, and Ben scowled. “But we’ve never gone on a legitimate date! I’m a terrible boyfriend.”
“You’re the best boyfriend, and we have gone on a date.” I released his hand as I rounded the nose of my truck. “You took me to breakfast, remember?”
“One time, two months ago!” Ben sulked in his seat, glaring at the dashboard as I guided Mabel out of the parking lot.
“We do lots of stuff together, but if you want to do more date-things, then we can. I have that certificate for the movie theater from Aunt June. We can go to the movies.”
His demeanor lifted. “And I have a gift card to that Mexican restaurant. We could do dinner and a movie?”
“Yeah, that sounds fun.” I let him hold my hand on the gear stick, even though it made it harder to shift.
The rest of the trip passed in silence, and true to his word, Ben followed me back to my house where I parked Mabel in the driveway before hopping into his car.
I’d barely shut the door when he lunged at me, kissing me enthusiastically.
“Oh, that’s why you wanted me to ride with you?” I teased between kisses. “You wanted to make out in your car?”
“I always want to make out with you in my car.”
We spent a good fifteen minutes fogging up the windows before I ordered him to take us to the drive-in. As much as I loved attaching myself to his face, I wanted a blue moon shake. Plus, the others were waiting for us, and I didn’t want to show up with sex hair.
It was fun spending time with Ben’s friends, but I was happy we didn’t stay too long. A little over an hour after we arrived, he bid everyone goodnight, and I let him drag me back to his car. By the time Ben pulled back into my driveway, the clock hovered around midnight, and I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt as I studied the dark windows to my empty house.
“Thanks for coming to my meet.” Ben put his car in Park and faced me with a beaming smile. “I love when you watch me dive.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I love watching you dive.” My entire body buzzed like bumblebees had built a hive in my cardiovascular system, and my stomach twisted with nerves as I said, “Do you wanna come inside?”
Something flickered in the depths of Ben’s baby-blues as the gears turned in his head. “It’s late.”
“Yeah, it is.” I grazed the tip of his nose with mine before repeating my question. “Do you wanna come inside?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his gaze dropped to my mouth. “If I come in, I don’t think I’m gonna wanna leave.”
The crests of his cheeks colored a pretty shade of pink at his confession, and I smiled sinfully. “Then don’t.” I brushed my fingertips over the back of his hand with a significant arch of my brow. “Stay the night.”
After a long stretch of expectant silence, he teased my palm with his index finger. “Like a slumber party?”
I chuckled at his rueful grin and shook my head. “Not exactly. Unless you just want a slumber party, which is fine.”
“Or?” he prompted.
My neck heated as I leaned over the center console, my lips hovering over his. “Or you could stay the night with me in my bed, and we could have sex.”
His eyes widened, his whole face splotching with red as his breath puffed over my mouth in short bursts. “Oh, that kind of slumber party,” he rasped.
“Stop saying slumber party.” I slid our lips together briefly. “It’s not sexy.”
“Sorry.”
I opened my mouth to tell him not to apologize, but I never got the chance as the trill of a phone rang through the air. Ben jolted, blinking away the stars in his eyes as he patted his pockets. I leaned back in my seat as he checked his screen.
“Shit, sorry. Um, it’s Aunt June.”
“It’s fine. Take the call.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door. “I gotta… pee, but I’ll leave the door unlocked, if you wanna come inside.”
Not giving him a chance to respond, I exited the car and wrapped my coat tighter around myself. When I reached the steps to the porch, I glanced over my shoulder where Ben sat in his idling car, phone to his ear as he watched every move I made.
I smiled and unlocked the door, shutting it behind me as I took a deep breath.
My body flooded with nervous energy, and I abandoned the door and sprinted up the stairs. I didn’t know how much time I had, but there were things I needed to take care of before Ben came inside.
Checking my side table, I verified the supplies inside before rushing into the bathroom. I wasn’t positive about the logistics, but since I was the more experienced, it was probably better if I prepared to take one for the team tonight. If Ben was into that, at least.
Once I was finished taking care of everything in the downstairs department, I washed my hands and ran my fingers through my hair to bring my messy strands under better control. I leveled my reflection with a hard stare and wet my lips, my eyes too bright and manic to be normal.
“Don’t be a wuss,” I growled at Reflection Silas. “Get it together and don’t act like a bumbling virgin. We want him to want to have sex with us after this so don’t fuck this up.” I took a deep breath before nodding sternly at the mirror. “Okay, good talk.”
I reapplied deodorant and brushed my teeth before checking my reflection once more to ensure I looked attractive enough to seduce my boyfriend. Once satisfied, I exited my bathroom and hurriedly cleaned up the small amount of laundry scattered on the floor of my bedroom. I turned on the bedside lamp to cast the room in a subtle glow before doing another quick scan of the room.
Clean floor, relatively clean sheets, and nothing smelled weird. We were good to go.
I scrambled down the stairs, hoping to make it to the living room where I could plan a sensual pose of some sort, but luck was not on my side. Ben stood in the entryway, his lips spreading in a smile as he watched me almost slip on the last step and fall on my face. I caught my balance at the last minute and straightened my stance, exuding a cool confidence I did not feel.
“Hey,” I blurted, my voice cracking like a prepubescent boy. I flinched and cleared my throat, trying again. “Hey.”
“Hey.” His amused grin was hard to smother, and he turned away to remove his coat, biting his bottom lip as he tried not to laugh at me. “I told Aunt June I wasn’t coming home tonight.”
And cue the fireworks in my stomach. “Okay, cool.”
I sauntered across the living room, pausing behind the couch as Ben hung his coat on the rack and tugged off his shoes. Facing me, he held eye contact as he stretched his hand to the door and turned the deadbolt with an audible click .
When neither of us spoke, Ben swallowed thickly and rubbed the back of his neck. He chuckled nervously, and my anxiety leaked away at the sight of his lopsided grin. This was Ben, my Ben, and even if I totally botched this, he would still like me.
With newfound peace, I turned off the living room lamp, plunging the house into darkness save for the light in the stairwell. I held Ben’s gaze with an encouraging smile and offered my hand in invitation.
He walked around the couch, stopping a foot in front of me with a shaky smile. He slipped his hand into mine, his palm cool and slightly clammy. I gave his trembling fingers a reassuring squeeze as I stepped backward, slowly leading him toward the stairs.