10. Chapter 10
Chapter ten
Benjamin
“ T he renowned Benjamin Matthew Clark, esquire, finally returns my call,” Johnny crowed good-naturedly through the car speakers. “It’s about damn time.”
Benjamin grinned as Johnny’s cheery tone eased his apprehension. The warm fondness for his friend resonated deep in his bones.
It was difficult for Benjamin to fathom that he hadn’t spoken to his friend on the phone in years. Massive, pivotal life events came and went since he’d last heard Johnny’s voice. Even the request to be his best man had come through as an out-of-the-blue text. Since then, Johnny had sent a barrage of messages and voicemails, insisting on hashing out the details of the coming nuptials. Unfortunately, the quarter had felt particularly challenging, what with a certain interloper front and center in his family law class, that he’d been preoccupied. But that wasn’t all of it. If he was being honest, Benjamin was a little nervous about finally speaking with his friend.
“I know, I know. But you have my near undivided attention while I drive out of the city.” He glanced at the estimated arrival time on his phone and cringed. “The next hour and forty-five minutes are all yours.”
“All I need is five.”
“Ha! That’s what your fiancée said.”
“Thanks,” Johnny snickered. “I set myself up for that one, didn’t I?”
“Yep.”
For whatever reason, Johnny still managed to bring out the playful side of Benjamin. Even after all that time apart, his stodgy, professional veneer quickly cracked and fell away. It was most likely because he trusted Johnny, and it felt natural—even after so much time had passed—to let his guard down. No matter what he said or did, Benjamin’s friend accepted him completely.
“I wanted to make sure things were still a go for the wedding,” Johnny continued.
“If by ‘a go’ you mean, will I be there? Then yes, that’s a go,” Benjamin reassured.
Johnny let out a breath as he said, “Good. It’ll be great finally having you here.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Be sure to pack enough winter clothes. We may or may not be doing some kind of outdoor activity. It all depends on if I can convince the old ball and chain to agree to it—ow!” Johnny cut off, chuckling and groaning. His voice sounded more echoey. “I’ve got you on speaker now so Lucy can say hi.”
“Hi, Benji!” A melodic voice danced through the phone. He could hear the cheery grin in her words and smiled impulsively.
“Hello, Lucy.”
“I’m excited to finally meet you. It’ll be nice to put a face to the far-fetched stories my husband-to-be keeps telling me.”
“She doesn’t believe me about the scooter streaking incident,” Johnny hollered at a volume unnecessary for speakerphone, reminding Benjamin of a middle-aged man and not the college kid who dared him to ride down University Way al la nude on a razor scooter.
“It’s true,” Benjamin offered.
“See? Told you,” his friend gloated .
“I should never have doubted you,” Lucy said.
“Since I won the bet, I’ll be collecting my winnings this evening, sunshine,” Johnny practically growled.
“Why wait ’til this evening?” her sultry giggle murmured through the phone.
Benjamin cringed as the sloppy sounds of kissing filled his car, along with groans and a little squeal.
“Still here!” he all but shouted, suppressing a gag.
“Sorry, brother. It’s easy to get carried away with this one.”
Lucy said her farewells and left the men to iron out their plans. “You got a room from the block we reserved at Wilhelm Haus Inn, right?”
“Yep, and I have my tux pressed and ready. Am I forgetting anything?” Benjamin flashed his blinker and pulled into the carpool lane just as a few snowflakes landed on his windshield. The lane choice was a futile one because it moved at the same pace as the rest of the gridlocked interstate.
“Doesn’t sound like it.”
“Great. How's the family?” Benjamin continued, not quite ready for the call to end. “Everyone excited for your big day?”
“My mom and Lucy have been a gale-level force to be reckoned with in planning this shindig. I’ve been staying out of the way and hoping they don’t make me do anything too embarrassing.”
Benjamin barked out a laugh. “Smart man.”
“And my kid sister—you remember me talking about Frankie—anyways, she’s great. Started her graduate program at our alma mater this fall. ”
“Is that so?” A prickle of recognition crept over his scalp. “What’s she studying?”
“She wants to be a social worker, but she's taking family law, and apparently, her prof is a real dick.”
Frankie.
Francesca . . . Miller.
Unbelievable.
How could he have missed that, not put it together? Sure, Miller is a common enough surname, and he had no idea she was going back to school. Really, he had no way of knowing. But now that he thought about it, the clues were there. In her thirties, that honey-colored hair, and amber eyes. She looked so much like her older brother now that he knew, and with that sharp little tongue to boot. He felt dense for not catching it. And then he felt a little queasy for lusting over the female version of Johnny. Or was that guilt from fantasizing about doing unspeakable things to his best friend’s little sister?
Oh my god.
“You still there?” his friend called through the speaker.
“Yeah.” He coughed to clear his throat and lowered his voice to the appropriate octave. “Yes, sorry, traffic distracted me for a minute.”
“That’s right, you’re in your car. Shit. I’ll let you go then so you can drive safely.”
“Good plan.” He needed the next hour and a half to work out the chaos in his mind. Or the next decade. “We can catch up in a few weeks.”
“I plan on grilling you about how the practice has been going. I bet you’ve already made partner at your fancy-pants law firm. But don’t tell me; I’ve got another bet going with Lucy.”
“Yeah.” Benjamin barely registered his friend’s warm chuckle. “See you in a few.”
“Bye.”
The call disconnected, and a familiar ’90s riff replaced the brief silence in the car. “Poison” by Bell Biv DeVoe thrummed through the speakers .
Francesca Miller—Frankie—had been stuck, rattling around inside his mind, consuming his thoughts and focus. For weeks his efforts had been focused on how to eject her from his class, never realizing her connection to one of the most important people in his life.
She was Johnny’s family. Great. Not only did Benjamin have to stress over the cliché of being a professor who wants to nail his student, but he could also add a hefty scoop of guilt for lusting over his best friend’s little sister.
He had to play this carefully or all manner of hell would rain down on him and the consequences would be catastrophic.
Losing out on tenure.
Continuing to be under the thumb of Dean McCaffery.
Straining the relationship between him and Johnny; his only true family.
He needed to censor his treatment of Miss Miller if he had any hope of maintaining his professional trajectory and personal relationships.
Easy enough.
What would prove trickier would be curtailing the lustful musings that slithered through his mind at an alarming rate. Miss Miller’s image haunted his thoughts, and he struggled to dispel the curve of her body and that seductive lavender scent from his daydreams. And while he was determined to muscle through the next few weeks of class, their close proximity would extend through the wedding festivities.
Maintaining professionalism in a classroom was doable, but how would he fare off-campus with the alcohol, dancing, and formal wear?
He resolved to focus on the task at hand. Visiting his mother.
Benjamin’s scowl deepened as he flicked on his wipers to sweep away the increasing flurry. He sneered at his GPS. The estimated arrival time to Tacoma jumped by another half hour. The trip would be a long walk for a short drink of water, but a necessary one nonetheless. He glanced at the two dozen pink roses in the passenger seat. Bailing wasn’t an option, even though his mother wouldn’t be holding him accountable. And by the looks of the gloomy layer of clouds above him, he and the rest of the commuters on Interstate 5 were in for a slippery drive.
Damned snow.