Chapter 10 Sophie
SOPHIE
I groan as my eyes flutter open, the heat enveloping me making me sweat. My head is splitting, and I immediately regret the last round of shots. I try to move, but there’s a heavy weight holding me down.
I move my hand and realize I’m being held. The tattooed hand over my belly makes me tense as it tightens its grip. And then the memories of last night come crawling back with a vengeance and I yelp, pushing the hand away.
“Oh my God!” I say as Benny grumbles behind me, and then I realize I feel something hard and wet poking my ass.
My very bare ass.
“What are you bitching about?” he grumbles, and I scramble to the other side of the bed.
He opens his eyes, and when he sees me, they widen. “Soph? Are you okay? Are—”
I point to his cock, which is fully on display, hanging out of his damn pants.
And it’s very noticeable. Because the rumors were definitely true. Benny’s Battering Ram is no joke, and right now it’s staring at me with its silver ring and leaky slit.
“Oh fuck,” he grumbles, doing his best to stuff it back in his pants, which only makes it more noticeable in my opinion. “Soph, I’m sorry, I—”
“Don’t,” I say. “It’s fine, it’s just—”
Well, it’s certainly not fine.
Kissing Elijah is one thing, and that in itself is something I can barely process, but…
Images of last night resurface, filling my brain. Benny’s tongue in my mouth. His cock in my hand.
His words.
“Tell me to stop.”
“Tell me how you thought about my cock.”
“Tell me and I’ll let you come.”
Holy shit.
Holy shit on a cracker, this is so bad…
“It was an accident,” I say.
Benny’s blue eyes meet mine, his expression stoic. His dark hair hangs in his eyes as he leans back on the bed, and for a moment he almost looks younger. If he wasn’t covered in tattoos, I’d almost say he looks like the boy I remember. Save for the bulky frame.
“A moment of weakness. That’s all,” I say.
He nods. “Right. No, I get it.”
I worry that his lack of reaction is only cementing the fact that whatever happened between us was fully my fault. I’m a goddamn mess.
His words reverberate in my head. One word, really.
“Mine.”
Even now, the memory of that word threatens to settle the storm raging inside me.
But I can’t let it.
My cell phone rings, as does Benny’s, and I practically lunge for it.
“Hello?” I answer shakily. It’s Sam.
“Hey, you guys still coming to breakfast?” he asks.
Breakfast…right. I totally forgot about fucking breakfast. I look at the clock, noting that it’s already eight. We’re late. Both of us.
Shit, this probably doesn’t look good. Elijah is probably freaking out, since he’s been weird ever since we kissed. Save for the cornhole game, but I can chalk that up to a team player thing. We were both focused on the same thing. Winning. We’ve always been a good team, honestly.
But outside of that, he’s been…weird. Careful. Like I can tell he wants to talk, maybe clear the air, but I don’t want things to be awkward. And talking about how I kissed my ex–best friend while drunk because I’ve had feelings for him for years is a terrible idea.
Also, drinking and making out and giving your former sexual awakening a hand job is not such a great idea and will definitely make things awkward now. Maybe I should stop drinking, because clearly my pussy and my heart can’t handle being in the same room with these men and my repressed feelings.
“Yeah, just slept in. Will be down in—”
I hear the shower running, my heart sinking because Benny is gone. Well, not gone, he’s in the other room, but…
He just got up and left. After what happened, he just…left.
But what did I expect? It was a mistake. An accident. A moment of weakness.
This is good. It means whatever happened didn’t mean anything, and he’s willing to forget about it, right?
So why does it hurt to think about Benny forgetting what happened between us? Why does my stupid heart want to hold on to the memory of those words, of his tongue and his cum in my mouth?
“Fifteen.”
“Yeah, I get it. You guys were out pretty late last night. No worries, they haven’t even brought our drinks yet.”
“Mom and Dad down there?” I ask.
Sam says they are, and tells me he’ll keep them occupied until Benny and I make it down there. My heart lifts for a moment, because he really is the best brother. Most of the time. He’s always had my back, and I know he always will. Raegan too.
Just as I’m finishing up on the phone, Benny walks out, towel around his waist. He looks at me with that same stoic, unreadable expression.
“Shower’s all yours,” he says. He looks at my suitcase. “We’ll have to touch base with the concierge later. You know, make sure you get your room situation taken care of.”
Right, my room. I’m only staying here one night because I neglected to inform the hotel I was coming early, after everything that happened with Keaton. My ex-fiancé.
And the one night I spend here, I end up with my hand in Benny’s pants and—
I swallow as I remember his fingers buried in my aching, wet pussy. As his lips on my neck and his words in my ear brought me to my own release.
So much for the fucking cot.
So much for keeping his hands to himself.
But I guess I’m not much better, am I?
“Thanks,” I say as I grab a clean dress and underwear and bra, heading for the bathroom.
But I stop, inches away from him. He stands in front of the mirror, putting on some sort of face lotion or cream. His back is covered in tattoos, and part of me wants to stop and stare. Wants to trace all the lines, feel his skin beneath my palm.
The urge to settle my hand on his hip and apologize is heavy. But I don’t give in, I can’t.
“Are you…okay?” I ask, needing the reassurance. “We’re…okay?”
He looks at me in the reflection, a tense moment of silence forming between us.
“Of course, princess,” he says with a shrug, that stoic expression plastered like a mask on his face. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
His words hit me harder than they should.
“I just don’t want things to be weird, because we—” I cough. “You know.”
He turns to look at me, and in his deep blue eyes, there’s a softness that’s so foreign it makes my insides quiver.
“It was a moment of weakness. Doesn’t change anything,” he says. “I’m still Benny and you’re still Sophie.” He lets out a breath. “And we still have breakfast and a wedding to attend.” He lets out a soft sigh. “It won’t happen again. Promise.”
I nod in agreement. “Right. Won’t happen again.”
“Cool. Now, get showered and dressed and let’s get the fuck out of here.”
I head into the bathroom, letting his words settle on me.
A moment of weakness.
Nothing has changed.
I tell myself it’s the truth, even though it feels like a lie. But Benny is right—we don’t have time to dwell. We have breakfast and plans and things to do to prepare for this wedding, and I want to get some time on the beach today too.
So I focus on the hot water, pretending it can cleanse me of my sins. That it can wash away the memory of Benny’s cock brushing against me, that it can take away the memory of what he tastes like or how he sounds when he’s desperate to come.
I don’t think anything will ever be able to erase that, but for the sake of Sam and this wedding, I have to try and forget. So that’s exactly what I vow to do.
Thankfully, everyone is just ordering their meals by the time Benny and I get downstairs to breakfast. I don’t miss Matthew’s or Elijah’s gazes, though Elijah seems to be staring at Benny.
Part of me feels like he knows somehow, but I know that’s silly.
We passed out and then this morning, Benny never even answered his phone, so there’s no way he could have told Elijah about what happened.
Will he tell him? I wonder, feeling my blood chill. I don’t think Benny would be the type to kiss and tell, but then again…I don’t know. He threw Matthew’s virginity in his face to piss him off, so who’s to say he wouldn’t do the same to me or Elijah?
All the more reason to put what happened out of your mind.
“So, who’s coming to the dolphin swim today?” Raegan asks. “They just texted and they want a head count so…”
“I’m definitely down to swim with dolphins,” Matthew says. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Me too!” Tiffany exclaims, rather loudly.
Matthew, being the sweetheart he is, smiles. “Cool. What about you, Eli?”
Elijah looks at me, twisting his lips. “Depends. Aren’t we supposed to have partners for the swim?”
Sam sips his orange juice. “Yeah, it’s pairs of two.”
“Oh! We can partner up with our wedding partners!” Lucy says with a smile.
“If the whole party goes, we can even get pictures!” Natalie says as she looks up from her phone.
Benny groans. “That’s dumb,” he says, and I shoot him a glare. Because he’s the best man, and I’m the maid of honor, so he’s my partner. Well, for the wedding.
“I think it sounds like fun,” I retort. “So I’m going. But if you want to be a party pooper, you can stay behind while the rest of us have fun.”
Elijah chuckles. “I’ll be your partner, Soph.”
Benny’s jaw tenses. “I bet you would love that, wouldn’t you, Eli?”
Elijah’s brow furrows. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“No, no, I got dibs on Sophie as my partner,” Matthew says, shooting a frown. “Sorry, Tiff. I promised Sophie the other day we’d be partners if she was still up for the dolphin thing.” He winks at me and I can’t help the smile on my face.
Leave it to Matthew to find a way for me to get out of this weird posturing thing between Elijah and Benny that seems to be happening lately. And maybe his admission does make me preen a little bit because it’s like a victory of its own against Tiffany.
“Yeah, that’s right,” I say.
“Cool, so just Matthew, Sophie, and Tiffany?” Raegan asks, looking to the rest of the group.
“We have a wine tour scheduled,” Dad says.
My mother nods. “You boys always have the option to come with us if you like,” she says, looking at Benny and Elijah.
“I think I’m good on wine right now,” Benny says. “Last night kicked my ass.”