Chapter 8
The next thing I knew, Ben nuzzled into my side and kissed his way up my chest to my neck. “Baby, you awake?”
I moaned softly. We might’ve just had mind blowing sex, but I could probably be convinced to go again. Who was I kidding? I would totally go again any time this man wanted. Now. Tomorrow. Next month. Next year. If he snapped his fingers, I’d totally come running.
I rolled closer to him and let my hands wander, petting his sleek muscles. Slipping down south to cup his—
“Whoa!” Ben pulled away, his length dropping out of my hand. “As much as I really, really want you to keep doing that, we’re going to miss Monica Moore’s set if we don’t hustle.”
I blinked at him stupidly for a minute. Those words didn’t mean anything to me at the moment. So he didn’t want more sex?
And then it clicked.
Monica.
One of my idols was due to sing in a few minutes on a stage only yards away.
The whole reason I was here.
Only, suddenly, she wasn’t the draw she’d been only hours ago.
I opened my mouth to say as much to Ben when he pressed a quick kiss to my forehead and rolled out of the bunk. There were some rustling sounds as he hustled to dress, and then he was speaking again.
“Yeah, any chance you can get us close to the stage for Monica’s set?
” A slight pause as whoever on the other end of the call spoke.
“No, I think she’s made it pretty clear she’s not doing the VIP tent.
” Another pause. “I don’t give a shit. Figure it out.
We’ll be out in five, maybe ten minutes at the most.” Then a beep as he ended the call.
I just laid there for a second and tried to piece that all together. I’d had the hottest sex in my life, and the man responsible just rolled away with hardly a word then worked on setting up another amazing experience for me—only this time fully clothed.
Oh boy. I was in so much trouble.
“Em? We gotta motor if you want to catch the start of her show. The kickoff is almost better than her encore, so you gotta get moving.”
He was a sweet drill sergeant.
“All my clothes are down there. You threw them, remember?”
“And now you’re feeling shy?” I could hear the smile in his tone. “After all that we just did? Pretty sure there’s not an inch of your pretty little body I didn’t kiss.”
“Kissing isn’t the same as watching it crawl down from way up here. Toss my dress up already!” I might’ve been smiling too.
“What’s in it for me? Watching you walk around naked sounds like way more of a reward to me.”
I scrabbled to the side of the bunk and poked my head out of the curtain to scowl down at him. “You’re such a guy.”
“Still not seeing the downside.”
“How about me falling down and cracking my head open because I am trying to maintain some semblance of dignity.”
“Eh, dignity is overrated, and I have absolutely no problem helping you down. All you gotta do is ask, baby.”
“Ben! Seriously? I am. I’m asking you to toss up my dress!”
He fake pouted then bent down and snagged my dress. He held it in one hand and cocked his head. “I feel like there should be some sort of reward before I just fork it over.”
“Seriously? What do you want? A kidney? My first born?”
Ben’s eyes flashed at the mention of a baby, and I about had a heart attack.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I waved a hand. “That was a joke. We just met today. There will be no babies happening anytime soon, so slow your roll.”
“Fine. Then give me a kiss.” He puckered his lips, and I had to laugh.
“I still have the same problem as before. You’re way over there, and I’m not climbing down to you.”
“Fine.” Ben fake pouted as he stepped toward me. Stopping next to the bunk, he held my dress just out of reach. “Where’s my kiss?”
I rolled my eyes then leaned as far out of the bunk as was safe and gave him a little peck.
“That’s not the kinda kiss I was talking about.” He pouted.
“I tried to give you something more earlier. You’re the one who ran away. Remember?” I plucked my dress out of his hand and rolled back into the bunk.
“Because I know how much you want to see Monica!” Ben hollered through the curtain.
I might’ve been grinning as I struggled to pull my dress back on in the confines of the bunk bed. “Hey, do you know where my panties ended up? Are they out there?”
“Nope. All I have is your jacket.”
I searched the sheets and finally found them hiding at the bottom of the bunk. I really didn’t want to put them back on, but something was better than nothing, especially considering where we were.
Once I was as dressed as I could be, I rolled to the edge of the bunk and turned to stick a leg out to climb down.
“Here. Let me help you, baby.” Ben’s hands came around my waist, and he slowly pulled me out of the bunkbed in an impressive display of strength. He set me down between his splayed legs, and I turned around to find him smiling at me.
My heart might’ve lurched. To have all that was him looking at me like that? It felt like something from a dream. My life had never been this happy, this…lucky for lack of a better word. It didn’t feel real.
“I’d love nothing more than to stay here with you, but I don’t want to be the reason you miss out on the show you’ve been waiting for months to see. And we can always come back after. Have a little sleepover…” He waggled his eyebrows.
I had to laugh. I wanted to agree, but then I remembered my obligations. Bruno. Lucy.
But before I could tell him as much, he threw an arm around my shoulders and led me down the tight hallway. “Come on. The show is supposed to start in a few.”
“Oh. Um, I need to use the restroom. I’ll be quick. I promise.”
Ben tipped his head. “You can use this one here. I’ll be outside with Roscoe. But we don’t have a lot of time if you want a good spot to see your show.”
I remembered his phone call just a few minutes ago and smiled. “I’ll be two seconds. I swear.”
Then I pulled open the door and ducked into the tiny bathroom. Closing the door behind me, I realized it felt more like a slightly bigger airplane bathroom than anything else. Shaking my head, I took care of business then quickly washed my hands.
But when I blinked up at the mirror, the person I found staring back made me stop. With the scarf still twisted around like a headband, holding my hair back, my eyeliner slightly smudged, and my lips void of color, I looked like Cinderella cleaning out the fireplace.
Ack . And Ben saw me like this?
Oh hell no.
Pawing through my bag, I pulled out the tiny makeup purse I kept on hand and fixed my face.
Some eyeshadow on my lids. A slick of color on my lips.
Then I pulled the scarf off my head. As cute as Ben had been giving it to me, I wanted to look like I belonged on his arm.
So I wound the scarf around my thigh like a makeshift garter—I’d never get rid of it; he’d given it to me after all.
Then I brushed my hair and quickly pulled it into a half up and down ‘do, letting the ends curl down around my shoulders.
That would have to be good enough.
When I stepped out of the bus, I found Ben all hooded up with his hat and sunglasses back on while Roscoe stood at his side, as stoic as ever.
Ben sucked in a breath. “Whoa. I mean that respectfully of course. You were gorgeous all day. I swear. But this is…whoa.”
“Thanks.” I smiled. “You ready?”
“Yeah.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to his side. “Can’t have anyone wondering who you belong with.”
I tried and failed to hide my smile. “Can you even see in those things?” I tipped my head toward the setting sun. “Isn’t it dark?”
“It’s all part of my mysterious persona. Hey, where did your scarf go? I kinda liked seeing my mark on you.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as we walked through the parking lot. “Seriously? Your mark?”
“What? I bought it, you wore it. What would you call it?”
“Uh, a gift? Like a normal person would.”
“Po-tay-to, po-tat-o.”
I had to laugh. “I’m still wearing it…I guess you’ll just have to find it later.”
Ben dropped his head with a groan. “Here I am being a nice guy, literally making your dreams come true, and you gotta do me like that?”
“I like to keep you on your toes.”
His arm came around my shoulders, and he held me at his side as we walked toward the security gate. “I’m always on my toes with you. Gotta be to keep up.”
The guards nodded at us as we walked through the gate.
“Here.” Roscoe gestured to a different path. “We gotta walk around the back of the stage. Steve and Max are staking out spots for you two at the front of the stage, but we gotta wind our way around to get there.”
I followed wide-eyed and silently marveled at the number of people in black hustling equipment.
Everyone clearly knew the plan and was working to get it done.
I caught my breath when I spied Monica’s backup dancers stretching on the sand behind the stage.
I’d never seen her show before, but I’d watched enough videos online to pick out their outfits blindfolded at this point.
“What is it?” Ben bent down to whisper in my ear.
I just shook my head. No way was I going to tell him it wasn’t Monica I was geeking out about. I really wanted to be here to see these dancers do what they did.
But Ben followed my eyeline and watched the dancers stretch as we walked by. Then he smiled down at me but didn’t say anything. There was something companionable about our silence.
We came around the side of the stage with a new security guard leading the way.
He walked us to a railing at the edge of the crowd right in front of the stage.
A few people stood in the small, gated area with cameras and video equipment.
A new security guard opened a gate in the railing and gestured us through.
Booing broke out through the crowd as we walked into the media area. Wincing, I burrowed into Ben’s side. I had a really strong feeling those boos were for us. I just wanted to see Monica’s dancers perform, I didn’t need all this.
A few gasps and loud whispers broke out through the crowd.