Chapter 46
The waves were small today, but Ben checked the forecast and assured me they would pick up later. We stood at the edge of the shore, splashing each other and laughing.
I kept an eye on Eden in the water with Adam. I had asked him to look after her, and he was holding her hand, making sure she was safe.
“Such a cute couple,” Ben commented in his best valley girl voice, referring to Adam and Eden. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing, clutching my stomach, but I had to agree with him.
“Well, Adam’s actually my boyfriend, so we make quite the pair! I’m his first kiss, just so you know,” I tease, splashing water at him. He flinches and grabs my hand, pulling me closer with a playful glint in his eyes.
“I’ll dunk you if you keep that up, sweet cheeks. I can’t have you messing up this masterpiece of a hairdo. You might have Carter wrapped around your little finger, but not me. Well, not in the same way, so I won’t hesitate to dunk you.”
“If you do, Hendrix, I’ll take you down with me! And I don’t have him wrapped around anything of mine,” I retort, breaking away from his touch with a smile.
“You’re smiling a lot more, Thompson. It suits you. Maybe you should share some of that cheer with sour puss over there,” he suggests, nodding towards Knox who is glaring at him once again.
“I’ve had my moments, but I’m doing alright. I’m glad you’re here, Ben. I’ve missed you,” I admit, shimmying over to hug him.
“I’ve missed you too, sweet cheeks!” We play with the water between our hands, watching the small waves rise and fall over our exposed skin as we take in the sight of the bustling beach.
He turns to face the shore and I follow his gaze. He chuckles to himself as we spot Lauren posing for pictures in the distance for the paparazzi. I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“So, you weren’t interested in her, no?” I tease Ben, who throws his head back with a sigh.
“I’ve been with girls like her. Too much effort. High maintenance. I prefer the more carefree, natural girls. The ones you can have fun with without them freaking out about their hair or makeup. The naturally b—” He stops mid-sentence, and I wait for him to continue, but he doesn’t.
“Wow... She’s beautiful,” he whispers to himself, but I hear it and follow his line of sight. But I can’t find the person he’s talking about.
“Who?” I ask him, and then I see Hannah come into focus. She waves over at us and I wave back. I quickly turn to watch his reaction and he snaps his head back to mine.
“You know her?” He asks, a hint of shock in his voice.
I nod and smirk at him. “Hey, Hannah! Come here a sec? I want to introduce you to someone,” I call out, smirking at Ben.
“No way!” He murmurs, smiling in disbelief at me. He stands there, taking this in with a look of amusement. I grin widely at him and I hear her nearing, his cheeks flushing a soft pink.
Let’s play matchmaker again. It worked with Andy, and now for my other best friend.
“Hey!” Hannah greets us, approaching in a black and white striped bikini that hugs her in all the right places. Ben notices too, shifting his weight between his two feet, acting nervous.
I’m so setting these two up. Plus, Hannah has a thing for blondes.
“Hey—” I greet her back, grinning. “Ben, this is my best friend Hannah. Hannah, this is the Ben I was telling you about from Cali?”
She meets his eyes and immediately blushes, running her hand through her hair and pulling it to one side. She holds out her hand to shake his. “Hi, Ben. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve... I’ve heard a lot about you from Alex.”
He smiles back at her, his eyebrows shooting up. “It’s nice to meet you too, Hannah. Alex has told me a lot about you too. You’re different than how I imagined you’d be, a lot more beautiful.”
He takes a sharp breath in, realizing he said the last part out loud. She blushes, turning as red as a lobster, and so does he.
He rubs the back of his neck out of nervousness. This is so cute to witness. At least it’s not me this time.
“Oh, thank you. You’re a lot hotter th— I mean — Uh— shit— Um, well, you’re more handsome than I thought you’d be — I mean, well, I didn’t think you’d be ugly, I just... well... Um... yeah, I’m just going to stop talking now.”
She averts her gaze down at her feet, shifting her weight and playing with her hands. I’m trying my hardest not to laugh at the both of them, but I can’t. I release a laugh and get a smack on each arm from the two of them.
They stare at each other for a while until he asks her, “Do you surf?”
She shakes her head no and replies, “No, I don’t. I’ve been asking Alex to teach me, but she hasn’t had much time to. But I’ve always wanted to learn.” She beams at him, hoping he takes the hint.
“I can teach you if you want?” There we go! I silently high-five him for taking the opportunity.
“Really? I would like that.”
“We can start right now if you’d like? Just get you doing the basics on the sand?” She nods enthusiastically at him.
“You can use my board, Hannah, if you want? It’s over there, saves you the trip back to the shed,” I offer her, pointing to my board lying in the sand. She thanks me and they walk off onto the sand, chatting with each other.
Andy runs over to me and exclaims, “So, Hannah and Ben?”
“Hannah and Ben!” I echo with a huge smile on my face. My two best friends together. They’ll be so good for each other.
“You should’ve seen his face when he first saw her, Andy. It was so cute. When they were talking, they were so nervous and flustered! I couldn’t keep my laugh in.”
“Are you serious? They’re so cute together! If he messes with her, I swear I’ll kill him! I can’t believe I missed it,” she laments.
“Yeah, I know. Look at them. I’ll kill him first. I’ll have a talk with him later. But for now, let them get to know each other, see if they really like one another.”
“Who likes who?” Knox interrupts our girly chat. Andy leaves to go back to Kyle, but not before she winks over at me.
“I’m just playing matchmaker again with Hannah and Ben.”
“Really? Ben likes her?” A grin starts to form on his lips as he looks at the both of them. Relief washes over him and I continue to watch him until he looks back down at me.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” he asks, unable to hide his smile.
“Why are you so happy? I thought you didn’t like him?” “I... well, I don’t know him, but I’m glad he likes Hannah. She’ll be good for him!”
“You didn’t seem like you wanted to get to know him. Why do you look so relieved? You literally look like you’re about to jump for joy right now. And since when are you Hannah’s cheerleader?”
You could hear the smugness in my voice, but his eyes locked with mine and I couldn’t take my eyes away from him. He gulps down hard and bites his lower lip.
“I’m... I’m just happy he’s not after you.”
“What? Ben was never after me, we’re just friends, Knox,” I say, snapping out of my thoughts.
“You literally jumped on the guy when you saw him, Alex.”
“So? I love seeing him. It’s so easy being around him. I missed him. Can I not miss a friend?”
“What? It’s not a big deal, Knox. It’s just the relationship we— Wait a second, you’re not jealous, are you?” I ask seriously.
He must be jealous of my friendship with Ben. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. He folds his arms across his chest.
“No, I don’t get jealous, baby doll, remember?”
“Then why are you making it a big deal?”
“I’m not, I just... you don’t greet anyone else like that. Why him? What’s so special about him?”
“In other words, why don’t I greet you like that? I’m not going to lie, Knox, there are a number of times I wanted to greet you like that but with a sharp or blunt object in my hand,” I joke partially.
A throaty laugh escapes from him. He nods his head, breaking eye contact for a moment.
“I don’t blame you. After what you told me, I was an ass to you. But I am sorry. I’m different now.”
“You were, but I’ve accepted your apology. You don’t need to keep apologizing. I’ve seen it from your side too. I’m different now...” He is different.
“You say you’re different, but a piece of advice... Don’t change yourself for someone. She should like you for you, flaws and all. I learned that the hardest way possible. I don’t want that to happen to anyone.”
“I’ve changed for myself, baby doll. I changed for other people when I was younger. This is the real me,” his eyes lock with mine once again.
“I believe you,” was all I needed to say because the truth is, I did believe him. I believed every word he just said. I watched his face and not once did I doubt he was lying. Not once.
He definitely has changed, for the better. I’m standing there having a civil conversation with him and not wanting to stab him with something or claw his eyes out. I like this Knox.
I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his waist. He stiffens for a moment then pulls me in tighter. Putting one hand in my hair, stroking it with his fingers. I love when people play with my hair. It’s so soothing.
“What about the media?” he asks, his breath fanning my hair.
“I don’t care,” was all I said for him to tighten his grip around me even more. I could hear the cameras going off over to the side.
I liked his hugs. He was like a giant cuddly bear and never wanted to let go of you. I step back out of his touch and put some distance between us.
“Knox! Baby?” Lauren grits out, causing him to close his eyes shut and breathe in deeply.
“If she calls me that one more time, I will bury her in the sand,” he says, not opening his eyes. I had to bite my cheek to stop myself from allowing a chuckle to escape.
I see her storming over to him and wrapping her arm around his waist, not before she sends me a glare. It’s too easy to get under her skin. The cameras are going wild with the PDA, mainly from her.
He’s just standing there like a tree, not even bothering to acknowledge her.