Chapter Fifteen #2
“So that’s why you don’t like him? Family rivalry and he broke Neve’s heart?” I asked.
“No, that’s not it, that’s just the context. My sister and I aren’t close enough, frankly, for that kind of loyalty. It’s
just the set-up for what happened when he got back from that camp.”
“And what happened?” My heart was pounding, I felt so impatient.
“Like I said before, it’s not really my story to tell. So you should ask him.”
“Will it explain why he left a day early from camp and broke my heart and never answered my calls again?”
He looked me in the eye and said, “Yup, I’d imagine so.”
“I’ve been waiting a long time to hear an explanation,” I admitted, draining that last half of my third beer.
“Then I bet it won’t matter waiting another few days until you can crack that mysterious introverted cowboy’s facade.”
“I suppose not,” I admitted.
After this, there was some karaoke. And a fourth drink. And then the realization that there was no Uber or subway system in
the county. I realized when I took a swig of Ben’s drink by accident that had been drinking ginger ale after his first beer,
so he drove me home. When I got in his truck, I felt that nice giddy, tipsy, but not overwhelmingly so, kind of drunk. It
made me ask Ben, halfway home, what was up, for real. I think I phrased it, “SO what is the DEAL with YOU?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, why did you really propose the fake-dating thing?”
“I suppose I did it because I was impulsive and wanted to get to know you better and knew you probably weren’t coming back
to work. And then it all snowballed from there.”
“But it’s fake, right?”
He gave me a sidelong look and pulled the truck over. We were on a quiet, country road.
“Am I being kidnapped? Are you rehearsing for True Detective five?”
“No, I just wanted to not be driving when I answer this.”
“What?”
“Is it fake to you?”
I had no idea how to answer that. Did I want to date Ben? I thought I did when we were eating blueberries and looking at deer.
But after his disappearing act, and the arrival of my long-lost love, I wasn’t sure what my feelings were, or where to put
them. That said, after the almost kiss with Dave, he sure booked it out of town a day early and then had been basically ignoring
me since. And right then, Ben smelled really good.
“I don’t really know how to answer that if I’m being honest. We don’t really know each other well enough yet, I suppose?”
I admitted. And then the drinks answered the rest. “But we sure did share a nice kiss, fake or not.”
“That wasn’t fake to me,” he admitted and put his hand on my knee. He unclicked my seat belt and turned on the hazard lights.
“Safety first,” he mumbled, as he leaned over and kissed me. Slow and soft, just like before. His hand burned hot on my leg,
and I moved over on the plank bench to be closer, putting my hands in his hair. He traced his hands down my back, making me
shiver. It had been a long time since I’d felt this good. Our kissing grew in intensity. I wished I’d chosen a sundress instead
of this jumpsuit as I moved to straddle him in the driver’s seat and he pulled at the zipper of the shirt part of the romper,
slipping a rough hand inside, tracing his fingers down my back. We kept kissing like kissing was the whole point. Then he
slid his fingers across my nipples. I moaned into his mouth. He licked his fingers and moved his hand lower, slipping into
my underwear, finding just the right spot. I moaned again just as the darkness started to swirl red and blue lights. I felt
so good that it took me a minute to realize what was happening.
“Shit,” I said, hopping off him and settling back in my seat before the cop knocked on the driver’s seat window. Ben took
a deep breath and let the window down.
“Everything OK out here? I saw your hazards.”
“Oh yeah, just talking,” Ben said. “Oh hey, Harold.”
“Hey, Ben. How’s your mom?” He looked into the cab of the truck, took note of me adjusting my shirt, and smiled.
“As good as could be expected, I suppose.”
“OK, well I was going to give you a ticket if you were tourists, but keep it rolling and you’re all good. My love to your
folks.”
“Will do,” Ben said.
I made sure the window was all the way up and the cop had started to head out before I let all the laughter go that was settled
in my chest.
“Oh my god, you literally know EVERYONE.”
“I really don’t. I only know Harold. That was a truly lucky break.”
I kept laughing. If he’d have knocked on the window ten seconds later, I feel like I could have been too lost in the moment
from how skilled Ben was with his hands. Despite that fact that a guy in uniform is often a main character in a lot of porn,
the presence of a cop had killed the mood entirely. We looked at each other as Ben started to truck up again.
“That was fun,” I said, biting my lip and looking out the window.
“That was very fun,” he said, driving while keeping one hand on my leg.
The whole time my head was spinning. Does he expect I’ll invite him over?
I got very nervous. I thought of Dave. How awkward it could be.
Then I thought, Oh my god, if you don’t want Dave to know about Ben, then your motives aren’t honest and you should get together.
I wanted to have some fun and I was still squeezing my legs together as we drove, but I also didn’t want to sleep together
not fully trusting my sense of who Ben was. And the fact that he was my coworker and boss all summer. It seemed messy. All
of it. And the beer high was wearing off.
When he turned into the laneway, I said, “So I probably should just head to bed. Long day tomorrow,” I offered. He didn’t look surprised or disappointed. He got it. Or he was just being a gentleman, I wasn’t sure. Maybe he had twenty girls he could text U up? to at this time of night.
“I can pick you up tomorrow and bring you to your car if you want.”
“Oh that’s super nice of you, thank you.”
“We good?”
“Yup,” I said, placing one of my hands on his chest and then jumping out before he could kiss me. “See you tomorrow. Thanks
for the ride!”
He did a quick three-point turn and headed out. As I walked toward the cabin, I noticed Dave’s face in the front window. When
I waved, he’d already turned his head.