Ben #2
“But you have to tell me if your back gets sore. We can change position. You feel good however we do it.”
Her smile presses against my lips and I quickly deepen the kiss, cupping the back of her head again and drinking her in.
I’m falling for this girl. I mean, I knew I was, but I feel like my fall has turned into a plummet. Typical Ben, falling hard and fast. Yet this time feels different somehow. It’s like a trust fall rather than blindly flinging myself off a cliff.
Jolie’s into me.
When I pull out of the kiss and open my eyes, tucking her hair behind her ears as I smile at her… I can see it, loud and clear. This girl cares about me. Her eyes, they can’t hide a thing, and I bask in that warmth for a beat before pressing my lips back against hers.
Once we’re cleaned up, I pull her against me, tucking her into my side and loving the way her long fingers paint pictures all over my torso. It kind of tickles, but I don’t complain because it feels nice too.
“You’re so sexy,” she murmurs, tracing lines around my abs. “You have a six-pack.”
I laugh. “I’m an athlete. I’m supposed to be cut.”
“You are.” She kisses my pec. “You’re very cut and very gorgeous, but you know…” She sits up on her elbow, patting my belly. “I’d still like you even if you had a little beer gut and were soft and squishy.” Her eyes twinkle.
“You would not.” I laugh at her, shaking my head.
“Yes, I would,” she argues. “I’m not falling for your body, even though it can do wonderful, glorious things… I’m falling for you, Ben. For your heart and soul, your kind spirit, your sharp mind, your sweet words. They’re making me—” She bites her bottom lip, her eyes rounding with worry.
I frown, cupping her cheek and gently nudging her to look at me. “They’re making you what?” My gut clenches. Usually when women stop talking halfway through, like she’s doing right now, it’s because they’re about to say something they know I don’t want to hear.
Fuck! Is she breaking up with—
“Love you,” she whispers. “I don’t know if you’re ready to hear that yet, but they’re making me love you.” She sniffs, her eyes darting down to my chest, like she’s afraid that her words will put me off.
But they don’t.
For some reason, they’re like a comfort, and I let them soak into me before whispering, “I’m ready.”
She glances back at me, her gray eyes doing me in. That look on her face, so sweet and hopeful, with just a touch of fear, like I might not say it back or something.
With a gentle grin, I tip my head and rest my hand against her cheek. “I’m falling in love with you too, Jolie. You make it easy.”
“Really?” Her nose wrinkles. “People always give me the impression that I make it really challenging.”
I let out a soft laugh. “Not for me.”
She bites her lips together like she can’t believe I just said that, then rests her chin in her hand. “It feels fast.”
“It is fast.” I raise my eyebrows. “And I said no women this year, so…” I leave the words hanging, kind of regretting saying them when her head tips too. This curious frown is wrinkling her expression, her intelligent eyes homing in on me.
“You said no women? Why?”
My shoulder hitches. “I guess I was trying to protect myself from getting burned again.” I look away from her, berating myself for starting this, but shit, I’m in it now, so I force myself to keep going.
“The usual story goes that I’m the one doing the chasing and the falling and they’re the ones doing the dumping.
I just couldn’t put myself through that again, you know? ”
Cupping my cheek, she turns my head back to face her. “But I chased you.”
I smile. “You did.”
“And I’m not planning on dumping you. Why would I turn my back on the best thing that’s ever happened to me?”
Running my hand down her arm, I give it a grateful squeeze and smile at her.
“I’m serious, Ben. I’m in this with you, and I’m not going anywhere. I love being your girlfriend.”
“I love being your boyfriend. Even though it’s only been a little minute, I love it.”
Her smile grows a mile wide, and I know it’s time now.
It’s time to stop hiding this.
“We need to tell people.” My voice is soft and husky, because I know she’s about to tense up. “I want to introduce you to my roommates… and we need to let Caroline know.”
“Yeah.” She whimpers, resting her forehead on my chest. “She’s not gonna like it.”
“Well, she’s just gonna have to get over herself.”
Turning her head, Jolie nestles her cheek against my chest, and I run the pads of my fingers up and down her spine. We don’t say anything, a sweet silence enveloping us. I’m nearly drifting off to sleep when there’s a loud bang downstairs.
It’s the front door.
Jolie jolts off my chest, her eyes rounding as she stares down at me.
“We don’t have to meet them until the morning. You can stay the night if you want.”
Her nose wrinkles as she thinks it through, but then she shakes her head and looks down at me. “I think I want to get this over with now. If it’s awful, you can hold me while I cry myself to sleep.”
I laugh, sitting up and nudging my nose into her cheek. “They don’t hate you anymore, Jo. You wrote that amazing article, and Charli even told me when I got home that she thinks you’re cool.”
“Really?” She pings away from me. “No, she does not.”
“It’s what she said.” I pull the covers off us and get out of bed, hunting the floor for my clothes and ignoring the nerves scattering through me.
They better be nice to her.