17. Aida
Benand I walk hand in hand down to his grandma’s house, getting interrupted once again, but I would never want to leave Miriam alone if she’s scared.
“Where’s Ed?” I ask as we’re heading up her driveway, Miriam’s house is as dark as night, along with every house on the street. Of course, it’s still hot out despite the sun setting, and we both work up a sweat just walking. I can’t even imagine how hot the house is going to be if the power doesn’t come back on soon.
“He’s probably sleeping,” Ben jokes. “He goes to bed at like six because he has to get up early so he can hit the course as the sun rises.”
“And she wouldn’t wake him up?” I ask, knowing the relationship they have. Ed would do anything for Miriam and if that meant waking up to calm her fears, he’d do it.
“Oh no, she would. He’s probably away. She mentioned that he planned to take a trip to Hilton Head to play golf with some buddies,” Ben replies, dropping my hand as he fishes around in his pocket for the keys to Miriam’s house.
Seconds later, as Ben is about to push the key into the lock, the beam from a flashlight comes blinding through the small window on the side of the door.
“I have a gun!” Miriam yells. “Don’t you dare try to break into my house!”
Ben is now laughing, but my mouth has dropped open as I picture Miriam, barely five feet of her, standing on the other side of the door with a pistol all Annie Oakley style.
“Does she really have a gun?” I whisper, linking my arm through Ben’s, prepared to yank him away from the door if she starts shooting like a poorly aimed Storm Trooper.
“Hell no,” Ben says, shaking his head, and then he calls out, “Grandma, it’s me Ben. I’m coming in.”
“Benji?” she questions, sounding relieved. “What did you give me for my birthday last year?” And now it’s me laughing at Miriam’s test to make sure it’s really Ben.
“Grandma, I have a key and I’m coming in,” Ben calls out, turning to look at me, he winks, adding, “And Aida is with me, you sure you want me to announce what I bought you for your birthday?”
“Aida?” Miriam now says, as I hear her hand unlocking the door.
“Yes, Miriam, I’m here,” I say, the door flying open, a huge smile on Miriam’s face, as she holds the flashlight so it’s hitting Ben right in the face.
“Oh hello, dear. Were you spending the evening with Benji?” She motions for us to come in, stepping aside, she now shines the flashlight as a guide into the house.
“Are you doing okay?” I ask her, letting her link her arm through mine. I help her through the dark house with Ben following behind us.
“I’m just fine, dear. Ed’s doing an overnight in Hilton Head and I really don’t like to be alone in the dark,” she laments sweetly.
“You didn’t seem fine when you were telling me you had a gun,” Ben says, his tone clipped but playful. “Who did you think was at your door, Grandma? I’m pretty sure no one is trying to break into your house. I think the crime rate of the island is like one per ten thousand people.”
“I could be that one, you just never know, Benji,” she quips back, shrugging. “Now what were you two up to tonight?” Miriam pulls out a chair at her kitchen table, folding her hands in front of her, a candle lit in the middle of it.
“Nothing much,” I say, not wanting to fill her in on how Ben has been battling a serious case of blue balls for the past few days.
“You know I told Ed we needed a generator, but he told me that the power rarely goes out on the island, but look at us now,” Miriam complains, flitting her hand around, her perfectly manicured nails on display, painted a shade of deep pink. “He’s at a beautiful hotel, where I’m sure the power has not gone out, and now I’m going to die of heat in my house.”
“Grandma, that sounds a bit dramatic,” Ben laughs, opening a bottle of wine, he pours us all a glass. “Just a few minutes ago, you were certain you were going to die because someone was breaking into your house. Now you’re going to die from the heat?”
“Yes, Benji,” she replies as if she’s answering a simple question. “By the way, can you set up the portable air conditioner in my bedroom? It runs on a really big battery just for occasions like this.”
Ben looks over at me, his lips pressed together in a firm line, his eyes narrowed in annoyance, but I know he loves Miriam. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t.
“Benji, go set up that air conditioner for your grandma,” I tease, winking at him. “You don’t want her to die in this heat, right?”
“Oh, you’re so sweet, dear,” Miriam says, picking up her wine glass from the table. “It would be even better if you both could stay the night with me. You know, just in case I end up being that one out of ten thousand who might be susceptible to crime.” She tilts her head to the side, smiling at me. “I am here alone.”
Ben looks over his shoulder at me while he’s walking toward Miriam’s bedroom. He doesn’t have to say anything. I know exactly what he’s thinking. He was hoping to get laid tonight, and he probably would have if Miriam hadn’t called and interrupted us.
“Of course we can stay, Miriam. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. I know Ben wouldn’t be able to live with himself if it did.”
Ben has now disappeared into the bedroom, not realizing that I’ve agreed to stay the night here, but I really do think he wouldn’t want Miriam here alone.
There’s a deck of cards on the table along with a few boardgames, and it’s clear she was lonely, and the power going out was her perfect excuse to get us over here.
“How about we play a little Bridge tonight?” Miriam suggests, reaching for the deck of cards, and opening them.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played Bridge before,” I admit, sounding a little too keen to learn. This is supposed to be my summer to relax and have fun, and here I am playing Bridge in the dark with an elderly lady and her grandson.
“Don’t let her convince you to play for money,” Ben calls out, rounding the corner, his shirt pulled up as he wipes it over his face, obviously sweating from setting up the portable air conditioner. “She took me for a hundred bucks a few weeks ago.”
“That’s because you deserved it,” Miriam replies back, pointing a finger at Ben. “You were bragging. I had to knock you down a few notches. You know, he’s very competitive.”
“Oh, I know he’s competitive,” I say, smirking. “Did you know I beat him at volleyball and yoga and the most embarrassing story competition and shrimp eating, and now I plan to throw an epic Fourth of July party to out-rival his.”
Miriam lets out a chuckle, shaking her head. “I’m proud of you for putting him in his place, but I don’t think you’re going to win the party, dear. That’s Benji’s big day.”
Ben interrupts, holding up a hand, he looks over at me, this gorgeously seductive smile on his face that reminds me what we were doing just a little while ago. I’m seriously starting to hope that the power comes back on, and we are back at his place soon.
“See, Aida,” Ben chimes in, that gorgeous smirk is toying with my every emotion, not to mention the way it makes me want to cross my legs and squeeze.
Why the hell is he so handsome no matter what he’s saying or doing? Right now, he’s pushing the fact that he’s going to win our little competition and I’m about to call it done. He can win everything from now on if he continues to look at me with his beautiful blue eyes.
Ben pulls out a chair, sitting down across from me, he rests his elbows on the table, hitting me with a stare that could melt my damn panties right off my body. His deep blue eyes remind me of the ocean, a place I love to be near, and now his eyes are running a close second to the ocean.
Miriam begins to explain how to play Bridge as Ben gets back up, grabbing a few snacks from the fridge and the pantry.
“There’s some ice cream in the freezer, Benji,” Miriam says. “Eat it before it melts.”
He takes the carton of ice cream from the freezer, pulling off the lid, he sticks two spoons into it. Carrying everything over to the table, we all begin snacking, not having eaten dinner. There’s some crackers and dried fruit along with beef jerky and the ice cream. These are not the kind of snacks I expect an elderly lady to have, but Miriam isn’t your typical grandma.
We play a few rounds and I get my ass kicked every time. Ben seems to be enjoying it very much even if he’s not the one who is winning.
“Guess the competition gene runs in the family,” I joke when Miriam cheers out when she wins another round. Both Miriam and Ben nod, letting out a few laughs each.
The room has fallen silent, and I pick up my wine, needing something to distract me from this man sitting across from me and taking over my thoughts.
“So did you two consummate your relationship yet?” Miriam suddenly asks, and she might as well have gone out on the deck and screamed that Ben and I had sex.
The wine flies from my mouth, spraying Ben in a mist of cabernet that dots his shirt with deep red blotches.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” I quickly yell, jumping up to grab a towel or some napkins. “That just, um, I don’t know…”
“If you haven’t noticed, she’s not one to hold back,” Ben says, not at all bothered by his grandmother asking about our sex life.
He swipes a hand over his face, clearing away some of the wine, but he’s still pretty much covered in it. I hand him the towel I grabbed from the kitchen counter.
“I’m sorry,” I say again, taking a few napkins from the little holder on the table. I begin wiping the wine out of Ben’s hair and I catch Miriam out of the corner of my eye.
She’s tilting her head, almost like she’s indicating I should move my hand to a different spot. I look at Ben’s shirt and then over at Miriam, and she shakes her head, her eyes wide.
“Oh my god,” I mutter when I realize what she’s trying to tell me to do. I close my eyes, biting down on the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. She is unreal, but also so hilariously bold.
“Grandma, could you take it down a notch, please?” Ben asks, laughing. “I’d prefer not to get covered in wine again.”
“Benji, why don’t you go take a shower,” Miriam suggests, and I know where this is heading, I look right at her, shaking my head, my teeth clenched in anticipation of what she’s about to say.
“That’s not going to stop her,” Ben says, standing up, he takes my hand in his, pulling me away from the table. “We’re going to bed, Grandma. Your room should be nice and cold now. It looks like the power is going to be out for a few more hours.”
Ben holds up his phone, a text message from the power company saying they’re working on the outage and the estimated restore time isn’t for another five hours.
“Go heat up that bedroom!” Miriam calls, and I can’t hold back anymore, letting out a hard laugh, tears spilling from my eyes. She is the ultimate wingman or should I say wingwoman.
“Good night, Grandma!” Ben yells out, laughing too.
“Wow, she really wants us to get together,” I say as soon as Ben closes the bedroom door.
Miriam’s house is massive, just like all the other houses that line the beach, but hers is a ranch on pillars. The guestrooms of her house are on the other side from her bedroom, so Ben and I hooking up here would be possible, but if I know Miriam, she’s waiting outside with her ear pressed against the door.
“She does and so do I,” Ben confirms, and I can’t help but smile. We’ve been building to this, but holy shit, it’s really hot in this bedroom even with the windows open and a portable, battery-powered fan going.
“Join me in the shower?” Ben now suggests, and that doesn’t sound like a terrible offer. “A word of warning though, the house has a tankless water heater so there’s no hot water. Need power for that.”
“I’m sweating so a cold shower sounds amazing,” I reply, watching as Ben leads the way to the attached bathroom.
Ben strips off his clothes, and I nearly lose my damn mind when I get a good look at his ass. Closing my eyes, I don’t want to ruin the effect by taking it all in slowly, I want to hit myself with his glorious naked body all in one go.
But that is ruined the second Ben screams out like a teenage girl when he steps into the shower. When I open my eyes, he’s standing in front of me, a towel wrapped around his waist. Damn him for covering the one thing I really wanted to see.
His dick.
“That’s a hell of a lot colder than I expected and things are not happy down there,” Ben says, his eyes moving down to where I imagine his dick is hating him.
“It can’t be that bad, you big baby,” I say, pulling my sundress over my head, my bikini still on as I step into the frigid stream of water.
Holy shit!