19. Aida
I didn’t thinkthe awkwardness could fill a space as large as the ocean, but here I am feeling like I’m going to burst. Ben kissed me and then left me to fend for myself against his nosy as hell grandmother. He’s a cheeky shit, totally doing this on purpose so he can get a jump on his party planning.
Miriam turns to look at me, a smug grin on her weathered face, and I press my lips together, trying not to laugh as I close my eyes, preparing to be hit with something really inappropriate.
“Okay, Miriam, let’s hear it,” I say, trying to beat her to the punch. “You win. I like him, but I promise you, we did not have sex in your house.”
Miriam laughs, and it has this sweet twinkling sound to it. “Well, why not?” she asks, almost shocked by my statement.
“Miriam, please!” I squeal, my cheeks flushing red hot. “I don’t know. Because it feels wrong. Because it was hotter than the surface of the sun in the bedroom. Because I do not need you hearing that. The answers are limitless.”
They really are. I can’t even think about having sex in Miriam’s guestroom when she’s been so nice to me. It just feels so wrong. As much as I really wanted to, Ben and I need to reserve that for a time when we’re alone and the power is working and the water in the shower is hot.
“I have something to tell you, dear,” Miriam now says, her sweet tone is very misleading. Anyone on the outside looking in would think this is just a kind old lady giving advice to a younger woman, but I know different.
Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m sitting here about to get advice on my sex life from a woman who could break a hip if she moves too quickly. Although she is my only friend here, and she might have some decent insight into her grandson.
“Ben can be a little shy,” Miriam now says, and I nearly burst out laughing. Shy would not be the word I would use to describe Ben, parading around in his tight little swimsuit, inviting me to play volleyball when he didn’t even know me, kissing me on that beach, and there was also that whole full-frontal in the shower.
“Really?” I say, playing along to see where this is going to lead. I lean back in the chair, the sun beginning to move higher in the sky, warming the deck where Miriam and I are sitting.
“He is. You see, Aida, he hasn’t dated since he was in high school. Something happened with that dick, Weston,” Miriam growls, and it’s noted that I should not hurt Ben because Miriam will hate me for the rest of my life.
“But you always go to the beach clean-up that Weston organizes. I figured with the grudge you’re holding—” Miriam holds up a hand, shaking her head.
“That is about keeping my beach clean, not about that dick, Weston. He purposely pursued Ben’s girlfriend, now mind you, she was a twit, but that is beside the point,” Miriam says, confidently. “And that twit cheated on Ben. He was heartbroken. I mean who would cheat on my adorable grandson?”
“That twit, I guess,” I reply, making Miriam laugh. “He told me this story and told me to stay away from Weston,” I now admit, wondering if that’s something Ben doesn’t normally do.
“He told you?”
“He did. Is that unusual?” I ask getting a sense that Ben isn’t one to share his feelings or tell people he was cheated on. He seems far too confident for that and when Miriam widens her eyes, I know I was right, and this is not something he shares with everyone.
“He was embarrassed for so long and his father, well, his father wasn’t too kind to him about it either,” Miriam tells me, and my heart breaks a little thinking about Ben and his relationship with his father. It’s so shitty when a parent doesn’t support their kid. “You’ve changed something in him, Aida,” Miriam now says, catching me off guard. “You’re the first girl he’s been interested in since that happened, and that makes me so happy.”
“I’m glad I was able to help,” I say, feeling a little guilty for thinking about Ben as just a summer hook-up after hearing what Miriam has to say. “Now, will you be able to help me?”
I put it out there, desperate to win the war with Ben and throw the best party on the beach. Miriam has lived here long enough to know a lot of people, and if she likes me as much as I think she does, she might be willing to help me.
“If this has to do with the party, I’m going to respectfully bow out,” Miriam immediately says, and my heart sinks with defeat.
“Miriam, I’m going to lose if you don’t help me,” I wail, whiny and desperate. “You know Ben knows more people than I do, so if you help me, maybe I’ll have a chance.”
Letting out a hard sigh, Miriam falls silent for a bit, an unusual move for her, and I wait, hoping, sending up a silent plea for her help. I can’t lose to Ben.
“Okay, I’ll help you, but dear, remember, I’m in my seventies. I don’t know many people who are younger than me. You ready to host a party that might be more for the nursing home crowd?”
“I was thinking you could tell me some places to meet people…” I trail off. I don’t want to insult Miriam and her friends, but Ben will laugh his ass off if my party consists of old folks. Only old folks.
“Ah, so you don’t want me to join you at your party, dear?” Miriam asks, and she sounds insulted. Great, I have one friend, and while she is at least fifty years older than me, she’s really all I have.
“I mean, well, um…of course,” I quickly say, my words coming out stuttered and clearly forced.
“Oh, I’m just fucking with you,” Miriam says, and I let out a hearty laugh. She never fails to surprise me, and I’m still laughing when she gives me a quick little plan. “Just go to the beach and pass out those invites. Free alcohol and people on vacation, you’re bound to grab some people’s attention.”
I take in a deep breath, ready to take this on. I’m going to give this my best shot, and the competitive side of me is ready to come out.
“Oh, and wear a bikini,” Miriam adds just as I stand up from the chair. “There will come a time when you have saggy boobs. Show them off.”
“Got it, Miriam,” I say, laughing. Ben is so lucky to have such a wonderful woman as his grandmother, especially after hearing his dad isn’t very supportive of him. He has her and that makes my heart happy.
“Good luck, dear!” Miriam calls out. “You only have a couple of days till the Fourth, so show those boobs, shake that ass, and win this thing!”
That woman is a fucking hoot.
I do exactly what Miriam says, hitting the beach with my invites in hand, and holy shit if she wasn’t right. People are all in for a party, especially the drunk ones. The amount of people who tell me they’re coming is huge, and now my only concern is that I’m going to annihilate Ben.
I’m feeling a little bad for him as I’m walking back to the house. This is his island, he’s like the damn mayor along with Miriam, and I just might take his title for best Fourth of July party.
My feet are sandy, and I step into the outdoor shower, rinsing off, as I think about everything I’m going to need to host a party.
I need to get food and beer, fireworks and decorations. This isn’t my house, so I need to be really careful about what happens during this party, but that shouldn’t be too hard. I can keep people outside if necessary.
Slipping my feet into a pair of flip flops, I run upstairs and grab my purse, heading into town to get the things I need.
My first stop is the hardware store to grab some decorations, and as I’m grabbing my fifth red, white and blue bunting, I feel someone come up behind me.
I feel my smile build knowing exactly who it is. I can smell him, feel his presence and the tension that lingers between us whenever we’re in the same space together. My stomach flutters wildly as soon as he starts talking, and I still have no idea how we’ve gone this long without hooking up. It’s crazy because I’ve never had this much self-control in my life.
“You plan on buying all the buntings in this quaint little, small-town hardware store?” Ben croons, his arm snaking around my waist, pulling me so my back is against his chest.
Leaning back, my head falls onto his shoulder and Ben leans down to kiss me, but I turn my head away. Again, no clue how I’m able to resist him, but it’s getting really damn hard, and when I wiggle my ass against him, it’s not the only thing that’s hard.
“What the hell was that for?” Ben quips, his nose wrinkled up in disgust that I’ve just dissed him.
I smile, winking at him. “Right now, we’re enemies. After the party, it’s all back on.”
“Oh, so that’s how we’re playing things, huh? I heard you were out at the beach in that pink bikini I love, trying to drum up friends.”
“That is how we’re going to play things, but I’m very much looking forward to being your plaything very soon,” I flirt, tugging my bottom lip between my teeth. “I have to say, I was quite successful with my invites. I hope you’re ready, Benji Kincaid.”
“Only my grandma is allowed to call me Benji,” he plays back, smirking. I swear this boy has a smirk that is killing me slowly. He has no idea how damn gorgeous he is or maybe he does and he’s using it to his advantage. I’m tempted to drop these buntings right here and call a truce, throw up the white flag and take off my clothes.
Get your head back in the game, Aida!
“Once I win, I plan to call you Benji, and I plan to demand a few things from you…” I stop, running a finger down his chest, “in the bedroom.”
“Aida, Aida, Aida, you are in for a rude awakening because you’re about to lose, but I still plan to indulge all your fantasies in the bedroom.”
“We’ll see,” I say, shrugging, shifting the buntings in my arm so I can grab a few more decorations.
“You made a big mistake already, Aida,” Ben says, sounding playfully mocking.
“What’s that?”
“You didn’t get a cart,” he says, swiping his arm along the decorations and taking an armful with him. He dumps it into the cart, clearing the shelves before I can.
Damn it!
“What? You plan on buying all the decorations in the store?” I ask, a bite to my words that only seems to make Ben laugh. “That feels really rude. What about the other people on the island who plan on decorating?”
“See, this is where you’ve got it all wrong. I’m usually the only one on the island to throw a party, so everyone knows not to buy anything.”
“Wow, your confidence is out of control because there’s now a second person and she’s going to throw the biggest party this island has ever seen,” I shoot back, both of us still smiling, my body humming with playful desire and want.
This little war has me all kinds of turned on. Who would have thought my competitive nature would parlay itself into foreplay? Certainly not me, but I’m all for it.
“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Ben says, but he has this quiet confidence about him that only makes me want to try harder.
“You can have all the decorations you want, because I have an American flag bikini that will bring you to your knees.” My words come out all breathy and seductive, and I have no idea who this girl is, but she kicks ass.
“I have no doubt it will,” Ben says, smacking my ass as I walk away. “It’s also going to look great on the floor of your bedroom.”
“That’s true,” I reply, looking over my shoulder. “But I think it will be your bedroom floor because my house will be packed with partiers.”
Ben lets out a deep sexy laugh, and it has my brain filled with all sorts of dirty fantasies that I can’t wait to have play out.