Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Ben
Five Years Ago
At loose ends and antsy with nothing better to do, I opened my group chat to update my brothers.
Me: I’ve been rescued!
Adrian: I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware you were in need of rescue.
Nate: Didn’t you spend the night on a tropical island?
Me: After surviving a plane crash. It was very harrowing.
Roman: Are you forgetting you sent us a picture from the beach?
This was just like my brothers, bringing me down.
I expected it from Adrian. He was the youngest, and the bastard had never met a day that didn’t make him grumpy.
We loved him for it too. Roman and I were identical twins, but I was pretty sure I’d gotten all the funny genes.
Nate, though, while the most pragmatic as the eldest, could take a joke and occasionally tell one.
None of them was as witty as me, but that was a high bar.
Nate: Of yourself on the beach, toes in the sand.
Adrian: And a drink in your hand.
Me: Aw, you guys wrote a poem.
Roman: Where are you?
Me: On a new plane, somewhere over the pacific. We’ll be landing in LA in a couple hours. I’ve watched all the movies available, so I’m counting on you to entertain me.
Nate: What happened to the girl you were hanging on?
Me: I wasn’t hanging on her, I was hanging with her, and she was delighted by me. Unfortunately, she’s a few rows behind me. Last I checked, she was sound asleep.
Waking up with Mazzy had been strange—and not because it had been awkward.
It hadn’t been. At all. We’d gotten up, made a couple jokes, I’d given her a kiss and a high five, then went to my room to get dressed.
Her seat not being beside mine sucked, but we’d had fun together, and I was more than glad we’d met.
Adrian: Did you ever find out how old this girl is?
Me: I didn’t ask…
Roman: What’s the “...” about?
Me: Well…
Nate: What, Ben? Just spill it.
Me: You see, she may have mentioned getting ready for the “new semester” when she gets back home.
Roman: Holy shit. Don’t tell me you slept with a high school student!
I cackled under my breath. In place of funny, Roman had gotten all the uptight genes. He could be so dramatic sometimes.
Me: Really? Your mind jumped straight to high school, not college?
Nate: I was assuming she was a teacher. You slept with a college student?
Me: Why do you assume I slept with her?
Adrian: We know you too well.
Me: Hey, you’re the one opening a sex club. You don’t hear me besmirching your character.
Nate: Adrian is opening a business.
Me: A sexy business.
Roman: You didn’t deny sleeping with her.
I sighed, closing my eyes, flashes of last night coming back to me.
As drunk as I’d been, my time with Mazzy stood out in stark detail.
The taste of her skin, the sound of her sighs, the way her round, soft body moved beneath mine.
I wasn’t inexperienced, so I could say with certainty there was something about her—about us together—that stood apart.
I wasn’t usually close lipped about my hookups—not that my brothers wanted gory details or anything—but this time…
Me: We had a good time together. We’ll leave it at that.
Nate: Huh. Ben being discreet? Has the world ended?
Adrian: Do you like this girl?
Me: Of course I do. I wouldn’t have hung out with her if I didn’t.
Roman: Are you sure she’s legal?
I groaned. I couldn’t live without my brothers, but there were times, like now, I wanted to reach through the phone and chuck them off a cliff.
Me: All right. Turns out talking to you lot has made me tired. I’m taking a nap. Talk to you when I’m home.
When we landed, I took Mazzy’s bag from her and carried it to the terminal. When we were slightly away from the crowd, I dropped her bag on a seat and tugged on the end of her hair.
“Good flight?” I asked.
“A little lonely.” She scrunched her nose. “I can’t really complain, though. A very nice stranger paid for me to sit in business class. I’m thoroughly spoiled. I don’t know how I’ll go back to coach.”
I chuckled, though I didn’t feel it as deeply as normal. “Well, your next flight is in first, baby. You don’t have to worry about that just yet.”
She sighed and leaned into me, her hands light on my chest. “Thank you, Ben. Not just for the seat, but for making everything…easier.”
I wrapped my hand around hers and brought it to my mouth, giving her knuckles a light nibble. “You know you don’t deserve what he did, right?”
Her lips pressed together in a thin line. “I feel really stupid for how long it went on. I should have known.”
“Nah, Mazzy-mazz. He should have broken up with you if he wanted someone else. Though I can’t even come close to fathoming what that chick could have that you don’t. Bet he’s feeling it now—the error of his ways blasting him right in his stupid face.”
“Ugh. I really don’t want to think about him.” She blinked up at me, her eyes shining behind her glasses. “Be careful playing sportsball, okay? Your brain is too lovely to get splattered all over the field.”
“Pitch,” I corrected, the corner of my mouth hitching. “You be careful too. Everything about you is lovely.”
“Pffft.” She bit down on her bottom lip, color suffusing her cheeks. “I really have to get to my next flight.”
“Yeah. I should let you go.”
Neither of us moved. Not for a long minute. One hand still in mine, her other clutching my shirt. I grinned. Her mouth curved.
I was on my way to plant my lips on hers when a crackling announcement interrupted us. Mazzy jumped, her hand slipping from my chest. I took my time kissing the one I still had before letting go.
She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “This is it.”
I opened my arms. “Come here. Give me one more.”
Like last night, she fit against me just right. Short and soft, her body molded to mine like a warm candle. I pressed my nose to the top of her head, my lips to her hair, and held on tight.
“You’re really great, Mazzy Belle. Don’t forget that.”
She moved back with a sigh, flashing me a smile that shot me straight in the gut. “You’re really great too, Benny—and not just because you bought my plane ticket.” She gave my bicep a light slug. “Don’t sleep on your calling as a mortician.”
I had to laugh. “I’ll keep that on file.”
With that, she walked away, and I let her.
This wasn’t the first time I’d met a woman in a similar way—one hot night together, knowing that was all it would be. Hell, I loved nights like that. Capsule episodes, every human emotion and experience crammed into a finite number of hours.
But this…
Well...this was the first time I felt like I’d lost something.