Ben
When she came out of her room dressed in a tight, black mini dress that managed to hug all of her curves perfectly, I knew I was done for. It took everything in me not to pull her into my arms and carry her back to the bedroom to have my way with her.
“You like?” she teased, posing against the hallway wall.
“Yes,” I barely managed to choke out. “Maybe too much.”
Gemma tossed her long locks over her shoulder as he slipped her feet into a pair of black booties. “Where are we going exactly anyway?”
If she didn’t hurry up, we wouldn’t be making it out of the apartment.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Benjamin, you know I don’t like surprises.”
“Yes, but you’ll like this one, I promise.”
She rolled her eyes at me and slung her purse over her shoulder. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
Gemma started to walk toward the front door when I wrapped my hand around her arm, stopping her in her tracks. “Like I said, I want to do this the right way. And so, you’re stuck holding hands with me.”
I dropped my hand to hers, gripping her hand loosely, so as to not make things uncomfortable for her. “Okay,” she said, nodding in agreement.
A blush crept into her cheeks, highlighting her eyes as her gaze met mine. There weren’t many things I was sure of—hell, I couldn’t even be certain our first date would go well—but there was one thing I was certain of: Gemma Michaels would be the death of me.
It was seriously fucking hard to keep my thoughts pure and innocent when she looked at me with a sense of hunger.
Don’t screw this up, I told myself.
This wasn’t just another girl.
This was Gemma, the girl who knew me better than I knew myself most of the time, the girl who deserved more love than any guy could ever give her.
No. She wasn’t just another girl. She was a hell of a lot more.
I liked to think there were certain people that came into your life when you needed them most. They were the kind of people that changed your life, the kind of people that made you realize who you were as a person.
Gemma Michaels had always been that person for me.
And even though I knew I didn’t deserve her—I couldn’t think of a single man who did, actually—I would try like hell to make her realize just how amazing she was every single freaking day, because she deserved as much from me.
We stopped near the doorway, and I grabbed her keys off the hook on the wall. “You look stunning, by the way.”
She smiled sheepishly. “Thank you.” She reached up and adjusted the collar on my shirt, careful never to meet my stare. “You too. Well, not stunning. More like handsome, but you know what I mean.”
Gripping her keys in my right hand, I brushed my free hand along her jaw, and grinned. “You don’t have to be nervous, Gems. It’s just us.”
“I’m not nervous,” she said, trying to sound confident.
“Love, I’ve known you for how long now? You’ve never been a great liar.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I just want to hit you.”
“Go ahead. You know I like it rough,” I teased, winking at her as I said it.
Before she’d told me how she felt, I always used to make it a point to tease her—to flirt playfully with her, just to see her smile. I wasn’t sure if she knew most of my jokes had held some sort of truth to them or not, but she always smiled.
And right now? When my words held more truth than she probably even cared to realize? It was no different. A playful smile spread upon her lips, and she looked over at me nervously, tucking her long locks behind her ear. “Always so inappropriate.”
“You love it and you know it.”
I grabbed the doorknob and motioned for her to go ahead, briefly releasing my grasp on her hand. She stepped over the threshold. The hand that once gripped mine now wrapped itself around her purse strap as she waited for me to follow behind her.
Making sure to lock up her apartment, both the top and bottom lock, not wanting to fall victim to my sister’s wrath, I turned to face Gemma. She tightened her hold on her purse strap, an anxious habit of hers.
Eager to calm her nerves, I lifted my arm and pulled her hand free, entwining my fingers with hers. “Are you ready?”
“Can’t you just tell me where we’re going?” She groaned.
“I could, but I won’t,” I said with a shrug. “But I can tell you I’m positive you’re going to like it if that would help to ease your worries?”
Gemma threw her head back in an exaggerated show of frustration. “You know, I’m not so sure I like you right now, Ben.”
“Whatever you say, love.” Choosing to ignore her frustrated groans, I led her toward the stairs, careful to go slowly, knowing she wasn’t the greatest when it came to heels—even though the heels on her boots weren’t too high. Seriously, the girl was a klutz. As much as I adored her, there was no denying she was accident-prone. She could trip over her own shadow if she wasn’t careful enough.
As she carefully made her way down from the last step, Gemma placed her hand on my chest, stopping me. Her gaze immediately fell upon my truck, which sat parked across the street. “Oh no, no. We are not taking your oversized toy.”
I looked down at her and smiled. “Why? What’s wrong with my pickup?”
She motioned toward her skirt and its incredibly short length. “I’m pretty sure it’s not the best idea to try and climb in and out of that in this,” she countered.
Gemma pressed her left hand on her hip as she looked up at me. “I mean, It wouldn’t be incredibly difficult to flash someone in this dang thing. Especially given I’m terrible as it is, trying to get in and out when I’m not wearing a skirt.”
“Huh. It would be quite the view,” I joked. Kind of. While I couldn’t deny it would have been a nice sight, I wasn’t an asshole. The last thing I wanted was to make her uncomfortable. Plus, she’d had a point, one I hadn’t considered beforehand.
This night was supposed to be special. It was meant to be the beginning of something great. I just had to keep reminding myself to keep my thoughts in check, or else I would only end up destroying everything before it even had a chance to begin.
“You’re such an ass,” she replied, forcing me out of my head.
“At times, yes.”
And there it was. The rich pink tint had found its way back into her cheeks. “We’re taking my car. Come on.”
I allowed her to pull me toward her silver sedan, which was parked on the side of the building underneath a tree. I pressed the unlock button on her key fob and led her over to the passenger side. “Again, I want to do this the right way.” I reached for the door handle and opened the door her, doing my best to act like a gentleman.
“Thanks, I guess,” she muttered as she climbed into the passenger seat. “You don’t have to open the door for me, you know? I’m a big girl, Ben.”
“I’m aware of that, but like I said, I want to do this right. And the only way to do so would be to treat you like the queen you are.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to seduce me out of my dress, Benjamin,” Gemma teased.
“Maybe I am,” I joked.
“I knew it!”
I smiled as I slid into the driver’s seat. “Well, fuck. The cat’s out of the bag now. We might as well just head back up the stairs and make ourselves comfortable on your bed, no?”
She bit down on her bottom lip as nervousness overtook her. “I’m kidding, Gems.”
“Okay, good, because the last thing I need is your sister nagging me about finding us in bed together. It’s bad enough she asked me if we’ve had sex yet.”
I was in the middle of reversing out of Gemma’s parking spot when I realized exactly what she’d said, making me slam my foot down on the brake pedal. “Whoa, what?”
“Yeah, she asked me if we had sex yet. You know your sister has no filter.”
“This is true, but it still doesn’t make it any less weird,” I countered.
“Yeah, but it’s part of Molly’s charm, you never know what to expect,” she answered. “And spontaneity is always a good thing.”
Gemma
I had no clue where Ben was taking me, but I’d come to find I didn’t care. Just being with him, blasting awesome nineties music while pitching terrible pick-up lines to one another, was enough to make me realize just how easy things would be between us. And while the thought should have scared me, it didn’t.
Ben made everything seem so simple—so carefree.
It felt right.
We felt right.
“I got one,” he said.
I turned to look at him, taking note of his dimples, and how profound they were when he was excited. It was both adorable and sexy at the same time, just like Ben. Contain your thoughts, Gemma. Do not start picturing him naked.
“What?” I asked after I finally managed to drown out my obscene dreams.
“Do I know you? Because you look a lot like my next girlfriend.”
“Oh, come on, you can do better.”
Ben laughed. “Really? I thought it was my best one.”
“Seriously? You thought that one was your best line? Please explain to me again how you manage to seduce girls so easily?”
“Hey now, I know when and how to turn on the charm, when need be.”
I rolled my eyes as I leaned back in my seat. I was well aware of the fact he’d been staring at me, but I didn’t bother to turn and meet his gaze, fearful of what would happen if I did so. I would have more than likely turned into putty, and it was far too early in the night to give in to his so-called charm.
“I take it you still have no intention of telling me where you’re taking me?” I gazed out the passenger window, desperately trying to find some sort of sign that would hint at where we were going, but unfortunately Ben had already considered that, since we seemed to be sticking to the back streets.
“You’ll see soon enough.”
“You suck sometimes, Benjamin.”
Ben reached over and entwined his fingers with mine. The sudden feel of his skin against mine caused me to shudder. It was ridiculous how easily he could ignore a fire within me with just a single touch.
“You’re adorable when you’re frustrated.”
“Fun fact: most women prefer to be called sexy rather than adorable.” I felt his gaze on me and looked up to find a smug grin planted on his lips. “What?”
“If you doubt I find you sexy, I can assure you there’s no reason to do so,” he said, turning his attention back to the road. “Trust me when I say it took everything in me not to throw you over my shoulder and head back to your room.”
I felt the blush creep into my cheeks as I met his hungry stare. “What stopped you?’
Ben turned down a dimly lit road and found a parking spot. He had closed his eyes for a brief moment before he answered. “Because I told you, I want to do this right.”
“I see nothing wrong with starting things off in the bedroom,” I joked.
He smiled as he exited the car and came around to the passenger door to let me out. I grasped his hands in mine and eased myself out of the passenger seat. “Normally I wouldn’t disagree with a statement like that, but you deserve so much more, Gems. This thing between us? It’s so more than just a physical relationship. I don’t want to run the risk of fucking anything up before it even has a chance to begin.”
“So, remember how I doubted your charm factor earlier?” Ben cupped my face between his hands and smiled. “It’s safe to say I was wrong.”
“Oh, really now?”
Ben placed both of his hands on the car, trapping me underneath him. Not that I minded much. It was a rather gorgeous view.
His thumb grazed my bottom lip, igniting a fire inside me. I nodded my head, unable to speak. His gaze locked on mine. I could see the longing in his eyes, the desire, because they must have mirrored mine. There weren’t many things I was certain of, but I was rather sure I would combust if he didn’t kiss me.
“You look unquestionably stunning tonight, Gems.” He leaned in closer and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of my mouth.
Growing impatient, I reached my hands to his face and tugged on his shirt, digging my fingers in the material, eager to erase any space between us. “Your lips on mine, now.”
He dropped his hands to my waist, and yanked me against him as he finally allowed his lips to meet mine. He kept the kiss soft at first, as if hesitant to allow things to go any further. But then he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth over mine.
I had never felt a hunger like the one I’d felt for Ben. He grasped my hips, eliminating what little space had remained between us as he drew me closer, toward him. We were connected in nearly every which way, and yet I felt as though I needed more.
Without warning, he backed away. At first, I feared I’d done something wrong—although, judging by the sudden tightness of his pants, I was rather sure I hadn’t—and then I noticed the smile on his lips. “You’re going to make this very difficult, aren’t you?”
“In my defense, you did start it,” I reminded him.
“I did,” he agreed. “What can I say? You have a hold over me.”
I glanced around, finally taking note of where we’d gone. “Uh, is there a reason we’re here? Because as far as I can tell, we appear to be in the middle of nowhere.”
Ben gripped my hand and pulled me away from the car. He pointed up ahead where there was a small group of people gathered. “Molly’s co-worker told her about this little Italian restaurant called Emilia’s. It’s supposed to be very romantic, and apparently the food is pretty tasty, too.”
I highly doubted it was as edible as Ben, but there was no way I was going to admit as much aloud. “Well then, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”