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It only lasted for a moment, though, and I started the walk toward Ginger’s home as I pulled my phone from my pocket to call her. But I’d only walked a few feet when I heard shouting voices, and looked up.
At first, all I could see was a guy harassing a woman. I started to jog forward to interrupt, because I couldn’t just leave it alone. But when I saw who the two people were, I was immediately enraged, and I broke in
to a sprint. I caught Hunter and forcefully dragged him away from Ginger, the surprise probably the only reason he went so easily. I rounded him to face me, pulled back my fist, and punched him right in the face.
The first punch seemed to stun him, and I didn’t wait for him to get back his senses before I followed with another punch. By then, he’d started to fight back, but with the advantage of my first surprise attack, I managed to beat him up good. When he stopped trying to attack me, I turned my attention to Ginger.
“Let’s go,” I said urgently.
As much as I didn’t feel like I’d done enough, I wouldn’t think of going into a full out fight until you pass out brawl with Hunter with Ginger standing right there. For one thing, we weren’t still in high school where all something like that would get you was some reprimanding and a note in your record. I was banking on the hope that Hunter wouldn’t take legal action if I didn’t rough him up too much, because I could easily go overboard, and even arguing that he was harassing Ginger might not be enough help to get me out of trouble.
With Dad’s bills, I needed every bit of money I could manage to scrunch up. I had to keep my cool, if only for that.
Ginger didn’t hesitate to run to me, and when she took my hand, I rushed her over to my car. I took her to the front passenger side and opened the door for her, waited for her to climb in, then closed it behind her. I quickly rounded to my side and got in.
“Do you want to come to my place?” I asked, internally begging she would say yes, because I couldn’t bear to let her go home in her current state. Looking closely at her, she was shaking, and her eyes glistened a little.
She didn’t give a verbal answer, just nodded, and I decided it was good enough. As I started the car and drove us toward the hotel, I glanced at Hunter one last time, wanting for a moment to forget I was a responsible adult so I could go fuck him up, because he was already on his feet looking lucid.
“He saw us,” Ginger suddenly said.
I glanced over at her, not sure what she meant. “What?”
“That day, when you fucked me against the sink, in the salon. Ben, he was watching us.” Ginger’s tone was a little complicated. She sounded like she was about to cry, at the same time frustrated, and there was a tiny bit of disgust thrown in, too.
The latter, I totally agreed with, and when it sunk in for me, my hands tightened on the wheel and my foot slammed on the brakes so the car came to a complete stop.
“Fuck!” I cursed, slamming a hand on the steering wheel. My heartbeat and breathing were both up, and I leaned my head on my hand, still holding the wheel, to try and calm down. After a beat, I sat back up, deciding there was no point. “I’m gonna go beat him black and blue some more.”
Right after that declaration, I was reaching for my belt and the door at the same time so I could run back. We hadn't gone far yet, and hopefully, he hadn't run. But Ginger caught onto my arm.
“No!” she cried out. I turned to her, ready to argue, but then she went on, “No, don’t leave me, please.”
It wasn’t the reaction I expected, and I frowned at her. “Did he scare you that much?”
Her face twisted. “How disturbed do you have to be to watch two people in such an intimate moment? And that would definitely fucking bother me, Ben. He saw us!”
Her last words were up to screech levels. I could see her unraveling at the seams, and I reached for her, pulling her into a hug. With a rough sound in her throat, she fell into me gladly, clutching back at me as her body shook.
“I’m sorry I was away for so long,” I murmured into her hair, holding her close and breathing her familiar scent in. “I wanted to come back way sooner, but I only just got some time in today, and the drive took so fucking long…”
“You were there for me at just the right time, though,” she countered, her voice quieter, muffled against my shoulder. I could feel her slowly calming down as the trembling in her body decreased. “I’m so happy you came back.”
After a moment, when she was completely relaxed against me, I caught her by the shoulders and pushed her back into her seat.
“Put your seatbelt on,” I instructed as I did the same. I waited until she had it on, then held my hand out for her to take. She gave me a grateful smile that I returned, and I started driving again, slower. It was a bit awkward with her holding my hand, but she willingly accommodated what I needed without releasing me.
“What did he want from you, anyway?” I asked darkly.
She snorted. “The usual, only ten times more creepy and scary about it. Why did I pick you, why not him instead?”
I sighed. “If you and I were permanent, in a way that everybody could tell, this kind of thing wouldn’t happen. I want us to be permanent, Ginger.”
She didn’t have an immediate response to my words, but when I turned to look over at her, she was grinning at me.
“Would you be up for it?” I asked.
“Is that a rhetorical question?” she said, laughing.
I stayed serious, though. “I know things are moving fast between us, even with the two weeks I spent out of town, but is there a need for us to take things slow, anyway? And you do realize that even though we say it, we’re really not?”
“Oh,” she teased, arching an eyebrow.
“We’re already back together, Ginger,” I stated the obvious. “The only thing we haven’t done is seriously talk about it. If we can get that out of the way, I can even talk to your mom, and whatever other problem that’s in our way, we can take care of it. I’m not going to leave you this time, so trust me, okay? Please, Ginger?”
When I glanced over at her again, her expression was serious, too.
“Yes,” her voice matching her expression. “Fucking yes, Ben, I want us to really be together. I missed you the past couple weeks, and I definitely trust you. No more running or hiding from this for the both of us. After tonight, I’m yours, you’re mine, end of story.”
I didn’t expect her decisive little speech, but by the time we made it to the hotel, I was in a much better mood, and I was smiling as I eagerly led Ginger into the hotel and up to my rooms.
Chapter Nineteen
Ginger
It had been a week since Ben and I declared our relationship official. He’d even managed to talk to my mom, and while the conversation had been hilarious in a lot of ways, especially seeing how my mom had Ben cowed, it ended well. Mom forgave Ben for breaking my heart, and he swore to her just as he had to me to never break it again.
Like me, Mom believed his sincerity, and so, while things had changed, it was as if we were picking up where we’d left off four years ago.
The next step, was to let Fern know, and we had plans to do it that day.
It was a Saturday, and the whole family was out on a trip to the park, with Mom, me, Fern and Ben. I’d invited Scarlet and Dan with their son, but Ben had let me know they wanted time to themselves, so they’d be joining us another time.
Ben and I mostly just watched from a bench as Fern played around with the dogs, and Mom was with her. Ben was too nervous to go and join her this time, and he sat with me. Mom didn’t last long before she had to go into work, though. She was only there for moral support, after all. It would have to be up to us to give the news.
“Do you think she’s going to take it well?” Ben asked.
I just smiled at him, watching how he kept rubbing his hands down his thighs and his leg wouldn’t stop bouncing.
“I’m sure she’ll take it just fine,” I told him, trying to be reassuring. “She has absolutely no reason to dislike you, and the few times she did ask about her dad, it’s not like I badmouthed you in front of her. She loves you already.”
Like she knew what our conversation was about, what his insecurities were, Fern started running toward us, shouting Ben’s name the whole way. Immediately, he was on his feet, taking a few steps toward her. He had his arms ready, and she jumped into them, giggling in delight as he raised her high and spun her arou
nd. Then he held her in his arms, and listened intently as she started babbling about how awesome dogs were, and how she wanted one.
“We’ll talk about that later, sweetheart,” I said gently, taking her out of Ben’s arms and setting her down, then crouching in front of her. After a moment of standing awkwardly beside us, Ben did the same. “We have something we wanted to tell you, though.”
“What is it?” she asked with a curious tilt of her head.
“Fern, do you remember how you asked me about your daddy before?” I waited, and she nodded dutifully. I held her by the shoulders, giving her a calm smile. “Well. We wanted to wait a bit before telling you, but meet Ben. Your dad.”
Ben shot a horrified look at me, that I just rolled my eyes at.
“Really?” Fern squealed, turning to Ben with a huge grin on her face.
There was this stunned expression on his face that I couldn’t help but laugh at. Fern, reacting just as I’d thought, and secretly hoped, threw her arms around Ben’s neck and hugged him tightly. Still with that expression, he hugged her back.
“I always wanted to meet my daddy!” she chirped. Then she pulled back to give Ben one of her disarming smiles. “And I’m happy you get to be my dad because I really like you, mister. But can I call you Daddy, now?”
Ben’s expression was shifting, and he almost looked like he wanted to cry. Clearly, he’d expected it to be a difficult road to getting Fern to accept him, but I could have told him not to worry. She was a happy child, and not a particularly stubborn one most of the time.
“We have another surprise for you, too,” I said, nodding at Ben.
He cleared his throat, taking a minute to find his composure. He blinked his glistening eyes, holding back tears, and I reached for his hand to give him some comfort.
“Your mom and I really want all three of us to live together, if that’s fine with you?”
“Can we!” she squealed.
