Me:
Hey, I’mreallysorry to ask for another favor, but can I leave early tomorrow? The twins have got their nativity play, and I promised them ages agothatI’d be there.
Too nervous to eat, I waited several minutes for his reply.
Ben:
Yeah, that’s fine.
My jaw almost dropped to the table.
Me:
Are you sure? I’ll need to leave around 2 pm.
Ben:
Yeah, Bug, I’m sure. In fact, take the day off and spend some time with your sisters.
I grinned stupidly at my phone. Mom was wrong. He did have good in him; hejusthadn’t been given a chance to show it.
Me:
Thanks, man. I’ll make it up to you.
Ben:
Oh yeah? How do you plan on doingthat?
Me:
I can think of a few ways.
Ben:
I look forward to it.
Tristan
Irolled out of bed at midday after a much-needed lie-in. For the first time in days, I didn’t feel like I needed to go back to bed and sleep for a week.
The girls were at school, taking part in final rehearsals for their play later today, and both Mom and Dad were at work. Makingthe most of having the house to myself, I relocated to the couch and spent the rest of my day off watching TV.
A few times, I pulled my phone out, wanting to message Ben to see how his day was going, but I told myselfthatwas the sort of thing a boyfriend would do, and Ben wasnotmy boyfriend. I needed to rememberthat.
But fuck, I missed him. I’d only known the man for ten days, and there I was, pining for him like a lovesick idiot. I’d come to enjoy spending time with him, and every day I spent in his company, itseemedlike his walls were coming down a little more.
Missing him was another warning sign I chose to ignore.
I couldn’t have been prouder of Holly and Ivy. The two of them had starring roles in their school play; Holly as the Virgin Mary, and Ivy as the Star of Bethlehem.
When the play ended, Mom and Dad surprised us all by announcingthatthey were taking us all out to the girls’ favorite restaurant,Applebee’s.The twins were beside themselves; we rarely got to eat out because of the expense.
Holly and Ivy spent most of dinner chattering away about the play and the backstage drama. As Ivy put it, a girl in their class she’d dubbed,Mean Queen Darlene,was having a tempertantrum because all she got to be was a stupid sheep, and had no lines to speak throughout the entire play.
Chuckling at Ivy’s dramatics, I pulled my phone out when it vibrated in my pocket with an incoming text.
Ben:
