He gives me one of those devastating smiles and takes my hand, pulling me up to follow him to the café. He squeezesmyhand once I’m standing, a soft reassurance, before dropping it as we walk. We get our drinks, and I doctor mine up with the necessary amount of sugar while Benny pays.
“Hey,” he says, resting a hand on my arm as I start to walk back to our seats. “Come with me?”
I raise an eyebrow skeptically but give him a small nod. He takes us down the hall and around a corner and then up another stairwell. On the uppermost deck, we walk through the less crowded seating area, waving to the few Friends we see on the way. But Benny doesn’t stop; he holds the door open and leads me outside.
The wind immediately sends my hair flying in all directions as we walk up to the railing and look out over the water and the cityscape ahead of us. The ferry moves deceptively fast, I realize now that I feel the outside air. It’s hard to keep my eyes open, hold my hair back from whipping me in the face,andhold my cup of tea. But I also can’t look away—it’s beautiful, the skyline reflected off the water and the sunshine off them both.
Benny sidles closer to me, his arm brushing mine. “Seems like something’s been on your mind today,” he says quietly. “Not having regrets, are you?”
He asks the question in a teasing tone, but when I peek his way, there’s worry in his expression. And in that moment, I want so badly to not let him down. I want to be a good…whatever I am to him, a girl who’s fun and easygoing and doesn’t let the little things get to her. Because a few Instagram comments—those arelittle things, right? I want to let myself enjoy the feeling of being with Benny as long as I have it. I’m probably overreacting to the online stuff. But even if I’m not, it isn’t his problem. I can handleit.
I think.
“Not at all,” I whisper back with a smile, bumping my shoulder against his. “Just tired, I think. Nothing some properly sweetened tea can’t fix.”
A shiver runs through me and Benny cocks his head to see the goose bumps on my foolishly bare arms. I was comfortable in short sleeves earlier, but with the wind, I’m wishing I’d brought my jacket from the car.
“Hey, take this,” he says, removing his flannel before I can protest.
I tear my eyes from the buff chest and arms that are all the more noticeable in just a T-shirt and shake my head. “No, you’ll be cold. I’m fine.”
“Reese’s Cup.” He gives me that lopsided smile I can’t resist “You’re shaking. Unless we go inside, I won’t be happy until you let me play the chivalrous dude, just this once.”
I roll my eyes at him, but I don’t want to go back in, either. I accept the shirt and pull it on.Gah,it’s toasty warm and soft and wonderful. It smells like that sweet-spicy Benny-ness and does nothing at all to stop the pull I feel toward him. My heart is saying,Go time, screw taking it slow, you’ve had weeks, forget the competition, it’s still the weekend cease-fire, he’s dreamy, go go gowhile you have the chance.And for once, my head isn’t putting up any solid counterarguments.
He looks like he’s thinking the exact same thing. His gaze drops to my lips and his head shifts almost imperceptibly closer. But my reason prevails in time for me to tilt my head toward the indoor seating, where any number of people we work with could be watching through the windows.
“Not here,” I whisper.
Benny’s lips twist into a smirk as his eyes scan the deck. His gaze pauses on something before coming back to me and he murmurs, “This way.”
“Someone’s feeling bossy today,” I mutter, but once again, I follow. I’m such a sucker. We walk around the corner and down the deck to a small alcove. There are only a couple other passengers on this side of the deck, and they’re at the opposite end, looking in no hurry to come back this way.
Essentially, it’s as discreet as we could expect to find in daylight on top of a public ferry.
Benny wastes no time setting his coffee and my tea down by our feet, nudging me so my back is against the wall, and stepping in to press his lips to mine. Between his gentle care for our beverages and his obvious desire for me, it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced. One of his hands grips my waist while the other slides into my hair until he’s cupping the back of my head, guiding me to just the right angle so he can kiss me more thoroughly.
I let out a soft gasp as he moves even closer, his body moldingagainst mine. My hands start in fists that grip his T-shirt, but at some point they travel up to the back of his neck, one going farther, under the brim of his hat. The idea hits me then, and I keep nudging up, up, until I snatch the hat off his head. Opening my eyes, I pull back with a smile, and—oh.Oh.
“Goodness gracious, Benny, why onearthwould you hide this beautiful head of hair all the time?”
He looks down sheepishly, sending a couple of dark curls tumbling over his forehead. The top of his head is covered in a thick layer of them, shiny and perfectly tousled in spite of his best efforts to crush them in a structured fabric dome day in and day out. The sides are cut short, which makes it harder to tell that he’s hiding anything this gorgeous under those caps of his.
“Maybe I thought it’d be too much for you to handle. I didn’t even own a hat before this summer,” he jokes with a sideways smirk.
I bring my hands up and thread them both through his curls slowly before grabbing hold and pulling his head back to mine. Brushing his lips with mine, I say, “On second thought, you might’ve been onto something.”
He laughs into our kiss, but then pulls back, seemingly just to look at me. There’s so much affection in his eyes, my heart feels like it could beat clear out of my chest.
“I like you, Beneventi,” I say, without even thinking about it, the words coming out in a breathy voice I can’t believe is my own. “I’m glad you want to be my teammate.”
His head falls back so he’s gazing at the cloudy sky as he pulls me close and squeezes me tight, answering on a sigh, “Camden, the feeling is mutual.”
Before too long—and definitely before I’m ready for it—the announcement that the ferry will be docking soon comes through the speakers. Car passengers are supposed to return to their vehicles. I pull Benny in for one last, lingering kiss, then we try to help each other look marginally less disheveled before we head inside.
Hopefully everyone will assume it’s just the wind that’s turned our hair this messy and our lips and cheeks this red. Wind does that, right?
Lucky for us, we don’t run into any of the FoF crew until we’re back at the car. Raj told Charlie he was switching to Katherine’s car, so it’s just Benny and me in the back row. In a pleasant surprise for the two of us, the driver says that FoF has paid him through the rest of the day, so he can take home anyone who didn’t leave a car at the office. That only applies to Benny and me, and our dorms are close enough that he’ll hardly be going out of his way, so we gladly accept the offer.
