“Just don’t crush me,” I mumbled, but I wasn’t going to push him away. Not even a little.
Eventually, the room stopped spinning enough for me to breathe normally. Ben rolled to his side, dragging me with him, until we were a sweaty heap in the center of the bed, the ceiling fan wobbling above us like it was drunk too.
I tucked my face into his chest, feeling his heart still hammering under my cheek.
“This was probably a very bad idea,” I whispered to myself.
“Oh yeah. The worst,” he said, trailing his fingers down my back.
“Should we do it again?”
With a crooked grin, he pushed me onto my back and hovered above me. “Absolutely.”
Chapter Five
Ben
Five Years Ago
Atlooseendsandantsy 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 yourselfonthe 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 hangingonher, I was hangingwithher, 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.
