Page 90 of Hate It with You

When I don’t answer, Ben turns back to Alex, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Alright, time for you to leave.”

Alex swats Ben’s hand away. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Ben’s hand returns to its place on Alex’s shoulder, more forcefully this time. “I said it’s time to leave.” He begins to push Alex toward the door, my gut twisting at the sight.

“Benny, stop it. I love him,” I exclaim, the words leaving my lips without a thought. Both men stall in their showdown to turn their heads in my direction.

Benny’s eyebrows scrunch together as he pulls away from Alex, the tiredness showing in his eyes from his early flight. Though when I glance at Alex, he’s all smiles, moving toward me as he pushes past Ben.

“This isn’t how I wanted to tell you. I wasn’t sure how to tell you. I—” Alex cuts me off with a kiss, taking my face in his hands as he fuses his lips to mine as though we are the only two people in the apartment.

When he pulls back, there's a glimmer in his eye. “Finding out you love me while you’re defending my honor? There’s nothing I’d want more.” He kisses me again before pulling back. “I was beginning to think you’d never tell me,” he says with a smile.

“Oh, shut up.” I playfully push him away, but he pulls me back into his side as we turn to face Ben.

“Ew. Someone needs to catch me up. Now.” Benny crosses his arms, looking between the two of us, his lip curling of its own volition each time he glances at Alex.

Sighing, I motion to the two stools at my kitchen bar. “Both of you sit. I’ll make breakfast.” They do as I say, though not before Ben scoots his stool further away from Alex as they take a seat.

When Ben looks at me, that’s when I notice the fear in his eyes. Moving back to him, I throw my arms around his shoulders, bringing him into a hug.

“Are you okay, Ellie?” he asks quietly.

“I’m okay, Benny,” I reassure him.

We spend the rest of the morning in my apartment, discussing the details of the events I’ve been keeping from Benny over the past year. Alex stays by my side in quiet support as I do.

When we’ve finished our food and my story, Benny says, “I’m going to fucking kill him.”

“Trust me, I tried.” It’s the first thing Alex says. Benny's reaction is a small nod toward Alex, the two sharing some mutual understanding written in testosterone that I can’t decipher.

“I have to open the gym, but I’ll stop by later, okay?” Alex says before standing to take our plates and putting them in the sink.

He stops by my seat on his way out, kissing me on the forehead before whispering in my ear, “Tell me again.”

I smile as I say those three words again. “I love you.”

His grin has overtaken his face when he pulls back from me. “I love you too.”

“Ugh, get a room,” Ben says before he goes back to looking at his phone.

Once the door is shut behind Alex, Ben looks up from his phone again. “I’m not so sure about him,” he says.

Shrugging, I say, “He grows on you.” Making my way back to my bedroom, I call out behind me, “You’ve got dishes.”

As I get ready for the day, it’s the first time I’ve felt excited to work at my bookstore since the day I opened it.

A few hours later, Benny and I are squished together behind my bookstore counter, both looking at the screen on my small laptop as he scolds me over my current business situation.

“How could you let this get so bad, Ellie?” he asks, pinching the bridge of his nose.

I hold out a finger to him. “I was a little preoccupied, alright?” I lace sarcasm into my tone, and he stands down.

“I have a few ideas, but you’re going to have to let me help you,” he says. I contemplate his words. It’s not that I don’t want his help. I worry about the burden it would cause.

I’m still contemplating his offer when Alex walks through the door, the front door bells chiming for the first time today.

“Oh look, your first customer,” Benny says with sarcasm. I shoot him a glare at his tone, then turn back to greet Alex with a smile.