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Bolt almost fell over. This girl was going to kill him, tame him, or worse, both.
Eighteen
Waking up with whipped cream on half your body is sticky and sticky. Skye rolled on her back. Ben was still asleep. She peeled the sheet from her skin and walked toward the bathroom. A hot shower was the only way to remedy the stickiness.
She brushed her teeth while the water warmed in the shower. She smiled at her reflection. It was finally starting to happen. She trusted him. What guy showed up with ice cream and refused to take your pants off if he wasn’t relationship material? Ben was in this for her. For them.
She spit into the sink and turned for the shower. Kari’s pep talk before Ben arrived had certainly helped. She was nothing if not a hopeless romantic. Skye wished she could find someone for her friend to date. She seemed to date one loser after another. Although it never deterred Kari from getting out there.
The water felt good on her back. She squirted a handful of body wash onto a washcloth and began to lather her body. This was the first time she had scrubbed dessert off her skin, she giggled. Maybe this is what a relationship with Ben would be like. Dessert every night.
She wrapped a towel around her chest and shook out her hair. She didn’t want to run the blow dryer right now and wake him up. She walked to the kitchen to make coffee, keeping the towel tightly tucked under her arm.
She watched the coffee drip into the pot, and smiled when she heard the water running in the bathroom. Ben was awake.
In only two days she had let him back into her life and he had kissed away all the doubts and reservations. She giggled thinking he had licked some of them away too.
Skye heard her phone ringing from her purse. She forgot to take it out and charge it last night. She dug through her bag until she gripped the phone.
“Mom?”
“Honey, I’m almost there. I started driving and what do you know, I ended up in California!”
Skye’s stomach rose to her throat. “What do you mean you’re in California?” Maybe her mother was hallucinating and really was on the way back from the grocery store. That was probably it.
“I told you I’ve never done it before. I wanted to drive cross-country, so here I am.”
Her mother sounded completely victorious and not as scattered as the last phone call . Skye realized it had been a few days since she had spoken with her. It was possible she had been driving for four days.
“Mom, just tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.” Skye pulled a notebook and pen from the kitchen drawer hoping her mother had some clear directions for her.
“That’s nonsense. I’ve done this entire trip on my own and I’m going to finish it that way. I’ll be at your place by dinner.”
Ben walked into the kitchen. His eyes not quite fully awake, his hair sticking up, and a towel tucked around his waist. He shot straight to the coffee, and reached into the cabinet for two mugs. Skye knew at any other time the fact that they were both standing in her kitchen with nothing but towels wrapped around their bodies would be the precursor to something wickedly fun, but right now she had to figure out what to do about her mother. She turned back to the pad and paper.
“I could at least lead you the rest of the way in. San Diego traffic is horrible, even on the weekends. I would hate for you to get lost. Just tell me what town you’re close to, and I can meet you half-way.”
“Honey, I’ve got this. I’ll see you for dinner. Pick some place really nice, and I’ll take you out tonight for a treat. Ok?”
“But Mom—” She looked at the dark phone in her hand. Her mother had hung up.
Ben handed her a fresh cup of coffee. “Mom trouble?”
Skye didn’t even know where to begin. She wished she only had ‘mom trouble,’ but it was more like a ‘renegade teenager trapped in a forty-eight year old woman’s body’ trouble.
“Apparently, my mom’s coming for a visit.” She slumped into a chair, resting her mug on the kitchen table.
Ben’s eyebrows arched. “Surprise parent visit? That’s interesting. You need me to clear out of here so you can get ready?”
“No. No.” Her hand landed on his wrist. “She’s not going to be here until dinner time, and I don’t have much to do before then except worry.”
“Is she a bad driver or something?”
“Or something.” Skye chewed on her bottom lip. She rarely discussed her mother’s illness, but she realized she didn’t know how long Patty Stephens would be in San Diego. At some point, it would interfere with her ability to see Ben.
She drew in a long breath. “My mother suffers from a mental illness.” She couldn’t look at him, it was better to focus on the cream swirling at the top of her coffee. “It only started a few years ago, but once it did it has progressed pretty rapidly. She’s paranoid all the time and thinks people are after her. She isn’t easy to spend time with.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say.” Skye glanced up long enough to see Ben was concerned. His light blue eyes softened. “Does she have help?”
