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Today – two days after the date in the cabin – I walk down the street toward the bus stop, ready for another day at college. My classes are going well and today’s is easily my favorite, but I feel like there’s a dark cloud hovering over me even if the day is bright and sunny.
I reach the bus stop and place my book bag down, glad to have the pressure off my shoulder.
Across the street, somebody honks their horn twice.
A smile spreads brightly across my face, the dark feeling suddenly dissipating as I look up to find Bennet leaning out of the driver’s side of his sedan, his classic smirk on his face.
He steps out and walks to the passenger side, opening the door, presumably for me. I mean, heck, it would be pretty embarrassing if it was for somebody else.
“Are you stalking me?” I laugh as I step away from the bus stop.
His eyes flare and he reaches out, as though to touch me. But then I take a step back and his hands drop.
It’s like he remembers we’re in public, in my neighborhood, and my dad – or somebody my dad knows – could spot us at any moment.
“I wanted to surprise you,” he says. “I know you catch this bus because Rick’s mentioned it a few times, just in passing, but I guess I stored it away because I knew it would come in use someday.”
The mention of my dad only serves to remind me how messy this is, but I don’t let it overcome the moment.
After two days of being apart from him, I feel like I’m standing in a spotlight, brightness blaring inside and out as Bennet stares at me in that nobody-else-matters kind of way.
“That’s a little creepy,” I say, laughing. “And more than a little sweet.”
“Come on. Let me give you a ride.”
He gestures to the passenger side and I climb in. I ache to reach across and touch him, but there are still a few people at the bus stop, folks I vaguely recognize from the neighborhood.
“I missed you so much,” I whisper, as he pulls away from the curb. “I’m sorry we can’t kiss.”
“I missed you too,” he says. “More than I could even understand. You were all I could think about. I did my job and did it well. But you were always there, hovering at the edges of my mind. I swear, I thought about driving back into the city more than once.”
“I felt the same,” I say, my belly tingling.
We leave the suburbs and join the road to the city, and finally, I feel comfortable enough to reach over and squeeze his shoulder. He reaches up quickly, as though hungry for the contact.
“You owe me a kiss before you leave this car, Rory. I just want you to know that.”
I laugh in delight, letting my eyes trail indulgently over his body, his hard firm body threatening to tear through the fabric of his shirt.
My clit suddenly feels way more sensitive against my panties, my sex begging for his touch as I remember – as if I could ever forget – how perfect he felt when he pushed his finger inside of me.
“So how was work?” I ask, after a pause.
Maybe I can distract myself from my neediness, for a little while at least.
“It was fine. It was work. My job isn’t easy by any means. But compared to the stuff I used to do, it’s much simpler.”
“I can imagine,” I say.
“What about you? How’s the book going, and college?”
“Both are fine,” I tell him. “Well, college is great and the book is kind of mediocre, so I think that levels out as fine.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” he says. “But if it is, just get the thing finished and fix it in the edits.”
“I was thinking about your offer, of keeping track of my word counts and targets. Would that still be okay?”
He glances at me as we come to a stop at a red light, eyes blazing. “Of course it is. I want to support you in any way I can. Why don’t you text me what you’d like to get done each week or month – whatever timescale works for you – and I’ll draw up a schedule. Then we can tweak it and I’ll keep you accountable.”
“Accountable,” I murmur, smiling. “I like the sound of that.”
He chuckles but there’s an edge to it, dark and intense like he’s debating pulling over to the nearest hotel and dragging me inside. Fire sparks and hisses in my belly when I think about that, and part of me thinks, Fuck it.
Even if I’m nervous and I’m not sure I can go all the way, spending this time apart from him has provoked a whole army of desire inside of me, rising to the point where I can’t think about anything else.
