AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I previewed some of the texts. People had been sending me an article that dropped only minutes ago. I felt my stomach twist as I opened the link. I speed-read everything I could.
“Connor?”
“Fucking Winnie,” I said. “Studio just released an announcement. She’s been chosen to star and lead inthesuperhero franchise of the decade.” I rattled off the details. She’d become one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. A leading role in the world’s most profitable superhero series would bring her endless endorsements, too. I stared at a picture of her in a superhero’s pose atop a dais, surrounded by producers, directors, fellow actors in the announced new movie. “And these assholes are all gloating about it. All of them.” I scrolled through endless texts that kept coming in.
“That’s a lot of money for someone who lied her way to the top,” Bennett said.
I found one choice article and read the title aloud. “‘Winnie Bridgewater: victim, survivor, and now a hero.’ Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I toggled my phone to Do Not Disturb and turned off the screen. “Sorry. Shouldn’t outburst like that.”
“You gonna be okay?” He drummed his fingers on the wheel. “Come here.” I obeyed and felt my chest lighten as he gave me another slow kiss. “I’ll text you when I get settled tonight, okay? We could try video if I can get the lighting right.”
I rubbed at my neck. “I’ll figure out a good no-double-chin angle for ya.”
He wagged his head, feigning annoyance. “Try not to read too many articles in the meantime.”
I gave him a salute. “You got it, boyfriend.”
He scoffed, a silly sound that made me smile.
I watched him drive away. In my car, I added his contact information to the exceptions for Do Not Disturb. Added a blue heart next to his name because I felt giddy and lovestruck.
On the way home, I blasted Fleetwood Mac and kept “Dreams” on repeat.
ChapterTen
BENNETT’SIRREGULARSCHEDULEhad me giving both praises and curses. Praises in that the time spent apart only served to strengthen the moments we did spend together. Curses… well, for the same reason. My mind always focused on Bennett and ways in which I could provide him with the support he needed.
It felt invasive to google “how to help a rape victim” without knowing the full story. A lot of what I read informed me to remain quiet and listen to the victim’s story instead of sharing my own strifes. I contemplated reaching out to a psychiatrist to get some pointers on the right things to say.
Admittedly, my daytime sexual fantasies of Bennett cratered to almost nil. I still yearned for his touch, the feel of his lips on mine, but the thought of our naked bodies colliding made me feel shameful. As if he could see the scene play out in my eyes the next time he looked at me.
Instead, I simply thought ofhim. His smile. His eyes. The cupid’s bow of his lip. I basked in the gratitude of his openness to tell me about his trauma. I had enough “friends” back in LA who would weaponize these sorts of things. And yet, Bennett didn’t charge into a battle with his demon. He calmed it. Claimed it. Made it into a tool, rather than a weapon. A way in which he could find greater joy.
We had indeed video chatted the night after the Lunch of the Big Reveal. Bennett had his phone propped up on his steering wheel while I had leaned back in my bed, wedging my phone between my drawn-up knees. He left the chat running while he pulled people over, leaving the phone in his car only to return and not have to call me. I sat there waiting, content. I fell asleep around two in the morning after I told him it was my lucky hour, the same time of night when he pulled me over a week ago.
I let him text me first the following day, ensuring he got his sleep, which he needed because he didn’t wake up in time to go to the gym. Another evening of video chatting, endless talking about anything and everything that crossed our minds. Our long nights chatting as BENNETTBOY88 and CLARKE_KENT had come to mind.
Before my lucky hour came, he informed me he had that night and the following off, his version of a weekend despite it being the middle of the week. After he would wake up and run some errands, he wanted me to stop by for a drink. Then he surprised me and asked if I wanted to have dinner with his father, too.
Good ol’ Walt.
An hour before I was set to leave, I burned my skin off in the shower and scrubbed every inch of my body. Put on a just-right amount of cologne. Found two bottles of the good stuff in the wine cellar. Rachel had already arrived before I left. She had set up a spot for herself in one of the guest rooms with a paging device on the nightstand. Three times now she hadbeggedme for more details about Bennett, which I promised I would spill. Soon.
Halogen lights cut across the back of Bennett’s truck as I pulled into his drive. I stepped out from my car, wine bottles in hand, and froze after the car door slammed shut.
Peepers, I thought. Frogs of twilight croaked out their calls for a mate. The sound filled the landscape, a discordant string symphony that instantly brought me back to childhood. Hell, I hadn’t heard that sound since I left permanently, before joining the army. I closed my eyes, lifted my head up to suck as much of the sound in as I could.
This is home, Con, I told myself.This is what home sounds like.
I rapped my knuckles on Bennett’s front door. He had it yanked open before I could finish knocking. I shuffled inside, kicked off my loafers, and let Bennett initiate the hug. He wore a black flannel, unbuttoned with a white shirt underneath, and a backward red ball cap. I started to think of it as his style. Classically, I had on a black sweater.
“You smell great,” he said.
“And you look incredibly sexy,” I said. I meant it. The backward cap had me reeling.
A bashful smile. “Two bottles?” he asked.
I wiggled one. “You said we could have a drink before we head out.” Then I shook the second. “And this is for your father.”
