No way am I ready for a relationship right now anyway. I suppose, technically, Ben’s my rebound, and I’m good with that. I’m confident if we communicate and are open with each other about our intentions, we’ll still be friends at the end of the day. Hopefully really good friends.
I meant what I said. I’d hate to lose him. I feel safe when he’s around and hope I can be that safe haven for him too.
Once we’re done stuffing our faces with hamburgers, Lily crashes in her mom’s room. She had a great time with Miss Georgia this afternoon, and the look of relief on Ben’s face when we picked up his daughter from daycare was priceless. I’m so grateful things went smoothly for her because it seems like Ben is starting to trust himself more around her.
After dinner, everyone takes turns in the shower. Except Olly and Amelia, who take a shower together, and have such a loud round of sex, the neighbors in the adjoining cabin knock on our door and tell us to lower the porn.
When Olly and Amelia eventually emerge from the steamy bathroom, we applaud. Johnny jumps up and humps the air. “Harder, Olly! Harder! Right there, big boy!”
Amelia rolls her eyes, and Olly blushes adorably. He has a Clark Kent nerdy vibe, but he’s super cute, and I can see why Amelia’s into him.
“Shut up, assholes,” Olly grunts as he puts Johnny into a chokehold, and they go rolling onto the ground like the manchildren they are.
Amelia and Janelle chat like there aren’t grown men wrestling on the ground.
“We should totally go to that bar next week,” Amelia tells Janelle.
They whip out their phones, exchange numbers, and chat about places to hit up in Austin. I offer a suggestion or two, and they nod and add the bars to some list on Amelia’s phone.
I’m sitting right there, literally two feet away, but neither invites me to whatever they’re planning.
A little bummed, I head to the bedroom, change into pajamas, and let my damp hair out of a bun so it can dry. Exhausted, I curl up on the bed to read on my phone. With just the small lamp on the nightstand to illuminate the room, it feels cozy.
A few minutes later, Ben returns from his shower. He’s wearing sweatpants and a towel around his broad shoulders. Damp hair dangles in his dark eyes that take me in.
I’m grateful I packed some cute PJs, a stretchy pink tank top and pink shorts, which looked fine a few minutes ago. But now that the air conditioner has kicked in, my nipples are giving him a high salute.
Since he’s staring at them, I wave my hand in front of them and try to make a joke. “I’m obviously happy to see you.”
He smirks and waves at his sweats, which are now molded to a thick erection. “Back at ya, sunshine.”
All I can say is damn. He’s a big boy.
He runs his hands through his hair. “Sorry. I’m not usually a walking, talking hard-on.” His cheeks flush.
Clearing my throat, I pat his side of the bed. “We’re adults. And obviously attracted to each other. This is a normal reaction. Especially after hanging out all day. There’s no reason to be embarrassed.”
Did I say I was exhausted earlier? I’m wide awake now.
He sits next to me and a long moment of silence ensues, but I hate the idea that he’s uncomfortable right now, so I keep talking.
“Besides, being in your lap today... You know. Sorta worked me up.” We kissed a few times, and he held me in his arms to warm up in the cold water, but I didn’t want to grind on his lap with Janelle a few feet away. She might be his ex, and we might be trying to instill some boundaries with her, but gyrating on her ex felt like a step too far. If Ben were my ex, I’d hate to see him humping some girl.
But damn, I thought about it. A lot.
His eyes darken. “Oh, yeah?”
I nod slowly and squirm to ease the ache that’s taken residence between my thighs.
The talk this afternoon meant we were planning to bone, right? At least, I hope that’s what it meant.
I decide to crawl across the bed and into his lap. And, yes, I hope to slink over there all sexy. Except as I turn onto all fours, my shoulder cramps, and I land on my face with a mouthful of comforter.
“Ow.” I snort with laughter because come on. With my face buried in the blankets, I reach around to rub my arm. “Holy hell, that hurts.”
“What’s wrong?”
He rolls me onto my side. Spit slides down my face as I continue to laugh and howl in pain. This is not sexy, Sienna! But I can’t help it. This is too ridiculous not to laugh, and since my shoulder won’t stop cramping, all I can do is writhe around.
“Cramp. Shoulder. Hurts.”
He frowns as he tells me to roll back onto my stomach. “From rafting?”
“No, from skiing yesterday. I haven’t done that in years. I’m in shape from yoga and jogging, but not for skiing exactly.”
I thought I was fine after soaking in the river all day, but then I carried a bunch of groceries this evening, and they were heavier than I thought they’d be.
“Hmm.” Ben starts to dig his thumbs into my back, and I almost cry in relief when he delivers on that massage he promised me.
“Oh, God. Thank you.”
“You have a hell of a knot in your right shoulder. Also, you’re a little sunburned. Am I hurting you?”
Now that he mentions it, the rubbing does burn a bit.
“Hold on a sec. I have this great body oil you can use so you don’t peel off the top layer of my skin.”
I crawl over to the edge of the bed and grab my toiletry bag. But because my arm is so weak, I end up having to stand up and use my other arm.
“You’d think after a million yoga classes this wouldn’t be an issue.”
His eyes trail over me. “You are in great shape.”
“I’ll confess to being a slug last week because of the stitches. Every time I tried a downward dog, my head began to pound.”
His eyes turn devilish. “Downward dog?”
I smirk. “Yes, and if you’re a good boy, I’ll show you what that looks like.” I toss him the oil. “Here. Rub me with that.”
He makes a choking sound that makes me laugh. Good. I hope I make him as unbalanced as he makes me.
Flopping on my stomach, I rest my head in my arms. “Get to work, Rodriguez.”
“Not gonna lie. I like you all bossy.”
“I can work with that.” I try to relax even though I’m guessing he’s checking out my ass right now. Especially since I know my bottoms are riding up a bit.
“Uh, do you mind getting oil on your clothes?”
Did I mention I sometimes enjoy a good thrill? Like that time I went skydiving, this feels just as exhilarating.
I reach behind my back with my strong arm, pull off my tank and toss it to the ground, and then resume my prone position on the bed.
“Fuck, you’re sexy. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I really wanna bite your ass right now. Or maybe smack it. Hard.”
That pulse between my legs turns into a full salsa beat.
But I don’t let my enthusiasm for his suggestion seep into my voice. “Work first. Play later.” I take a deep breath. “Rub me down, Ben.”
He’s quiet a second, and then I hear the snap of the bottle. “Can you move your hair?” His voice just got an octave deeper.