Dirty Little Lies (Dirty Little #2) (21 page)

“Hey.” Ben has his hands planted behind him on the hardwood floor, and he’s leaning back, his legs crossed at the ankles.
 

“Can I ask you a question?”
 

I nod. “Yes,” I whisper.
 

“You sure? It might be taboo.” Ben’s eyebrows are all scrunched together, like they always are when he’s thinking hard about something. And his lips are pursed, too.
 

“We live together now, Ben. Our underwear goes in the same laundry basket. I don’t think there’s such a thing as taboo between us now.”
 

Ben laughs, and his whole demeanor changes. “No, I guess there isn’t.”
 

“So ask away.”
 

“Do you think you’ll ever make up with them?” He nods toward the overturned frame sitting on my lap.

It’s something that I think about a lot, late at night when I’m tossing and turning and can’t seem to get comfortable lying in Ben’s arms. I don’t know that I can ever trust them again, and that’s an important part of a relationship with anyone, whether they’re a parent or just a friend.
 

Being with Ben has taught me that I have a huge capacity for forgiveness, which means that no door is ever truly closed with me. Or, it isn’t where my parents are concerned. Not yet, at least.
 

“I’m not sure,” I admit. “Right now? No, I don’t think so. A few years from now? Who knows. I can’t shut the door on it completely. It’s difficult for me to do that.”
 

Ben gives me a wistful smile. “I’m thankful for that every day.”
 

I lean over and kiss him. “I’m thankful for that, too. I’d be missing out on a lot, otherwise.”

“That’s true,” he says, slinging his arm around my shoulder. “Can you believe we own a house now?”
 

“Our names are on the deed like a couple of grown-ups,” I tease.
 

“And it’s our first night here, you know.” Ben gives me a long, slow, lust-driven kiss.
 

He reaches up and starts unbuttoning my shirt with one hand. I look down at how nimble his fingers are. “Bless physical therapy.”
 

We both laugh, but mine quickly dies down when he slides his hand beneath the placket, and cups my breast. I sling my leg over his thighs, and straddle him, tilting my head to the right to give him more room to work his mouth across my neck.
 

His raspy stubble scrapes my tender skin, and I rock against him, all hard and insistent, right where I want him. I reach down and cup him through his sweatpants, picking up the pace as he thrusts up into my hand.
 

With all the buttons undone, Ben pushes my shirt off my shoulder, and lowers his mouth to my nipple, taking one between his teeth, and then moving on to the other.
 

I slip my hand beneath the waistband of Ben’s sweatpants, sliding my hand up and down his erection. His kisses become less focused as he loses himself in sensation, and he surprises me when he reaches back and lifts his shirt up over his head.
 

Gently clasping my wrists, he brings my arms back to wrap around his neck, then his hands slide down along my spine, pulling me closer to him until my breasts are pressed against his chest. Ben’s hands guide my hips, giving us both the friction we both want so desperately.
 

When I can’t take it anymore, I reach over for the condom I noticed laying right next to his hip.
 

I pick it up, tapping the edge on my bottom lip.
 

“You planned this,” I tease, carefully ripping the packet open.
 

“Oh, I hoped for it,” Ben says, before leaning down and licking a stripe along the underside of my breast. “You chastised me for not christening all the rooms in my old place until I was ready to move out. I wanted to do things right this time.”
 

“Ah,” I say, grinding down on him until his eyelids flutter shut. “Is this the sexual version of carrying me across the threshold?”
 

“I also carried you across the threshold. But yes.”
 

He rolls his tongue over my nipple, and I temporarily lose my train of thought. Then I remember the condom in my hand, and the ache between my legs that only Ben can soothe.
 

“Lose the pants,” I say.

Ben tilts his head back and laughs, then does exactly what I asked. I waste no time getting naked too, and Ben’s in such a hurry that he takes the condom from me, foregoing all the foreplay of rolling it on that we usually engage in, preferring instead to get down to business.
 

I lift myself up on my knees, then sink down onto him. It’s perfect, it’s amazing, it’s everything it’s always been between the two of us.
 

We kiss as our bodies rock against each other. His hands never stop moving, like they’re trying to memorize every inch of me by touch alone. His grip eventually settles on my hips, and I let him guide my movements as I stop thinking and
feel
.
 

It’s carefree and tender and slow in a way that sex typically isn’t between us. This is more about just being together than finding a release, although my clit is grinding against him in ways that start making me feel more than a little frantic.
 

Ben senses that, and reaches down between us, my orgasm hitting me fast and hard as I hold onto him for dear life, riding out my pleasure. Ben follows, his body stiffening with a long, low groan.
 

After, we kiss and hold each other, clinging to the bliss for as long as we can.
 

“Are you tired?” Ben asks.
 

“Of unpacking? Yes. Of this? No.”
 

Ben kisses me, smiling against my list. “Good. We have a lot more area to cover.”
 

“You can cry if you want to,” Ben says, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. The teasing lilt in his voice is the only thing that’s keeping the tears from falling. “She’s all grown up and leaving you.”
 

Ben is standing behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist, my back pressed against his chest. We’re standing in the corner of Ben and Caleb’s restaurant—which has been closed for the party—celebrating Corinne’s college graduation.
 

The place has mostly cleared out. It’s late, and the only people left are the ones nearest and dearest to her, and despite the hour, she’s still gracious, happily accepting congratulations.
 

She’s talking to Felicity now, probably finalizing their plans for tomorrow, when Corinne’s leaving to take a job on a completely different continent. Felicity, good friend that she is, is going to go with her for a week or so, just to help her get acclimated to life in London.
 

I’m happy for my sister; she wanted that job desperately, but I’m sad at the realization that the two of us won’t be in the same time zone for at least the immediate future, if not forever.
 

“I can hear you thinking,” Ben says, giving my hands a squeeze.
 

“Oh yeah?”
 

“Mmm,” he says, his voice all rumbly. “It’s her first job; she probably won’t stay there forever.”

This is true, and something that I’ve told myself probably a thousand times since she called and gave me the news.
 

“I’m happy for her,” I tell Ben. “Just sad for me.”
 

“I’ll keep you company.”
 

That makes me smile. It’s not the same at all, but…it makes me smile. “I love your company. And I love you.”
 

Ben hums happily, and presses a kiss to my temple. “I worked up some proprietary video messaging software and put it on all of your mobile devices. One click and you’ll be able to talk to each other.”
 

“How is that different than what we have now?”
 

I can feel Ben’s smile against my cheek. “You’ll see.”
 

“Thank you,” I whisper.
 

“You’re welcome. I’ve got to go talk to Oliver about something, ‘kay?”
 

I nod, and give him a kiss. I watch him walk over to Oliver, who’s looking all lovelorn like he usually does in Felicity’s presence. I’m going to have to do something about that.
 

“We’re going to have to take care of that,” Mia says.
 

“Hey! Take care of what?”
 

“That self-deprecating idiot over there who thinks he’s not good enough for Felicity,” Mia says, tilting her champagne flute in Oliver’s direction.
 

“We definitely need to help that along.”
 

“Great party. Thanks for having me,” Mia says.

I smile at her. “Of course. You and Caleb are family.”
 

Mia beams at that. “Guess you’re going to be making a lot more trips to London now.”
 

I nod, laughing. “I guess so. Have you ever been?”

Mia shakes her head. “Nope. Someday.”
 

“We should go together,” I offer. “Or maybe that’s a stop Caleb has planned for your honeymoon.”
 

“Maybe,” Mia replies, looking down at the engagement ring on her finger.
 

I can’t help but stare at the way the light glints off of the diamond.
 

“Speaking of that, I’m going to need some help finding a dress. I hired a planner, but…I don’t know, I feel like finding the dress should be more of a personal thing. I want to go out shopping with friends, and try on some truly hideous dresses before finding ‘the one.’”
 

“You know I’m your girl.”
 

“Think we could get together soon and see what’s out there?”
 

I nod enthusiastically. “Absolutely. I know quite a few places we could go. Both for the ‘truly hideous,’ and for ‘the one.’”
 

“Well,” Mia says, taking a sip of her champagne. “It seems like someone’s pretty anxious to talk to you, so…I’ll call you?”
 

“Yeah. Looking forward to it,” I say with a smile.

Not even a second after Mia walks away, Corinne wraps me in the kind of hug that crushes you in the most amazing way.
 

“I’m so proud of you,” I tell her, pressing a kiss against her hair.
 

“And I’m proud of you, too.”
 

“You never let
anything
stop you from following your dreams, and look where that got you. London. What am I going to do with you in London? The time difference. Ugh.”
 

Corinne laughs. “We’ll figure something out. We always do.”
 

That’s the truth if I’ve ever heard it.
 

“You’re still leaving tomorrow?” I ask, giving her a cartoonish pout.

“I’ve got to. I only have a week before I start my new job, and I need to get settled into my apartment.”
 

“Do you need anything?” I ask. I have my checkbook ready if she needs it, even though she’s already turned down my money once.
 

“No, I’m good. Promise.”
 

“Ben gave you money, didn’t he?” I ask.
 

She smiles sheepishly. “He did. And he refused to let me refuse it. He told me a really lovely story about a similar gift his parents gave him when he graduated, and…”
 

“I know,” I say softly, feeling a newfound rush of love for Ben. He’s standing over on the other side of the room, and when he looks at me, I can tell that he knows what Corinne just told me. “I know the story.”
 

“So you’re not mad?”
 

My eyebrows scrunch together. “No, of course not.”
 

“Thank you for the party,” Corinne says, probably desperate to change the subject.
 

“You’re welcome. I hope it was everything you wanted.”
 

She grins at me, knowing what I’m trying to say without saying it. That I want to know if it was enough, that she’s happy even though our parents weren’t welcome.
 

“Everyone that I wanted to be here is here,” she assures me.
 

“Good.”
 

Ben walks over to us, and he gives Corinne a quick kiss on the cheek. “You had quite the haul, graduate,” he says, nodding toward the table of gifts. “Mostly envelopes, which is the best, right?”
 

Corinne giggles, and returns Ben’s high five. “The absolute best.”
 

“I’m going to take that stuff out to the car.” He leans in and gives me a soft, chase kiss. “I’ll see you two in a bit.”
 

As Ben walks away, Corinne is grinning bright as the sun.