The Masquerade (11 page)

"Is he hot?" I heard Hayley say. I blushed and
slyly cast another glance to Ben again. I wondered if he could hear her. He faced forward. He appeared trapped within his own mind, but I didn't want to risk it.

"No."

I heard her pause. She knew I was lying. "How
hot?"

"Um," I bit my lip.

I could hear the excitement growing in her voice. "He's delicious, isn't he?"

I sighed. "Yes, very."

"Nailed it." She sang, before warning me. "You better tell me every disgusting detail."

"Goodbye, Hayley."

"Are you wearing a sexy bra?" I heard her ask.
Wide eyed, I pulled the phone away from my ear and pressed 'end.' I shoved the phone back in my pocket and meekly looked up at Ben.

"I'm guessing your friend bought it."

"I don't usually lie to my friends, but it's better if
they didn't know. I'm tired of being the girl they feel they have to look after when something happens to me."

Ben eyes flashed to mine. "You didn't tell them about
last year?"

"I did," I paused when we needed to cross the street over to the next road. "I may have left you out of the equation, though."

He seemed surprised by this. "Really?"

I laughed. "You're not that great to brag about."

"I've heard otherwise."

"Jerk" I scoffed, my voice light.

He laughed. "Now that I've heard."

My stomach growled again making me desperate to get home, but I was contradicted. When I got to my house that meant he would leave and I wouldn't see him again. He would be a memory. Memories were depressing. Every
greatest moment of my life is only a memory. Ben Sloane walking me home, despite the circumstances, was one of them.

"You're hungry."

I shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"Do you want to faint again?"

Only if you'll catch me
, "I won't."

"What's your favorite food?" He asked me. I looked up at him in confusion. That was too broad. I'm a girl. Food is my best friend.
I'll eat anything I can shove in my face and hate myself for it later.

"Uh, ice cream." I grinned at the thought. "Cotton candy ice cream with sprinkles."

I saw him smile form the corner of my eye. "I happen to
know a place in the square."

"Scoops," I finished for him, biting my lip. I knew what he was getting at, but I didn't want to assume and be wrong. "I
live here remember."

"I honestly forgot I was walking you home." He said sarcastically while he looked down at me. I had to turn away to hide the smile pinching my cheeks. "Are you okay to walk a little more?"

"Are you kidding? For ice cream?" I picked up my pace and jogged forward, ignoring the twinge of pain in my thigh. "C'mon, I'll race you." I threw a glance over my shoulder when I realized he wasn't behind me.

I stopped when I noticed the change in his expression. The cloud of darkness surrounding him had vanished. The sense of impending doom that I'd felt around him last year was gone. Reverence had replaced it. He stared at me with a certain light in his eyes that brought the warmth back to
my cheeks.

I liked the way his eyes were filled with wonder as he looked at me. I couldn't hide my smile anymore. "What?" I chuckled, waiting for him to move, secretly wishing he'd continue to look at me in that
way. It made me feel like I was worth something to someone.

He shook his head, saying nothing, but a small ghost smile was pressed on his lips. I waited until he was beside me before I started
walking again. We continued down that road until we rounded another corner onto the main street that runs straight into the town square.

"So where are the guys?" I asked him, breaking the silence. He turned to me, his eyebrows raised. I laughed at his expression.
"Your band."

"Oh," he smirked. "They're around here somewhere."

"So, you're all staying in Covington for a long vacation?" I paused and decided to add a hint of sarcasm. "Or are they here for me too?"

He looked down at me, something twisted into his expression. I couldn't read it, but his eyes were contemplative as he stared at me. I
thought he was going to say something, but he faced forward again. When he finally did speak his words were careful.

"We're staying here for a break until our next tour." He amended. "We've gotten into some trouble with the media so
we're laying low for a while."

"Why didn't I hear about that?" I asked, speaking mostly to myself.

Although, no one ever heard anything about The Masquerade, they were a rather discrete band. It was one of the reasons why every hard
rocker was so enthralled by them. They were this huge mystery. As far as I knew, magazines couldn't even get interviews with them to talk about something other than music. Their personal lives were out of the question.

"We killed a guy or two, to keep it quiet."

I knew he was joking, but my initial reaction was to direct my attention to his face. The smirk on his lips left me with reassurance, but
my thoughts brought back the darker shadows of last year. Thoughts of Davey's unsolved brutal murder came flooding back. I quickly denied the possibility, but the idea still haunted me.

I nodded. "I like to have a good cup of tea before I
kill someone."

He burst into laughter. He looked down at me and continued to laugh while he shook his head. I frowned. I didn't think my comment was
that
funny, but it must have struck his fancy. When he realized I wasn't amused
he laughed even harder.

"That really wasn't funny."

He looked at me, smiling. "Oh, but it was."

I shrugged and managed to laugh a little with him. "Okay."

"How old are you?"

I smirked. "How old do you need me to be?" His eyes flashed down to mine. I laughed at his expression. "I'm eighteen." I realized that I never knew how old he was. Interviews or
biographies online had disclosed his birthdate. "How old are you?"

He hesitated, "Twenty-two."

I stared at him. "I took you for older."

"I am."

I frowned, "What?"

He shook his head, grinning. "Never mind." There was something I wasn't part of. I was beginning to realize that he continuously
made references to it. Whatever
it
was. I wanted to know what he was keeping concealed.

When we reached the corner where the ice cream shop was, he bound up the steps and opened the door for me. I shot him a scrutinizing look.
"You really know your way around here."

He shrugged, indifferent. "I used to live here."

That threw me for one. "What? I didn't know that."

"It's not something I tell people."

I walked through the entrance when he continued to stand there, holding the door open, "But you told me." I countered, looking over my shoulder to meet his gaze. When his eyes connected with mine, he
winked, and walked through, letting the door fall shut behind him.

I immediately turned to face the counter and the display of ice cream in the glass windows. I bit the insides of my cheeks to hide the sloppy smile on my face that would have made me look like a doofus in reaction
to a simple gesture. Although it wasn't just any gesture. It was a wink, a milestone for any girl who has never been laid.

Ben moved to stand beside me as I eyed the plethora of ice
cream choices, even if I already knew exactly what I wanted. I could feel him watching me. I swallowed, pretending not to notice. It was difficult to play it cool in the presence of a rock star. I was the dork who would stare at the ground
and say, "I like your shoelaces," or something completely ridiculous. But I managed to be myself. It was easy around him. At least when he wasn't making gestures that made my head swim.

"Moore." I heard someone say behind the counter.

My head shot up to see the soccer player from my English class. I'd tutored him at his house a couple nights after school when I was a sophomore. After a week, he told the entire school I did it with him in his
basement. A rumor went around for a while mistaking me for a whore. That was until Hayley started experimenting with the opposite sex and everyone forgot about me. Not that I complained, although something always told me she made it a big deal to get everyone out of my personal life for a change and step into
hers.

"Grayson," I retorted nonchalantly. He pulled up the black baseball cap with the store logo he wore on his head, as if to get a better look. His eyes wandered over me before his smile grew.

"What can I get for ya, babe?" Ben's gaze finally moved from me to the soccer idiot behind the counter. His posture straightened slightly.

I rolled my eyes. "Call me that again and I'll tell
everyone what I saw in the basement and exactly how small
it
was."

His eyes mixed with confusion and worry. "But we didn't." He stopped and I smiled. "Cotton candy with sprinkles on a
cone?" He asked quickly. I nodded, my evil smile growing. He turned to Ben.

"Rocky road," Ben told Grayson, eyeing him. He paused, his eyes moved from me to Ben, and then back to me. One of his eyebrows rose, but he shook his head and turned his attention back to his task.

When we received our ice cream, Ben handed him the money and we left the shop. Grayson made another remark to me, and this time it was referring to Ben. I ignored him and walked out while Ben held the door open for
me. His eyes darkened when they shot, over my head, to Grayson.

When we were outside, I skipped down the steps and moved around the corner of the store. I found one of the benches on the sidewalk and
sat down. I looked up at Ben, swinging my legs.

He eyed me curiously and motioned to the shop. "What was that about?"

"I tutored Grayson in English and the next thing I know
the entire school thinks we had sex." I shook my head, smiling. "I never really cared to clear up the rumors. I figured I could use it against him someday."

He nodded his head in approval. "Nicely done."

I smiled thoughtfully. "Oh, I'm not finished yet."

He sat down beside me. "I wouldn't pegged you for the vengeful type."

I held up my hand that wasn't holding my ice cream. "If
it's fun I'll get my hands dirty." I adjusted my posture in the bench so I could look at him. I knew he was really tall, but even sitting down I felt like a dwarf next to him. He wasn't anything close to lanky either. He was full and
by the way his shirt stuck to his chest in the right places I could tell he worked out...a lot.

"Whatcha' looking at?" He asked with a sly smile.

My eyes widened when I realized I'd been staring at his
chest with my lips parted. My gaze dropped to the concrete. "Nothing," I stuttered and brought the ice cream to my mouth as a distraction.

"If you want to see me naked all you have to do is ask." He teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Why? I have you for that." He said and followed up with a smile. The light cast by the street lamp caught the silver of his lip ring and it glistened when he turned to look at me, waiting for my reaction.

"And millions of other girls all over the world."

He shrugged, indifferently. "They're not the same." His eyes moved from my lips to my eyes and my stomach tightened
into knots. His eyes were mesmerizing and attentive which probably had something to do with why I always felt out of breath whenever he looked at me.

I feigned interest as I put a hand to my chest and leaned
back. "Am I the chosen one?" I asked him in astonishment.

He stared at me blankly, his eyes calculating. After a moment he laughed briefly, shook his head, and turned to face the street in front of us. "If you could only understand the irony." I heard him
mutter.

I frowned, watching him. The lighthearted tone disappeared and the sultry darkness had returned. The breeze picked up and the chill brushed against my bare skin. The wind tousled his black hair when he leaned
forward, his elbows on his knees, his back stiff.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

He nodded, his eyes closed shut. I waited. Despite his rigid posture I remained comfortable in his presence. There was a warm pull I felt
when I was near him, inviting me closer. But I remained sitting with my back against the armrest of the bench, unable to move towards him.

The frigid air brought back the memory of that October night
last year. The wind left my hair in tangled clumps when I got home. My mind caught the memory of the wind. When it picked up, Ben changed, just as he did now. His actions were measured and collected until the wind changed and the
tension between us was unmistakable.

I was missing something. I felt as though I knew what it was too, but I couldn't reach it to name what it was. Ben's strange references to things I didn't understand. Things he didn't want me to understand. My thoughts
carried through the strange events that had occurred this evening. After being chased by that man, I somehow managed to run into Ben. I couldn't label it as coincidence anymore. My gut was telling me something, but I couldn't place it.

"Ben," I said quietly. I barely noticed his posture had relaxed until he turned to me. "Why were you in the graveyard tonight?"

His piercing eyes met mine. He stared at me, the muscle in
his jaw working. Rather than answering my question he said, "You can trust me, Bell."

He knew why I asked. There
was
something I was missing and he knew I was beginning to pick up on that. He had secrets and
something told me they weren't the simple kind that I could blab to my girlfriends about. He was good at deflecting my questions, which told me that he had years of practice and wasn't planning on opening up any time soon. Despite the secrecy, I trusted him. I hardly knew him and yet I felt as though
we'd known each other for years. And because of him I was still breathing.

I held his gaze. "I never said I didn't trust you."