Between Friends

by Amanda Cowen

  His? I gulp.

  His hands find my hips, and he slowly enters me letting a growl escape his throat, “Oh my God Megan, your body is so beautiful.”

  His erection moves in and out of me filling my insides with pleasure. He hovers over me, and places his face inches from mine. We lock eyes, and he studies my face, like he is mesmerizing everything in this moment. I hold his gaze and stare into the intensity, even though it makes me tremble beneath him. Our movement is slow and strong, until he gives me a few more pumps and releases inside me, never leaving his eyes from mine. “Fuck.” He grumbles and collapses beside me. What the hell? Is he angry with me?

  Ben lets out a tense sigh, “That was – I don’t even know what to say.”

  “Amazing?” I say and hope I am right.

  “More than amazing.” Ben says looks back into my eyes. Then he runs his fingers through my hair and looks away. He gets up from the bed and gives me a shot of his perfect ass, bends down and picks up his clothes. What is doing? I quickly sit up on the bed and pull my knees up to my chin feeling extremely exposed.

  “Want this?” he asks holding out the housecoat. I nod and snatch it from his fingers and mutter out a tiny thanks. He slides his shirt over his ridiculous six-pack, and steps into his shorts and buttons them up. I wrap the housecoat tightly around my waist and scurry over to my luggage. I put on a pair of yoga shorts and tight white tank.

  He flops down on the cotton sheets and a smile curls at the edge of his lips, “Come lie with me.”

  He pats the spot beside him and I walk over to the bed. He rips me on top of him and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. I roll over to the other side, and we huddle under the covers to face each other.

  “I love it when you don’t wear make-up and look au-natural.” Ben says matter-of-factly, “Your blue eyes against those long brown lashes, makes my heart melt.”

  I blush and thank him, then remember he told me something similar about six months ago. After our Sunday jog around Millennium Park, we were hunched over and winded, leaning on a park bench. I turned down my iPod from blasting “Spice Up Your Life” and pulled the headphones out from my ears. I felt Ben staring at me, so I glanced up to hear him say, “I love your natural glow.” I thanked him, but then never thought anything of it.

  When he points this out tonight, I think a lot of it. I think how over the years there were a lot of little things Ben did/said to me that I should have paid more attention to. Like, at our high school prom, when he ditched his ditsy date as soon as the first slow song came on and asked me to dance. Or last year at our office Christmas party, after our boss Clint Reitman told a funny joke, Ben whispered in my ear that he loved my laugh. Even a month ago, when I met him for a drink after his late showing on a condo in Little Italy, as soon as I walked into the bar, he made a point of telling me my legs looked great in my red BCBG dress.

  “Get this” Ben says, snapping me back to our conversation, “I forgot to tell you, but before we left, I snagged that listing in Lincoln Park over Blake Donahue.”

  “Seriously?” I laugh. Blake is Ben’s realty rival. They both hate each other, and Blake won’t hesitate to tamper with Ben’s listings or his clients.

  “Seriously,” He smiles and props his head on the pillow. We both burst out laughing over how pissed Blake must have been when he heard the news of Ben sweeping in to grab that million-dollar listing.

  “You always get the best listings,” I pout.

  “You get great listings too.” Ben says giving me a kiss on the cheek.

  “Not like you.” I sigh, “Everybody wants you. It’s not fair. What’s your secret?”

  “My perfect jaw line,” Ben jokes, and flashes me his side-profile.

  I smile and toss a pillow at him. Ben blocks the swat and whacks me back. We laugh, but he becomes serious again, “You seriously are a great realtor. You are just way too hard on yourself.”

  I roll my eyes, and thank him. With less than three years of my career under my belt that is far from true. Ben on the other hand was able to take his career by storm the second he got his real estate license.

  We are full of smiles and continue a gossipy conversation about the people in our office. Including a discussion on our bosses’ recent weight gain, and Millie the receptionist’s creepy looking boyfriend who sends her flowers every other day. But all conversation comes to a screeching halt, when the creaking hinges of the door startle us and Stephanie and Michelle tumble into the villa. I push away from Ben feeling caught red handed, but neither one of them flinches at the sight of us lying inches apart on the bed.

  “Well, hello” Stephanie says and tosses off her shoes.

  Michelle stumbles in behind her and flops down on the sofa, “What did you two do all night?”

  “Nothing” Ben calmly says and sits up on the bed, “I was too tired from fishing all day, so I called Megan to see what she was up to. I didn’t feel like going out either.”

  Stephanie makes her way over to my bed, and flops down on the edge beside Ben, “Well you guys missed out on a great night.” She runs her fingers up his exposed arm and pinches his cheek.

  Ben brushes her away, “How much have you had to drink?”

  “She’s intoxicated.” Michelle says and gets up from the sofa and looks right at me, “By the way, your boyfriend was there. Eric had him and Stephanie doing shots all night long.”

  “Whose boyfriend?” I ask playing-dumb, not at all impressed by this sudden labeling.

  “Ah let me think. The guy you’ve been seeing, Steven, Jessica’s cousin. Does that ring a bell?” Michelle says with a slight bit of humor to her voice, and kicks off her sandals. “He asked where you were tonight, but obviously we had to tell him you ditched out.”

  “Well just to be clear, he’s not my boyfriend.” I say and force my eyes to the floor.

  “You would be more than lucky if he was. He’s awesome.” Stephanie says with a hiccup, “You should have seen him and Eric on stage with the dancers from the resort. They were completely wasted and it was hilarious.”

  “Sounds like fun.” Ben rolls his eyes.

  “I wish you guys were there.” Stephanie coos and hangs off of Ben’s arm. She grazes her hand over his chest and bats her long auburn lashes in his face. Her behavior, although not surprising, instinctually has me wanting to rip her off of him. Of course I don’t. Instead I clench my jaw and shift between the sheets.

  “Well I think we had a pretty great night too.” Ben smiles at me and removes Stephanie’s hand from his chest.

  She darts her glazed eyes at me and raises her eyebrows, “Well how about that.” Then she adds with a slur, “It looks like we all had a great night then. Didn’t we Michelle?”

  “Shut up!” Michelle shouts and tosses her clutch; missing Stephanie by an inch.

  “I caught Michelle and Matthew having sex in the washroom.” Stephanie giggles.

  “I told you not to say anything,” Michelle snaps.

  “Oh, who cares, you two aren’t fooling anybody.” Stephanie says and flashes a coy smile at Ben. He shifts his weight and clears his throat. A few awkward seconds later, he gets up and says he is going back to his villa. Stephanie blows him a kiss as he exits through the doors. She looks back at us then says, “Well ladies. Goodnight.”

  ****

  The next morning I wake up, crawl out of bed and throw on a simple black string bikini. I rifle through my luggage and pull out a sparkling stunner of a cover-up. It is a sexy black sheer bodice with a dazzling gold embellishment plunging along the neckline. I wanted to wear this once I got a little sun kissed, so I am glad that my white Chicago skin is gone, and my tropical glow is radiating.

  I walk down the cobblestone road, leaving the villa and the girls to their dreams. I find my way to the breakfast buffet alone and happy. I select a hearty meal of poached eggs, toast, and a fruit salad. I pick a small table in the corner over-looking the ocean, eat in peace and drink my coffee. When I cannot stand to swallow dow
n another bite, a server comes by and asks me if I want a refill on my coffee. I do want more, but I decline because I have to meet Jessica in the lobby to help her go over some last minute wedding details with the wedding planner from the resort.

  As I make my way up the stairs and into the lobby, I see Jessica waiting patiently in an overstuffed chair and flipping through a magazine. When she sees me, her eyes light up before she pounces up from her seat, “Oh Megan, I was wondering where you were! I am so glad you are with me for this.”

  “Aren’t we just finalizing the dinner menu?” I ask.

  “Well that, and some other things. This is a really big deal.” Jessica moans tugging on my arm, “Everything needs to be perfect. You know I can’t handle anything going wrong or any unnecessary imperfections.”

  “Everything is going to be fine.” I assure her, “We already know from eating here that the food is fabulous.”

  Jessica smiles, “I did pick a good resort.”

  “The best,” I smile back.

  Jessica’s eyes dart away from me, and she waves over at a short and skinny bald man. He sees her arms flailing and gives her an over-the-top smile. His nose is long and skinny, and his cheekbones are really high and defined.

  “Megan this is Jose, the wedding planner for the resort. Jose this is Megan, my maid-of-honor” She beams between the two of us.

  He extends his bony hand, and I notice his crooked teeth through his plastered grin. We shake, and I tell him how nice it is to meet him. He nods and looks back to Jessica, “Okee, right this way ladies,” and waves us down a hallway jetting out from the lobby and into his office.

  My whole morning and early afternoon is spent listening to Jose and Jessica talk about every single detail of the wedding. They nit-pick every item and act out the ceremony three times. We go over the flowers. We discuss decorations. We even praise Jessica on her great choice of selecting the color turquoise for the bridesmaid’s dresses.

  Then Jose gives us a run-down of what will be happening behind the scenes during the ceremony and reception. Things like where the photographer will be, what the DJ will be playing during dinner, and then what he will play later for the dance portion. Jose even goes as far as telling us how many waiters will be serving each table, and the exact time each dinner course is expected to arrive.

  Finally we start our discussion on the food, and that becomes a small nightmare. First Jessica thinks she wants fish. Then she remembers her Uncle Gary has a fish allergy. Then she decides on beef tenderloin, but turns pouty and decides beef is too typical of a wedding. Then she waffles between a stuffed breast of chicken or Veal Roulade (I have no clue what that is), but then she decides neither will do. At this point, she looks to me for advice, but I am so confused and exhausted from listening to her and Jose talk, that my day just went from living the Vida loca to wanting to rip my hair out.

  I try my best to give some suggestions. I recommend pork tenderloin or maybe some other type of chicken. But flamboyant Jose and the flick of his wrist immediately shut me down. Jessica tells me to think outside the box, and I tell her I am trying. For the next thirty minutes, I let her and Jose carryon without me. I sit staring off into space until I hear them finally come up with a main dish. They of course think it will be out of this world, but I would argue that it is a little over the top. Jose repeats their finalized menu, and Jessica vibrates in her chair.

  “Every guest will get a piece of fillet mignon and a piece of chicken Kiev, plus a side of lobster tail.” Jose exclaims, “Minus Uncle Gary of course on the lobster.”

  “It’s perfect.” Jessica squeals, “What do you think Megan?”

  “I think it will be the best dinner anyone has ever had, not to mention the most expensive.” I smile.

  “I know!” Jessica shouts, “Everything is going to be done with such class. Just like how it should be.”

  Jessica and Jose hug as she thanks him a million times over.

  When we finally leave Jose’s office, we cruise our way through the lobby before Jessica asks, “You hungry?”

  “After all that food talk who wouldn’t be?” I say as we step directly into the scorching sun.

  “Michael is having lunch with Ben to discuss the bachelor party for tomorrow night. I thought we could join them and go over what you have planned for the bachelorette.” She smiles and bats her eyes at me.

  “Fine by me” I say, feeling all giddy inside at the thought of seeing Ben.

  When we walk into the restaurant, they are already waiting for us and have ordered our food. Ben’s face lights up when he sees me and I know mine lights up too, because I feel myself flush gazing into his dark brown eyes.

  “How’d it go?” Michael asks standing to greet Jessica.

  “Wonderful!” Jessica exclaims, “Jose is the best, isn’t he Megan?”

  “He is pretty special.” I mumble and sit down beside Ben.

  Right away, she starts to tell Michael everything we discussed with Jose, and makes me relieve the wedding planning horror. Amongst her chattering, Ben leans over and whispers in my ear, “I missed you.”

  I bite my lip and whisper that I missed him too. He leans back in his chair all calm and collected, while I break out in a sweat, just hearing him say those three little words.

  “Okay, Ben. Tell me exactly what you have planned.” Jessica says a takes a tiny bite from her bland salad.

  “It’s pretty straight forward.” Ben shrugs and bites into his wrap. He chews, swallows then says, “It’s none of your business anyway; it’s Michael’s bachelor party not yours.”

  Jessica freezes with anger, “It is so my business. Right, Michael?”

  Michael quickly nods and looks at Ben, “Just tell her already and stop being such a dick.”

  “Fine” Ben mumbles and puts down his wrap. “Golf in the morning, a late dinner, then drinks at the Sports bar afterwards. Is that okay? Is Michael allowed to attend his own bachelor party?”

  Jessica bites her lip and lets out a cocky chuckle, “Don’t be a wise ass.”

  “I’m not!” Ben laughs and leans back to stretch out his long legs, “I just don’t see why you have to micromanage everything. You are going to drive yourself crazy if you don’t relax.”

  “Have you ever planned a wedding Ben?” Jessica says and drops her fork. He opens his mouth to answer, but she interjects, “I didn’t think so.” Then she darts her eyes at me, “Now you tell me what you have planned for the bachelorette.”

  I trade a glance with Michael who looks petrified and clear my throat, “I planned a full day at the Spa, followed by a nice formal dinner, and then drinks at the Theatre bar.” I say and hope my plans are up to snuff for the bride-to-be.

  Jessica leans back in her chair and glances at Michael with raised eyebrows. Then she looks between Ben and I and points her tiny finger in our faces, “Okay, now that I know our parties will not overlap, I still need you guys to make sure Michael and I do not see each other at all tomorrow. It’s really bad luck if we do.”

  Ben nods, “Don’t worry Jess, we don’t want you around anyway. I wouldn’t want you punching out any of the Costa Rican strippers I ordered for us.”

  Jessica narrows her eyes at Ben “I wouldn’t put it past you to do something stupid like that. You better be joking.”

  Ben raises his eyebrows and gives her a smug grin, “Maybe I am, and maybe I’m not. But now you’ll never know.”

  If looks could kill, Ben would be dead. Jessica gently leans her hundred and five pound self across the table and whispers, “If I find out there was even one stripper within three feet of Michael, I will rip your beloved balls off.”

  “Jessica relax, he’s joking.” Michael says and stupidly smiles at Ben.

  “Don’t smile at him!” Jessica says, and slaps Michael in the shoulder.

  “That’s okay if they do.” I say with a proud grin, “Because I hired us some sexy male Costa Rican strippers of our own for tomorrow night.”

  Ben narrow
s his eyes at me then leans back in his chair with amusement, “Really?”

  “Really” I lie, and hear Jessica snicker in my ear.

  “You’re full of shit.” Ben says with chuckle.

  “Well, I guess you’ll never know.” I say and give him a tiny wink.

  ****

  When lunch is over, Jessica and Michael take off to spend time with their families. Ben and I linger by the front of the restaurant and wave goodbye. As soon as they are out of our sight, he turns to me and says, “Meet me in the lobby no later than three-thirty.”

  “Why?” I ask and flirtatiously toss my hair to the side.

  “Don’t do that.” Ben whispers, “Every time you toss your hair like that I want to fuck you.”

  “Why do you have to be so vulgar?” I whisper.

  He laughs and tugs on a few strands of my hair, “Just be there.”

  I tap my foot on the ground and we hold an intense gaze for a few moments, “Where are you taking me?”

  He flashes me a wicked grin and glances down at his phone, “You have approximately forty-five minutes to put on that tight jean skirt of yours and get your ass down to the lobby. Don’t make me come and find you.” He scolds, kisses the top of my head and walks off in the other direction.

  By the time three-thirty rolls around, I am the only one patiently waiting in the lobby before Ben pops out of nowhere from a hidden hallway.

  “Where were you?” I tease, “It’s three thirty five.”

  “Getting these,” Ben says and dangles a set of keys in front of my face, “We’re taking a little drive.”

  “Off the resort? Without a tour guide?” I ask as fear rises in my voice.

  “Oh relax.” Ben laughs, “Don’t you trust me?”

  I cross my arms in front of my chest and pop my hips to the side, “I want to know where you think you’re taking me?”

  “It’s a surprise” Ben says and starts to walk away. “Are you coming or what?”