It was perfect.
“Tonight then.” He said; his voice muffled against her shoulder. “I can’t wait.”
“I can’t either.”
And she couldn’t. She honest to goodness couldn’t.
Chapter 6
Benji
So maybe Prairie Town wasn’t so much fun on a Friday night, but he quickly learned that things could turn around if one simply invited a bunch of good friends, smoked a little weed, and put a few coins in the jukebox at Rusty’s Lanes in the next town over.
Aeros City, North Carolina was the total opposite of Lydia’s hometown. The streets rolled up by 7pm in good ole PT, but Aeros City was wide awake and thriving with its youth as partygoers and thrill seekers drove down the streets, hooting and hollering in excitement.
It was a miniature version of Las Vegas and the bowling alley was the mecca for all rowdy, fun-having young people.
It could have been worse, really. The biggest thing Prairie Town seemed to have was the 24-hour supermarket. At least the bowling alley offered pool tables, pinball machines, junk food, and of course, bowling.
Benji was all for it.
And the best part? Laney did tag along with them and he hoped he could get a minute alone with her. Even if it only involved saying hi and making an idiot of himself, he would cherish those sixty seconds.
“Okay, so we’ve got sodas and we’ve got nachos.” Lydia announced as she appeared with a tray stacked a mile high with nachos and cheese. Her smile was unwavering as she glanced back at Callum. He was helping with the tray of drinks and Benji could tell he was happy to do it.
As he should be. He thought. If Callum wasn’t the type of man to help his woman, Benji would’ve been happy to educate him, but it seemed the guy already had it under control. Good.
“Oh, fantastic!” Ags said as he jumped up from his seat and grabbed for a box of nachos. “You read my mind; this is exactly what I was craving.”
“Munchies much?” Benji snickered, reaching for a cup of soda.
“Duh. It wouldn’t be much fun otherwise.” Ags mumbled, cramming his mouth full.
Benji’s eyes wandered to Laney, who had leaned over, attempting to tie her bowling shoes. It wasn’t entirely his fault if the collar of her shirt was hanging low enough to get a peek at her cleavage, was it?
Look away. His mind told him. But did he listen?
No.
It was by sheer luck that Ags caught his attention before Laney caught him staring. His friend wrapped an arm around his neck and laughed about something, though Benji had no damn idea what had been said because he wasn’t paying a bit of attention.
“Shit, he’s funny.” Ags said, his eyes following Jeb’s every move. “And cute.” He added in a lower voice. “Don’t you think he’s cute?”
“Eh, if I was into guys, he’d be all right.” Benji responded, nudging his friend’s ribs lightly. “Why don’t you just go talk to him?”
“I can’t. He’s not into me. He’s barely into Aggie.”
The sadness in Ags’ voice really crushed him, but no one could afford to be without a buzz tonight. So in good Benji fashion, he tousled Ags’ perfectly groomed hair and pointed towards the pins waiting to be knocked down.
“Ready to start this game?”
“Are you kidding me?” Ags rolled his eyes. “I was born for this game. Get me a ball, Sir.”
The night was turning out to be a blast for all of them. He already knew that Lydia was an excellent bowler, but what Laney hadn’t known was they had played together loads of times in the past. There was a slight chance she would have said no if she thought he wouldn’t enjoy the idea of bowling with her.
Truth be told, counting cracks in a wall would have been splendid as long as he could count those cracks with her.
As the game progressed and his high began to fade, he gathered his courage and approached Laney once her turn came round again.
“Need some help there, Gutter Queen?” He asked, resting his hands against her hips.
She jumped a little which caused him to pull his hands away, and whirled around to look at him with a goofy smile on her lips.
“I have no idea what I’m doing.” She admitted. “I suck at this.”
“You don’t suck. You just need a little guidance.”
“Trust me. Jeb and Lydia have tried to teach me and it never works out. I think I’m just not destined to play.”
“Everyone’s destined to play,”—he winked—“especially beautiful girls such as yourself.”
Oh, shit. Why did I say that?
She giggled in response and he sighed inwardly. The way her eyes sparkled told him she wasn’t making fun of him; she was genuinely flattered.
“So can I show you a few pointers?”
“I think that would be okay.” Laney nodded. She turned back around and gripped her ball, waiting for his instruction.
Stepping up behind her again, he slid his arms around her body and placed his hands over hers. Resting his chin against her shoulder, he spoke loud enough for her to hear.
“You want to make sure you always keep your eyes on the pins, okay?”
“Uh huh. I’m doing that.” She replied, backing up a little.
Holy shit. Was she pressing into him on purpose?
Begging his body to behave and for his thoughts to remain clean, he swallowed hard and traced his fingers over hers. “Fingers in the holes comfortably?”
“Perfect fit.” She replied breathlessly.
Okay, so he was fairly confident she was wiggling her ass against him on purpose. Jesus Fuck Almighty, how was he supposed to teach her anything when she was distracting him like that? The only thing he wanted to teach her now was how to orgasm on command.
“Good. Now, you’re going to bring your hand back like this,”—he pulled her hand back a ways, but not too far—“and then you’re going to move it forward like you’re pitching a ball, all right?”
“Okay.”
“But don’t toss it. Let it go a little closer to the floor or else you’ll bust a hole in it.”
She giggled and nodded, doing as he instructed. Their hands moved together perfectly and she released the ball. They watched as it rolled down the lane, veering off to the right a little.
“Oh please, oh please, oh please.” She chanted, never budging from her spot.
He did enjoy the feel of her soft curves against him, but if she squirmed again, he’d probably end up doing something he’d get slapped for.
When her ball took down three pins, she squealed in excitement and turned in his arms, hugging him.
“I got some! I got some!” She cupped either side of his face and smiled broadly.
And before he could really stop himself, he kissed her.
----------
Laney
She was so caught up in the exhilaration of knocking the pins over that she didn’t realize what was happening until she felt Benji’s amazingly soft lips against her own. The cool metal of his lip ring caused chills to run down her spine and her legs turned to complete mush.
Nothing else existed in the following seconds. It was only him and her and the taste of Cherry Coke.
It was the most perfect kiss she’d ever experienced.
The rhythmic bass from the jukebox barely reached her ears because her heart was beating to the sound of an entirely different melody. She was pretty sure it matched the pace of Benji’s as he moved closer and pulled her against his chest, deepening the kiss as his tongue slid past her lips.
An involuntary moan slowly made its way up her throat and he drank it in, devouring her mouth hungrily and with so much heat she was afraid she’d somehow get burned.
It was a hell of a kiss. Benji sure knew what he was doing.
But the wolf-whistles and applause sounding from behind them caused her to pull away—much sooner than she wanted to—and she turned to stare at her brother, sister, and their friends with a red face.
“Get it, girl!
” Agnes yelled through cupped hands. “Get you some Benji sugar. Owwoo!”
“Ooh la la.” Lydia teased with a laugh.
The only one who didn’t seem to be teasing them was Jeb, who was too busy staring back and forth between them in confusion.
Glancing back at Benji apologetically, she tucked some hair behind her ear nervously and smiled. “Sorry about that…”
“No way. Don’t apologize. I’m the one who kissed you.” He grinned and her eyes immediately fell to his lips.
She wanted to kiss him again…
“I wanted you to.” She mumbled.
He must not have heard her over the music because he cocked his head to the side and smiled. “What?”
“N-nothing.” She stammered, a fit of giggles overcoming her as she slowly backed away from him and headed back to retrieve her ball.
In all honesty she should have been paying attention to her walking instead of looking at him, because the next thing she knew her ass was hitting the floor and she wanted to shrink down to the size of an ant. She’d tripped over her own feet.
“Oh my god! Laney! Are you okay?” Lydia asked as she jumped up from her seat.
Everyone was trying to rush to her rescue and all she wanted to do was hide.
“I’m fine.” She lied. Her tailbone was going to pay for that mistake, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as her ego. “I’m clumsy. My bad.”
It was Benji’s hands that grabbed her first and he hoisted her up with surprising strength. It was then—and only then—that she noticed the muscles he possessed. God, when had he gotten such muscles?
“You okay?” He rested a hand against the small of her back. “That was a nasty fall.”
“I’m fine, honest.” Her breathing was shallow, but that was probably due to the fact he’d just kissed the life out of her. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He released her once again and she carefully moved to her seat.
The game continued on and their kiss was seemingly forgotten.
Or at least she thought so until she caught Jeb staring at her. His expression was hard to read.
Was he mad at her?
Offering him a small smile, she hoped that wasn’t the case. He knew the truth about Benji’s past—was he judging her for the kiss?
She opened her mouth to say something, anything, when his phone began chirping. It must have been a pretty important message because he immediately got up from his seat and hurried towards the door.
Who was he talking to?
Being a McIntosh meant she was a naturally curious creature. Of course she got up to follow him outside because for all she knew it was a text from their parents. Maybe something was wrong with their father.
Oh god, I hope not!
Panic seized her as she picked up the pace, practically running out the front door and coming to an abrupt halt when she realized Jeb was nowhere in sight.
Where the hell did he go that fast?
“Jeb?”
No reply.
Aside from a few teenagers hanging out at the end of the sidewalk, there wasn’t another soul to be seen. Where could he have taken off to so fast? And why?
As the chilly spring air nipped at her naked arms, she wrapped them around herself and hurried down the sidewalk. Bypassing the chattering teenagers, she cut around the building and spotted the silhouette of a man standing near the dumpster.
Ah ha!
“Jeb, what are you doing back here? Are you okay?”
She struggled to see him in the darkness. The street light hardly covered five feet of the parking lot, let alone where her brother was standing.
What if something terrible had happened to their father and he was trying to hide his grief?
That was so typical Jeb; trying to protect her feelings, as always.
“Jebson!” She shouted.
How could he not hear her?
Huffing in annoyance, she took quick steps to get to him. Oh, he was going to get a piece of her mind. Hiding away to talk on the phone about their father’s health issues was not okay. He needed to learn to include his sisters in these sorts of things. He needed—
She skidded to a halt when ‘her brother’ stepped into the light and she quickly realized it wasn’t him at all.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.” Taking a few steps back, a nervous laugh escaped her. “I’ll just let you get back to your phone call.”
The only problem was, the guy wasn’t on a phone in the first place.
He lifted a cigarette to his lips and took a drag, allowing the smoke to billow through his nostrils like a dragon. His dark eyes remained on her as he approached her.
“Hey there.” He said in a deep, gruff voice. “What are you doing out here, baby doll?”
Baby doll? Yuck. Swallowing her nerves into place, Laney laughed it off and turned on her heels, walking as quickly—but also calmly—as she could back towards the front of the building.
“Where are you going in such a hurry, sweetie? We could have some fun.”
“I don’t think so.” She muttered, glancing back to make sure he wasn’t too close.
God, this is just my luck. I get kissed by the hot guy, only to be killed by the creepy one. Way to go, Laney.
A million scenarios began to play through her mind as she zipped around the corner and crashed into a rock hard body. Releasing a cry of both surprise and pain, her ass hit the pavement.
“Really?” She cried, wincing from the pain shooting through her tailbone.
“Laney? What the hell?” Jeb asked, pulling her up like she weighed nothing. “Are you okay?”
“I’m f-fine.” She said through clenched teeth, glancing over her shoulder just in time to see the man round the corner.
He froze in place and she felt Jeb’s fingers dig into her upper arm.
“What the hell are you looking at?” He asked, his tone dangerous and low.
“Nothing, man. Nothing.” The guy said, turning around and disappearing around the corner.
A wave of relief washed over her as she peered up at her brother again. “Thanks.”
“No problem. But what were you doing back there?”
“I was looking for you.”
He seemed surprised. “Why?”
“Because you took off when you got that text and I thought it was about Dad. I thought maybe something had happened… It was stupid, okay? I’m sorry.”
“Dad? What? Laney, no.” His large hands fell against her shoulders and he slowly shook his head. “It wasn’t about Dad, okay? It was… Never mind. That’s not important. Are you really all right? You’re shaking like a leaf.”
“I’m really okay, Jeb. I swear.” She reassured him. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Yet I do because it’s my job.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her back towards the entrance. “So, uh, you and Benji, huh?”
“Don’t start.” She groaned. “It was just a kiss. It was reflex, you know? I finally knocked down some pins.”
“Uh huh.” He chortled. “Just a reflex.”
She knew he didn’t believe her and that made her worry even more. What if he told their parents? What if her mom flipped her lid over it? Accepting Lydia was one thing, but being able to wrap her head around the fact her daughter was extremely attracted to a trans man?
“Don’t tell Mom and Dad. Please?”
“Hey, that’s your business. I reckon if you want to tell them, you will. It’s not my place.”
“Thanks.”
He opened the door for her and she stepped in, quickly turning to face him.
“Are you going to tell me what that text was about?”
His smile disappeared and his demeanor changed. How odd.
“Let’s not worry about that, okay? It wasn’t even important.”
“Okay…”
She didn’t believe him, not in the slightest.
Whoever it was, whatever it was about, Laney
wasn’t sure she liked it very much. Anyone who could steal her brother’s smile away was definitely, most certainly, without a doubt, bad news.
Chapter 7
Laney
She awoke to the sound of chaos. There was muffled screaming, shouting, and lots of thumping. It sounded like someone was being murdered.
Sitting up as straight as an arrow, she turned her head in the direction of her door and tried to decipher what was being said.
“Turn it off! It’s going to flood the place!”
Was that her brother shrieking like a little girl?
“What the hell.” She threw her covers off her legs and got out of bed, stumbling over her own feet as she pulled the door open and poked her head outside.
The last thing she expected to see was a small river of water flowing down the hallway.
“Oh my god!” She cried. “What the hell happened?”
An enraged Lydia appeared, drenched from head to toe, with a terrifying look of fury on her face. “The stupid dishwasher just exploded and I can’t get the water turned off.”
“Holy shit.” Carefully treading through the water, Laney hurried past her fuming sister and peered into the kitchen.
Sure enough, water and soapy suds were gushing all over the floor, soaking into the carpet and rushing beneath the doors.
“It’s not my fault!” Jeb, red-faced and bulgy-veined, insisted. “I just turned the damn thing on like she asked me to.”
“You must have stuck something in there to make it do that, Jeb!” Lydia pointed an accusatory finger at him.
“I did not!” He shouted back.
Laney suddenly felt six years old again, and her siblings were just having another screaming match over toys. All she could do was stare back and forth as they glared at one another.
“Well, I didn’t put anything in there to break it. Did you, Laney?”
“No.” Her eyes bulged. Angry Lydia was terrifying.
“Well then it had to be you, Jeb. Ugh!” Lydia stomped her foot and did an about face, disappearing into the bathroom.
“Crazy heffer.” Jeb muttered, kicking the toe of his boot against the wall. “I didn’t break anything.”
“Well, I think we should all take a deep breath and—”
90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) Page 8