by M. Malone
After reading a few more pages, he put down his tablet in frustration. He just couldn’t get past the fact that none of it was real.
“What’s the point of reading an entire story when after I’m done, I haven’t learned anything useful?”
Then he imagined having to go to work tomorrow and tell Katie that he couldn’t even read two chapters. He’d promised to give it a try no matter how hard it was. He could almost hear Katie’s voice telling him to try having a little fun.
“It won’t kill me, she says. Well, that remains to be seen.” He picked up his tablet again and started reading, determined to pretend that dragons were real and somehow able to live unnoticed among humans. At least the main character seemed to be a sensible type of man. Bennett actually liked him quite a bit. He was a lone spot of sanity in a crazy story.
The next time he glanced up, it was four hours later, his eyes were burning and every one of his joints ached from sitting in the same position.
“What just happened?” He looked around in confusion.
He’d only meant to read the assigned two chapters so he could tell her that he’d given it a try. But then the main character had revealed that he was actually a shapeshifter also. Then when it had been revealed that he was there for the sole purpose of influencing human politics in ways that would benefit the hidden shapeshifting dragon population, well he hadn’t been able to stop reading then. Especially since he’d identified with the main character’s sense of isolation.
A smile tugged at the edges of his lips. He felt quite silly getting so into a book that was completely frivolous but at the same time he couldn’t deny that he was actually reluctant to go to sleep. If his eyes weren’t burning so badly after a long day, he’d probably read for a little longer. It turned out that having a little fun wouldn’t hurt him after all.
He put his tablet aside but he was thinking about the story the whole time as he took a shower and pulled on a loose pair of pajama pants.
His last thought as he climbed into bed and turned off the light was that he couldn’t wait to tell Katie about it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
♥
The next day, Bennett barely managed to get downstairs before Katie was knocking on the door. He rolled his neck and grimaced at the tight pain between his shoulders. For someone who had always been a morning person, he wasn’t used to feeling like roadkill in the morning.
His crankiness must have been obvious because Katie skirted around him gingerly once he opened the door and let her in.
“Rough night?” she asked as she hung her jacket in the front closet. She had to stretch up on her toes to hang it and it made her long tunic top ride up to show the curve of her bottom.
“You could say that,” he muttered.
When she turned around, Bennett averted his gaze quickly. He rubbed his eyes. “I just haven’t had coffee yet.”
Katie hummed in agreement, the soft sound settling in his cranky, tired brain like a pornographic moan. Bennett stiffened and willed himself not to get hard. Please not now. This was almost as bad as the time he’d gotten an erection watching his math teacher write equations on the chalkboard. Luckily he’d been sitting down at the time but it was still mortifying, especially since that erection had persisted all through class. He was a big guy all over. It wasn’t so easy to hide a massive boner while trying to carry an armful of books between classes. For the first time in his life, he’d actually considered just going home early and skipping the rest of his classes that day.
But just like then, he managed to get himself together. “Would you like some?”
Katie shrugged. “I could do with a cup. Is it weird that I don’t drink anything in the morning? Everyone I know swears by either tea or coffee but I just drink whatever’s in the fridge.”
Bennett regarded her with mock horror. “Yes, that’s weird. And I’m the authority on weird.”
She giggled and the sound lifted his mood instantly.
“See? I guess we have something in common after all,” Katie said.
He moved around his small kitchen, brewing two cups of coffee and arranging the sugar and creamer on the countertop for Katie. He didn’t take anything in his coffee but watched with interest as Katie dumped several spoonfuls of sugar and a bunch of creamer in her cup before taking a big sip.
She glanced at him before taking another sip. Bennett smiled slightly before putting everything back. When he turned around again, she was still looking at him with that funny little smile.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah. Fine. Totally fine. So what are we working on today?”
Bennett led her over to where a new aquarium had been set up and they ran through procedure for sifting the soil, adding the measured amounts of water for each sample and how to record it all in the shared folder. Katie asked a few questions and then he left her to it.
He sighed. There were plenty of things that he could work on today but he didn’t feel like doing any of it. It was a completely unfamiliar feeling to not want to work. Bennett made a face.
“Are you okay?” Katie asked from across the room.
“No, I’m not okay. And it’s entirely your fault,” he grumbled.
Katie’s face fell. “What? What did I do?”
Feeling ridiculous but already committed to the conversation, Bennett crossed his arms. “You made me read that damn book and now all I can think about is whether Senator Drake is going to be revealed or whether Natasha can keep his secret!”
Katie stared at him for a long moment, nothing moving on her entire body except her lashes as she blinked at him. Then she suddenly let out a startled peal of laughter. “You read the book!”
Her smile was so open and so beautiful that Bennett was momentarily thrown having it directed at him. “Yes, I stayed up half the night reading. I really enjoyed it.”
She trotted over to him in excitement. “Was it hard to do something fun for a change?”
She was smiling so he knew she was teasing. Or at least he thought she was. But this didn’t feel like the type of teasing he was used to. This made him feel kind of hot and breathless. He hadn’t felt like this since he’d first tried to flirt back in high school.
“It was at first. I couldn’t understand the point of reading about something that isn’t real. Then I suddenly found that I didn’t care. I just wanted to know what happened next.”
Katie’s clasped her hands in front of her, a pleased smile on her face. “That’s usually how it happens. Welcome to the world of book hangovers!”
Bennett laughed. “Is that what they’re called? Book hangovers? I guess it’s better than the usual type.”
“I agree. But now that you've admitted to liking the book, I have to confess that you almost got stuck reading something else. Your sister-in-law recommended a book for you that was extremely inappropriate.”
Bennett really wanted to ask what kind of inappropriate book but before he could, she was already talking about something else.
“I can’t wait until you get to the next part. Natasha is perfect for him but there’re so many things about her you don’t know yet. But no spoilers! I won’t say anything else.”
Her eyes danced with glee at the prospect. Bennett wouldn’t have thought it was possible for anyone to be this excited about something as simple as a book. It was also fun to share the experience with someone else. Something he would have never thought would matter to him.
“I used to read for pleasure all the time when I was younger. I’m not sure when that changed. But I’m glad you gave me a little push.”
“Me too. I can’t imagine a world without make believe. When I was growing up, whether I was hungry or lonely or sad, I could get lost in a book and be somewhere else. I could travel a thousand miles in the blink of an eye and suddenly none of the bad stuff mattered. Books are the only place magic exists anymore.”
For a moment, she looked so sad that Bennett actually felt a little pang
in his own chest. Katie was unrelentingly optimistic so the sight of her looking so defeated seemed wrong. And made him feel helpless.
“Well, you really helped me, Katie. After years spent learning new things, it’s humbling to realize that I could have forgotten something that used to make me so happy.”
Just like that, her smile was back. She patted his arm. “I’m glad that I was able to help you remember. I’m sure it’s not like the books you’re used to reading. Don used to read those medical journals with the tiny print. I tried one once and I couldn’t understand anything. It might as well have been a different language.”
Bennett gritted his teeth at the mention of her ex. “You weren’t missing anything. Why should you be up on technical jargon for a field that you have never studied?”
Katie shrugged. “Oh I know. I didn’t expect that I would understand it all. But I was just trying to be supportive. Don always said that I couldn’t understand how hard he worked and how much he was expected to know. So I was trying to show him that I was interested in his world. Not that he appreciated it. He laughed when he saw me reading it. Told me to stick to my gossip magazines.”
She shrugged but the usual twinkle in her eye was gone and she had the hunched posture he remembered from her first day at work. Like she expected to be made fun of again.
“There’s always going to be someone who knows more than you. I’ve met people who are vastly superior in their fields and have accomplished way more than I have in mine. I actually had a classmate in graduate school who made fun of my first patented invention. He said it looked like something that would be sold on TV for three easy payments of $9.99.”
Katie’s mouth fell open. “What a jerk! I bet he’d never invented anything.”
Bennett laughed. “Actually he had. The guy was a prodigy. He probably had several patents under his belt before he even entered high school.”
“Well, well, whatever. I bet all his inventions sucked donkey balls and so did he!”
Bennett burst out laughing. “Wow. I don’t know about that but he was an asshole and everybody in that class hated him. All that intelligence couldn’t win him any friends. I may not be Mr. Popular but I don’t think I have any enemies either.”
Katie looked shocked. “Mr. Popular. Bennett no matter how you may feel, everybody likes you. All I used to hear before I met you was how the oldest Alexander brother was some kind of super genius and the hottest one of them all.”
Bennett almost choked. “Hot? Who said I was hot?”
“Um, every woman in New Haven with a pulse has probably said that at some point. But besides that, everyone respects you. You should hear the way Jackson used to talk about you. He’s so crazy proud of you. They all are.”
Bennett could feel the flush rising from beneath his collar. Not for the first time, he cursed being the palest one in his family. He was also the only one who’d ever had sunburn. His brothers had loved teasing him about his perpetually red cheeks in the summer. He’d never been able to hide his feelings.
Katie covered her mouth. “Did I embarrass you? Sorry, I just meant that you’re nothing like that guy, Bennett. You have a lot of friends. We’re just working on making it easier for you to talk to them.”
“Right. Talking to them.” Bennett watched absently as Katie patted his arm and then went back to her workstation.
He tried to get some work done but after attempting to read the same lab results multiple times, he gave up and just watched Katie. It was surprisingly relaxing to watch her move around the lab. She was a generally cheerful person and often hummed or sang to herself. He wondered if she was even aware she did it.
She claimed that they were just working to get him comfortable talking to people but he hadn’t had any trouble talking to her today. Something about Katie always made him feel good. Accepted. He really enjoyed talking to her.
He scowled remembering her story about the medical journal. Her asshole ex-husband had clearly done a number on her confidence. He hated to see her doubting herself due to that guy’s put-downs. She was so kind and deserved better than a guy like that.
What, a guy like you?
Bennett sighed. He probably wouldn't do any better. Katie was a social butterfly and made friends easily. Sure, she didn’t mind correcting his social missteps now because he was paying her. But what woman wanted to have a boyfriend that she constantly had to apologize for? At least her asshole ex had probably known how to behave in public.
Their conversation had shed quite a bit of light on things nonetheless. He’d always thought he was an embarrassment to his family. The strange one that they had to explain to others. It was nice to know that they’d been praising him behind his back all this time. But that wasn’t the part of the conversation he most wanted to revisit. He really wanted to backtrack and talk about this “every woman thinks you’re hot” business.
Did every woman include Katie?
♥
Katie mentally kicked herself as she made another notation on the tablet in front of her. They’d been having a perfectly great conversation and she’d just had to go and ruin it by telling Bennett that every red-blooded woman with a pulse thought he was hot.
Hot. She’d actually told her boss that he was sexy and women lusted after him. If he hadn’t been watching her so closely she would’ve smacked herself in the forehead. Katie sighed. When was she going to learn to keep her big mouth shut? She just got so worked up sometimes and it had truly taken her off guard that Bennett didn’t seem to know how women viewed him. Really, how could he not know? Did he not notice the way women looked at him? Because Katie was pretty sure that she’d stared at him with her tongue hanging out a time or two.
Or seven.
Finally, after a few minutes of awkward silence, Bennett got up and wandered into his office. Once his door closed behind him, Katie let out the breath she’d been holding. If she was going to work here, she had to learn how to keep her cool. Bennett was easily flustered and she was supposed to be helping him learn to be comfortable with people, not making him feel worse. Besides, there was no point to telling him those sorts of things anyway. What chance did she have with him even if he knew she thought he was attractive? Not that she knew anything about his preferences but she could only assume he was into women who were as smart as he was. Probably some female wunderkind with a million different college degrees who could flirt with him in Latin.
Ugh. Katie pushed the thoughts aside and focused on finishing up her work. That was what she was here for. To do a good job and get paid. That’s it. It was worth taking the time to remind herself of what was at stake here because she couldn’t afford to screw this up. Her bills were already piled so high that she could swim in them. This job was her chance to dig her way out of that hole. With renewed determination, she focused on her work.
After she was done making notations, she straightened up the tabletop. One of the water droppers she’d been using to add moisture to each sample fell off the table. When she bent to pick it up, she noticed something on the floor under the table Bennett usually worked on. She walked over and then stooped low to get it.
It was an invitation. Katie skimmed over it quickly. Bennett had been invited to a gala for a group called Mentor Science.
“That’s an award ceremony that I’ve been invited to.”
At the sound of his voice, Katie almost dropped the invitation. She wasn’t sure why she felt guilty. It wasn’t like she’d been snooping around. The invitation had been on the floor in plain sight.
“You’re a mentor? That’s awesome.”
Bennett shrugged but she could see the compliment pleased him. “I’m receiving an award for mentoring my last assistant. I also did a few sessions where I stood in as a guest teacher for one of his classes.”
Katie could just imagine what it was like for those young college girls to have a teacher like Bennett. If he’d been teaching any of her classes in school, she wouldn’t have learned a damn thing.
<
br /> “I bet you did a great job. The kids were lucky to have a teacher with as much hands-on experience as you do.”
Bennett smiled. “I’m not sure they were so happy about it. One of the extra credit projects involved them coming out here to the farm. Not all of them were thrilled with stepping in manure.”
“Hmm. I could see how that might be a problem.”
He smiled at her. “But anyway, that Mentor Science award ceremony is what started this whole thing. My friend Olivia is going with me and I wanted to learn how to be a better companion.”
It took Katie a few seconds to really understand what he was saying. She looked down at the heavily embossed invitation in her hand again. Bennett was getting an award at a fancy ceremony. His friend Olivia was going with him. No, correction, his friend Olivia was his date. She swallowed as her earlier embarrassment returned threefold. No wonder Bennett had run out of here like his ass was on fire. He definitely didn’t want his assistant flirting with him.
He was doing all this to impress another woman!
Katie squared her shoulders. All of this was irrelevant. There had never been anything between her and Bennett other than a work relationship and a distant acquaintanceship. But over the past week, she’d come to think of him as a friend. He’d asked for her help and she’d promised to give it to him. Katie considered her word to be solid. So despite her silly daydreams, she was going to give him the best help she could.
“You know, if you’re trying to be a good date, there’s really only one way to make sure of that.”
Bennett suddenly looked nervous. “There is?”
“A practice date. We should get dressed up and go out to eat somewhere.”
“A practice date,” Bennett echoed. He was quiet for a moment and then nodded firmly. “Yes, we should do that.”