I frowned up at him. “Sorry?”
He shook his head. “No, it's good,” he said, gasping out a bit of a laugh. “Just, give me a moment to think of totally unsexy things; if I move right now, I'm going to come already...”
I laughed a little, then groaned at the way that seemed to pull him deeper inside of me. Ben shook his head and leaned down against me, his body pressed against mine. Then, he began to experimentally pull his hips back, letting his member slide out until it was barely sheathed within me anymore, and then back in, in a quick thrust that left me gasping for more.
I had expected to feel more nervous, to feel more uncertain about this, but all I really felt was...safe and loved. Safe and loved—it was a nice feeling. Even though we hadn't said that we loved one another yet, I could feel that it was coming. Even if forever wasn't in the cards for us, what we had was definitely special.
I smiled up at Ben, catching his hand where it rested against my hip and curling my fingers into his. Ben smiled as well.
He was setting a more frantic rhythm by now, and I could tell that it wouldn't be long before he spilled—but at the rate he was going, it wouldn't be long before I spilled as well. He started rocking his hips upwards on the way back in, and I couldn't help crying out as the tip of his penis hit a certain spot inside of me that I had never known existed.
“Yes,” I hissed. “Right there, right there, right there.” Ben smiled at that too.
Then, his hand spasmed against mine, and I gasped, feeling him pulse inside of me. We both climaxed at the same time, in perfect unison. Ben collapsed down against me, gone utterly boneless, and I accepted his weight—welcomed it, even, as a force to ground me. I smiled sleepily as he kissed my shoulder, the nearest patch of skin to his mouth.
After a long moment, Ben pulled out and rolled away, but we still lay there for a long moment without speaking, both of us trying to regain our breath. Our hands, I noticed, were still linked together.
“So...do you actually have to make it to your classes in the morning?” Ben finally asked again.
I laughed and shook my head, rolling over into his arms and letting him wrap himself around me. “Fuck that,” I said succinctly. “I've attended every other class this semester, and anyway, I doubt I'm going to miss anything important. I'm not leaving this bed until I have to!”
Ben planted another hot kiss on my bare shoulder. “Good,” he said. “I don't like to pressure you towards truancy, but—that's the answer that I wanted to hear.”
I smiled, feeling utterly content, and we drifted off to sleep tangled up like that.
Epilogue
Ben was pouring over maps again when I got out of the shower, and I couldn't help rolling my eyes. “What's the plan of the day?” I asked him. “We're adding Stockholm and skipping Budapest?”
Ben glanced over at me, and I didn't like the almost manic gleam to his eyes. “That might be a good idea,” he said. “That would buy us a little time.”
I rolled my eyes. “You do realize that we don't have to see the entirety of Europe in this one go, don't you?” I asked. “It's not like it's going anywhere.”
“I know,” Ben groaned. We'd had this conversation enough times over the past couple months that it had started to get old. But Ben was nearly fanatical about wanting to show me all the best that Europe had to offer, as he knew it. I was excited about our trip, but I'd be more excited once the route was finally...final.
For now, the best I could do, when he got like this, was distract him. “Come here,” I said, catching his hands and pulling him to his feet so that I could kiss him.
Ben raised an eyebrow at me. “You're ready to go again? Already?”
I laughed a little. “Not just yet,” I said. “But I thought that maybe we could take a walk around the vineyards while it's still light out. Or something.”
“Feeling a bit antsy?” Ben asked knowingly.
I shrugged. “In the two weeks since the semester has ended and I've been staying here with you, I think we've only left the house once,” I pointed out. “The rest of the time, we've been sitting around and...”
“I mean, we are getting plenty of exercise in bed,” Ben said wickedly.
I rolled my eyes a little. “Yeah, but a change of scenery would still be nice, don't you think?” I said.
Ben laughed a little but finally relented, folding up the maps and beginning to put them away. “I don't know,” he said. “I rather like the scenery in here.” He pulled me into his arms, kissing me again—but I pulled away from him.
“Oh no,” I said, laughing and shaking my head. “Don't you start that again. We can have sex again once we get back. Maybe.”
“Maybe?” Ben asked, arching an eyebrow at me.
“I might need some food as well,” I admitted. “It's not a pressing need, but I imagine that by the time we get back...”
Ben groaned a little, and even though I knew he was just teasing me, I couldn't help blushing. “You're so dreadfully logical sometimes,” he said, shaking his head. “I just don't know what to do with you.”
I raised an eyebrow at him, facing him with a clear challenge. “Don't you?” I asked. “Because I'm pretty sure you've been doing a pretty good job of knowing what to do with me...”
Ben laughed and shook his head. “Minx,” he said. “Incorrigible minx.”
I giggled and led the way through the house. “But you love me anyway,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said, lacing his fingers in mine and guiding me out into the vineyards, which were bright and leafy-green at the moment, a big change from the first time that I'd seen them, back in the winter. “I guess I love you anyway.”
“You guess?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean, you guess?”
Ben turned to face me, a serious look on his face, and I frowned, wondering when we had gotten so serious. “Rachael, you know that I love you,” he said.
“Yeah, I was just joking,” I said, shaking my head and beginning to wonder if something was wrong.
“Let me talk for a minute,” Ben said, but there was the ghost of a smile on his face. “You know that I love you. In fact, you're one of the best things that's ever happened in my life, and that's not just an exaggeration. I'm so excited to spend this summer with you—and I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life with you, if you'll have me.”
He smiled a little sheepishly. “I had intended to do this someplace romantic, like Paris or Vienna or something. But then again, what's more romantic than here, on the vineyard—right?” He dropped down to one knee and pulled a small box out of his pocket. “Rachael Anne Lewiston, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
I stared down at him, shocked by the proposal—although really, I should have realized that we weren't going to do things in normal time. I had met his parents after only two months, so of course we would get engaged before we'd even known one another for a year. But still…
Ben's smile faltered a bit. “You think it's too soon,” he said, getting to his feet. “I mean, you don't have to give me an answer right away.”
“Yes,” I breathed, reaching out and grabbing a handful of his shirt, pulling him down into a fierce kiss. “Just shut up and let me process for a moment, would you? Yes, yes, one hundred times yes, I would be honored to become your wife.”
When I pulled away from our hug, I had tears in my eyes and Ben was positively beaming. He reached back into his pocket and brought out the ring box, popping it open to reveal a thin but ornate engagement band that was crowned with a single marquise-cut garnet.
“The ring was my mother's,” he explained. “Let me know if you don't like it. I know the garnet is a little...unconventional, but it's meant to symbolize the wine and the vineyards and our future together and...all of that.”
I shook my head, still not even sure I could really form words beyond—“I love you.”
Ben smiled at me as he slid the ring onto my third finger. “I love you too,” he said.
Our summer plans might still be up in the air, at least to a certain extent, and who knew what would happen after that, but for now…
I linked my hand in Ben's and we strolled through the vineyards as the sun began to set.
Take Me Away: A College Romance Story Page 10