Private Show (The Private Series)

by Torella, Danielle

I grab my stuff and I head on over to Ben’s early to surprise him with the good news.

  I take a different route tonight, because of a detour. Apparently a light post fell down in the road. I take a road that is full of nice homes and wonder what it must be like to live in a house.

  Some of the houses I pass must be close to the million dollar mark if not higher. I couldn’t imagine.

  I am stopped at a stop sign when I look in the drive way of a nice size house, when I see a familiar car. Ben’s car. I hear a car honking its horn from behind me so I go on my way.

  I get to Ben’s building and text him:

  Hey I am out early, where are you?

  I get a fast reply:

  On my way, I am close.

  We decided to have a night in with Chinese and wine. We rented a couple of movies and he was shocked that I wanted to watch a new horror flick.

  “Hey, it’s a remake of a classic. I need to see how close they came to keeping it in perspective.”

  “Is there a lot of gore?” He’s cringing.

  “Ben Mitchell, are you afraid to watch the horrifically gory movie with your girlfriend?”

  “No…”

  “Ha! You totally are! Do you not like blood or something?”

  “I hate seeing people in pain.”

  Oh.

  I lean in and press my forehead to his. “It’s okay, and we can watch something else. Comedy perhaps?”

  He rolls his eyes. “Oh, just put in the bloody flick.”

  I put the disc in my DVD player and jump in Ben’s lap. “Thank you.”

  “Yeah, yeah…”

  Close to the end of the movie Ben gets up to use the restroom, I think the scene of the girl sawing her own arm off, made him a little queasy. When I looked over at him his face looked a little green.

  Poor guy.

  While he was in the bathroom his phone goes off… again.

  I pick it up and look at the screen:

  4 missed calls: Nicole

  3 messages: Nicole

  Now I am the one who feels sick. But as I am about to open a message, I hear my bathroom door open and I throw it back down in its original spot.

  “You really didn’t need to pause it.” Ben tells me as he shakes his head. “Okay, let’s get this over with…”

  He grabs my remote and hits play. He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into his chest. I can’t help but stare at his phone, I see it light up with another message.

  My chest clenches.

  I stand up and walk to my kitchen. “Hey, where are you going?” he asks.

  “I need a refill.” As I say this I empty the rest of the wine into my glass, nearly over filling it.

  Ben watches me and doesn’t say anything. I walk back over, but sit at the other end of my red sofa.

  He turns to face me. “What are you doing over there? Why so much wine?”

  I take a large sip and shrug. I figure if I sip long enough then I don’t need to speak.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’m fine.”

  Ben shakes his head. “I know well enough that when a woman says she is fine, she really isn’t. So… what’s going on?”

  I nod at his phone. “Looks like you have another message.”

  He looks over at his phone and sees that the screen is lit up. “God damn it…” He hisses under his breath.

  “Gonna answer it?”

  “I told you, it’s no one of importance.” His face it stern now.

  I chug down the rest of my wine. As I lean forward to set my glass on the coffee table, I fumble it and it breaks.

  “Shit! Fucking Christ… I can’t win!” I snap.

  Kneeling to clean up the glass I had just shattered, Ben looks up at me. “I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to start talking now.”

  “Right back at you, Ben!”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Yeah, like you don’t know that Nicole has been trying to call and text you! Is that who you went and saw today? I saw your car at a different house!”

  Setting the glass shards on the coffee table he stands, leans over me and puts both hands on either side of my head, holding himself up on the couch. His face is an inch away from mine.

  “Do you trust me, Tess?”

  I bite my lower lip and I can now feel the wine rushing through my veins. Damn it! I can’t resist him when he is this close. The next thing I know he has my bottom lip between his teeth.

  I let out a soft moan.

  That’s the last thing I see and hear. I pass the hell out.

  God, I couldn’t have gotten luckier than to have Tess pass out. I don’t know what I would have told her. Yes Nicole has been texting me, but she is the one harassing me and yes, I did go to her place.

  She knows what I want and is holding something over my head.

  I knew it was a mistake contacting her first.

  I can now only hope that Tess will forget about seeing the texts on my phone. Fuck! I can’t believe she saw my car, how am I going to explain that one?

  I climb out of her bed and make my way over to the sofa and retrieve my cell. Sliding it on, I open up my message center and I see that none of them have been viewed or opened.

  Thank fucking God.

  When she said to follow her back to her place I thought for sure the games were over, but I was horribly wrong. When we went inside, I waited by the door, while she went upstairs. When she was up there for more than ten minutes I called after her, but she didn’t reply, so I went to see what the hell she was doing.

  I walked into her room and didn’t see her, so I went for what I came there for. Before I could make it across the room, she came up behind me. Naked. She tried to take my clothes off, but I pushed her away and ran downstairs and out the door. She had grabbed a robe and stood in the door way. As I pulled out of the driveway she yelled, “You’ll be back if you want it enough.”

  This has to end and it needs to end now.

  Stepping out of her studio, out into the hall I make the phone call that needs to happen.

  “Nicole, this ends my way.”

  I wake up in the morning in a total fog and with a queasy stomach. How much wine did I have last night?

  I turn to find Ben lying next to me in my bed. He has his shirt and pants off, but still has his signature black boxer briefs on. I can’t help but reach for his toned abs and slowly move my hand to his chest. He starts to stir and I move my way up over his body and rest my chin on his chest looking into his deep mocha eyes.

  Taking in a deep breath and growling, “Good morning.”

  “Mmm… Good morning yourself…” I climb up on top of him and feel his growing excitement.

  He pushes up his hips to tease me. “Up for some coffee?” he jokes.

  “Yes actually.” I jump off and skip to the kitchen. I pour the water into my cheap but old reliable coffee maker and start to pour in the coffee. That’s when I feel Ben grip my hips and press his now-naked body into the back of mine.

  “Now what do you think you are doing, leaving me alone in your bed with a hard-on?”

  I arch back to feel his hard dick hit my lower back and I get on my tiptoes to meet him. He lifts my shirt up over my head and puts his hands on my back, and massages all the way up to my shoulders and neck. I let out a moan.

  That’s all it takes. He spins me around and lifts me up onto my counter. Leaning me back he trails his tongue from my neck to my breasts, twirling his tongue around my nipple and teasing the other with his thumb and forefinger. I let out a sigh and he sucks harder on my breasts, nearly making me come before he even enters me.

  “I need you Ben. Now.” I practically beg.

  “Say it again.”

  “I. Need. You. Ben.” I enunciate each syllable.

  Letting out one of his deepest growls yet, he rips my panties off me and thrusts deep and hard into me, making me come just as hard and fast. It doesn’t take him long to reach his
own climax. When he does his breathing is ragged as hell and fucking sexy. He makes me feel like he can’t get enough of me.

  I sit up and I wrap my arms around his neck, giving him a big, loud smacky kiss. Once he pulls out and helps me off of my counter I ask him, “Can I have some coffee now?”

  “You just did.”

  “Cheeky, aren’t we?”

  He smacks my ass. “I love your cheekies.”

  We move to the sofa with our coffee mugs. “So,” he says, “we need to go over the details for the New York City show. We leave on Friday so we can cover the show on Saturday night at Webster Hall.”

  “Who are we covering?” I ask becoming giddy.

  “An up-and-coming band called Cilver.”

  I start to laugh, oh this is good!

  “I have heard about them, how they are taking the indie world by storm, and the lead has killer vocals and is gorgeous.”

  “Yeah, that would be Uliana. I have heard she is a great singer and person.”

  I nod. “Hey why don’t we go get some breakfast? I haven’t been to the market in a few days, so I don’t have anything here.”

  “Sounds good, then I will swing by my place so I can get ready for work.”

  I have class with Gwen in an hour and we are to be prepared to discuss our projects.

  How the hell do I casually say that for my boyfriend’s birthday present I did a nude drawing of myself? And to tell Ben’s fathers fianceé that information…

  On my way to the campus, I run into Starbucks for a much-needed espresso, and run into Erin. She is on her way to her business economics class. We grab our cups of joe and head for campus.

  “I am going to assume that the reason I don’t hear from my best friend so much these past few days, is because you are seeing that guy?” I rag on her.

  Bobbing her head back-and-forth off her shoulders, she takes a sip of her drink. “Yeah…”

  “Yeah? That’s all you’re going to give me? Where is my friend who used to dish on every detail of her sex life? All the way to the one guy who shaved his pubic hair to look like a rocket ship?”

  She nearly spits out her drink at that last part. “Tess!”

  “Well? Is it serious yet?”

  “Eh. I don’t know yet.” We will have to wait and see. I am going to leave my options open though.”

  We reach the area of the campus which branches off to all the different departments. I finish my espresso and toss my cup and give my friend a big hug. “Promise we will get together soon? You can take an evening off from Mr. Right.”

  “You got it, Pink.”

  After a few students announce what they did for the assignment, all of which innocent and not as provocative as mine. Shit. So when Gwen calls me to stand and talk about my piece, I freak.

  My palms are sweating and I start to stutter, “My piece definitely took me out of my comfort zone. I made it as a gift to my boyfriend…” I look to Gwen and I blush.

  Sensing my nervousness, she butts in. “Okay class, I have a cake tasting appointment I need to be at in twenty minutes. Class is dismissed.”

  I give her a thanking smile.

  I haven’t seen Dan in six months. So much has happened in just the past month alone, and I can’t wait to finally have a few beers with the one guy who knows me best.

  Near the baggage carousel at Sea-Tac Airport, I see him, and see that he hasn’t changed a bit. He still has his dark blond faux hawk and his signature aviator sunglasses.

  We are man enough to give each other a real hug and none of that grab-a-hand-and-one-arm-hug crap that these over-macho Americans do these days. Dan and I have been through thick and thin together.

  “You know you’re back in Seattle, right? The city where the sun don’t shine all too much?”

  “Yeah, yeah, nice to see you too, dude.”

  We grab his bags and head outside to my GTO.

  “Still driving that POS?” He rags on my vintage black beauty every chance he gets.

  “Don’t pick on my babe.”

  “When are you going to realize that Dodge is where it’s at? Why not get a good old classic Charger or Challenger?” He has been trying to get me to cross over to the Dodge side since we met.

  “There is nothing wrong with my car. And besides, Tess hasn’t complained.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “I bet she doesn’t… not bad for back seat space.”

  I open my trunk, and Dan tosses one bag in and I chuck his other one at his chest. “That’s not what I meant, ass! She is into classic cars. He brother apparently taught her about them and she digs the Judge.”

  He rolls his eyes and laughs. “Yeah… sure.” And he lights up a cigarette.

  “Man, when are you going to quit that crap?” I nag him. He has been smoking since our senior year in high school. He thought that it would make him look cool for the older women in college. I guess old habits die hard.

  “Yeah, yeah… I know, a disgusting habit.”

  “So where is this little sexy kitten you talk about endlessly?”

  Dan and I are back at my place. “Oh, she is with Gwen and Caroline doing a fitting for the bridesmaids’ dresses. Caroline insisted on designing them. I am thinking because she like any other bridesmaid doesn’t want to be caught dead in a lame dress.”

  Dan flops down on my black leather sofa and I bring him a beer. “Dude, did I ever tell you the time at a wedding I banged three out of the five bridesmaids at the same wedding? Not all at once but over the hours of the night.”

  I laugh. “Now that used to be more my style, not yours. What happened to us? Did we pull a freaky Friday or some shit? You used to be all about finding the girl, now you’re acting like how I used to.”

  He takes a long drag from his bottle. “Well… la-de-fucking-da, my pal, you found true love before me… who knew?”

  Most would take that as an insult, but from Dan, I just don’t. He means well and I can understand why he is in the bitter barn, but I am not going to let him or anyone else bring me down about finding the love of my life.

  “It’ll happen for you too one day. Maybe, and I am going out on a limb here… quit smoking!”

  He flips me the bird.

  My phone buzzes and I tense. I swear to fucking God, if its Nicole again I am going to chuck my beer bottle at the fucking door. I check the screen and it’s Tess calling.

  “Hey baby.”

  “Hey, we are being poked and measured for the one millionth time. Are you busy?”

  “Yeah, I just got back to my place with Dan. You want to come over for dinner? I’ll cook something up.”

  Dan is getting up from the couch and I see him holding a pillow. What the fuuu…

  “Ugh!” He nails me in the nuts with a fucking throw pillow.

  “Ben? Are you all right?” Tess asks.

  “You motherfucker, I need those!” I jokingly yell at Dan.

  “Okay, Ben, you are freaking me out, what just happened?”

  This time I flip him the bird and whip the pillow back, “Jesus, nothing. Dan just chucked something at my sack.”

  She laughs.

  “So will you join us two wankers for dinner?”

  “I don’t want to interrupt your time with your friend. And I don’t think we will be done here for a while.”

  “Dan has been dying to meet you.”

  “Yeah, that’s the way to take the pressure off!”

  “How about we come over to the house for a bit?” Dan looks over at me as I am making new plans for us.

  “This stuff won’t bore you guys to death?” She asks. If she only knew what I would endure just to spend time with her.

  Dan yells from the couch, “I’m in! I haven’t seen little Caroline in forever.”

  “Okay, we will be there in a bit.”

  We get to my family’s house and Dan steps out of the car, “Man, just like it was in school. Dude do you still have those magazines under your mattress?”

  “Ha. No, I got
rid of those once I started getting some real action.”

  Dan snaps his fingers in mock disappointment, “Ah, shucks!”

  I open the door and yell that we are there, they yell from Caroline’s room upstairs. I knock on the door, “Everyone descent?”

  “All clear,” I hear Tess announce.

  “Damn.” Dan jokingly mutters, so I elbow him in the gut.

  “Gwen, you remember Dan.”

  She gives him a big hug, then a smack on the back of the head, “Of course I do.” And smiles at grinning Dan.

  I walk us over to Caroline measuring Tess’s hips, “Hey C, you were young the last time you saw Dan…”

  “I remember.” She says.

  “Damn Caroline! You grew up!” Dan sounds shocked. “How old are you now? Seventeen?”

  She stands up straight, “Fifteen actually.”

  “Nice,” he smiles at her.

  “Dan, I would like you to meet Tess, my girlfriend.” I walk over and plant a kiss on her cheek.

  Tess goes in for a handshake, but Dan swoops her up into a big hug and swings her around. I know Dan enough to not hit on my girl, so I take this as a welcoming hug.

  “Nice to meet you Tess. Ben, here goes on and on about you.” Dan’s words cause Tess to pink.

  “It’s great to finally meet you Dan.”

  Gwen starts to play catch up with Dan and Caroline looks like she is starting to clean up, when Tess pulls me to the side.

  “Hey can we talk in the other room?” She asks, quietly.

  I lead her out, “Of course.”

  We go down the hall to my father’s office, “I am worried about Caroline, Ben.” This again?

  “Tess, I told you she is a normal teen girl, she is fine.”

  “I don’t know. She is all over the place emotionally. I talked to her about her peers at school and she is out casted. Did you know that? And that they pick on her? Call her a slut?” Tess is really showing concern.

  “She is seeing a professional Tess.”

  “So? She can easily hide anything she wants from them too. She was texting this guy back and forth and when I asked who she was going back and forth with she told me ‘this senior’. She is fifteen Ben!”