Just Enough

by Michelle Gross

  Once I was finished, and he was done with my body, he lifted me up until I was facing him again. He hugged me, and I placed my legs over his as he kissed me, and kissed me, and kissed me.

  I never felt such adoration, such love, as what Benjamin had given me in a matter of two days. I hoped he planned to do so for the rest of his life. I’d give him every part of me in return.

  “What time is it?” he finally asked me.

  I traced his jawline and the stubble that was there. “Time for you to go to work.”

  He slid his hand down the curve of my hip. “Emily…”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m so far gone… I need you to know that.”

  Like quicksand.

  “Me too,” I whispered back.

  _________

  After Benjamin left for work, I loaded up our dirty clothes to take to Dad’s to wash before I went to work that evening. We had gone online to see if I had some more reviews of my books before he left, and I had even more. Benjamin had looked happier than me, and I knew it was genuine. He was always going to be proud of my achievements, small or big.

  Dad was drinking some coffee at the kitchen table when I stepped in. He also was doing a word search. I smiled. “Hey, Dad.”

  “Come to wash clothes?” he asked, but his eyes took me in before an eyebrow raised. “Did something good happen?”

  I shrugged my shoulders and laughed. “Maybe… Or maybe the best thing happened.”

  I even had Dad grinning now. “Well, what is it?”

  “Benjamin—”

  Dad laughed boyishly. “I’ll be damned. Did he finally grow some balls and tell you he was in love with you?”

  I laughed, my mouth dropped because I was momentarily stunned. “You knew?”

  “You’re the only one that was oblivious.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything? Especially this year. I’ve been steadily falling for my best friend since Christmas or maybe even before that and… Dad, I’m so happy that it scares me.”

  He stood up, walked over to me, and hugged me. I hugged him back. “I’m not going to worry, and neither should you. It’s Benjamin. That boy has crushed on you probably most of your life. His mom on the other hand… She’s going to give you a tough time and that worries me.”

  “I know.” I frowned. “I love him. Like full-blown. He makes my knees weak and life brighter… I’m not letting any woman come between us. I’ll make her like me. I want her to like me.”

  Dad nodded and released me, stepped back. “Now, text him to come over when he gets off, and we’ll play some cards. I’ll take their money again.”

  “Dad…”

  I would ask Benjamin though. I didn’t realize how much I adored that Dad liked Benjamin until I fell in love with him. Dad was lonely a lot too. I tried to come visit him a couple of times a week, but I knew it still wasn’t enough. He deserved more than being alone in this house. And I hoped this new gambling hobby wasn’t going to become an addiction. Playing with friends wasn’t bad though, right? It wasn’t like he was going out and blowing money. And I liked playing with them just as much as Dad enjoyed it, so I wasn’t going to worry.

  I sent Benjamin a text after putting a load of clothes in, and watched TV, and talked with Dad. I ended up making us something to eat. I was enjoying myself until the knock on the door came.

  “I’ll get it,” I told Dad as I stepped out of the laundry room. When I opened the door and saw Faith, I won’t lie, the fear crawled up my back.

  “Faith,” I mumbled. “Hey.”

  Her gaze slid over me briefly before trailing back to my eyes. “You like driving Benjamin’s truck?”

  She was already throwing daggers at me without a hello.

  I gripped the side of the door as I held it open. “Only until I find myself something I can afford,” I said quickly and realized I could have worded it hundreds of better ways than I did.

  “That could be a while with you working as a waitress.” Her words sounded casual, but I knew nothing about Faith was casual.

  More daggers.

  Remembering that she had lied to me about the pearls and Kelly, I straightened my spine and asked. “Is there a reason you came over?”

  “Not really.”

  This woman… she was hard to read, and she made me so damn nervous!

  Just ask her why she lied. Go on. Do it!

  “About those pearls… Did you really give them to Benjamin to give to a girl he’s not even dating?”

  She tilted her head. She seemed to be scrutinizing me. “Seems I must have forgotten that his granny had no pearls to give.”

  She was going to be like that, was she? How did someone forget a piece of jewelry that never existed? Still, I couldn’t call her out of it. I wanted her to like me.

  This time, I scrutinized her though. “Benjamin has your eyes,” I blurted, and like vomit, I couldn’t stop. “I really love his eyes. I really love him.”

  I waited… and waited… and waited for what she’d say or do about what I had just said. I gave her major ammo to start throwing more daggers. “I don’t recall friends speaking about other friends in such a manner to their mother.”

  Daggers: thrown.

  “Benjamin and I are different. We’re close…really close.” Now. In every sense. Forever and ever. Come on, Mama Helen, we need to accept this.

  Baby steps, I told myself. No need to get thrown under a bus too early.

  She sniffed and handed me her phone. I stared at her outstretched hand, confused. “Put your number in my phone.”

  I blinked several times. “Um…okay.”

  What was happening?

  After putting my number in her phone, I handed it back to her. She regarded me. “You’re working at that…Crash’s tonight?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Do the men give you a hard time there?” What a strange question. Actually, all of this was strange!

  “I’m used to the few drunks we get.”

  She scrunched her nose up at my answer. “I don’t like that.”

  Umm… Okay?

  “Benny probably doesn’t either,” she added.

  That made me smile. “He typically goes Freddy on everyone, but he’s always been like that.” I stopped smiling when she genuinely looked confused. “Never mind.”

  “I’m going back to the house,” was her random goodbye.

  I stared at her in complete shock as she stepped back over into her yard and slipped into her house. When I shut the door, Dad was behind me. “What was that about?”

  “I have no clue.”

  I just knew Benjamin’s mom terrified me, and now she had my number.

  Chapter 31

  _______

  Emily

  Really, I shouldn’t have been surprised to see her sitting at one of my booths the next day at work.

  Faith’s gaze caught my own as I placed someone’s order in front of them. There went hiding out and pretending I hadn’t seen her. I had forgotten to mention it to Benjamin last night that I had seen her at Dad’s. It was kind of hard to talk to him about anything when he kept his head between my legs whether we were watching TV on the couch or lying in bed. In three days, he’d managed to make me feel feminine and sexier than I’d ever felt in my life. I didn’t know what to think of someone so invested in pleasing me, and he did it like he loved doing it.

  Somehow, I knew Faith was here to pester me though. Maybe she knew about us because she never came to Crash’s. Until today.

  Taking a deep breath, I walked over to her booth where she sat alone. “Faith… Fancy seeing you here,” I murmured. “What can I get ya?”

  She opened the menu in front of me. “What’s good here?”

  “Um… I’m not sure you’d like the same things I like.” Because I liked food. Period. I liked almost everything on the menu.

  She lifted her eyebrow. “Oh?”

  Abort! Abort!

  “How about we start with what yo
u’d want to drink?”

  “Any tea?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah. We got flavored, iced, and even hot tea.”

  “Get me iced.”

  I walked away quickly to grab her drink and check on my other tables. Only it was over with too soon because I was now back at her table again, placing the tea in front of her.

  “What should I order?” she asked again.

  I paused, met her penetrating stare and thought about it. “Hmm. I personally love the bacon cheddar fries then I grab a cheeseburger to go with it.”

  She nodded. “That sounds good. I’ll take that.”

  Well, that was…so much easier than I expected.

  “What would you like on it?”

  “Everything, but leave off the mustard and ketch-up.” She made a face, and I smiled. I smiled because I had something in common with this woman! I didn’t like ketch-up or mustard on my cheeseburger either.

  It wasn’t much, but it was something.

  “I don’t like those on mine either,” I told her, and she simply regarded me. “I’ll go put in your order.”

  ______

  “I’m so exhausted,” I grumbled as Benjamin and I strolled through the gas station at midnight. No sooner had I gotten off work, he talked me into taking a midnight run to the gas station for something sweet. Benjamin didn’t eat many sweets, but he did have his days where he binged. Me? I needed something sweet always, ya know, to make it through the day and live because what was life without chocolate?

  He grabbed a bag of jerky, and I followed behind him. He gave me a smirk as he grabbed a Reese’s off the shelf and tossed it to me. I barely caught it. “Here. Chocolate will help.”

  “Seriously, having your mom there for two hours watching me as I worked took all the energy I had.”

  He tossed me a Snickers. “Was she being mean?”

  I shook my head. “Not…necessarily.”

  “She’s probably trying to get to know you.”

  I stopped walking. “Ya think?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, she knows about us. Mom’s a tough cookie, but I’m her baby and she wants me to be happy.”

  I grabbed a bag of chips and threw them at him. “Stupid mama’s boy.”

  He grinned. “You know that’s not true.” I rolled my eyes. “Hey, Mom’s the best person to have by your side. She’ll throw down for you if you’re in her tiny circle of people she loves.”

  I snorted. “Oh, I know.” He didn’t know just how much his mom tried to protect him when he left for college, from me. It still stung when I thought about it and that was probably why I felt so iffy about her. I wanted to like her, and I wanted her to like me, but that was in the back of my mind haunting me. It sucked. I hated that she thought I was that type of girl even when I knew I wasn’t. It was the fact that she was Benjamin’s mom, and she had helped me to believe that my best friend deserved a better best friend than me.

  Now, he was more than he was then and that was scary. I wanted to prove her wrong like I had convinced myself. Benjamin had complete faith in me, so I should too, and her as well. I was a good person if Benjamin thought so. He was smart, considerate, and just knew his stuff.

  “Did you go to Dad’s today and play cards with him?” I asked as he kept grabbing more and more junk. His arms were full.

  “Yeah, he took ten dollars from me today. Twenty from my dad.”

  I sniggered behind his back, then caught sight of the Zero bar in his arms. “That’s mine, right?” I pointed at it.

  “You’re sweet enough already.”

  “Is that your way of telling me I need to lose weight?” I asked him.

  He turned all the way around to look at me. “Lose an inch, and I’ll cry. No shit. Those curves are my heaven and hell, leave them alone.” He turned back around so that I could grin to my heart’s content.

  “What are we even doing? You don’t have time to sit up and eat all this crap. You have to be up in a few hours!”

  “We don’t have to eat all this tonight. Are you crazy? We’d go into a food coma with all this sugar.”

  I shook my head and laughed. “Seriously, Benjamin. Let’s go. No more.”

  He turned back around and bent down, placing his mouth next to my ear. “I still have to eat you before we can sleep. Screw this junk. This shit’s for you.”

  Just like that, my body was a web of lust.

  I leaned into him. “Then, let’s go home and let you eat so that I can sleep.”

  I stepped away from him quickly, shocked at myself that I was becoming so brazen in front of him. I thought for sure he saw the color of my cheeks before I turned my head.

  When he grabbed my butt, dropping half of the candy bars on the floor, I knew he really loved that I spoke back.

  Chapter 32

  _______

  Emily

  Faith’s visit became visits over the next few days.

  Each time she came to my workplace, our conversations were more or less the same. She’d order whatever I recommended. And she’d ask a million questions a day.

  Did I like tea? Did I like showers or baths? Shoe size? Pants size? Yeah, I felt her eyeing my thunder thighs when asking that one. She didn’t care to bombard me with personal questions. She didn’t care to make someone uncomfortable was one way to put it.

  Did I watch any shows? What shows did I watch?

  We did find out that we both watched Grey’s. She seemed pleased with that one. Honestly, so was I. It was hard enough dealing with her visits. I was just glad there was something to feel positive about.

  Then, the text messages came. She’d send a random link to a movie trailer or TV show that would say, this looks good, or, do you plan on watching this when it comes out? Which I was sure was her code for ‘you’re watching this when it comes out.’

  Somehow, I was now doing the same thing to her come the fifth day since her visit. She wouldn’t get to see me today since I was off, and I had actually sent her a text letting her know I wouldn’t be there just in case. Her reply had been, I know.

  I was sending a cat video to her while Benjamin drove us to my mom’s. Sarah had invited me over for dinner, and I hadn’t refused. I didn’t see or talk to Mom as much as I did Dad. I missed her. I just didn’t know how to be as close to her as I was to Dad now.

  “What did she send this time?” he asked me as I pressed send.

  “Nothing,” I answered. “I sent her a cat video… She likes cats, doesn’t she?”

  He smirked. “She’s allergic.” My stomach dropped, then he laughed. “I’m kidding.” He reached over and placed his hand over mine. My stomach warmed back up at the gesture and his smile.

  “It would be great if her getting to know me would be friendlier and less like an interrogation.” I sighed, then glanced over at him with a smile. “Still, this is progress, right?”

  “It is.” He squeezed my hand. “You still haven’t told your mom that we’re together, have you?”

  I shook my head. “She’ll know when we get there.”

  He was quiet for a second. “Did she like Roger?”

  I could lie, but I wouldn’t. “She did.”

  He frowned. “I’m lovable, right?”

  I snorted. “You’re very lovable.”

  “I’m better than some Roger guy you dated, right?”

  “You are.”

  “Your mom likes me, right?”

  I laughed. “She does. Will you stop? You’re the best.”

  He studied me from the corner of his eye. “Then… Let me see a boob.”

  I groaned. “You’re annoying,” was what I said. I might have shown him a nipple while I said it.

  _______

  “Is that her?”

  I heard Mom ask Sarah from in the kitchen as I opened their front door. Then I heard a familiar male voice answer her instead of Sarah.

  “I’ll go see.”

  I stiffened at Roger’s voice just as he appeared from where the kitchen was. He s
miled when he saw me then glanced toward Benjamin stepping into the house behind me.

  “Something smells good,” Benjamin said behind me before he even glanced forward and saw Roger.

  “She brought Benjamin with her,” Roger yelled with a smile toward me.

  “Roger…” I felt Benjamin’s giant presence looming over me from behind. “What are you doing here?”

  “I invited him since I knew you’d be coming over to eat with us,” Mom replied, stepping into the hallway. “Benjamin.” Her smile was warm toward him. “It’s been too long. It’s a nice surprise. I hadn’t expected you with us, but there’s plenty of food.”

  “How’s the living situation?” Roger asked without a thought. “It’s probably not easy rooming with each other, is it?” Was he fishing for information or did he really not see the death stare Benjamin was giving him?

  Just like that, Benjamin set everything straight. He slid his hand down and grabbed mine. I intertwined our fingers as he brought them up toward his face and kissed my hand. “It’s great, but we’re not roomies anymore. Emily is my girlfriend… Finally.”

  There came the awkward silence. Mom covered her mouth with her hand and glanced at Roger’s back since she was standing behind him. “Ah, I had a feeling this would happen, eventually.” I felt bad that Roger was left feeling uncomfortable and… He even sounded disappointed. “Can’t blame a guy for hoping it didn’t.” He laughed weakly.

  “Roger, I had no idea…” Mom told him, and I understood why she was trying to apologize, but Benjamin placed a possessive hand on the middle of my back. “Roger, you can still stay if you’d like,” Mom offered.

  Roger shook his head sadly. “I think I’ll go.” He met my eyes and smiled. “I’ll leave. I know you’re uncomfortable.” He raised his gaze and met Benjamin’s. “Emily’s great. I wish it had been me that had been the best friend she wrote about.”

  “She’s not great. She’s everything.” Benjamin’s voice was deep, and he spoke like his words were the truest thing he’d ever spoken. It warmed me top to bottom.