90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) (11 page)

     “Hm?” Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

     “Look, I know we’re not really close or anything and maybe I don’t have any right to get involved, but I just want you to know that if you ever need a shoulder or someone to talk to, I’m your guy.”

     ‘I’m your guy’.  What did he mean by that?  Oh, lord, what did he mean?  Waves of heat tingled and pricked at her insides as she latched onto her bottom lip again and began nibbling it, her eyes darting back and forth between his, trying to decipher the look in his beautiful ocean blue hues. 

     What
did
he mean?  Was he just trying to be nice?  Did he
know
? 

     “Thank you.”

    
Really?
Her mind screamed.
Thank you? That’s all you can say?

     “You’re welcome.” He gave her a crooked grin and patted her knee lightly before pulling back.

    Oh no. Why was he pulling back?  She liked how close he was and she liked the fact she could smell his cologne. 

     It suddenly felt too cold without his closeness.  Ugh.

     “Do you have any plans tonight?”  Whoa.  Where did that come from?  She definitely wasn’t going out tonight, so why had she asked?

     “I was thinking of going out tonight.  Callum and Jeb were going to fill me in on what there is to do around here.  Unless,”—his eyes swept over her body and he gave her another adorable grin—“you’re more of an expert.  Do you know of anything fun to do on a Friday night in this place?”

    
I could think of a few things.
  She whimpered on the inside as she envisioned his body pressed against hers.  The temptation to bite his lip ring was far too great at the moment.  A distraction was needed, stat.

     “Bowling.”

     “Bowling?” He repeated, arching a brow.

     “Yes.” She wasn’t sure why she said bowling.  Of all the things she could have said, it had to be the one thing she was horrible at.

     Her name could have been Laney “Gutter Queen’ McIntosh, she was so bad at it.  Why did she have to say freaking bowling as an option?

     “I’m pretty good at bowling.  Do you like to bowl?”

     “Yes.” Lie!

     “Would you, uh,”—he leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows against his thighs—“maybe want to go with us tonight? Bowling?”

    
Yes. Hell yes.  I don’t care if I’m bad at it.

     “Will Lydia be there?” What did it matter if her sister was there or not?

     “I imagine Callum will invite her, yes.  Why?  Are you afraid she’ll be better at it than me?  Do you think she’ll beat me?” He asked, his tone serious.

     “She might.  You never know.  You didn’t bowl in Vermont?”

     “Sometimes, but we usually ended up going to the club or the local theatre to watch performances.  Ags and theatre; it’s a match made in Heaven.”

     “Ags is wonderful.” She smiled.  “I hope he can come, too.”

     “You think he’s going to pass up the chance to play with balls?” Benji snorted.  “Never.”

     “You’re terrible!”

     “But you love it.” He nudged her knee with his own and they locked gazes again. 

     Her smile faded as his fingertips brushed against hers and it was all she could do to keep a needy, pathetic noise from escaping her lips.

    
Kiss me.
She wanted to say. 
Kiss me senseless.

     But instead, much to her disappointment, he simply smiled and stood up.  Moving the chair back to where it belonged, he cleared his throat.

     “Thanks for having lunch with me, Laney.  I enjoyed it a lot.”

     “Well, thank you for bringing lunch to me.  We should do it again sometime.”

     “We should.” He opened his arms and shrugged.  “Hug?”

     He wouldn’t have to ask twice.  She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his body, trying to keep their embrace platonic, but that was easier said than done. 

     Benji’s arms slowly circled around her and her eyes instantly closed. 

     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.