The Casual Rule (30 page)

“No. I don’t.  Thank you again.” I look to the floor. I must be every shade of red. I came empty handed. I didn’t even bring a fake-baked cake and they give me a gift from Tiffany’s.

Ben smiles and winks at me as his family continues to open their gifts, one by one.

~o0o~

As the night comes to a close, we say our goodbyes to Ben’s family. I look down at my watch. We’ve only been here four hours? Feels more like four days. At least it’s over.

After saying our goodbyes to Ben’s parents and my new hero, his grandmother, we walk over to Elizabitch and Stuart.

“Stuart, thank you so much for your hospitality. It was very nice meeting you.” I shake his hand.

“Wonderful to meet you, Julia. I hope the traffic back to Manhattan isn’t too bad.”

“I hope not.”

“Where in the city do you live?” he asks.

“The West Village.”

“Oh, I love the Village. I always wanted to live there. It’s so quirky and alive,” he says with a melancholy look.

You’d fit right in.

“Sis, thanks for everything. Talk to you soon,” Ben says to Elizabitch, politely hugging her. This family always seems to have a giant stick shoved way up their asses when they attempt to show any affection. It seems so forced and unnatural.  How can Ben be so carefree at home and this person he is here? It’s like I’m looking at two different Bens. I’ll take my Ben before this one, any day.

“Ben. Have a safe trip home.” She politely hugs him back. “Nice to meet you, Julia.”

“Thank you for having me. Everything was lovely,” I answer politely.

Magda comes out from who knows where, they probably keep her in a dungeon, and hands us our coats. We both thank her. Once again, no one else acknowledges her presence. Boy, this family irks me.

I walk over to the floor mat by the front door to retrieve my shoes. As I slip on my shoe, relieved that I can finally hide my giant big toe, I notice that my clear nail polish failed on me and I had a giant run going up my leg the entire night. Of all colors, I had to wear black stockings. Classy.

As we’re walking out the front door with our gifts in hand, Elizabitch calls out to Ben.

“Ben, make sure you say hi to Camille for me.”

Stealth Bitch.

~o0o~

“So… did you like my family?” Ben asks.

“They were nice.” It’s all I can say.

“They’re different from yours.”

Thank God.

“Yes, quieter,” I agree.

“Thank you for trying to stick up for me. My father loves to beat that dead horse.”

“I meant every word I said. Besides, your grandmother seemed to take charge and shut him down.”

He laughs. “Yeah, she looks frail but don’t mess with her. She’ll kick your ass. She’s an amazing woman.”

“She sure is. I can see why she’s so special to you.”

He grabs my hand and holds it. “I know tomorrow is a work day, but I have something for you. It’s at my place. Do you mind if we stop?”

“Are you trying to seduce me into going to your apartment with the promise of a gift?” I feign shock.

“I can think of better ways to seduce you. I know it’s getting late, with all the traffic slowing us down but would you mind?” he asks.

“I took tomorrow off,” I say, slowly biting down on my lip.

“Did you?” His brow rises.

“I did.”

A grin curls up from his lips. “No use in wasting a day off. Now that I no longer have to watch the clock to get you home… Would you like to stay over? I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Whatever will you do to me, Leonard?” I tease, stressing his name.

He chuckles softly. “Oh, Leonard has a few tricks up his sleeve. So, you’ll stay?”

I nod, squeezing his hand.

“Good.” He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses it.

~o0o~

Chapter 15

We pull into the parking garage next to Ben’s building. He clasps my hand and kisses it before opening his door. “Wait here,” he says as he slides out of the driver’s side. A few seconds later, he opens my door, holding out his hand to help me out. I step out and feel the chilly December air. He pops the car trunk open and tosses his keys to the parking attendant as he grabs our overnight bags. “Thanks Jimmy.” He turns to me. “Christ, Julia what do you have in here? It weighs a ton,” he complains as he closes the trunk with our bags in hand.

“Weakling,” I deadpan.

“Oh, is that what you think?”

I nod, holding back my laugh. He drops our bags to the floor. “Could a weakling do this?” He lifts me up, twirling us around in a circle.

The parking attendant smiles and shakes his head as he slides into the driver’s side of Ben’s SUV. He starts the engine and drives away.

I wrap my hands around his neck. “Put me down, you beast.”

“Are you going to take it back?”

“Fine, fine. I take it back. I take it back. You’re a big strong, virile man.” I laugh as I rest my head on his shoulder.

“Damn right.” Gently he lowers me until my feet touch the ground, facing him. He cups my chin in his hands, tilting my head back, and kisses me. Hungrily his tongue invades my mouth, claiming me. My tongue meets his with equal fervor. This is no ordinary kiss. This is a desperate need for each other. It’s heaven. He breaks away, leaving me breathless. “Oh, how I’ve missed those lips. Let’s go.” His voice is sexy, low and full of sensual promise. He grabs our bags as we walk out of the garage, smiling.

~o0o~

The elevator ride up to Ben’s apartment feels like it’s taking forever. After two days of sharing ourselves with others, I need alone time with him, X-rated alone time. That kiss in the parking garage sent my hormones into a sexual frenzy, desperately seeking relief. Our arms briefly rub against each other. I feel the spark that always burns between us. The G-rated family gatherings over the past two days haven’t cooled our fire. In fact, I’m afraid if I don’t have him soon, I may self-combust.

“Julia, can you reach for my keys? My hands are full.”

“Sure, where are they?”

“In my pocket.”

I reach my hand into his coat pocket. “No, no. Not there,” he says, with a mischievous lilt in his voice. “My pants pocket.”  I shake my head disapprovingly while I reach my hand into his pocket. “Ah, the other one,” he says.

“You could have told me before I put my hand down there,” I complain.

“Yes, I could have.”

“You are sick and twisted.”

“I don’t deny that.”

I slide my hand down the pocket on the other side of his pants and grab the keys, careful not to give him the satisfaction of touching any body part other than his thigh. “Got it.” I hold up the set of keys.

“Are you sure they’re the right keys? Maybe you want to take another look,” he says suggestively.

I put the key in the lock and turn it, opening the apartment door. “Right key. Tough break, you pervert.”

We walk into the apartment. Ben places our overnight bags on the floor and hangs our coats. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll get some wine.”

I walk over to the couch, my hand gliding against the back of it. This is nice. Just me and Ben alone, unwinding after what felt like an endless stream of family and idle chitchat. I learned a lot about him over these past two days. He can schmooze anyone, including my parents. He adores his grandmother. He loves his family despite the fact that his mother seems a bit detached for a mom, his sister is a Stealth Bitch and his father is a dick. I don’t know where the warmth I see in him comes from. If he wasn’t the spitting image of his dick for brains father, I’d think he’s adopted.

Ben walks back into the living room holding two glasses of white wine and a small gift bag with red tissue paper fluffed out of it. He hands a glass to me and places the bag on the coffee table as he sits down next to me.

“Here’s to making it through the past two days in one piece,” he toasts, raising his glass up. I raise mine to his and we clink glasses, each taking a sip of wine. “I got you a little something. It’s not much.” His eyes dart over to the bag sitting on the coffee table.

“I have something for you too. Wait here.” I walk over to my overnight bag and pull out a wrapped box. I walk back to Ben and give him his gift.

“Whoa, now I know why your bag was so heavy,” he jokes as he exaggerates his hands weighing down.

“Open it,” I say nervously. I struggled to figure out if buying a Christmas gift for Ben was crossing an imaginary line in our arrangement. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea. I know what we are, but it’s Christmas and that warrants a gift in my book. Chicken shit that I am, I decided to wait to see if he had a gift for me before I was brave enough to disclose mine.

“Okay.” Slowly and neatly, he unwraps the gift, gently pulling the tape from the wrapping paper. I don’t see the need for such anal unwrapping. It’s not like we’re going to reuse the paper. Finally, the paper is off and there’s a plain cardboard box. He rips off the tape and pulls out the gift.

It’s a cast iron coin bank, the movable kind from the forties and fifties. There’s a baseball pitcher on one end and on the other a batter and catcher, crouched down. He looks down at the bank in his hands then back up at me with a genuine Ben, bring out the dimples and laugh lines smile. I know I did well.

“It’s a reproduction of a vintage coin bank. Sort of a combination of your love of baseball and coins,” I explain. “I thought you could keep it in your coin room. You put a coin in the pitcher’s hand and cock his arm back into place, then click the button behind the batter. The batter’s bat will swing and the pitcher will throw the coin. It’s supposed to look like the catcher catches it and the coin falls into the base.

Ben digs into his pocket and pulls out a nickel. He puts the nickel in the pitcher’s hand and follows my instructions. The coin goes to the catcher so fast, you can hardly see it. “I love it. It’s so cool. Thank you.” He gives me a quick kiss then returns his attention back to the bank. He pulls a quarter out of his pocket and sets it up in the pitcher’s hand then presses the button. “Look at that,” he says, staring at the bank with a childlike grin. I feel like I’m walking on a cloud, weightless and happy. He really does like it.

 “I can play with this bank all night, but I want you to open your gift.” He grabs the bag and hands it to me. It’s pretty light. Knowing Ben, it probably has something to do with sex. What could it be? A collection of thongs and push-up bras? Handcuffs? A giant box of condoms? I pull out the red tissue paper and look down into the bag.

“Oh my God, Ben. Is this…?” I ask. He nods, with a shy smile. I pull my gift out of the bag. It’s the ugly green elephant with the hot pink tutu I spent an entire summer trying to win at the crane games at the boardwalk. It’s exactly like I remember it. “How did you…?” I place my hand over my mouth. I’m speechless. I only mentioned the elephant once in passing over breakfast. I barely described it. I didn’t think he was even paying much attention to that conversation, yet here it is in my hand. I stare at him in amazement, my hand still over my mouth, and shake my head. Finally, I’m able to speak. “Thank you,” I say, my voice cracking as my eyes water.

“Hey, it wasn’t supposed to upset you. I thought you’d like it.” He brushes the back of his hand against my cheek.

“I love it. I know it had to be nearly impossible to find. I have no idea how…”

“I had a general idea of what it looked like from the sales circular you showed me. After that, a bit of researching on the internet came in handy.”

“Thank you, Ben. It’s probably the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received.” I wrap my arms around him and hug him tightly.

“I’m glad you like it,” he says softly as he kisses my hair.

~o0o~

“Hey, did you get lost in there?” Ben calls out to me.

“Keep your pants on,” I yell back from inside his private bathroom.

“I was hoping to take them off,” he retorts.

I look in the mirror and ignore him. He truly has a one-track mind. Staring at my reflection, I rake my fingers through my hair as it falls nicely over my shoulders in little waves. While I was packing my overnight bag, I packed my only true piece of lingerie, a black silk and lace long gown, on the chance that I’d end up here tonight. I had no other reason to pack it. I certainly wasn’t going to sleep in it at my parents’ house.

I’ve never worn this before. I don’t know what possessed me to buy it in the first place… maybe for this moment. My breasts fill out the cups nicely. There’s a low back with criss-cross tie shoulder straps and a slit on the back with lace trim. I feel sexy and elegant in it. I’m not sure how Ben will react to this. Other than a push-up bra and thong, I’ve never dressed up. It’s always been straight to the point slutty sex, but tonight I want to look pretty for him. I hesitate before I open the door, closing my eyes and taking a deep cleansing breath, my stomach fluttering. I summon up my courage and turn the doorknob.

Ben is placing the contents of his pockets on his nightstand when he turns around and looks at me, his gaze travels up and down my body. He blinks a few times as his mouth opens then closes. Slowly he walks over to me and stops inches away. “Wow,” he breathes as he shakes his head. “Wow.”

I smile. “You like?”

He cups my face in his hands, pressing his lips to mine, capturing my mouth with a hungry urgency. Our tongues warm and wet, entwined, probing each other’s mouths. I moan into his mouth, my body tingling, responding to him like it always does. “You look stunning,” he whispers in my ear, his teeth grazing across my earlobe, trailing feather-light kisses down my neck to my shoulder. “Wait here.”

He flicks the switch to his bedroom lights off; a warm glow from the moonlight softly illuminates his bedroom. Then walks back over to his nightstand and picks up a remote. His iPod docking station lights up and John Legend’s “All of Me” plays through the speakers. A love song? Interesting choice. Is he trying to tell me something? No, I’m reading too much into this. It’s probably the first song on his shuffle.

He strolls back over to me, his gaze intense.

“Ben, what are…”

He puts a finger over my lips “Shhh… Dance with me.” He holds out his hand. I place mine in his, slowly lacing our fingers together.