Where I Belong (Alabama Summer) (8 page)

Holy shit. Nolan’s going to lose his mind. Why do I not
know about this place?

Me: No, but that
sounds awesome. Do I need to make reservations?

Mia: I’ll take care
of it. Saturday work for you?

Every day works for me. I’ll rearrange my entire life at
this point.

Me: Yeah. I’ll pick
you up. Just let me know what time.

Mia: Okay. I’ll text
you after I book it.

Me: I can’t wait.

She doesn’t respond to that, but I don’t need her to. The
only thing I need is the chance she’s now willing to give me. I can finally
show her the man I am now. I can make up for all the hurt I’ve caused her. All
the pain. I’ll earn her friendship before offering her my life. It’s hers
anyway. She just needs to take it.

Mia

Ben: I can’t wait.

Me either.
I wanted to type, but I didn’t. I wasn’t
just looking forward to spending time with Nolan, who just so happened to be
the cutest kid on the planet. I
wanted
to be around Ben. I didn’t want
to fight it. I knew I couldn’t keep shutting him out. I didn’t want to hate him
for things he did to me years ago. Not when he definitely wasn’t that guy
anymore. It’d be different if he was. That hate would be justified. But he’s
nothing
like the old Ben. He doesn’t talk to me like that same boy. He doesn’t look at
me like that same boy. And he definitely doesn’t make me feel like that same
boy. I’d be a total bitch if I didn’t at least give this Ben a chance. So
that’s what I’m giving him.

Saturday wasn’t coming soon enough for me. I’ve never felt
anxious about doing something with a guy
just as friends
before. But
this was Benjamin Kelly we were talking about. He’s seen me naked. Completely
naked. And now he wanted to hang out like we haven’t brought each other immense
pleasure.

He came just as much as I did that night so I’m taking
credit for that.

How the hell am I supposed to navigate a friendship with a
guy that I can’t stop fantasizing about? I’ve had guy friends before. It’s
doable. But I’ve never gotten butterflies over those guys. I’ve never felt like
I might actually combust just being in the same room as those guys. And I’ve
definitely
never wanted to bang the hell out of those guys.

Speaking of boys that wanted to be friends with me, I
promised Reed that I’d meet him for lunch today. We’ve talked on the phone a
few times since the day at Rocky Point. He was really sweet and funny, and when
he asked me to hang out with him, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. He picked a
sandwich shop in town that I was familiar with. Tessa and I ate there several
times when we were younger with her parents. I spent the morning in the pool
with her, not being able to sunbathe because the heat was enough to make you
pass out. After a quick shower, I drove into town and parked my jeep next to
Reed’s truck. He was already seated at a table when I walked through the door.

“Hey, how are you?” I ask, walking around the table as he
stands up to greet me. He gives me a hug which I’m not expecting but it isn’t
awkward. And it definitely isn’t anything other than a hug you’d give a friend,
which relieves me. I’m hoping this really is just a lunch between new friends
and not anything more. I’m not interested in anything else with Reed and I
don’t want this to become uncomfortable. He ends our one armed hug with a pat
on my back. Very non-date like.

“I’m good. I ordered you a shrimp salad sub. I hope that’s
okay.” Reed smiles at me as he takes his seat and I take mine. He has the
lightest blondest hair I’ve ever seen, almost white, that falls in his eyes
with a bit of curl.

“Yeah, thanks. That sounds delicious.” I take a sip of the
water he had also ordered for me. “So you were off work today?” Reed had
mentioned a few days ago that he was a laborer for his father’s construction
company.

He nods. “Yeah. Business is kind of slow right now. But it
should pick up soon. We’re usually slammed in the summer time.” Our sandwiches
are placed in front of us and we both take a bite, chewing behind our smiles.
“What town in Georgia are you from again?”

“Fulton. Smallest town in the world.” I swallow my bite and
take a drink. “It’s a military town. The air base is really the only thing in
it besides a Walmart.”

“Have you ever been on the air base? I bet they have some
really cool planes there.”

I shrug. “I’ve only been on it a few times. They’ll show
movies there at the theatre for a dollar, but it’s always like three months
after their original release date.” I take another bite of my sandwich. “I
don’t think given the choice I’d choose to live in Fulton. It’s mainly a lot of
old people that are retired,” I pause and grin slyly. “And Marines.”

He laughs behind his drink. “I could totally live there. I’m
a sucker for girls in uniforms and military planes. My grandfather was a pilot
and used to take me to the air shows when I was younger.” The door to the shop
chimes open and I watch Reed’s eyes react to whoever walks in. “What the hell
are the odds,” he mumbles before fixating his gaze on me.

I turn in my chair and nearly fall out of it.
Sweet
mother of all that’s holy.
Ben stands frozen just inside the shop door, his
eyes shifting between mine and what I’m going to assume are Reed’s. But I can’t
turn around to be sure. I can’t do anything besides stare at the glorious sight
of him in a cop uniform.
He’s a cop? I had no freaking idea. What the hell
else is Tessa keeping from me?
My chatterbox best friend seems oddly tight
lipped on everything involving her brother.

“Well look who it is.” I’m broken out of my trance and
glance up to see Luke’s amused grin. “How are you, Mia?”

Movement comes from my left and I turn to see Ben walking
over.
Oh, Good God. He’s right next to me. He’s right next to me and he’s
got handcuffs.
I swallow heavily and pry my eyes from his to look at Luke.
“I’m good. Great. I’m… I’m good. Or great. Both. I’m both.” And I’ve apparently
forgotten how to hold a conversation. Luke muffles his laugh.

“Hey,” Ben greets me with a smile. I’d usually be able to
react like a normal human being and say something, anything in response, but
considering the fact that he paired that knock me on my ass grin with the
uniform he’s rocking, I’m pooling in my chair and unable to do anything but
continue breathing. He shoots a glare at Reed, one that I wouldn’t ever want
directed toward me. “Reed,” he practically growls and I think Reed says
something in return, but at the moment, my entire body is completely focused on
Ben’s, including my ears. He looks back down at me and grips the back of my
chair. “Are we still on for Saturday?”

“Hmm?” His lips move, parting sensually, but I’ve no idea
what words if any just came out of them. I know exactly what those lips are
capable of and that’s the only thing filtering through my mind at the moment.
My
God. Those lips are orgasmic.
“I’m sorry, what?”

He laughs and looks over at Luke quickly before returning to
my stunned face. “I asked if we’re still on for Saturday.”

I nod. A lot. My head might have fallen off if I hadn’t
forced myself to stop. “Yup. I made reservations for the five o’clock show.” I
clear my throat and take a sip of my water before continuing.
Christ. It
feels like I swallowed super glue.
“Um, we have to be there fifteen minutes
before show time. I arranged for Nolan to get his picture taken with the King.”

His eyes light up and his cheeks hollow out with his
dimples. “Oh man. He’s going to freak out over that.” We smile at each other
and the other two guys could probably catch on fire and I doubt either one of
us would notice. I definitely won’t notice. “Good idea, Princess Mia.”

“Yeah, I can be pretty awesome sometimes.”

Luke slaps Ben’s back and the sound snaps me out of my
obsessive gazing. “Well, as much as I’d love to stand here and listen to you
two
not flirt
with each other, I’m starving and we need to get back out
there.” He smirks at me. “You know, bad guys to catch and all. Protect and
serve. That whole thing.” He turns his head toward Reed. “Sorry to interrupt
your date.”

“It’s not a date,” I blurt out, immediately regretting the
hidden implication that I’d never actually be on a date with Reed. I look over
at him, silently pleading for him to agree with my statement and not make this
anymore awkward than I’ve just made it.

Help a girl out. Don’t leave me hanging here.

He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Well, that’s the last time I
service you with my free hand underneath the table. You’ve broken my heart,
Mia.”

My jaw hits the table I definitely was not recently serviced
under.
Is he nuts?
“What?” I manage to choke out.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Ben questions with a tone
that no man in his right mind should challenge. “Say it again, asshole, and see
what happens.” He moves closer to Reed but Luke steps between the two.

“I’m gonna let him punch you if you say something stupid
like that again,” Luke states, straining his head over his own shoulder to
connect with Reed. Ben and Luke are roughly the same size, so Luke doesn’t have
any difficulty in holding him back. Reed, on the other hand, is more leaned out
than muscular and probably wouldn’t stand a chance against Ben. Luke turns back
toward Ben who is still looking ready to kill. “Not a date, man. Just relax.”
His words are barely audible, but I hear them. And Ben seems to calm down as he
processes them himself.

Reed holds up his hands in surrender. “Kidding. Jesus
Christ. You used to have a sense of humor, Ben. What the hell happened?”

Ben places his hand on the back of my chair again, hovering
over me in a very possessive way. If I’m not mistaken, it’s as if he’s staking
his claim in front of Reed, just like he did the other day on the pier. But
this time, I don’t object to it. This time, the very thought of being Ben’s
doesn’t infuriate me. It intrigues me. I want to know what that feels like. But
he asked me out for Saturday as friends, and friends don’t act like that with
each other. So that can’t possibly be what he’s doing right now. He’s probably
just looking out for me. So I push those thoughts to the back of my mind and
watch his eyes shift back to mine. He hasn’t said anything else to Reed but I
don’t think he needs to. His actions and demeanor are speaking loud enough for
him. “I’ll pick you up at four o’clock. I figured we’d surprise Nolan so I’m
not going to tell him where we’re going.” His tone is friendly, all edginess
and agitation gone as if he didn’t just have a pissing contest with the guy
that I am
not
on a date with.

I tuck my hair back behind my ear. “Make sure he brings his
sword. He’s gonna need it.” I feel his thumb brush along my back and that
slight bit of contact sends my lower half into a frenzy.

“Ben. Get over here and order,” Luke calls out, having moved
to the counter. He must have thought it was safe to leave his friend alone with
Reed. That or he was too hungry to care anymore.

Ben lets go of my chair with a grin and brushes against my
shoulder with his hand. These tiny touches are going to kill me. “See you
Saturday.”

“Okay,” I choke out with a shaky voice.

 He turns, shooting Reed a scowl before walking over to
the counter. And now his back is to me. His shoulders in that shirt. His ass in
those pants. Someone may have to scrap me off the floor.

“You’re hilarious.” I glare at Reed, accomplishing the
difficult task of prying my eyes off the glorious body standing no more than
fifteen feet away from me. “I think I’d remember getting fingered underneath a
table, ass.”

“I’d hope so.” Reed grins before shrugging. “It’s all good.
I’ve never seen Ben get all
I’m caveman, this my woman
before. He’s fun
to rile up.”

I roll my eyes before giving in to the temptation standing
at the counter. I don’t want to stare, but given the fact that Ben’s back is to
me and he’d never know I’m drooling down the front of my shirt, I allow it. I
hear Reed’s voice as it enters my ear and it would be rude of me not to answer
him. Besides, I’m perfectly capable of answering one person while I’m glued to
someone else. I’m a woman for Christ’s sake. We can multi-task the shit out of
stuff.

“Hmm mmm. Yeah, me too,” I reply. Ben pulls his wallet out
of the back of his pants. Where his ass is. That. Ass. It’s this perfectly
sculpted entity in itself. There should be internet sites dedicated to it. Fan
clubs. Parades even.

“Oh wow. That sounds really fun. I’d love to do that,” I
respond. Ben reaches over his shoulder and scratches his back, pulling his
shirt tight across his muscles.
My God.

“That’s crazy. I hate it when that happens.” I have no idea
what Reed just said to me. No idea. His chuckle catches my attention and I whip
my head around. “What?”

His eyes drift from the men at the counter back to me. He
grins amusingly. “I just asked you how your sandwich was, and you answered me
with ‘that’s crazy. I hate it when that happens.’” His body shakes with silent
laughter.

I slap my hand over my eyes and bow my head in
embarrassment. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry, Reed. That was so rude of me.” I drop
my hand and turn my body toward him completely, granting him all my focus. “I’m
paying attention to you, I swear.”

He tilts his head. “So when should I set us up for sky
diving?”

“Huh?”
Sky diving? Hell no. I’d never agree to something
like that
.

“You said it sounded really fun and that you’d love to do
it. Remember? Just two minutes ago when you were
paying attention to me
.”

I open my mouth to apologize when the door chimes, causing
me to whip my head around. Ben smiles at me before he walks out and I wave like
some obnoxious fan girl trying to flag down her favorite celebrity. Real
smooth. I turn back around and see how much this is entertaining Reed. “Did I
mention Ben and I are trying out this whole friends thing? I don’t have the
slightest idea what I’m doing.” I filled Reed in on mine and Ben’s history at
Rocky Point the other day, leaving out the small detail of the mind blowing
five orgasms he gave me.
Five!

“Clearly.” He smiles and throws his crumpled up napkin at
me. “It’s not gonna work.”

“What?”

“Friends. You and Ben. I’ll bet money on it.” He crosses his
arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair. He is grinning at me like he
has it in the bag. Like he is already holding my money and counting it
arrogantly in front of me.
Oh the smugness.