“Eric, you’re being way too generous. You don’t have to solve all my problems in one day.” She shifts, facing me. Instinctively, she lays her hand on my arm as a friendly gesture, but it ignites every nerve ending in my body. I lower my head and take a deep breath, and she misinterprets my response. “Please don’t be mad. I just don’t understand why you’re being so nice.”
“Because I like you, Ivy.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. Damn it. “I mean…you seem like a really good person, who just so happens to be dealing with a lot of bad luck on her first day on the job.”
“How did you know it was my first day?” She looks at me in amazement, her jaw dropping.
“Because you’re trying too hard.” I’m joking, and for a minute I think she’s going to throttle me, but she doesn’t. The reason I know is that Lauren pretty much has me on her mind 24/7. I’m her obsession. So it’s a pretty fair assumption that she’d make up some excuse to send her new intern up here to spy on me. But I can’t tell Ivy that. She has to work with the nutcase. “Ivy, if you don’t take my money now, I’m just going to ask Lauren to tell me the amount when I call her to explain why you’re wearing clogs.”
“You’re really going to do that? I thought you were kidding.” She sounds impressed by my willingness to go out of my way for her. I’m not looking forward to talking to Lauren, but if it saves Ivy a tongue lashing, I’ll do it. From the moment I held her in my arms, I haven’t been able to shake the urge of wanting to protect her.
“I’m a man of my word.” I look deeply into her eyes, showing her I mean what I’m saying, and she blushes. “Now let’s go fill that empty tank of yours.”
My hand is on the door handle when I feel her pat me on the back. “Thank you, Eric. You’re really something special, you know that?”
And just like that, she’s out of the truck. But the warmth of her touch combined with the sweetness of her voice leaves my head spinning. Man, I can feel myself falling for this girl—or maybe I already have.
***
“What’s wrong?” Ivy shoots me a worried glance from the passenger seat.
I’ve been meaning to replace the ignition switch on my truck for a while now, but I kept on putting it off even though it’s been giving me problems. But man, it sure picked a hell of a time to die on me. I turn the key again, but to no avail.
“Eric, we’re already late, and you know I can’t miss this flight.” Ivy’s voice rises as she starts to panic.
We took our time getting ready this morning. I wanted to savor every last moment with her. We should’ve been on the road a half hour ago, but I followed her into the shower and…well, one thing led to another. I was a good boy while she cut my unkempt hair and shaved my fledgling attempt at a beard, but after that I couldn’t keep my hands off her. Holding back while she was cleaning me up just made me even crazier for her when she was done. It was torture having to sit there and behave while she was turning me on with every snip of the scissors and flick of the razor.
But I have to get her to the airport somehow, and my mind begins to race furiously through all of the available options. Jack was already out back on the tractor, but he rode over on his motorcycle, so that wasn’t going to work. My dad was off visiting an old buddy of his and wouldn’t be back until this afternoon. And my mom isn’t able to handle the stick shift in the old truck in their garage. And there’s really no one else I could call on such short notice.
Just when I’m about to give up, we hear a set of tires crunching the gravel and the pulsing bass of a stereo turned all the way up.
“Oh thank God,” Ivy whispers. “It’s Ben.”
Not exactly what I was thinking, but he could be our way out of this mess.
“Hey, boss. Turns out I don’t have school today because it’s a teacher in-service day or some crazy shit like that. And we don’t have football practice either because Saturday was a day game, so I thought I’d head on over here. Maybe pick up a few extra hours or something. What do you say?” Ben saunters over to my beaten, broken-down truck after exiting his showroom-worthy model while tucking his aviator sunglasses into his front pocket.
I fucking hate the kid. He has no worries, no responsibilities, not a care in the world—except deciding which cheerleader he’s going to bang on Friday night. He does whatever he wants, whenever he feels like it. And now I’m going to have to grovel at his feet.
I grit my teeth as he leans against the door, peering in at Ivy. “Ben, we’re going to have to borrow your truck.”
“Oh man, no can do. My dad has a pretty tight insurance policy on this baby. I’m the only one he has listed as a driver. If I let you take it and something happens, he’ll go apeshit on my ass.” Ben grimaces, but it’s all for show. He just doesn’t want me driving his truck. Does he really have to be such a dick about it?
“Please, Ben…” Ivy urges. I can’t stand hearing her beg him for anything.
“Well, I’ll tell you what I can do.” Ben’s grin slowly widens as he watches Ivy hanging on his every word. “I can drive Ivy to the airport…as long as you’re cool with it, Eric.”
I’m definitely not cool with it, but Ivy’s already out of her seat, trying to pull her luggage out of the back. No matter how much I don’t like this, there will be no arguing with her now. I just don’t like the idea of Ben driving like a maniac through all of that traffic. Ivy is precious cargo and he better treat her as such—and not tear down the interstate like the reckless thrill-seeker that he is.
I grunt while getting out, gently moving Ivy aside to take the handle of the suitcase from her. She huffs, giving me an exasperated look. What? I’m only trying to help. She shouldn’t be lifting anything heavy in her condition anyway. I only hope a stewardess is able to put her carry-on bag in the overhead compartment since I won’t be there to do it for her. And now I won’t be there to kiss her goodbye either. A knot forms in my stomach knowing that this is it.
Ben stands there watching as I draw Ivy against my body. I glare at him over the top of her head, and he takes the hint, grabbing her bags with one hand. I bury my lips against her hair, breathing her in. I tighten my hold on her, sending him a clear message.
She’s mine, dickhead. Don’t even think about it.
Staring him down, Ben is the first to look away. Good, he’s going to miss quite a show. I bend, capturing Ivy’s lips with my own. She’s a little timid at first, knowing that Ben is probably watching. But it’s not long before she gets swept up in the kiss, moaning against my mouth. I spread my fingers firmly across her back, allowing my thumbs to come forward and play with her breasts. This way, Ben can’t see what I’m doing to her and she opens herself up to me even more. She can’t get enough of me touching them, and I’ve come up with many ingenious ways of fondling her over the past couple of months. I’m all about giving my woman what she wants when she wants it in order to keep her satisfied.
But Ben seems annoyed by our public display of affection as he impatiently beeps the horn. “C’mon, Ivy. We gotta go,” he calls out from behind the wheel.
She pulls away from my lips breathless, my thumbs still circling her nipples. “Ah,” she sighs. “You can’t keep doing that or I’ll never leave.”
“That’s my intention.” I grin down at her as she places her tiny hands on top of my large ones. She hooks her fingers through mine, reluctantly drawing me away from her body.
“I’m going to miss you so much.” She peers up at me as her eyes fill with tears.
“Hurry up and do what you have to do.” I take a deep breath, willing myself to let her go. “I’ll be waiting.”
“You better be.” She tilts her chin, making a valiant effort to smile as her bottom lip starts to tremble.
“I’ll be counting the hours until you’re back in my arms.” I try to encourage her, but it’s hard. I don’t want her anywhere but at my side.
Ben beeps again, and she turns around to indicate she’s coming.
“I love you, Eric Young,” she cries, standing on her tiptoes to give me a quick peck on the cheek.
I want to grab her and hold her close, but I don’t. I know she has to go. It’s getting late, and I don’t want her rushing. Hearing her say my name gives me an idea—it might be just the thing I need to endure this separation until she returns.
“I love you, you crazy girl,” I whisper as she walks backward toward Ben’s truck, never taking her eyes off me.
She gets in and barely has her seatbelt buckled when Ben tears out of the driveway, hitting the road with a cloud of dust forming in his wake. He’s no doubt showing off for her. But he better cut the crap and slow down.
Because he has my whole world riding next to him…
I don’t like the idea of being alone with a teenage boy.
I focus on the acres of farmland flying by in order to calm my nerves—anything to distract myself from reliving some pretty bad memories. It’s been three months since Ryan tried to force himself on me, and I’m a little on edge from being in a similar situation. I’ve seen the way Ben looks at me when Eric’s not around. He has that quarterback swagger, and he’s used to having girls fall at his feet. He’s heard me fooling around with Eric on multiple occasions, and his eyes linger on certain areas of my body that they shouldn’t.
I cringe inside, wondering if he’s seen me naked, and it brings the whole thing with Ryan flooding back. I can’t stand the thought of another horny guy jerking off to me. Look where it led the last time. I have to be more careful. I need to maintain control. Ben may view me as a piece of meat, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to get a taste.
The windows are down and the radio is blasting. He hasn’t really said much. I don’t know what’s going on in that head of his. I’m blatantly aware of his physicality, his tattooed biceps bulging through the sleeves of his t-shirt. If I had to defend myself against him, I don’t think I’d win. He’s way stronger than I am. It wouldn’t be a fair fight, that’s for sure. Now would be the time to establish some boundaries.
“Could you roll up the windows? I’m getting blown to bits over here,” I ask him nicely.
He smirks but grudgingly complies. “I don’t know about you, but I kinda like getting blown.”
I cringe inside and mutter, “Fuck you,” under my breath.
“What was that?” he asks, turning down the radio.
“Thank you,” I respond, giving him a fake smile.
“See, you can be sweet when you want to be,” he snickers, egging me on.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He’s deliberately pushing my buttons and it’s killing me that I’m letting him do it.
“I don’t know. Word is you can be one hell of a tease.” His eyes shift over to me then back to the road.
“Excuse me?” I can’t believe the taunts that are coming out of his mouth.
“You heard me. Or maybe you’d like to explain just what exactly went on between you and Ryan Price.” He stops sharply, throwing me back against the seat as the car he’s tailgating hits the brakes.
“Why? What’s he been saying?” I haven’t heard a word from Ryan after his fight with Eric. I thought he’d licked his wounds and was over it, but apparently not.
“He’s been talking shit about you all over school. How you came on to him in his Jeep. How he turned you down. How you slept with Eric to get back at him.” Ben spouts off Ryan’s lies so casually, like he couldn’t care less if they’re true or not. “Then you ended up pregnant, and Eric, being the honorable guy he is, took your slutty ass in even though you’re only milking him for all it’s worth because you have nowhere else to go.”
“Hmm, that’s it?” I might as well hear it all and pretend that what he’s saying isn’t affecting me in the slightest.
“He says you stabbed his stepsister in the back when she was the only one nice enough to give you a job and that you suck as a writer because she had to rewrite all of your pieces and…” He pauses as I interrupt him.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s more?” I ask sarcastically.
“Oh yeah. Apparently, you have this sick fascination with Cassidy and you want to be her or something.” He glances at me out of the corner of his eye, probably too afraid to look at my face.
“Really?” I can’t even speak. I’m so mad.
“You got yourself pregnant. You’re wearing her clothes and living in the house Eric built for her. So yeah, pretty much.” He shrugs like these phony accusations are completely logical.
“How do you even know about that?” My heart starts to race when I recall Eric’s reaction when he saw me wearing the shirt he bought for Cassidy. I’ll never forget the look he gave me as long as I live.
“Ryan said that the dry cleaner told him that you brought in something he remembered Cassidy wearing in one of the pictures they showed of her on the news, that you ruined it.” Ben shakes his head. “Man, talk about all of the puzzle pieces coming together.”
“Ryan’s saying an awful lot for a guy who should be keeping his mouth shut.” I don’t know how much I should reveal to Ben. He could go back to Ryan and tell him everything I say, turning this battle into an all-out war. I thought when Ryan found out that Will had told me what he was up to that would be the end of it, but apparently not. I’ve been living in a bubble of blissful delusion while Ryan has been launching a total smear campaign against me. I knew Lauren was out there making some nasty remarks, but I didn’t think Ryan would stoop so low.
“I don’t know, Ivy. I mean, c’mon.” Ben scratches the back of his head, squinting. “Why am I driving you to get on a plane to meet Will, the guy I just so happened to see you kissing in the Main Street diner last summer? You’re telling me that Eric is okay with this?”
“God, you were there that day?” I’m so sick of how small our town really is. Everybody knows everything about everybody.
“Yeah, and it pissed me off that the girl I was there with couldn’t take her eyes off of Will. I think every woman in the place wanted to jump him, but you were the one he kissed. So you definitely made an impression for being able to snag the guy all the girls wanted—not only once, but twice, if you count Eric,” Ben declares like he’s a prosecutor making a closing argument in a murder case. It seems like I’m guilty until proven innocent.
“I know how it must’ve looked, but it wasn’t like that. Will’s been playing a game with me my entire life. He was just toying with me that day to get what he wanted. It meant absolutely nothing.” My cheeks burn as I fall into the trap of defending myself.
“But it still doesn’t explain why you’re hopping on a plane to go and see him.” Ben sounds so smug like he has me all figured out, but all he’s doing is twisting my words and throwing them back at me.
“It’s strictly business. That’s it. Nothing more. I’m not leaving town because I want to. I’m going because I have to.” I cross my arms defiantly in front of my chest. Why won’t Ben even give me the benefit of the doubt? Is this really the way the whole town sees me? Or is it just him?
“Ivy, you gotta admit that it doesn’t look good. If you keep on making these kinds of moves, people are gonna talk.” His tone is consoling now, like he has my best interest at heart.
“What, are you friends with Ryan or something? Funny, he never mentioned hanging out with any dumb jocks.” If Ben’s going to patronize me, I don’t feel bad for insulting him.
“Huh, that’s funny,” he says, clearly mocking me. “I’m smart enough to figure you out.”
“But why are you being so hostile toward me? The only way I see it is that Ryan put you up to it because I never did anything for you to attack me like this. You don’t have all the details. You don’t know what really happened.” I can’t stop my voice from shaking, and he immediately picks up on it. It’s not cool to upset a pregnant woman, no matter how much of a thug he is.
“Well then, why don’t you tell me the whole story and maybe I can help. My last name isn’t Price but my word carries some weight in our town. I am the star quarterback, after all. But I need to know what you’re not telling me. I’m not going to vouch for you if I don’t have all the facts.” His eyes bore into mine and I can tell he’s being serious. He’s a handful, but I don’t think he’s malicious. He doesn’t know me. I’m pretty much a stranger to him. Of course he’s going to take Ryan’s side over mine.
Ben is an alpha male so he’s not led by the pack mentality that runs our town. He wants to think for himself. Maybe I should give him a chance. We’re probably just butting heads because he’s not used to being around a girl who speaks her mind. He’s more about the eye candy and getting down to business than having any real, meaningful conversations with a member of the opposite sex. All right, let’s take it slow and see how it goes.
“What’s the deal with you and Ryan? Are you friends with him?” I begin, feeling him out.
“He’s the punter on the football team this year, and he’s been talking a lot of smack about you in the locker room. The guys eat that shit up. At first, I think he only did it to get a rise out of me because he knows I work for Eric. But when I didn’t bite, he kept at it because the other guys were pumping him up, making him feel like he’s such a player when they’re really laughing at him behind his back.” Ben drops an arm onto his knee, driving with one hand. “You see, the Prices may be feared, but they’re not respected. People put up with their shit and kiss their asses to get a job or win an election. Stuff like that. But nobody really likes them.”
“Why am I not surprised?” I remark bitterly. “I’m ashamed to say I did the same thing.”
“Yeah, but when you’re put in the position of not having any other choice, you do what you gotta do whether you want to or not.” Ben’s more practical than I thought. He has a handle on how the town operates.
“But you’re probably wondering how I went from being lifelong friends with Ryan to being enemy number one.” I run a hand through my hair, nervous about what I’m going to reveal.
“The thought did cross my mind, and I assumed it had to do with your relationship with Eric, but there’s something else, isn’t there?” Ben is dying to know. I might as well tell him.
“Ryan tried to rape me then cover it up by having Lauren slander me in the
Gazette
by saying I was going to be arrested on some trumped-up charges. But it was all a smoke screen to get me away from Eric. Will was the one who let us in on their plan before it was too late. If not for Will, I’d probably be pregnant and alone somewhere. That’s why I’m dropping everything and flying across the country. I owe Will big time for what he did for me and Eric.” A light of understanding flickers in Ben’s eyes, like something I said just clicked with him.
“Eric found out what Ryan tried to do to you and beat the crap out of him, didn’t he?” Ben asks, even though he doesn’t need my confirmation. “Because Ryan was walking around town looking all banged up after the film festival, but no one could figure out what had happened to him. He said he fell down a flight of stairs but no one bought it.”
“Yeah, I gotta admit that I didn’t see it coming. I thought Ryan was my friend. I still can’t believe what he tried to do to me. I don’t think I ever will.” I wipe away the tears welling in my eyes with the back of my hand. I refuse to let Ben see me cry.
“So you didn’t hear about the girls’ swim team then?” Ben cocks his head to look at me.
“What about it?” I sniffle, afraid of where he is going with this.
“Ryan got caught spying on them when they were changing after a meet. He was almost suspended, but his father got him out of it. The coach who squealed on him lost his job, but that didn’t stop him from telling anyone who would listen. He didn’t keep quiet because he feels Ryan’s a threat.” Ben eyes me warily, waiting for me to figure out the implications behind his statement.
“You think I’m a coward for not reporting him to the police, don’t you?” It’s clear what he’s accusing me of, and on this matter, I am guilty. I can’t talk my way out of it because Ben’s right. I am a coward.
“I think you’re putting a lot of innocent girls in danger by not coming forward. I get the influence his family has and how they could ruin you, but aren’t they already doing that? What do you have to lose by going to the police?” Here I was, afraid that Ben was going to attack me, but instead he’s lecturing me on the merits of bringing a sexual deviant to justice. It just goes to show how paranoid I’ve become and how every guy’s actions have seemed suspicious to me, even when they’re not. Hell, ten minutes ago I was even afraid to be in his truck.
“I’ll consider it when I get back, all right?” I need Ben to meet my eyes to know I’m serious, but he waits a second or two before turning his head.
“Well, I really hope you change your mind because that coach who got fired was my brother.” The severity of what he’s telling me starts to sink in.
“Oh jeez, Ben. I didn’t know…” I tense up, realizing the ramifications.
“So you better think long and hard if you’re going to continue to keep silent or if you have the guts to tell the truth.” He seems disappointed in me for not doing the right thing, but he’s giving me a second chance to make amends.
I just don’t know if I’m ready to take him up on it.