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The crackling voice that responds matches her lofty tone, “’Tis I, Benjamin Gerhard the Fourth. Seeking an audience with Miss Holly Foster.”
Terra turns to me, delight plumping her cheeks. Not everyone likes to play along with her teasing.
“Oh, I do declare!” With a flourish, she buzzes him up.
Even when wearing ratty sweatpants and one of her worn concert T-shirts, Terra insists upon dramatics. I love her for it.
As we wait for him, my pulse picks up pace, and a heat washes over me that has nothing to do with standing near the oven. I’m jittery. Almost nervous.
This morning at the cabin was uneventful. When I woke up, Ben was already out of bed, preparing scrambled eggs, shirt back on. While I was disappointed that we didn’t wake up, wrapped together, I have to admit, I like my man in the kitchen.
One of the many reasons I invited him over this afternoon.
In the car ride, we threw Tommy Boy quotes at each other and listened to Preston and Steve’s podcast. At least, I listened to it. Ben fell asleep about halfway into the drive again.
There’s a knock on our door. Before I even take a step, Terra leaps from her chair and sprints to answer it. I lean back against the counter, letting her have her fun. Ben will need to get used to Terra if he really wants to spend time with me outside of his treatments.
“Benny boy!” She’s definitely had more than one cup of coffee today. “Come in. Come in.”
“Thanks, Terra. Good to see you.” His smooth voice fills our tiny apartment, brushing against my skin like expensive silk sheets I wish I could afford.
The two of them walk around the corner, and our eyes find one another. His smile matches mine. While Terra resumes her seat, Ben crosses the room to stand in front of me.
“Hey there.” He cups my face and leans down to brush a soft hello kiss across my lips. Mint and pine mix together and fill my lungs.
If Terra wasn’t here, I’d let myself sink into him. Maybe try to unbutton his shirt, so I could get a better view of his artwork in the light of day. But my roommate watches us like we’re a delightful romantic comedy, so I grip the counter with my hands to keep them from misbehaving.
After leaning into his kiss for a moment, I break it. The hazy, happy look in his eyes sets off tingles of satisfaction in my chest.
“Long time no see.”
He grins. “Felt like it.”
“You two are adorable.” Terra has her elbows propped on the kitchen table, chin resting in her hands, as she gazes at us.
I roll my eyes and stick my tongue out at her.
Ben chuckles before pressing his lips to my forehead and then moves to sit across from her. “Put me to work. What can I do?”
“Ooh, I like you even more,” Terra comments as I pull out our second cutting board.
“I’ll give you the easy chore.” I place the cutting board in front of him and then pick up the colander filled with washed potatoes from the sink. After a final shake to rid it of excess water, I place them next to Ben’s elbow. “You cube these. We’re making cheesy baked potato soup.”
Once I hand him a knife, he sets to his task. Terra continues shredding cheese, the job half-done before Ben arrived. I work on dicing an onion, and for a moment, the three of us work quietly.
But Terra is here, so that doesn’t last long.
“So, Ben, what are your life plans?”
My knife comes down harder than I meant before I throw a glare over my shoulder. “Terra,” I chide, “that’s not small talk.”
She shrugs. “Small talk only gets in the way of actually learning about someone. I want to know the interesting stuff. Just be glad I didn’t ask what his most embarrassing memory was.” Her voice lowers to a mock whisper, and she leans in close to Ben. “That’s my second question. So, brace yourself.”
Even though I don’t want to admit it, I agree with her. Still, someone needs to protect him from Terra’s prying.
“You can tell her no. It’s healthy for her to be denied every so often.” I direct this at Ben, but he just glances between the two of us with an amused quirk to his mouth.
“I don’t mind.” He resumes cutting potatoes, and I turn back to my onion even though my attention is all on his words. “Let’s see … life plans … being healthy again. That’s top of the list. Thanks to Holly, I should be good there.” A quick smile is thrown my way, and then he’s back to his list. “I plan to land a position in a law firm and then eventually join my family’s. It’s good job security, good pay.”
