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BEN
I’m the only man who’s been in her bed before.
Like a caveman, I swell with primal pride.
Holly’s bedroom is tiny, like her. And sexy, like her. I think it’s the red-tinged lighting produced by the fabrics she’s hung from the ceiling.
And the mattress is begging me to lie back, to lounge on its pillowy surface. I’d grab Holly’s hand, so she’d land on top of me. Then, we’d kiss long and slow until we realized that too much time had passed for us to make our drive today. Instead, she’d invite me to spend the night here, with her, in her comfy little tent of a room. A night with Holly in my arms is vacation enough for me.
“Ben?” Her voice brings me back to reality. “You ready to go?”
Reluctantly, I nod and wait for her to descend the sturdy white ladder before making my own way down, worried about stepping on her slim fingers. When we’re on the same level again, I get the sense that Holly is waiting for me to say something, like she’s guarding herself against it. There’s the beginning of a wall; she has put down a few bricks and is reaching for more.
I can guess why.
My parents are rich. They’ve worked hard for their wealth, and they’re both fans of spending their money. We’ve only spent time in their luxurious townhouse, and now, I’m in Holly’s small apartment, one most wouldn’t think compares to what I grew up with.
But this is her place, so I love it.
“I’m all set.” She grabs a duffel bag off the couch and indicates I should lead the way out the door. But I don’t move yet.
“Your place is great.”
She shrugs. “It’s small.”
“So are corgis. But they’re great, too.”
That gets me raised eyebrows and the chuckle I was hoping for.
“Very true. And bonus points for liking dogs.”
“Of course. I mean, I have a soul, don’t I?”
And so we leave Holly’s place with smiles and traded jokes. Exactly how I want our trip to start.
“Can I have the keys, please?” Her hand, with its fresh green nail polish, stays extended as I load her bag into the trunk next to mine.
“Look at you, actually asking instead of just hopping into the driver’s seat.” I dangle the keys from my index finger.
She sticks her tongue out at me before snatching them. “Sometimes, I like to give the people around me the illusion of control,” Holly explains over the top of the car as she shimmies out of her puffy winter jacket, tossing it on the backseat and then sliding into the front.
As we wait for the heater to start blasting its glorious warm air, I plug in my phone and type the address into a GPS app.
“Expected travel time: two hours, fifty-four minutes. Proceed five hundred feet and make a left,” the automated female voice directs us from the car speakers.
“Three hours? Where exactly are you having me take us?” Holly sounds intrigued rather than put out by the distance.
“You’ll see. You wanna text the address to Terra?”
“That’s okay.” She shifts into drive. “I trust you.”
Boom goes the dynamite. Like a happy bomb has been dropped on my chest, an explosion of excitement and pride radiates through me.
Holly trusts me.
This is what I’ve been waiting for. But this doesn’t seem like the right time to broach the topic of dating. I’ll leave it—for now.
With a few swipes on my phone, the familiar voices of Preston and Steve and their morning crew fill the car.
