“Uh uh uh. Not yet,” he tuts at me, and I pout like a toddler being deprived of a gift. Ben chuckles and pecks my nose with a sweet kiss, and we hear the clearing of a throat. We both look over to see a peeved Logan standing with his arms crossed.
“Oh. Sorry, forgot you were still here,” Ben deadpans.
“I can see that. So, you two are together?” A look of anger twisted Logan’s features.
“Yup,” Ben replies curtly and steers me away with an arm around my shoulders. “Nice seeing you, Chad,” he shouts over his shoulder, and we walk away. I glance behind me, catching sight of Logan standing rigidly, his eyes narrowed in a furious glare burning into our backs as we walk away.
I shake off the unsettling encounter and snuggle in closer to Ben. Forcing my mind to focus on the present.
“So, when can I see what you got me?” I whine.
“Soon.” Ben smiles down at me.
We walk back to the apartment with me tucked under Ben’s arm, and the mystery present swinging in his other hand. He won’t let me open the present until after he makes me come twice. Only when we’ve come up for air, and the encounter with Logan is long forgotten, does he finally hand over the bag. I shriek in delight as I pull out the hand-wrapped miniature figurines of a pair of cats that resemble Buffy and Spike.
I thank him by jumping into his lap and giving him a kiss.
Sometimes, I feel like all of this is too good to be true, but rather than dwell on it, I feel grateful for what life has put us through to bring us together.
The next day, I couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling of my encounter with Logan. I couldn’t escape his words in my mind the entire night. The strange encounter followed me in my sleep and haunted my dreams. The police report and Logan’s constant texts have left me feeling uneasy. I haven’t told Ben what’s bothering me, even though he knows something is wrong.
I’m full of unanswered questions. I built up the nerve to talk to Ben about what happened with Logan, going over it repeatedly in my head, but he was over at Jason and Amanda’s. Jason needed a hand to build something down in the basement. Ben invited me to hang out with Amanda, but my anxiety was too overwhelming.
I’ve cleaned every surface in the apartment until it sparkles. Even the cats are avoiding me after I used the vacuum cleaner for the third time. My furious pacing fails to alleviate myrestlessness. As a car nears, I run to the window, a sharp exhale escaping me at the sight of Ben’s car.
Finally, he’s home.
Seconds tick by as I wait on the edge of the couch. In the hushed apartment, the sound of his keys unlocking the door is amplified. When he yells his usual greeting, letting me know he’s home, my heart flutters excitedly. I’m overwhelmed by a sickening mix of anxiety and excitement. I’m so incredibly stimulated that I feel like I’m going to burst.
I remain still, my hands clasped, as he approaches. He catches sight of me on the couch as he gets to the landing. A worried look replaces his smile, and he runs to me.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
I shake my head. “Nothing happened.”
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
Exhaling deeply, I recount my conversation with Logan, omitting nothing. I cautiously bring up Logan’s police report, noticing his expression harden into apathy. Feeling like ages have passed, I stop and sink into my seat. Letting everything go felt good.
Ben has been quietly and attentively listening to me. He seemed furious at first about what Logan said, but now it feels like he is concealing his true feelings.
“Ben?” My voice cracks as I wring my hands.
For a moment, he examines my face before collapsing onto the couch, throwing his head back with laughter.
His reaction baffles me.
“Ben? What’s going on?” It feels like I’m not in on whatever the joke was.
Ben rubs his face, his laughter fading to a quiet chuckle. Turning his head, he looks at me and takes my hand.
“Your ex is a prick.” I nod in agreement, waiting for Ben to continue. “When I was in college, I was arrested.”
Shocked, I gasp, and he signals for me to let him continue.
“Now, before you freak out, it wasn’t as big of a deal as he’s making it out to seem. Jason and I were living in the dorms, and some frat boys were handing out T-shirts. Unfortunately, we found out later when the campus cops came knocking on our doors that the shirts had been stolen from the locker room. They wanted us to rat out who gave us the shirts, and we kept our mouths shut. That’s where the misdemeanor comes from.”
“Oh.” I slump into his side. “That’s it?”
