I am picking Ben up today like I have been doing for the past two weeks. His bike is working perfectly well but our arrangement is better. We don’t share so many classes so this is one of our chances to get a private moment before school.
The other option is to let him pick me from the house. My boyfriend might be an expert biker but I am scared to death of bikes. Ben has promised to teach me but nope, I will stick to fighting for now.
Their front door swings open and Asher runs to my car with an excitement I never feel on a Monday morning. He is always so happy and I wish I could share some of his happiness. He takes his rightful position in the front and pulls me in for a hug. Ben is not the only one who stole my heart, his younger brother did too.
“How was your weekend?” Asher asks. He breaks away from the hug and I smoothen the collar of his white T-Shirt. Ben comes out in a shirt of the same colour but with blue jeans. We
I don’t wear the clip. It remains in my pocket. “Why do you keep touching your pocket like that?” Maria screams. She’s so loud, thanks to her earbuds. To avoid further yelling, I retract my hand from my pocket. She inserts one earbud into my ear and her melodic voice envelopes me. I press my fingers against it to prevent it from falling off. “Sorry for taking you away from loverboy,” she offers at my glum look, “but this is important.” I respond with a wicked laughter that earns me the look. The look that says something is going on but I don’t want to find out. “What do you think?” We halt at my locker and she releases the second earbud to me. I can barely hear her above the cover of the song blasting in my ears. I tap my foot to the floor in tune to the beat, her voice is insanely good. “It is the song I want to use for AGT.” America’s Got Talent. She believes the shorter version sounds cooler. Kind of. “I need to send it today.”
My phone rings. I push it away and press a pillow to my face, screaming my frustrations into it. It is time for training. Ben has a match on Saturday and I promised to help him train. I fought his opponent once. He beat the shit out of me but I lasted all rounds. If he wasn’t so muscled, I might have won.The urge to pick the call and turn him down is strong but I left him at school with a silly excuse I can’t remember now. He had to hitch a ride with another jock. Was he able to pick Asher on time?None of my business. I don’t want to see him again. I don’t want to be his partner. I don’t want to be anything to him. We are wrong for each other.My phone buzzes again. I fling the pillow and a crashing sound echoes. I don’t bother to inspect the damage I might have caused as I push the cover off me. I will save both of us the hurt and break this before things get too far.I pick the phone and hesitate a
I walk out. On him, our relationship, our future. I don’t look back, I continue walking.The cold hits me once I’m outside. Tears well up my eyes and everything I said comes rushing back. We are done. I did it. Hot tears stream down my cheeks and blind my vision, my heart thuds so hard I am convinced it will jump out of my chest.The door slams shut behind me, someone barges out and curses. I have a feeling who that is and my heart wants it to be him but I am too much of a coward to turn and find out. I don’t want a confrontation.“We are done when I say we are done.” Ben's shoes appear in my line of view, I can’t meet his gaze so I count the pebbles littered at our feet and kick some of them into the gutter. His hand comes under my jaw but I duck my face. He groans again but my head remains down. “And I am not done, Gracie.”What is he saying? Didn’t he get the memo? We are done. I raise m
Ben loses his match.My arms tighten around my torso as the referee raises Ben's opponent’s hand to declare him the winner of tonight’s match. Both of them are breathing heavily with sweat dripping down their bodies. The lights rotate until it is focused solely on Jack. The crowd breaks into a louder scream and a chant begins.Ben searches the crowd for me, I wave and he looks away once our eyes meet. It might have been my imagination but disappointment laced with hurt flashed in his eyes. It wasn’t his fault, he gave his all.I fight through sticky bodies to get out of the auditorium, my toes curl with dread as Ben storms outside. I meet him pacing in front of my car. His hair is wet with sweat rolling down his forehead, he halts when he sees me and starts for the empty road. I race after him, jumping in his way to stop him from leaving.“Ben.” Sweat seeps into my palms as I cup his face. With his eye
“How do I look?” Ben asks for the umpteenth time. We are standing in front of my house and he is convinced my parents hate him. They might give him a tough time but they will be nice, I think. I am not sure. It’s my first time inviting a boy over. Ben smoothens the invisible wrinkles in his suit. If he wasn’t so worried, I would have had time to admire him. He is sexier in a tux. I want to kiss him. “Babe?” “Like a coconut.” He breaks into a smile and I grab his shoulders. “Don’t worry,” I tell him but he is stiff. “They will love you.” Like I love him. No. Not again with these thoughts. They have been haunting me. Do I love him? I don’t know. I cast him one last reassuring glance and push the door open. “Ready?” The parlour is empty. Soft music plays from the speakers under the TV and I roll my eyes. It’s dinner not a wedding reception but trust Mum to go wild and crazy. Ben’s gaze darts to every corner, he barely has time to take i
Motorbikes are dangerous. And if Daddy was here, he would tell me the number of people who die from bike accidents yearly.We zoom past a car and I clamp my eyes shut. This is Ben, he is a great biker. I can trust him. We won’t get into an accident. I keep repeating these phrases as the bike glides down the road, passing between cars.My arms are around Ben’s waist in a choke hold, reducing his air supply. I should adjust but it is the only position I am comfortable in. The bike slows to a stop by the roadside, I scowl as the cars we left behind zip past us. Ben pries my hands off his waist, I push my visor up without meeting his gaze.What did I do?With his help, I get down and he takes my hands in his to warm them. I flush at the intensity in his gaze.“Relax.” Easy for him to say because he is the one in control. I huff and he presses a kiss to my lips. “You have to relax to enjoy it. Life w
Seconds after his statement, we are still staring at each other. “What do you mean you are not broke?”We have been on an unofficial date. I loved our movie date but if he’s not broke, why did he lie? Doesn’t he want to go on a real date? Ben rakes his hair, I roll away from him when he tries to kiss me and start searching for my gown. His kisses are addictive, they mess with my brain. He is trying to distract me.“Gracie, wait,” Ben says. My hands close around my gown, he extracts it from my grip and hugs me from behind. I suck in a rush of air. He’s bare chested. “I’m not broke,” he mutters, “I just don’t have money.”He makes no sense and I am glad the lights are off because the look on my face will hurt his feelings. I let him carry me back to the bed but I place a pillow between us to reduce the temptations of touching him.Legs crossed, eyes cast down, he says
Me: I dropped a letter for you.Let: What about?Me: You will have to get it to find out ;)I shove my phone into my backpack as my boyfriend approaches me. His arms slide around my waist and he lifts me off the ground to drop me on the bonnet of my car. Standing between my legs, he drags my lip between his and hugs me again. I lean into his embrace taking a whiff of his cologne. I love this guy.“Who was that?”We are alone in the parking lot but I whisper in return, “No one.”Ben folds his arms, flexing his biceps. I stroke his forearm. He is mine. “And you were smiling like that?”“Are you jealous?” I tilt my head and pout.“If it’s another guy? Yes. I want to be the only guy making you smile,” he says with so much sincerity.Butterflies erupt in my stomach at his words. I drag a hand over his shirt, stopping to press my hands fl
I feel like sexual assault against the male genders is not talked about as much as in the case of the female genders. As a friend to a few males who have been molested by people who were supposed to care for them, I knew I had to write about it someday. And I hope I was able to bring awareness to this, however little, through Ben. It’s never okay to molest a child. It’s never okay to molest anyone. That being said, here are some fun facts about this book; 1. It’s my first attempt at teenfiction. I was almost certain readers would notice and call me out on that. 2. BBTB was supposed to be a short story project. I was so worried it would be a flop so I planned to make it between 40-80 chapters. But the story grew wings and took off on its own. 3. This is the longest story I have ever written. I am just as surprised as you are and I was pleasantly shocked to see comments wanting their lovestory to go on for much longer. Those comments kept me going even on the bad days. So, thank y
It hurts too much. My body is on fire and it’s not yet right to push. Why isn’t it time? I need them to get the baby out of me. Not later, now. Sweat drips down my forehead and my eyes sting with tears. The doctor has stopped the bleeding. I have been cleaned up, changed into a hospital gown. They say everything is fine but it’s not. The contractions are ripping me from inside out and all Ben does is mutter unintelligible gibberish. He put the baby inside me, he should experience the pain too. “Are you okay?” Ben asks. I glare at him. How can I be okay? Whatever the doctor gave me is keeping me awake so I have no respite from the pain. Ben pushes my hair away from my sweaty forehead and I lean into him for comfort. I’m tired but I’m glad our son is okay. “I’m sorry, Gracie,” my husband says. Pushing past my pain, I offer him a questioning glance. Maddie is fine, right? My parents are okay too, right? Ben wipes the tears spill
I am packing up for Maddie’s weekend getaway when Ben strolls into her room. He picks a toy from the floor, tosses it into the air and catches it. I stall when he crosses over to me. All his attempts to take over the packing from me are futile. He protests by shaking his head. I am pregnant, not handicapped.When the bag is zipped up, I lower myself to the bed to catch my breath. Maybe I should have let him do it. But he never lets me do anything.Worried eyes stare into mine as Ben kneels between my legs. I’m fine, just tired. I pick the stuffed bear he dropped on the bed and sniff it. It smells like Maddie. And if I listen closely, I’ll hear her voice as she sings along with her favourite characters on TV.Maddie’s grandparents—my parents are in town because I’m due next week. They don’t want to miss it. She’s spending the weekend with them.Ben pries the bear from me and traces the
Laughter erupts from the living room, a kid’s voice follows and my lips curve in a smile. I pause the YuuTube tutorial I’m watching and set my tab down on the counter. I’m trying a new recipe I found online. Ben has been working extra hours so he can’t cook as much anymore and I’m tired of takeouts for dinner.With a hand under my belly, I meander to the living room. Maddie is on her feet, clapping and giggling at the television. There’s an old show playing. A family series I starred in one year after graduation. I clear my throat and my baby girl spins to face me. She grins and everything feels right. The nine hours of labour, the screams, the pain. They don’t matter.Running towards me, she stops a few inches from me and grabs my hand. “See Mummy,” she says, pointing at the television. I’m helping the second male lead set up his outfit for work. Her blue eyes flash with childlike innocence when she run
I feel the stare before I turn to Maria. “Will you stop?” I mutter. She says nothing but her eyes lower to my swollen belly, making it so obvious she had been staring. “Maria Vega.”“Theresa Carter.”Pink colours my cheeks. I hide my face in my palms and she bursts out laughing. It still feels so surreal being Mrs Carter, Ben’s wife. Our wedding was small and private like we both wanted. Aside from our family, we had our friends. Maria. Leah. Mira. Calum. Olivia also showed up. She and Ben are still in contact. We are kind of cool.Thinking about the wedding makes me smile and I twist the ring on my forth finger. My promise ring remains on my middle finger.I sit up and cross my legs. There are some pictures from the wedding scattered all over the living room floor. Maria didn’t get a chance to see them before her flight. She had a concert that day. I rub a hand over my stomach. Ben didn’t
Where is Ben? We will be late.I step out of the bathroom in only a towel and sashay to the wardrobe to get the gown for our date. There are a few options but I select a navy blue off-shoulder gown. Flipping through my playlist, I settle on Maria’s new single and settle down in front of the vanity to make myself up.A smile curves my lips as I brush my hair. I don’t look so bad at all. The makeup tutorial classes on YuuTube and Maria’s extra sessions come in handy as I apply foundation to my face. My gaze flies to the door. I’m in my room. Ben wasn’t in his room when I checked but he should be getting ready.The door creaks. I look up but Ben doesn’t walk in. My eye makeup is done. I apply a bright red lipstick and the door finally opens. Ben stalks into the room wearing a tux. My man is hot but in a suit and Oxford leather shoes, he is hotter. He closes the door with his foot and leans on it so I can assess
The drive to Ben’s office is a blur. I’m out of the car and in front of his office in a flash. I miss him. And I haven’t seen him in eight hours.I knock once on the door and open before he ushers me inside. Locking the door behind me, I bridge the gap between us and crush him in a hug. We live in the same house but God, I want to be in his presence all the time.“You’re back so early,” Ben says against my lips. I kiss him hard to make up for the hours without any kisses. Ben chuckles and hoists me on the edge of his desk. Then, he stands between my legs. “I missed you too, babe.”I grin. “I missed you more.”Ben touches his forehead to mine. “You’re here,” he says. His smile is sad. I nod against his body and his hands slip into my gown. I help him with the zip and pout. “I didn’t think you would make it today.”I had a pho
The mixer whirrs to life. I throw in more flour, add three eggs and whisk the batter into a smooth mix. Calum, my unwilling apprentice, watches from behind the counter. He came in last night. On my command, Calum oils the pans for the cake and turns on the oven. Done, he edges close to me. I swat his hand before he dips his finger into the mix. “Come on, Tessa. I came all this way, let me have some.” I roll my eyes. He came all this way, uninvited but I’m happy to see him. I empty the batter into the small pan. We will eat from that. “Just a taste.” “Fine.” I shove the spatula in his face and he snatches it from me. My face scrunches in disgust when he licks the spatula clean like a hungry dog. “Calum, what’s wrong with you?” He shrugs. “Nothing?” It feels like there’s something but I continue emptying the batter into the pans. When I’m done, I bring out the ingredients for the icing. Today is Ben’s
A look of fear flashes across her face. She levels me with a stare that shows she’s trying to control her temper. It’s unfair that I have to watch her kiss other guys under the guise of it being part of the job. “You are just making up scenarios that don’t exist,” she says. “Your job doesn’t even require it, Benny.” “But your job does...” I twist my hands so hard they ache. She doesn’t get it. “...and I don’t like it, Gracie.” Various emotions flicker on her face. She opens and closes her mouth twice without saying a word. The third time, she murmurs, “You asked me to trust you when Elena was involved, right?” I did. And I’ve established boundaries at the office, at school too. For fuck’s sake, she’s my screensaver, I wear my ring. They know I belong to Gracie. “So, can you please trust me on this one? It’s just a job, babe.” “Babe, it’s not the same.” Gracie stomps her feet in annoyance. I grit my teeth. She’s not the only one getti