“Sleepyhead, we have to clean up,” Ben says.
I look up to him with sleepy eyes and pout. What if I don’t want to clean up? What if I want to stay here forever in his arms? The air smells of sex and sweat. Yeah, we do need to clean up. Rolling away from him causes pain to shoot up my legs but I cover it up with a smile before Ben notices. There’s a dark spot of blood on the bed, we stare at it and grin at each other. It hurt a little but I want to do it again.
My eyes lower to Ben’s dick. It’s the first time I am seeing it during the day. Ben waggles a finger to stop me from touching him but I am not having it. He’s my boyfriend, the love of my life, I am allowed to touch him when I feel like it. He jumps off the bed before I can get to him. Handsome coward.
I wince again as I try to get off the bed and Ben notices. He squats in front of me to massage my thighs. It’s with good intention but the massage only succeeds in making me hornier and wetter.
“Does it hurt?” he asks.
Only because he is not inside me right now. “A bit,” I moan. Ben chuckles. His hand inches forward, right above my vagina. I want him to slip a finger inside me like he did earlier. I don’t know where he learned to do that finger curling thing but I love it. His finger brushes my clit and he smiles. “Benny.”
Laughing, he retracts his hand and sweeps me off my feet. My arms wrap around his neck to keep from falling, we go rigid when someone knocks.
Ben’s eyes widen. “Shit. The door is unlocked.” My gaze alternates between the door and his flustered face. He has got to be kidding me. We had sex without locking the door? What if someone had come in? The knock resumes. “Kind of busy right now,” Ben screams. I pinch him. “Come back later.”
The sound of fading footsteps eases us, I twist his ear until he lets out a yelp. For my punishment, he loosens his hold on me and I scream, clinging on to him for dear life. The pleased look stays on his face till we are in the bathroom. It’s not as big as mine.
I enter the shower first. Ben goes outside and returns with the bedsheet. I grimace. He will have to do the laundry when no one is at home to avoid explaining the stain. He folds it and dumps it on the sink. I turn on the shower while waiting for him.
This will be our first time bathing together. Ben joins me in the shower that is big enough for three people. For a few seconds, all we do is kiss, stare at each other and kiss some more. My heart skips a beat at the thought that infiltrates my mind. Since we will attend the same school, I can see us doing this more often. Doing it daily. I want this for us.
“We should live together.” His hand freezes midair but I don’t let his countenance bother me. He squirts bathing soap to the loofah and starts sponging me. I turn for him to scrub my back, using that time to gather my thoughts and courage. My breath hitches when he kneads my ass and I forget what I have to say. “I think we should be roommates in NYU.”
The silence that follows my words has me spinning to look at him. My hand meets the tiled walls, there is no trace of excitement on his face. I guess it’s a stupid suggestion. We are not even done with high school and I’m already talking about university.
“Are you sure?” He looks as unsure as I am but I am only unsure because he hesitated. “What if you get mad at me and you don’t want to see me again?”
“I’ll always want to see my Benny,” I reply. His lips disappear into a thin line. “We can rent a flat. Two rooms. I’ll have mine and you will have yours.” What I don’t tell him is I’ll be spending most of the time in his room, in his hoodies. “We will share a kitchen, parlour. I don’t know. We will figure something out. Benny, say yes to your Gracie.”
“Yes, Gracie.” He offers me that smile reserved for only me. “Even if you get mad at me, you have to talk to me, okay?” Another nod. “You cannot go to bed mad at me. I’ll never go to bed mad at you. If I do something you don’t like, you have to tell me.”
Ben’s brows furrow as he tries to think up more conditions for our living together. “You have to love me on the bad days as much as you love me on the good days.” If we will have bad days, they will be far in between. I bop his nose. He is worrying too much, we will be fine. “I think that’s all for now.”
So far, everything he mentioned is doable. “Okay.” Ben rinses me off and I collect the loofah to sponge him. “Can I add my own conditions?” He wiggles his butt in response and I spank his ass. It’s firm. Me likey. “You have to cook for me.” I smile when he’s facing me. “You’re not allowed to have another best friend, okay?” No Olivia wannabe in his life.
Soapy water pools at his feet, I rinse him off and he shakes his head, sending water flying in my direction.
“Okay, bestie. You’re not allowed to have a male best friend.” He means, no Calum wannabe in my life. “It has to be only me. Maria is cool.” Yeah. Ben flexes his biceps when he catches me staring. I don’t know what he does but his chest bounces. I’m laughing hard at his silly show off until something pokes my stomach. My laughter dies down. “Babe.”
His husky tone starts a fire in the pit of my belly. I stroke him and he grabs my hands before I do more. I get down on my knees and take his dick in my mouth. Making small circles around his penis with my tongue, I progress to taking him slowly until his full length is inside my mouth. My palms flatten on his stomach, he grips my hair and the loose, messy bun comes undone. My hair cascades down my chest, our gazes meet and I deep throat him again.
We try to maintain eye contact, he’s gentle as he guides his erection into my mouth. The warm sperm hits my throat. It is as salty as the last time. Ben’s pupils dilate when I make sloshing sounds. I swallow it all up and open my mouth to show him. He helps me to my feet and kisses me hard on my lips. We rinse off again and step out of the shower.
The bedsheet has been changed, courtesy of Ben. My clothes are folded at the foot of the bed but I don’t want to change into them yet. I put on my underwear and request for one of his shirts.
“Your mum says I have to have you home by 9,” he says in protest. I shuffle to my phone on the dresser. It’s one minute past eight. We still have time. “What does the time say?”
“Eight. Zero. One. Gimme your shirt, Benny.” A few sniffles and whines later, he hands me a shirt. The shirt stops below my knees. I halt in front of the mirror and giggle at the ridiculous sight. Benny puts on a pair of shorts, I stop him from covering up his delicious body. I drag him to the bed. “Hold me.”
His arms are around me in a second, I press my ear against his chest, listening to the thump of his heart. Lethargy washes over me as he strokes my hair. To fight off the sleep, I think of our letters. Ben is my letter boy. He’s absolutely right, we are soulmates.
“You were my first kiss,” I murmur into his chest. He pulls me up so I’m straddling him while he’s still lying down. “I’m glad it was you.”
“You were my second kiss.” I don’t ask him about his first kiss. I put two and two together already. The witch got it before me. “I wish you had told me about the cake earlier. I would have preferred you to be my first kiss.”
Me too. I want to be all of his firsts as much as he is mine. Propping my jaw on his chest, I play with the stubble on his jaw. “It’s okay. I’m your first sex.” We burst out laughing at that. “Your first girlfriend. Your soulmate.”
“And we will create many more firsts when we get to NYU,” he says to me. A smile tugs at my lips. It’s the first time he’s talking about NYU, about his needs. Dreams do come to pass. He gets to live his life. It is a little late but he gets to experience the joy of being a teenager. “I can’t believe I got in.”
“You’re smart, babe. Of course you got in.” His chest vibrates with laughter. The sound surrounds me in a warm bubble and my heart flutters. “Benny, I have to take the pill.”
We don’t want mini versions of us running around the house just yet. The imagery those thoughts evoke leaves a smile on my lips. It’s so easy to picture us in our home. I don’t want to follow my parent’s pattern, so it has to be more even. Two boys and two girls.
“Yeah. We need to get to the pharmacy.” I shudder at that word. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“Sure.” I kiss his jaw. His blue eyes are on my face, watching me. All our kids can have his eyes. They are so beautiful. “How many kids do you want?”
“It depends on you. You’re the one who has to carry them.” Fair point. “But four sounds good.” See? We are soulmates. His breathing and his hands moving in calming circles on the small of my back almost lures me to sleep. “Gracie.” His hands don’t stop moving. “If I agree to file a case against her or do whatever is required, will you come with me to San Francisco?” His fingers are in my hair now, massaging my scalp. “I don’t think I can do it alone.”
“I’ll be there. I promise.” Placing my hands on either side of my soulmate’s head, I brush my nose against his. “You don’t have to do it alone. I will be there. Asher. Josef. Your mum. You have all of us, Benny.” His throat bobs. “You’re not alone anymore.”
His arms return to my waist, he hugs me without saying anything but the silence carries more words. I love him and I’ll always be here for him. All of us.