“And did you compare them all to me?”
He shakes his head. “I told you last year, that’s completely unfair to the rest of the female population. You’re incomparable.”
I’m so glad I came today. I don’t care if I don’t sleep for a week, it would be worth it just to have that compliment.
“How about your guys? Did you go on all five dates?”
“Guy,” I correct him. “There was just one. I tried.”
He raises an eyebrow, so I immediately go into defense mode. “Ben, you can’t expect me to put myself out there in a brand-new state when I’ve never really been out there. It takes time. I was so proud when I kissed the one guy. He thought I was stoked because of the kiss, but I was only happy because I crossed something off my homework.”
He laughs. “Well, one will do, I guess. But that means your homework for this year just got a lot harder.”
“Yeah, well. So will yours, then. And speaking of, I want proof of this book you’re writing. I want to read something you wrote about us.”
“No,” he says immediately.
I lift up on the bed. “What? No? You can’t tell me you wrote this year and not prove it to me. Give me something.”
“I don’t like people to read what I write.”
I laugh. “Seriously? That’s like an opera singer refusing to make sound when she performs.”
“It’s nothing like that. I’ll let you read it when I’m finished.”
“You’re going to make me wait four years?”
His lip curls up in a grin when he nods.
I fall back down onto the pillow with a defeated flop. “Sigh.”
“Did you just say sigh? Out loud? Instead of actually sighing?”
“Eye roll.”
He laughs and scoots closer to me. Now I’m looking up and he’s looking down and that would be fine and dandy if he wasn’t looking at me like he’s planning out exactly how his lips are going to mesh with mine.
I suck in a breath as his hand slides over my jaw. “I missed you, Fallon,” he whispers. “A lot. And screw it if I’m not supposed to admit that, but I tried the whole alpha-male thing for two seconds and I just can’t do it. So you don’t get alpha-Ben today. I’m sorry.”
Wow. Is he . . .
He is.
“Ben,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “Are you . . . booksting me?”
He cocks an eyebrow. “Booksting?”
“Yeah. When a hot guy talks books with a girl. It’s like sexting, but out loud and with books instead of sex. Nor does it have to do with texts. Okay, so it’s nothing like sexting, but it made sense in my head.”
He falls onto his back in laughter. I scoot toward him and place my hand on his chest as I lean over him. “Don’t stop,” I tease in a seductive voice. “Give me more, Ben. Did you read eBooks or . . .” I run my finger slowly down his chest. “Hardbacks?”
He pulls his hands behind his head and a smug look washes over his face. “Oh, they were hardbacks, all right. And I’m not sure if you’re ready for this, but . . . I have my very own TBR pile. You should see it, Fallon. It’s huge.”
I let out a moan, but I’m not so sure it’s pretend.
“I also know what makes a kiss book-worthy now,” he says. “So be prepared.” He lifts up onto his elbow again and loses the smile. “Seriously though. This female attraction to the alpha-male throws me off a little bit, because I’m not anything like the guys you read about.”
Yeah. You’re better.
“I could never drive a motorcycle, or fight another man just for fun. And as much as I’ve fantasized about having sex with you this year, I don’t think I could ever say, ‘I own you,’ with a straight face. And I’ve always wanted a tattoo, but probably just a small one, because no way in hell I could endure the pain. Overall, the books were interesting but they also made me feel highly inadequate.”
He can’t be serious. “Ben, not all the guys in the books I read are like that.”
He tilts his head. “But you obviously like the bad boys if you like reading about them.”
“Actually, that’s not true,” I tell him. “I enjoy reading books like that because it’s not at all the life I lead. It’s completely different than any situation I’ll ever be in, thank God. But I get entertainment out of it. Because as much as I like to read about a guy telling a girl she’s so, so wet for him . . . if anyone ever said that to me during sex, I wouldn’t be turned on by it. I would be terrified I accidentally peed on myself.”
Ben laughs.
“And if you and I were having sex and you told me you owned me, I would literally crawl out from under you, put on my clothes, walk out of your house, and go puke in your front yard. So just because I like reading about those kinds of guys, doesn’t mean I need my real-life guys to act like that.”
He grins. “Can I keep you?”
Too bad he’s only kidding. “I’m all yours for the next five hours.”
He pushes me flat on my back. “Tell me about this boy you kissed.” His use of the word boy somehow seems like an insult to the guy. I like it. Jealous Ben is cute. “I need to know all the details about your kiss so I can add a subplot to the book.”
“A subplot?” I ask. “Does that mean you have an actual plot already?”
His expression doesn’t waver. “So how did you meet him?”
“Rehearsals.”