Atlas - Roberts Alyne - Страница 47

“I’m kind of hoping I can get this one girl to go home with me,” he says, then puts his bottle of beer up to his lips to take a drink. I watch his throat as he takes a long pull of the amber liquid.

“Oh, ya?” I start glancing around the bar, trying to see if I can pick out the girl he’s trying to hook up with. “What’s she look like?”

“She’s a little short, has the stubbornness of an eighty year old man, and has the deepest brown eyes I’ve ever seen.”

I turn and give him a puzzled look. “That does not help me pick her out in this crowd of people.”

“I think you’ll have a hard time picking her out. She isn’t like anyone else I’ve ever met before. I’ve actually been trying to catch her attention for a while now, but it seems she doesn’t have the slightest idea that I’m interested.” He stares at me intently, while I just stare back. I’m not really sure what to say to that. It’s no secret, well to me and Michelle, that I want this guy for myself, but I’ve never let him in on that secret. I couldn’t take the heart break of rejection that would likely occur. I’m not on the same level as this guy. To even delude myself into thinking that is absurd.

“Well, whoever it is had better realize just how lucky she is. To have a great guy like you wanting her.” I turn away and take a drink of my amaretto stone sour. This stuff is like candy, and almost just as good to fix a heart ache.

I feel Ben come in close behind me, and I feel the brush of his lips on my ear right before he says, “Lyla, I’m positive she would feel that way if she would open her eyes and see what’s standing right in front of her. Or, right behind her in this case.”

Butterflies burst into flight in my stomach. What the hell is he going on about? If he’s toying with me, he won’t be able to perform in bed for a very long time. “What, Ben?”

“Lyla, for as brilliant as you are, you’re so blind,” he chuckles and I feel his breath on the back of my neck. My skin breaks out in goosebumps from the intimate feel of the situation.

He grasps my shoulders and turns me around to look at him. All the while I stand there frozen. “Lyla, I’ve been trying like hell to get you to see how I feel about you.”

“Is this some kind of joke? It isn’t April. This is seriously fucked up, even for you, if you’re toying with me,” I growl at him.

“Sunshine, why would I play around with you about this? I’ve seen the way you check me out when you think I’m not paying attention. What you fail to see, though, is how I look at you. Even when you’re looking.”

This is like a dream come true. Finding out that the guy you’ve been lusting after is actually into you after all. But, is it possible to go from good friends to boyfriend and girlfriend? Without it being weird?

“Now, let me take you to the bar and buy you a drink. I have no expectations of tonight. I just want to get to you know better, but know that I don’t want to see you with another guy after tonight. You’ve been mine for a while now, you just didn’t know it.” He smiles his panty dropping smile and takes me by my hand and leads me to the bar.

We’ve been at the bar ever since he told me the truth. I’m unaware of how much time has went by. But, the next thing I know “last call” is being shouted throughout the bar.

“You want to come back to my house?” His green eyes are so hopeful. It’s not like I haven’t been back to his house before. Since we ran into each other, and became more comfortable with each other, we’ve been to each other’s houses a lot. But, this is different. So different.

I look away from his eyes, and mumble, “Sure.”

***

Walking in his front door, he leads the way to the kitchen. Where I hop on yet another bar stool. But, I put my arms up on the counter top and prop my head on my hands. Watching Ben work his way around the kitchen making me a drink. Which gives me a minute to check him out.

He’s wearing dark wash jeans, and a tight black button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black chucks, and a light blue beanie. The beanie is the only amount of color he has showing. I know for a fact he has the start of a sleeve on one of his arms that has a lot of color in it, but they’re covered up.

“What makes you decide you want a specific tattoo?” I break our silence as he turns to place a drink in front of me.

“Meh, whatever strikes my fancy is usually what triggers me wanting a tattoo,” he tells me.

“I don’t have any tattoos. I’ve always wanted one, but never could decide on one when it came down to it.”

“Well, I can draw. If you can think of something you want, let me know and I’ll draw it up for you.” I smile at him, but don’t say anything.

We just sit there and stare at each other. My eyes scan over his face, finally locking in on his eyes. Trying like hell to read into his mind through those green depths. I want to be cautious of this, but I want to dive head first into it. What does that say about me? I feel like we’ve had months of foreplay, so this is the right next step… right?

I sigh, “What do you want from me, Ben?” I need to know what he wants out of this before we go any further.

“Lyla, I may not always be right about things when it comes to my life. But, I know I’m right about this. You’ve given my life a giant amount of sunshine in the short time I’ve known you. You’ve brought smiles to my face, even when I’m not with you. The only thing left, that would make me even happier, is giving yourself to me. One-hundred percent giving yourself over to me, to this, to explore what we could have. Because, sunshine, what we could have could be some epic fucking romance. One that I don’t want to let myself miss out on.”

Well. What do you say to all that? I stand up, walk over to him on the other side of the counter, and press myself against his front. Running my hands up his chest, up the sides of his neck, and into his hair. I push my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, the hair that’s too long to fit under his beanie. I pull his head down to mine, and right before I press my lips against his, I whisper, “I can’t miss out on epic, either.” Then I kiss him, and he furiously kisses me back. And if our kiss is telling of our future, it will be nothing short of passionate.