Page 65 of All of You

I was standing so close that when I looked down at him, his face was directly below mine.

“Is that a fact?” My voice came out low and sultry in a way I hadn’t planned.

He nodded, then leaned up just as I leaned down. The kiss was slow, building in a purposeful way, our universe of two completely unaware of anything other than each other.

Until the phone rang again, and I wanted to maybe murder someone.

He pulled back, took a slow breath, then let his head fall to my chest, which was rising and falling rapidly, still caught in the moment.

“I’m sorry,” he said, then looked back at me as he let his hands drop away from me.

My body felt colder now that it was no longer in his hold, and I wanted it back.

“Take it if you need to. I’m usually the one getting inconvenient phone calls.” A forced chuckle accompanied the words, with little humor in the frustration I felt like a fever.

“What’s up?” Ben said into the phone, then shot me an apologetic look.

I took the moment to pick up a few things around the room, tuck away my writing notebook, and then ducked into the bathroom to give him privacy. A few minutes later when I came out, he was talking more heatedly.

“What do you want me to do?” he asked the caller as he went back and forth in front of the couch.

As he paced, he nodded, silently agreeing with whoever was talking. Then, “she won’t respond to me. She won’t respond to you. I’ll ask Erin if she can get a hold of her, but short of showing up at her place, I don’t know what I can do.”

I stood by my massive bed and leaned a hip into the high, soft comforter that covered the sheets. My attention focused on my phone, it occurred to me maybe I should leave, but just as I reached the doorway, he told the person he’d call them later.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said again, his voice a little rough with frustration or some other emotion I couldn’t quite pin down.

I turned and walked to him, but stopped a few feet shy. “Everything okay?”

He looked at me, then at his phone, and dropped his hand as if in surrender. “Not really. You know Bec? My friend whose brother…”

“Yes. You told me about her.”

“Well, my buddy Thatcher is worried about her. He can’t get ahold of her, and I’d mentioned to him the other day that she hadn’t returned any of my messages in the last ten days or so. That’s unusual, and so the combination has sent Thatcher into a tizzy. And he wants me to track her down.” He crossed his arms over his chest and rocked back on his heels.

“How can I help?” I asked, finally letting myself go to him.

I pulled on his crossed arms until they fell, then wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close. I rested my head against his chest and hugged him with everything in me until his arms came around me.

His long inhale, then his slow breath out, moved his chest under my cheek.

“You’re doing it,” he said in a small voice, one that sent a twisting sensation full of compassion and affection for him through me.

Affection?

Was that it, really? It seemed inadequate, but before I had a chance to examine it, he spoke again.

“I should probably go help him look for her. And I’m sorry to say it, but I don’t think you should go with me—I think we may be finding her in a bad place, and she won’t respond well to someone she doesn’t know.” His arms were still locked around me.

My heart sank at the thought of not helping him. Also, was it because she didn’t know me, or because I was me and she would know me? I couldn’t control that now, and the most important thing was for Ben to help his friend.

I leaned back to find his eyes, the set of his face, mournful.

“I’ll come with you. I can stay in the car, or whatever. I don’t want you dealing with this alone.”

“Thatcher’s going to meet me. I won’t be alone.”

“Okay. Please just… let me know she’s okay, and you’re okay…” A strange amount of worry filled my voice. My heart hovered near fluttering, but not in a fun way at all.

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