Page 35 of Love in the Countdown

I smile smugly and take a sip of my drink, but almost spit it out when he leans over to whisper gruffly in my ear, “You’re going to pay for that.”

I try to stifle the shiver that passes through me. I take a few more sips from my glass of wine to cool down. It’s suddenly so hot in here. I think I need to open the window and let some fresh air in. Yeah, that’s exactly what I need to do.

I get up to crack open the window in the sunroom to let in the fresh air. The sunroom is empty, and it’s quieter out here. I stay there for a moment, just trying to catch my breath. The hairs on my neck prickle, a silent alarm announcing Ben’s presence.I didn’t think he’d follow me out here, but now that he has, I’m breathless with anticipation.

He brushes a finger up my arm in a soft caress, the touch raising my temperature even more and sending my pulse to beat erratically. When he gets to my shoulder, his hand cups my upper arm to turn me around. He inches me backward until my back is up against the wall. He stares down at me intently, his expression unreadable in the dimly lit room.

Slowly, as if scared I’d bolt if he moved too quickly, he brings his head down until his lips hover right over mine. My hands reach up to place them on his chest, feeling the hard muscles of his pectorals. I swear I can also feel his frantic heartbeat beneath my palms. His lips are just mere millimeters away, and my lips part slightly. Our breaths mingle as we savor the electric moment, knowing that any of our friends could walk in on us at any point and discover our secret.

Finally, I tilt my chin up so that our lips meet, and I swear I see fireworks flash behind my closed eyelids. The sensation of falling while standing is dizzying as our lips take each other in hungrily, like we’ve been holding our breath underwater this whole time and are finally coming up for air. His tongue parts my lips and delves in possessively as if he’s been waiting for this moment all night long, just like I have. I feel a sense of relief to be in his arms again. I move my arms up to wrap around his neck, and he’s pushed up against my body as close as he can get against the wall.

I’m not sure how long we remain connected. We fervently kiss, aware discovery is imminent. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would be in this predicament, standing here with my back against the wall and stealing kisses in the dark.

We finally break apart when the sounds of footsteps approaching grow near. He takes a few steps away from me toput some distance between us, and I see Jason’s head appear behind Ben’s shoulder.

“Hey, buddy! There you are! We’re just about to head out. Amanda’s pretty tired, so I need to get her to bed.”

Ben stares at me for another moment, his tongue gently licking his lower lip before he turns around and does the guy hug thing that guys do to say goodbye. They exchange some words, and then Jason bids me farewell. I catch Amanda on her way out and give her a hug.

“You didn’t get to try the cake!” I tell her, but she giggles and tells me she snuck a piece when I disappeared. She gives me a wink, and then they’re out the door.

I hurry into the kitchen, where I had brought out the cake earlier. I place some candles on it and light it up. Silence falls, and someone dims the lights. Someone sings “Happy Birthday,” and we’re all chiming in, except Ben is nowhere to be found.

Where the heck did he go? After a minute of looking around for him, Ben comes out of his bedroom to a chorus of cheers. Everyone resumes their singing, and I present the cake decorated with birthday candles to him. Someone snaps a photo on their phone, and a flash goes off, but we only have eyes for each other.

We smile at each other like two lovesick fools, and then he mutters a soft thanks under his breath. I gesture to the cake with a head tilt to encourage him to blow out the candles. He takes in a breath, and I yell at him to stop.

“Wait! You need to make a wish before you blow out the candles!”

“Seriously?” Ben rolls his eyes at me.

“Seriously.”

Ben pauses in contemplation, and then he takes a big breath, blowing out all the candles in one try. I hear the crowd clapping gleefully as I place the cake down on the table, handing the cakeknife over to Ben to cut up and plate the cake while I hand them out.

When people taste the cake, their moans of appreciation make me giddy. I’m eager to try some, but unfortunately, there’s only one piece remaining. The cake was a real hit, I guess. I look up at Ben, who’s holding the last slice in his giant palm.

“Wanna share my piece, roomie?” His eyes twinkle in delight.

“Oh, no, that’s o—” He shoves a piece of cake in my mouth, and I clamp my lips tight around the tines of the fork.

“Oh my god, it’s so good.” I moan as the chocolate flavors burst on my tongue.

“Keep making those noises, and everyone is going to know we’re not just roomies,” Ben growls softly as he feeds me another bite of cake. I try to not moan as he continues to alternate between taking small bites of the cake and feeding me.

Shortly after serving the cake, people began to leave. Many come up to give hugs and say goodbye before leaving. Before I know it, Ben and I are alone in our apartment. It’s a mess, but I am too tired to clean.

Despite the mess, I feel the happiest I have been in such a long time.

26

emily

Ben’s birthday arrives a few days after our successful birthday/housewarming party. Well, at least I considered it successful, and it seemed like everyone had a good time. By the time everyone had left, we were both too exhausted to fool around. We both collapsed onto my bed in a pile of tangled limbs. I fell asleep with Ben’s arms wrapped tightly around me and didn’t wake until the sun was high in the sky the following day.

Though I had little to drink, I still felt the aftereffects of a long night of hosting. Running around to make sure everything was perfect was exhausting. Or I’m just getting old.

I groan and stretch my aching body. I accidentally knock Ben in the face with my outstretched arm and turn to apologize to him. He has one eye cracked open in a sleepy glare before his big arm reaches out to yank me so I’m lying half under him. We fell asleep briefly before he got up and made us a late lunch. It took most of the evening to clean up the apartment from all the empty drinks and trash that people left behind. Before long, we were back in bed.

---