Page 42 of Love Beyond Repair
“What is it?” I stammer, reaching for him. He’s tense beneath my touch, as if poised to fight.
“My bitch of a mother told her before I had the chance.” His voice is trembling with rage. “She told her we’re fucking. That’s her calling to see if it’s true.”
My stomach lurches. Tears burn my eyes, but I force them back. I shouldn’t be surprised. It stings that she still has that kind of access to his family.
His phone continues to buzz and beep all the way home, until we pull up outside the apartment. We sit side by side, neither of us opening the door, only listening to his cell ring out over and over again.
“You go on up, Bex, I won’t be long. I’ll give her a call and explain the situation,” he whispers, his eyes fixedthrough the windshield at nothing but the dark night outside.
The situation.Like I’m the problem he needs to clarify. Like what we have is scandalous. My heart sinks. He leans over and hugs me tight. I nod, too numb to argue, and climb out of the car.
I walk miserably to our front door alone. My boyfriend walks in the opposite direction to call the woman everyone still thinks he belongs to.
Chapter twenty-one
Bex
I’m so relieved to be standing in the departure lounge of Gatwick Airport. Last night, Ben spent over an hour on the phone with Kelsey. I hated it. I hated his focus on her. I hated how quickly his world seemed to shift back to her.
I’d lain in bed, waiting for him to come back to the apartment. Worrying constantly over what he might decide. It took him forever to calm her down. He assured me it would be all right. She would accept us eventually. She had to. Our relationship wasn’t up for debate.
At three o’clock this morning, I couldn’t sleep. The drama of earlier still looped through my mind. London is beautiful at night, so peaceful. A stark contrast to the chaotic hours of the day. I’d wandered over to the windowin Ben’s bedroom, throwing it open and taking a lungful of the night air.
When I looked down, Kelsey was standing on the pavement, staring up at the apartment. Perfectly still, like an apparition in the dark. Her hair was loose around her face, and she was wrapped in a heavy winter coat, which looked ridiculous in the warm summer night. If she saw me, she never let on. So, I slid the window closed and went back to bed.
I haven’t told Ben. I told myself it didn’t matter. That she just needed to see the apartment again for herself. She needed to accept that he was happy, that he’d moved on. She’s hurt.
And maybe I should be scared. That behavior isn’t normal, but I don’t want to be a bitch in someone else’s story. If all she needed was to stand there and look, I could live with that.
Two weeks away with him feels like it will be the perfect solution. We can come home refreshed and ready to face any issues together, as a couple. Our escape is a complete mystery to me; he won’t tell me anything. All I know is I was to pack a bikini, and we wouldn’t be on the plane for more than three hours. Right now, I’m so excited I could burst.
We’re sitting in the airport lounge, sipping our overpriced lattes and sharing a huge chocolate muffin. Ben looks relaxed and happy, his shoulders now loose and jawunclenched. He was stressed this morning but as we moved further from the apartment, the stress he carried seemed to melt away with each mile.
He leans over, brushing a stray crumb from my lips with his thumb. My mouth dries as his eyes lock with mine. The gentleness of the gesture. The heat in his expression. It short-circuits something inside me. I need him. It’s wild how fast the air changes between us. Last night, it was Kelsey’s name echoing down the hallway. Now it’s this. Him, looking at me as if I am his next meal. And me enjoying it.
“Stop looking at me like I’m a dessert,” I say playfully, swiping at his cheek. He laughs under his breath, but I hear it catch in his throat. His eyes stayed fixed on my face; I can feel it.
“Like what?” His voice is low. “I’m just looking at my girl like I do every day.” He strokes the back of my hand. “Like I want to rip her clothes off and fuck her over this table.” My nipples harden instantly at the vision he just painted in my head.
Bent over the table. Skirt around my waist. Panties at my knees. His fingers gripping my hips. His breath hot against my neck as he teases, then thrusts. A low moan escapes my lips, and I’m gone.
The ache between my legs sharpens. I shift in my seat, thighs pressing together. My breathing quickens. Hesmiles innocently, then removes his hand from mine. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
“I’ll tell you something. I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this holiday with you. If that’s the reaction a few words get, imagine what will happen when I touch you.” He winks, then wanders off.
“Where are you going?” I call to him, and he glances back over his shoulder.
“On holiday. They just called our flight.”
***
The seatbelt light goes off, and Ben shifts in his seat, tugging the armrest up between us.
“Come here,” he says, lifting his arm. I curl into his side, resting my head on his shoulder, the soft cotton of his t-shirt warm against my cheek. His hand finds mine beneath the blanket, lacing our fingers like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Can’t believe this is your first time abroad,” he murmurs.
“Neither can I,” I whisper. “I always thought my first time would be with… someone else. I never expected this. What we have.”
“I’m glad it’s with me,” he says. No hesitation. No nerves. Just certainty. My chest tightens in the best way. He makes me so damn happy.
