Page 137 of The Perfect Spiral
I was just as confused as they were. I didn’t know anyone who was coming here.
“Thompson! Get that sexy butt of yours in here and give me a hug!” Ben? I looked at Andy, who was smirking.
“Ben?!” I exclaimed, dropping my legs to the cold tile floor. I ran over to the kitchen door and flung it open.
There he was, standing with a sports bag slung over his shoulder, wearing a lime green t-shirt, navy shorts, and sunglasses—just like when I first met him.
His blonde hair was tousled from his secret trip here. I ran at him, and he dropped his bag, readying himself for the hug I was about to give him.
He squatted down slightly, rubbing his hands together with a smile playing on his lips. I screamed “Ben!” one more time and launched myself at him, with Andy running behind me doing the same.
He caught both of us with ease, one in each arm, and I wrapped my legs around his waist for support.
“There’s my two beautiful bitches!” he chuckled, causing us all to laugh.
“What are you doing here? Why didn’t you message me!” I pulled back, my legs still wrapped around his waist. I kissed him on the cheek, and he returned the favor.
“I wanted to surprise you, sweet cheeks. Surprise!”
“But how did you know where I lived?”
“Andy gave me your address. I was praying it was the right one the whole way here! It would’ve been embarrassing if it wasn’t,” he hoists us up a little.
“Andy! Alex! Get down! Now!” Kyle strides down the hallway, chest puffed out, fists balled up. Glancing behind him, I see Knox and the others emerging too. Knox looks pissed.
“Kyle, relax! He’s a good friend of ours, no need to go all macho on us. So glad you came, Ben! We missed you,” Andy hugs him tighter. He’s always been like a big brother to both of us.
“Aww, I miss you both too.” We start to climb down off him, but I stay tight to his side. I did miss him. I missed our talks and I missed having someone to surf with. I’m so happy he’s here. “Who are you?” Knox clenches his jaw so tight it might lock into place.
“Oh, let me introduce you to everyone! Everyone, this is Ben.That’s my sister Sam, the one who’s marrying Tyson over there—”
“Yeah, so hands off, bro—” Tyson jokes, trying to give Ben a serious look but ruins it with a smile when he looks at Sam.
“That’s my brother Kyle a.k.a Andy’s ’Man’—”
“Damn right, also hands off!” Kyle’s once stern expression softens when Ben shoots his hands up in surrender in a playful manner.
“That’s Brett and Tyler, Kyle’s friends, you know Wes—” They all give him a head bob to greet him.
“That’s Knox, you already know him from TV too—” Knox just stares hard at him, but I ignore it and move on.
“They’re my other brothers Max and Cole, who is the oldest. That’s Austin and Mason Carter, Knox’s older brothers. And these little guys, these are Adam Carter, Eden, and Noah Thompson. Where’s Lena? LENA!”
“What?” A disgruntled hormonal teenager walks in, glued to her phone, “Come meet my friend Ben.”
She finally decides to take her eyes off the brightly lit screen and focuses them up on the person standing in the doorway. Her eyes widen, shifting them between me and him, her mouth hanging open—it’s catching flies at this point.
“Hi,” Ben says finally when we know nothing is going to come out of her mouth. She tries hard to say something but she just stands there gawking at him.
I lean into Ben and whisper, “I think she likes you,” making him nod his head in agreement. Looking back at Knox, he’s glaring even harder at Ben. Someone’s friendly.
“You must be Ben! I’ve heard so much about you! It’s good to finally put a face to the name, come in child, come in!” My mommakes her way into sight with Eric behind her.
She comes closer to hug him and kisses his cheek, “You must be Alex’s other sister?” He charms her, making her blush and wave her arm in the air. I snort and roll my eyes.
He places his arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer to him, and I hug his side again. “Oh sweetie, aren’t you a sweet boy! No, sugar, I’m her mother, but you can call me Annie, and this is my husband Eric.” She fixes her hair and points to Eric who takes his hand and shakes it with a smile.
Eric looks down at me and winks.
