The house is of great size and is decorated from floor to ceiling. I am impressed. Everything is black and white with splashes of deep reds, almost a Victorian theme. Dark sheer fabrics are draped over the windows with red fabric underneath. Candelabras adorn every surface, glittered skulls and “poison” bottles and dishes of food. There are servers in black suits carrying trays of drinks in crystal glasses. We are handed a glass as we walk in and I need it more than ever as soon as I see that at least hundred and fifty people are here in this house.
“Benjamin! Son, happy Halloween!” Jack, Ben’s father greets us. He’s dressed like what I assume to be one of the Beatles, but I can’t be certain.
Ben pulls away momentarily to hug his father, then returns to me. “Dad, you know Tess and Tess, you obviously know my father.”
“Tess, you look adorable, my dear, Let me guess… Spice Girls?” The good doctor knows his British pop sensations.
I nod my head and pull down the hem of my dress, feeling a little insecure about it all of a sudden. “Yes, sir, you are correct. Now, are you a Beatle?”
“Are you a fan?” he asks. Crap, how do you tell someone born and raised in the UK that you don’t particularly like the Beatles?
I drop my head a little and I bite down on my lower lip and I feel Ben’s reassuring hands hold a little tighter. I peek up and answer my boyfriend’s father. “Uh, not really… I mean I like a couple of their songs, but I…” I am cut off by Jack’s laughter.
“It’s OK, Tess. I am not going to shun you for not liking a music group.” He touches my arm and walks away to greet the folks behind us.
I turn to face Ben, and I put my hands on his chest and press my cheek to his where his heart is. In turn he rests his head on top of mine and he takes in a deep breath of air, exhaling with a sigh.
“Aww! Don’t you two look cute?” I hear a familiar accent come from behind. I pull away from Ben to turn and see Velma Kelly from the movie Chicago. Ben’s whole face lights up, I can only assume that this must be Caroline.
Ben kisses the top of my head and lunges for his little sister and grabs her in a huge hug. He is so alive and bright around her. I can now see why he loves to talk to her and about her. It’s hard to imagine that she is only fifteen. She is tall, beautiful, and looks just like her big brother. They have the same mocha eyes and pitch black hair, apropos. Her costume is traditional nineteen-twenty flapper fashion and elaborate at that, with silver sequins galore and stringed tassels, layered down the bodice. She is also wearing these cute shiny arm warmers. I would love a set of those; I’ll have to ask where she got them later.
Ben finally sets her down. “Tess, this is my baby sister Caroline. Caroline, this is Tess, my girlfriend.” Oh, he said girlfriend again! I will never get used to hearing this, but I do love it.
I reach out to take her hand when she grabs me in for a massive hug. I am not used this outpouring of affection so I am taken aback, but it is nice. “Oh, Tess, I have heard so much about you!”
I look up at Ben and smile, “Oh, really? Good things, I hope.”
“Only if you think ‘most beautiful woman I have met’, ‘the most talented and creative person I know’ and so on, to be good things, then yes.”
“Really, Caroline?” Ben groans.
Caroline throws her hands on her hips. “Hey, Benji, I only speak the truth.”
“I guess you can now add entertaining,” I say.
“Nah, you’re just real and I like real.” Caroline looks at Ben and winks. “I approve, big brother. And Tess, I will have to steal you away later for a chat.” I nod and the little British beauty winks at me and nods in the direction of an attractive older male, and off into the sea of costumes she goes.
Definitely a little too old for her.
Ben takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen, grabbing us a couple of deep red cocktails in martini glasses along the way.
“Here’s to new beginnings,” he says, and we clink our glasses.
“Mmm. This is amazing,” I gush, after taking a sip.
He leans in. “I know of a couple of other things that taste even more brilliant and you can’t get it in a fancy glass.” He discreetly licks my lips, tasting the drink on my mouth. My eyes roll back and soft moan escapes me, when we hear a throat clearing. Damn it!
“Am I interrupting something?” I hear a familiar woman’s voice speak up.
Ben pulls away, again, and I frown a little. I now have another good reason why I don’t like parties. I turn to see Ms. S standing behind us dressed as Cher in her gypsy stage. I like Ms. S, or Gwen as I have been told to call her, but that’s a little difficult seeing as she was my teacher first and now the girlfriend of my boyfriend’s father. She is a nice woman, quirky but nice.
“You two kids having fun?” Gwen does the typical Cher hair flip and I can’t help but let out a little chuckle. Ben huffs out a light laugh. “Don’t forget to hit up the candy buffet,” she says as she walks away.
“Candy buffet? Really? Where?” I look around the room. I must find it! It is Halloween and I need some sugar!
Ben kisses my forehead and leads me to what looks to be a large dining room. As soon as we walk through a netting of fake spider webs I see it. In all its sweet, sweet glory. A twelve-foot table loaded with the good stuff. “Now this is the stuff I have dreamt of when I was a little kid, full-size candy bars.” I gush a bit. I know I must look like a moron, but I just don’t care. This is insane.
“Well I am glad this is the kind of stuff that impresses you, and not diamonds or furs.” Ben chuckles.
I roll my eyes. “Those things are okay, but give me coffee and candy any day and I will be yours forever.” By this time I have finished the sucker I was eating when we arrived, so I make a dash for some Swedish Fish, which have to be only the red ones.
I stalk back to my sexy boyfriend, with a small handful of fish. I pop one in my mouth and I offer to feed him one, and he opens his mouth slightly, to lick it first. He then pulls my hand in closer and wraps his mouth around my fingers, flicking his tongue, taking the sweet candy. It sends chills down my body and causing those core muscles clenching. I think I might need to change my panties after this.
“Yeah! Get it girl!” I hear squealing coming up from the side of us and it scares the crap out of me. We turn to see Erin and Mark in full-blown Britney and Justin costumes. Wow.
“Hey bitch,” I say. And Erin claps and winks at me. Ben, on the other hand, is thrown off by my greeting.
“Tess!” he snaps.
I roll my eyes and hug my best friend hello.
“Did we walk in on something here?” Erin asks.
I blush seven shades of red and bow my head, but then again, Erin knows just about everything that Ben and I have done. And I sure as hell ain’t complaining!
Erin laughs and bumps my shoulder as she starts to walk past us, hand in hand with Mark. “We will talk later.” She winks. “Let’s go dance, Justin.” And they are off.
Ben brings my attention back to him, “You know… my old room is still put together…”
Oh my…
“Yeah?”
“Want a private tour?”
“Who am I to be rude and refuse a private tour?” He puts his hand on my back and starts to lead me to a grand staircase. Up top, he directs me to the left and down the hall to a cherry wood door.
I take in the modestly sized bedroom: navy blue walls, white trim, oak dresser and a matched headboard. The bedding is the same color as the walls, but with white and thin line of gold plaid patterns every bit of a teenage boy’s room… minus the nude posters. I take a walk around the room, stopping at a photo on the dresser of a beautiful woman.
“Mum,” Ben simply states. I look up into the mirrors reflect to see Ben looking into my eyes. He looks sad; I turn and reach up for his cheeks.
“She is very beautiful.” I tell him.
“Was.”
“Is. She will always be with you, Ben, and you know tha
t. She will always be in your heart, therefore she will always be beautiful.”
His eyes still look a little sad, and when I rub my thumb over his cheek, a single tear escapes his eyes. My insides clench in sympathy with his pain. I slowly bring my mouth to his and I ever so softly press my lips to his.
He then does something that catches me off guard: He lets out a deep sob. I can’t hold back my own tears any longer and I am crying with the man I love, in his old bedroom. His hands have found my hips and he digs his fingers in, almost as though he is seeking foundation. I can be that for him. I can be whatever he needs.
He presses his forehead to mine. “I can’t do this. Not in these costumes.” With that, he strips out of that clear raincoat and unbuttons his suit jacket. I stop him and I finish with his white dress shirt. He looks into my eyes the whole time, searing into me. Once I am done he crouches down to take off my platforms and when he comes back up, he undoes my pigtails, runs his fingers through my hair. It feels amazing.
“There. There’s my Punky.” His breath is shaking and hoarse.
My heart swells so much for this man. It’s so much, but not too much… I don’t think it could ever be too much.
He brings his lips, slightly swollen from his crying, to mine. I can smell and taste the candy and light remainder of the alcohol on his breath. This takes my breath away, he is too irresistible, and I can’t stop what I am about to do. I wrap my arms around his neck. He grabs the backs of my legs and, lifting me, wraps them around his slender waist. His mouth is on mine feverishly taking all that he can. I cannot seem to get close enough to him; I need him inside of me now. I need to show him just how much I love him, without saying those words. I am afraid of scaring him away.
But then it hits me: We are in his family’s home. Anyone could come inside. Even if we lock the door it’s still a dead giveaway as to what we are doing. I pull away and try to regain my breath as he is carrying me to his old bed.
“Ben.”
“Tess.”
I shake my head. “No, Ben we have to stop. Someone can come to the door.”
Ben then licks up my neck and I want to finish what we have started, but then I think about how I wanted to spend tonight. Our first time together, with me on the pill; nothing between us, just skin.
“Well, then, I suppose we better be quiet.”
“I don’t want to be quiet. Not tonight.”
He groans in my ear and sets me down. “Does this have something to do with this surprise you have for me?”
I lick my bottom lip, bite down on it, and nod yes. I see his eyes roll back. “Keep biting that lip of yours and I will make you scream and I don’t give a fuck who hears us.”
I have to step away from him, because if I don’t then I will probably let him. I replace my pigtails as he redresses himself. As I put my platforms back on he tells me, “Leave those on tonight.”
And I nearly combust.
As soon as my foot hits the bottom step I am instantly being torn away from Ben by Caroline. Just as she promised. “Come on, Tess,” she says. “Let’s talk for a few.”
Ben gives me quick peck on the cheek, and then I am hauled off. She leads me into what looks like to be a sitting area. Caroline sits in the corner of a sectional and gestures for me to join her. I can’t believe this young woman is only fifteen. I already like her, though; I was the same way at her age, more mature that most my age. I liked to hang with the adults; to me, kids my age were reckless and I didn’t like that they were so spontaneous, but I never checked out or went after an older guy…
“Your costume is amazing!” I tell her. “Ben told me that you’re a fashion designer. Did you design and make this yourself?”
Her face lights up with pride. “I did, and thank you. When living with only Dad and Ben, I had to get creative in something girly. I love making something out of nothing. Ben told me you paint and that you’re an amazing photographer?”
Oh Ben…
“Yes, I love to paint and I want to be a photographer for rock bands. You know, taking shots of them on stage in their prime.”
“That’s amazing! Maybe you can work with Ben at Tones?”
“Funny you bring that up, because I have an interview there this week.” It’s true. When Ben and I were apart after my accident and my little blow-up at the hospital, Ben showed his boss my photos from the Maroon 5 show. The boss was impressed. One step closer to my dream, and if I can have the added bonus of working with Ben, then hell, I will take it! I would have been happy starting in the mail room.
We start talking about fashion design, and I find myself admiring her arm wear. “Can I try one on? Yours are just so cute.”
She then grabs her arms and crosses them in front of her chest. She seems to have gone from warm and friendly to standoffish.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to overstep…”
“No, no, it’s fine. I am sorry. It’s just that these ones are a little harder to get on and off. With the sequins and all…”
I don’t buy it. So I just give her a polite smile, but I am far from over from figuring her out.
I take a look around the room, and my eyes lock with Ben’s. He is talking it up with this middle-aged gentleman and his much younger date. The older man continues to talk and doesn’t seem to take notice that Ben has lost complete interest on their conversation. His eyes sear into mine; I can sense his agitation with having to stand there and not with me. He is leaning against a fireplace mantle and holding a drink, all while in a nice black suit… hello, Mr. Bond.
My mind must have drifted, because I feel a light nudge on my arm. I turn to see Erin with a large grin on her face… shit, am I really that obvious?
“He hasn’t taken his eyes off you all night, Tess.”
I stick my tongue out at her. I look around to find Caroline, but she is out of sight. I wrap my hands around myself and rub my arms, feeling a little cold. I look back to where Ben was standing and he is gone, too.
“So, tonight the big night?” my best friend asks.
I feel the sudden warmth of a jacket being draped over my shoulders, and a deep throat clearing.
“Oh, I see how it is. You tell Red here your little surprise but not your boyfriend.” Shit. He heard that, huh?
Erin throws a hand over her mouth and her eyes bulge. “I am sorry, Tess, I didn’t see him coming when I said…”
I throw my finger up to warn her to stop. I can tell she has been drinking and we both get the same way when we drink—no verbal filter what so ever.
Ben finds this humorous, because he lets out a laugh and he rubs my shoulders. “Yes, Erin knows, but you’re the one who is going to appreciate it.” I arch my back as his grip tightens slightly and I am getting even more turned on.
“In that case…” Ben moves to the front of me and holds out his hand to help me stand, which at this moment I am grateful, a few drinks and these shoes… man. “Shall we?”
I look to Erin and she winks at me and as I pass her she whispers, “Get it girl.” I have to laugh, I see Erin’s eyes shoot to Ben’s and then drop just as fast… that was odd.
We make our rounds to say our goodbyes, and find Jack, Gwen and Caroline talking by the front door. They look to be having a heated conversation, so we approach with caution.
“What’s going on now?” Ben asks his family and by the sound of his tone this is an average thing. I look to Caroline and she is nearly in tears; Gwen seems irritated and annoyed; and Jack—well, this is the first time I have seen him angry. He is trying to cover it up, though.
“We will discuss it at a more appropriate time.” Jack spits out. And I am thrown by his tone with Ben. What was going on?
Ben isn’t having it, though. “No, I want to know why Caroline is in tears.”
I have the urge to go stand next to Caroline. It’s odd, but I just feel like I need to be close to her right now, maybe to comfort her? I half hug the young beauty. Ben looks to me and smiles a grateful smile.
<
br /> “So? What’s the deal this time, Dad? What did she do now to disappoint you?”
“This is not the time or place, son.”
Caroline wipes her eyes and speaks up. “I just got an e-mail form the fashion program that I was accepted into this summer. Turns out they have a winter opening and it would be with the lead designer.”
“That’s amazing, sis! You have to be thrilled… why are you so upset?” He turns to their father. “What? What is wrong now?”
“New York City is no place for a fifteen-year-old girl. I told you how I felt about the summer program, Caroline, and now you expect me to pull you out of school to be a gofer?”
“Jack!” Gwen snips.
Jack lowers his voice and leans into his girlfriend, “She just isn’t ready yet.”
“But her psychologist, said she has made great progress.” She returns softly. Jack gives her a look of not now.
I am stunned by his aggressiveness, but also his concern.
“Dad, I have told you, it’s for school and I would live in school housing there. I wouldn’t be the only teenager.”
“We will talk more about this later, Caroline.” And that was that.
On the way back to Ben’s place he can’t keep his hands off my legs. He leisurely trails his full palm up and down the inside of my thigh, then switching to a light touch in the same motion, leaving me completely mad. The drive feels like it is taking forever.
He makes his turn into the underground parking garage of his building, kills the engine, and turns to me. He has a serene smile on his face. “What are you thinking about?” He asks, and frankly throwing me off.
“You.”
He lets out a soft sigh and I can see the wheels in his head turning. “Ready?” He nods his head in the direction on the silver elevators.
“More than you know.”
Inside, he grabs a bottle of my favorite wine and two glasses and saunters back to me. He runs the back of his knuckles over my temporary tattoo of the British flag on my upper arm and begins circling it.
Private Show (The Private Series) Page 4
