He was having a good time with the project, and he was having a really good time with Mel. He looked forward to being in that wood shop with her and to regularly hanging out with her at night.
“You’ve been MIA lately,” Tripp said to Bennett one Tuesday night. It was another karaoke night at the Sleepy Sheep, and since Bennett was so involved with everything he made a point of going to them.
But he flat-out refused to sing. Nope. That shit wasn’t happening.
“Yeah.” Shep sipped his beer behind the bar. “I feel like I only see you at practice and at games. What are you doing with all your free time these days?”
“I’m pretty sure it has to do with that pretty girl over there,” Brendan said, indicating a spot behind Bennett.
Bennett didn’t need to turn to see that Brendan was talking about Mel. She sat at a corner table with Grace, taking money, signing people up for karaoke slots, and helping them pick out which songs they wanted to sing.
No, Bennett knew exactly where Mel was, because he’d looked over at her not even sixty seconds ago.
“We’re just friends.” He was tired of saying that, but mainly because it wasn’t true anymore.
“I’ve heard that before,” Shep said.
“I’ve said that before.” Jax shook his head pityingly at Bennett. “It sounds about as true coming out of your mouth as it did coming out of mine.”
“Jeez, when Jax calls you out about being clueless, that’s saying something,” Brendan said.
“I really wish I could take offense to that, but it’s sadly true,” Jax said.
“But not anymore,” Tripp said.
“Nope,” Jax said, grinning. “Not anymore.”
Yup, Jax had the grin of a very satisfied man. Something that Bennett was definitely not. Frustrated was a way more accurate word, and every time he even looked at Mel his frustration grew. Who was he kidding? All he had to do was think about her. Which was all the fucking time.
* * *
When Mel got home on Thursday, she started preparing dinner right away. She was making her grandmother’s shrimp and grits for Bennett, and the meal involved a lot of prep work.
Mel lost all track of time, and by the time she was finished cooking she had only enough time to change. Her makeup was still okay, and her hair wasn’t too frizzy. There really wasn’t any hope of making her curls look any better. Besides, this was her, up close and personal.
She stripped the second she got in her room and grabbed a white linen button up shirt and a pair of cutoff jean shorts. Just as she was buttoning the snap, the doorbell rang. She headed down the hallway and when she opened the front door it wasn’t Bennett on the other side.
“Hey,” Grace said as she looked Mel up and down. “You going somewhere tonight?”
“No.” Mel stepped aside so Grace could come in. “Bennett’s coming over.”
“I know. I ran into him at LauraAnne’s about—” Grace dramatically looked at her watch “—ten minutes ago. He was trying to pick out a wine that you would like and that would go well with shrimp and grits. So he asked for my help. It was really rather adorable. But anyways, it got me to thinking. I know for a fact you don’t whip out your Grandmother Maris’s shrimp-and-grits recipe for just anybody. That’s only when you want to pull out the big guns.”
Mel frowned. “And?”
“And?” Grace repeated incredulously.
“You know, you’re a giant pain in my ass, Grace.”
“I’m aware—and just so you know, you’re just as big a pain in my ass. When are you going to admit you two are more than just friends?”
“When he actually does something. That’s when, and not a minute before.”
“All right,” Grace said.
“So was this all you wanted during this little reconnaissance mission of yours?” Mel asked.
“Actually, no. I came over to get the second book by Ilona Andrews,” she said opening up her purse, pulling out the first book and handing it to Mel. “I need to know when Kate and Curran actually get together.”
Mel didn’t comment on that, because they didn’t get together for a couple more books. Which meant Grace was going to be waiting for a little while.
“Let me go grab it,” Mel said, going into her living room and heading to her overstuffed bookshelf in the corner.
“You might as well just give me the third one, too,” Grace said, following her.
“Really? I didn’t think you’d have all that much time to read, what with Jax around. Is he demanding less of your time these days?” Mel grabbed the books and put the first one away. When she turned around, Grace was smirking at her.
“Oh believe me, that man still demands plenty of my time. These are for when he works late. A girl’s got to be able to distract herself somehow.”
“Brag much?” Mel asked.
“After being in love with him for practically my whole life?” Grace asked, her smile one of a cat that had just eaten the canary. “You better believe it.”
God, what Mel wouldn’t give to have that look on her own face.
“Are you done rubbing my nose in your sex life, or are we done here?” Mel asked.
“Oh come on, you’re not going to let me hang out till he gets here? I just want to observe for a little bit.”
“No,” Mel said. But she didn’t get her way, because the doorbell rang.
“Score,” Grace said, her eyes lighting up with glee.
Shit. “You better only say hello and then leave,” she said, pointing a finger at Grace.
“What else would I do?” Grace asked sweetly.
“God only knows,” Mel said, as she headed toward the front door and opened it.
And there stood Bennett holding a bottle of wine in one hand, and the box set of Game of Thrones in the other. He was wearing a pair of jeans that Mel assumed he’d just changed into, because they were free of dust and dirt, just like his blue-and-white flannel shirt. Mel didn’t miss the appreciative look in Bennett’s eyes as he took in her shorts and legs. As Grace was standing right next to her, she was pretty sure Grace caught it, too.
“Hey Bennett,” Grace said, stepping past Mel and walking out onto the porch. “I see you went with the wine I suggested. You won’t be sorry.”
“Thanks again,” he said with a grin.
“I’ll see you later.” Grace gave Mel a significant look that said, We’ll be talking. But she didn’t say anything else as she headed toward her car, leaving Mel and Bennett alone on the porch.
* * *
Mel looked hot. Her crazy curls were all over the place, her cheeks were rosy, her eyes were warm, and her legs were barely covered by the sexiest cutoff jeans Bennett had ever seen. She was wearing a shirt that was only half-buttoned and he could see the very top of her breasts peeking out of a pink tank top.
“Hey,” he said, walking into the house. For some reason completely unknown to him, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
“Hi,” she said, looking even more flushed when he pulled back. “Thanks for picking up wine.” She nodded at the bottle in his hand before she turned and headed to the kitchen.
“It’s no problem.” He walked behind her, his eyes drifting down to her very tiny bottom, which was covered by those very tiny shorts.
“So am I going to be highly disturbed by the last two episodes in season two?” she asked.
“Nah, not like season one.” He somehow managed to pull his eyes away to look where he was going.
“Well, nothing can be as heartbreaking as season one,” she said as she entered the kitchen. Bennett followed and put the wine on the counter.
Mel had indeed been very sad and upset about that. A couple of the main characters had died, including her favorite character. He’d been part of a very dramatic love story that she’d been particularly invested in. And now with his death that love story was over. She had claimed she would never be the same. But the series was based on a series of books, and Mel didn’t know t
hat the author had a thing about killing his characters off. No one was safe.
“Yeah,” he said, not too reassuringly.
Mel looked over her shoulder at him and narrowed her eyes, giving him the scary don’t mess with me look. “You’re holding back on me, aren’t you?” she asked as she grabbed two bowls on the counter and went over to a steaming pot on the stove.
“Hey,” he said, holding up his hands in defense. “You’re the one who hates spoilers.”
She started dishing out the grits. “Ugh. I do, but this show is too much to take.”
“I tried to warn you.” He reached over to the drawer next to him, and it stuck a little as he opened it. He grabbed the corkscrew and started twisting it into the bottle.
“No, you tried to warn me about all the sex. You didn’t warn me that I’d have my heart ripped out on a regular basis.”
“I didn’t.” Bennett looked up at her, unable to stop a smile from turning up his lips. There was just something about how passionate she was about these little things in life that did funny things to him. Made him feel things he’d never felt before.
“Are you laughing at me?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
He shook his head. “I’m not. I promise. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you.”
“It’s probably for the best, anyway. And good thing you weren’t laughing at me. Otherwise you wouldn’t be getting dinner.”
“That’s harsh.” He turned back to the wine and popped the cork. He reached above him for the cabinet door. It made a loud squeak as he opened it. He grabbed two wineglasses and pulled them down.
“Sometimes it’s necessary. Like when you’re dealing with a bunch of teenagers on a daily basis.” She put two bowls down in front of him, one with almost double the amount of food. She’d pilled the grits with shrimp, bacon, chives, and cheddar cheese.
“That’s true. But I’ve smelled and now seen what promises to be an amazing dinner. It would be more than a little cruel to deprive a starving man.” He filled both glasses of wine and handed her one.
“Well, then we should get you fed.” She smiled and grabbed her bowl from the counter, then headed over to the set dinner table.
Bennett grabbed his bowl and wineglass, and followed her.
They chatted over their meal as usual, and it had taken everything in Bennett not to moan around his spoon as he’d eaten. Never in his life had he tasted anything more delicious.
“You’ve without a doubt ruined shrimp and grits for me,” he said, as he pushed his second bowl away from him. “I’ll never be able to eat it again and not compare it to this.”
“That’s a compliment if I’ve ever heard one.”
“It’s the truth. I’m stuffed.” He rubbed his stomach.
“No one forced you to eat that second bowl.”
“I couldn’t resist,” he said, shaking his head. “Too much of a temptation.”
“Really? I would’ve thought you were a man that was quite capable of resisting temptation.”
“Sometimes.”
“Hmmm.” Her smile was making Bennett think of other tempting things. “Well, since you’re quite done with dinner, I’ll clean up and then we can move on to my heart getting trampled.” She stood up and went into the kitchen. He watched her walk away before he stood up, too.
Bennett helped her clear the table and put the food away. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think they’d fallen into a bit of a routine over the last month. He’d gotten comfortable with her, more so than if they were just friends. He liked being around her, maybe a little bit more than he should, and definitely more than he was ready for. But even that didn’t excuse the idiocy of what he did next.
Mel stretched up on her tiptoes to reach into a cabinet above her head. She wasn’t short, but the container she was trying to get was just out of reach. The more she stretched, the more her shirt pulled up, exposing the smooth, creamy skin of her back. Bennett couldn’t stop himself from coming up behind her and reaching over her shoulder, but it had nothing to do with trying to be a gentlemen and helping out a lady.
No, he wanted to run his hand across her skin and around to her stomach. He wanted to pull her back into him and press his face into her neck. He wanted to turn her around and push her back against the counter. He wanted to kiss her.
Mel jumped back into him as his arm skimmed over hers. He steadied her by placing his free hand on her hip. He grabbed the container, and when he set it down on the counter she turned and looked up at him.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
He was so close to her. All he had to do was lean down a little bit and he’d be able to press his mouth to hers.
“No problem,” he said, unable to look at anything but those soft lips of hers.
She was breathing unevenly. He was pretty sure he’d stopped taking in oxygen a while ago, because he felt a little light-headed.
He took a step into her, pushing her back against the counter, and her breasts came up against his chest. His eyes flickered up to hers, and what he found there made all rational thought leave his mind.
“Bennett,” she whispered.
And just like that everything came crashing back to him. There was something about the breathy little hitch in Mel’s voice when she said his name that terrified him. He cleared his throat and took a step back from her, his hands falling away from her body. There was much more than just a flicker of disappointment in her eyes this time.
Fuuuuck. He really didn’t know what to do with this. Didn’t know what to do with her.
“We should start the show,” he said somewhat awkwardly, as he took another step away from her.
“O-okay,” she said slowly. “Let me just finish putting this away.”
“I’ll go put the DVD in.” Bennett promptly retreated out of the kitchen, like the coward he was.
* * *
Mel just stood there for a second, so thoroughly confused she didn’t know what to do next. He’d almost kissed her. For real this time, not just a peck on the cheek. She hadn’t imagined it.
Had she?
There’d been something in his eyes. Desire for her. She’d seen it before she said his name, and then it had disappeared with the blink of an eye. And then he’d run out of the kitchen like a bat out of hell.
It wasn’t like she’d been the one to come up to him. No, he’d done that. He’d been the one to put his hands on her. He’d been the one who pushed his body against hers. He’d been the one to look at her mouth like it was dessert. She hadn’t done anything.
Were all men this freaking baffling to the mind? Or was it just Bennett? Whoever said women were hard to understand was mistaken. Men were leaps and bounds more perplexing.
Mel grabbed her wineglass and refilled it. She was going to need something to get her through the rest of the night, because the man in her living room was frustrating as all hell.
When she went into the room, he was sitting at the far end of the couch, not in the middle where they normally sat. Well, if he wanted to put distance between them that was fine. Just fine. She wasn’t going to be some needy, desperate girl that was pinning over some stupid man who didn’t want her.
Whatever.
So she sat on the opposite end of the couch and took a big drink of her wine. Too bad it had absolutely no effect in calming her ever-spinning mind.
* * *
Bennett wasn’t even paying attention to the show. How could he when all he was thinking about was the woman who was sitting five feet away from him?
Normally Mel would make comments here and there during the show or ask questions because there were more than a few confusing story lines, but she hadn’t said a word the entire hour.
And neither had he. What the hell was he supposed to say? Sorry for not kissing you? Sorry for not knowing what’s going on with the two of us? Sorry for being a candy-ass?
Yeah, none of those seemed like appropriate things to say.
How was it that Bennett h
ad fought in wars, and yet this beautiful woman scared the ever-living daylights out of him? He’d never been tongue-tied or nervous around women before. But Mel? Mel was an entirely different story.
He just needed to say something to her. Tell her he kind of liked her.
Kind of liked her? What, was he in the fifth grade or something?
His palms were sweaty and itchy, and he kept rubbing them on the thighs of his jeans. When the episode ended he jumped up from the couch and excused himself to go to the bathroom. He was too damn twitchy for his own good, and Mel had raised her eyebrows at him before he turned around and walked down the hallway.
Why was he making this so damn complicated? He was attracted to her. He liked spending time with her. He wanted to spend more time with her. So what was the big deal if they started dating? They could do that casually. It wasn’t like they were going to get married or anything.
Married? No, no, no. Noooooooo.
Bennett wasn’t ready for that. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready for that. Marriage wasn’t in his plan. Not to Mel. Not to anyone. He wasn’t stable when it came to relationships. Really, he wasn’t stable, period. It might’ve been a couple of years, but he wasn’t over what had happened in Afghanistan. He’d never be over it. He’d forever be screwed up.
It wasn’t something that Mel needed to be exposed to. She didn’t need to witness his nightmares or the panic attacks that accompanied them. No one should have to deal with his fucked-uppedness, especially her.
He’d probably scare the ever-living shit out of her with one of his panic attacks. God knew he scared the ever-living shit out of himself.
Bennett was so far in his head that he wasn’t really paying attention to where he was going. He pushed open the door and flipped on the switch, but instead of walking into the bathroom, he walked into Mel’s bedroom.
The walls were a light green. The curtains, lampshades, and quilt spread across her queen bed were a bright blue. And right there, right in the middle of the pillows on her bed, was the teddy bear he’d gotten her when she’d been in the hospital.
Unstoppable (A Country Roads Novel) Page 6
