CHAPTER FIVE
NOW
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?” asked Anne, face incredulous.
“No. I’m not going to explain what went on between me and Ben to you.”
She just blinked.
“It’s personal.” I stood tall, despite feeling about two inches off the floor. “I just wanted you to know that I chased him, not the other way around. I had feelings for him and I acted on them. End of story.”
So I guess I would explain what happened between us. At least a little of one side of the sorry tale. Hopefully enough to save the band. Good god, did my pride lay in tatters on the floor.
Mal wouldn’t meet my eyes, and Ben’s nose was still bleeding. Awesome. What a mess. The entire dinner party had denigrated into some blood-splattered, rock ’n’ roll wrestling, multiple-surprise-baby-announcement mess. My fault. I should have handled it differently. Not that I had any idea how I could have done better just yet, but whatever. Doubtless some genius ideas would taunt me at two in the morning.
There were a lot of judgy eyes in the room. All of my new friends and family gathered around to watch the explosion. Shit.
“I’m sorry,” I said and bolted for the door. I grabbed my coat and left.
*
A banging noise.
I cracked open an eyelid. In the darkness the alarm clock shone 3:18 a.m. in brilliant green. What in the ever-loving hell? The banging continued, followed by the muffled sound of voices. One was loud and belligerent, the other far calmer. I got up and flicked on the living room light, stumbled over to the front door. Whoever it was would just have to take me in socks, old sweatpants, and an oversize T-shirt. Away from the warmth of my bed, goose bumps covered my arms.
“Liz?” a familiar rough voice demanded. “Open up.”
I did as asked, yawning and rubbing the sleep from my eyes all the while. “Wow. You look a mess.”
“Yeah,” said Ben, swaying slightly.
He stood upright mostly due to the aid of David, one big arm thrown over the other man’s shoulders. Hair hung in his face, combining with the beard for a cross between a yeti and a Cousin It kind of feel. From between the dark strands, red eyes peered out at me. Oh, and lest I forget, he also stank like he’d recently bathed in a keg of beer, using Scotch-scented soap. Lovely.
“Sorry ’bout this,” said the guitarist, half dragging Ben into my apartment. “He insisted on coming over.”
“It’s fine.”
“On the couch?” David asked, face lined with strain.
“Ah, have to be the bed, please. He’s too big to fit on the couch.”
“Serve his stupid ass right if he woke up on the floor.” David sighed.
“Let me help.” I slid beneath Ben’s other arm, trying to take some of the weight. Christ, the man could put a bear to shame in the sheer bulk department.
“Hey, sweetheart,” said the giant drunken sod.
“Hey there, Ben.” I grabbed hold of his hand, hanging on tight. “How you feeling?”
“Great.” He chuckled.
“I’ll go first,” said David, directing the three of us sideways so we’d fit through my bedroom door.
“Okay. Go slow.”
“Yep.”
Operation Haul the Drunken Baby Daddy into Bed was going well. Except when Ben kind of stumbled halfway through. He surged forward, his forehead cracking into the doorjamb. I swear I felt the building shudder. There was definitely an indent in the wooden frame.
“Ow,” he said, sort of contemplatively.
David just laughed.
“Crap. Are you all right?” I asked, trying to push the hair back from his face to see, while keeping him upright and hopefully safe from further harm. “Ben?”
“He’s fine. Dude has the hardest head I’ve ever seen. One time when we were kids we got stoned up on the roof of my house. Ben walked straight off the edge. We were all freaking out, but by the time we got down there he’d already gotten on his bike and headed home. The big idiot’s basically indestructible.” David directed us toward the side of the bed. “Okay, let him go.”
I did so, and the father of my unborn child toppled face-first onto the mattress. At least that had to be a soft landing. Still, he lay there completely unmoving, apart from the rebound of the springs. God, I hoped we hadn’t accidentally killed him. If we had, at least the neglect wasn’t willful.
I grabbed one of his sneakers and gave it a shake. “Ben, are you still breathing?”
A groan from the man on the bed. Not too bad, as signs of life went.
“Don’t worry,” said David. “He’s fine. Just let him sleep it off.”
I nodded, still frowning just the same.
“You right with him?” asked David, hands on his hips. “I can send Sam over if you like. He’s finished babysitting Mal from what I hear.”
“No need, thanks. Is he all right? Mal?”
He gaze softened. “Passed out just like this one, apparently.”
Seriously, such a mess. Anne and Mal would probably never talk to me again. Well, Anne would, but she was my sister, so she had to forgive me eventually. Mal was another situation entirely. The thought of losing his high opinion and easy affection bit deep. Consequences were a bitch. Realistically, however, I couldn’t imagine myself having done any differently even if I’d known Mal and Anne would be pissed. I mean, I’d already known that and it didn’t even make me pause. Fewer star-crossed lovers and more adults should be allowed to date who they wanted.
Maybe if I’d known the night would result in the bean … I don’t know. There was only one thing I was sure of: sex equaled nothing but chaos and confusion. It was official.
I squeezed my eyes shut. “You must hate me.”
David’s brow wrinkled up. “What? Why?”
“For causing all this trouble.” The urge to flail was huge, but I restrained it. For now. Instead, I got busy wriggling Ben’s shoes off his feet. No way were they making contact with my sheets.
“I’m assuming you didn’t have to hold a gun to Ben’s head to get him to fuck you?” The guy watched me unblinking, face dead serious.
“Um, no.”
David shrugged. “There you go.”
“Isn’t that taking a slightly overly simplistic view of the situation?”
He smiled. “In my experience, shit usually is pretty simple when you get right down to it. When it comes to matters of the heart, you decide where you belong and you go be there. Simple. Ben wanted to be here. Don’t think I didn’t try to talk him out of it, either. The bastard insisted.”
Maybe. “Wonder what his new girlfriend would make of your theory.”
“Yeah.” He winced, his mouth widening in imagined pain. “I’ll leave that one up to you two to sort out. But try not to stress. Can’t be good for Ben junior.”
“Right.” I rolled my eyes and dropped Ben’s shoe on the floor. “But how is this going to affect the band, the two of them fighting?”
It took him a long time to answer. “I honestly don’t know.”
Fuck.