Marriage Matters

Twenty-one

On Saturday, Chloe made a point of avoiding Ben. This wasn’t difficult, considering he seemed to be avoiding her, too. Typically, they texted nonstop but she didn’t hear from him all day. Not even once.

This irritated her in a major way.

In her opinion, Ben should be the one to be a little more mature. After all, he was the one who kissed her, not the other way around. Besides, he had plenty of experience dealing with the opposite sex. But . . . Chloe glared down at her phone. Maybe this was exactly how he dealt with them.

At two o’clock, her text alert finally chimed. This earned her the evil eye from the serious-looking girl sitting at the library table across from hers. “Sorry,” Chloe mouthed, but she really didn’t care. She was just relieved that Ben had finally, finally gotten in touch.

To her surprise, the text message wasn’t from Ben. It was from Geoff, confirming their date for that night. Chloe stared at the message, torn between disappointment and excitement. Finally, she chose excitement and texted him back.

Turning off her ringer, Chloe tossed the phone into her backpack. Whatever. If Ben wanted to be a jerk, let him. She didn’t have time for it. Besides, it wasn’t like she was interested in him like that, anyway.

Chloe got to work and lost track of time. By the time she checked her phone, it was seven, leaving her just an hour to get home, get changed and meet Geoff downtown. She raced home and quickly tried on a few outfits. Nothing looked right, so she decided to wear the same thing she’d worn on her date with Ben. It wasn’t like anyone would know and besides, he’d said the skirt was sexy.

Since there was no time to take a bath, Chloe spritzed her hair with vanilla and pomegranate perfume and swiped on some brown mascara. Then, after a critical once-over in the mirror, Chloe dug through her closet until she found a black lacquered purse June had given her. She never wore it because it was slippery on her shoulder, but she hoped the designer label would make her look more mature.

With little time to spare, Chloe raced out the door. There, she screeched to a halt. Ben was keying into his apartment. He was wearing a light blue T-shirt and a pair of well-worn jeans, his hair as tousled and sun-streaked as ever. She wondered how it was possible that he managed to look even better than he had on their date last night. The injustice made her want to punch him in the face.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Hi.”

“Hey.” Ben fidgeted with his key chain. It was an anime doll with wild blond hair, wearing an orange tracksuit. She wondered who had given it to him. “Going on your date?” His gaze swept over her outfit.

Chloe blushed, wondering if he knew she was wearing the exact same thing. “Yeah.” As always, the lacquered purse started to slip off her shoulder. She tugged it back up, saying, “Wish me—” Then, maybe because she’d moved it the wrong way or because the purse was perpetually annoying, it slid off her shoulder and dropped to the ground, spilling pens, lip gloss and papers across the hallway.

At the same time, Chloe and Ben both bent to pick everything up and they cracked heads.

“Ow!” she cried, grabbing her hair.

“Come on,” he groaned, rubbing his forehead.

Straightening up, they eyed each other warily. Neither took a step backwards.

Chloe’s eyes wandered down to Ben’s lips. They were slightly parted and just a little bit chapped. She found it hard to believe that, less than twenty-four hours ago, those lips had been pressed against hers. They’d been so soft, while the slight scruff on his face was rough against her cheek.

As though reading her mind, Ben ran the back of his hand across the fuzz on his face. Taking a step even closer, his bright blue eyes held her gaze. Chloe felt her lips start to part and she panicked.

Diving down to her hands and knees, she reached for the items scattered across the floor. The short skirt crept up dangerously over her thighs and she tugged at it, clambering back to her feet. “I’ve gotta go,” she mumbled. “I’m so late.” She could feel her cheeks flush.

Ben looked slightly panicked. “Have fun.” He put his keys in the lock. “I’ve gotta send an email for my boss now so—”

“Totally,” she said, her voice thick with sarcasm. “Who doesn’t have to send out an email for their boss at eight o’clock on a Saturday night?”

Ben paused. “Chloe . . .” He eyed her through a lock of his unkempt blond hair.

“It’s cool.” She gave a half wave. “See you.”

Walking toward the stairs, Chloe immediately felt bad. She hated that things were weird with her best friend, especially about something that really, truly, didn’t matter. At the top of the stairs, she rested her hand on the railing and turned to face him.

“Ben?” she said, her voice apologetic. “This is really stupid. You were just teaching me how to go on a date. I know the . . .” She swallowed hard. “I know that it didn’t mean anything.”

Ben didn’t respond and instead shoved his hands into the pocket of his jeans.

Damn. Why did he have to do that? Chloe was looking at his jeans now, noticing the snug way they fit his thighs. She remembered exactly what his thighs had felt like, all muscle and sinew, pressed against hers.

“So.” Chloe forced her eyes back up to his. “We don’t have to make a big deal out of it. It really didn’t matter.”

Ben cocked his head. For some odd reason, Chloe caught a whiff of his cologne. He was all the way across the hallway, so how . . . ? Dipping her chin, she smelled her sweater.

Shit. It totally smelled like Ben!

Shaking her head, Chloe couldn’t help but think that dating tip five thousand most certainly had to be: Don’t smell like another man when you go on a date. Hopefully, Geoff wouldn’t get too close. That could make things a bit awkward.

“Anyway.” Chloe tugged at her skirt and gave him a brave smile. “Wish me luck.”

“Yeah.” Ben ran a hand through his hair. It stood up on one end, just like Whiskers’ fur had this morning. She had the distinct feeling that Ben, like Whiskers, just wanted to get away. “Good luck.”

“See ya.”

“Hey,” Ben called.

“Yeah?” Chloe hesitated, feeling oddly hopeful.

“If it doesn’t go late, come over.” He shrugged. “Maybe we could watch some reality TV.”

Chloe drummed her fingers against the railing. Yeah, like that was going to happen. The days of lying in bed together were long gone. “Sure.” It was the easiest thing to say. “Have a good night.”

Clambering down the stairs, Chloe pushed open the heavy wood door and stood on the stoop, heart pounding. The street bustled with people her age, out enjoying their Saturday night. It was so strange to think that for once, she was going to join them.

“Alright. Time to go on a date.” She waited for the familiar flash of nerves but felt nothing. After last night, it all seemed pretty simple. Maybe Ben had done his job after all.

Fumbling in the purse for her phone, she cued up his name, ready to text the silly thought. Then she stopped. Even though she already missed her best friend, Chloe slid the phone back into her purse.

It would be better to just leave him alone.