and accused them of being insecure. I called them crazy and insisted they had nothing to worry about. I remember telling every single one of them the exact same thing: Ben was nothing more than a friend.
But when Ben releases inside of me, he is anything but my friend. I can’t help but think about how all my ex-boyfriends were right. They had every reason in the world to be jealous of Ben. Because at the end of the day, he was the one I called over all my worries; he was the one I shared all my secrets with; and he was the one I would drop everything for if I had too. They all saw something I couldn’t. I was crazy about him. As innocent as our friendship was, it was clear there was an insane connection between us. It is only now that I realize all of my three ex-boyfriends were far from crazy with their accusations. I was the crazy one for not seeing what I had in front of me all along.
Ben lets out a deep breath and comes in for an after-sex snuggle. He somehow manages to fit horizontally across the back seat (even though he is six feet tall) and wraps his arm around my body. When I start to slip through his grasp and down to the floor, he flips me on top of his chest to face him. My hair cascades around my face, and he gently tucks it behind my ears and kisses the top of my forehead. I trace my fingers along his chest and draw random objects like zigzags and swirls in our comfortable silence. Ben takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He tells me to draw something so he can guess what it is. I nervously trace a tiny heart on his chest, hoping he doesn’t read too much into it. But because I am so awestruck with him right now, I can’t think of anything better. When I am done, I look at Ben just in time to see him open his eyes and smile, “That’s way too small for how my heart feels about you.”
****
By the time we get back to the resort, it’s a little after nine thirty. The lobby is strangely vacant, except for the presence of the resort staff. Ben wraps his arm around my shoulders as we walk across the marble floors.
“Do you have plans with the girls?” he asks with curiosity.
“No. I didn’t get a chance to talk with them before we left.” I say.
He looks down at me through his dark framed lashes and whispers, “Come to my villa. Matthew and Eric are probably out for the night.”
I laugh, “I need to shower first. Let me think about it.”
“Have one at my villa. I’ll join you.” Ben smiles and plants a kiss on the top of my head.
“Megan? Ben?” Michelle’s voice perks up from behind us. We push away from each other and whip around to see Michelle and Stephanie a few feet behind us crossing through the lobby.
“Where were you guys?” Michelle asks, assessing our guilty demeanor.
How long have they been watching us? Oh God. Did they see Ben kiss my forehead? Michelle’s narrowed eyes and sideways glance tells me she has seen everything. Stephanie on the other hand is completely oblivious. Michelle furrows her brow and crosses her arms in front of her chest waiting for one of us to say something.
Ben confidently says with a tight-lipped smile, “We took a drive and saw baby turtles hatch and crawl into the ocean.”
“Fun!” Stephanie shrieks, but then pouts, “Why didn’t you invite us to come?”
“Maybe they wanted to be alone.” Michelle says with a suggestive tone.
“No, it was last minute.” Ben cuts in and shuts Michelle down. He quickly changes the subject and asks, “What are you guys up to? We were just discussing meeting up with everyone.”
LIES!
“We are heading back to our villa to grab a deck of cards. Matthew and Eric are down at the Sports bar waiting for us. You guys coming?” Stephanie asks batting her eyes at Ben.
“Megan, are you going?” Ben asks, forcing me to make the final decision.
Michelle’s curious eyes glance back and forth between us, and it makes me insanely nervous, “Yeah, for sure. It’s not like we had anything better planned.” I lie, because we so did!
“Alright. That settles that. So… I’ll see you ladies in a bit?” Ben claps his hands together and slowly moves backwards into