Big Ben (See No Evil Trilogy #1) - Nana Malone Page 0,68

when we’d had to cover what we were doing. From the kissing, to the way she’d handed me my ass in that meeting and never backed down. She had me and she had no idea.

Livy

I didn’t mean to text him. I didn’t even want to text him if I was being honest.

You’re not being honest.

Okay fine, I wanted to text him. He was all the way on the other side of the loft, and I was lonely. Telly and Carmen were out on date night, and I needed a friend.

Tread carefully. Ben Covington isn’t the kind of friend you want.

No, he wasn’t. Men like that weren’t capable of being anyone’s friend. Men like that were capable of being every woman’s wet dream. I shouldn’t even be having wet dreams, but he starred in so many of them.

But I wasn’t going to be that woman, so I had to put my phone away. As soon as I did though, my phone buzzed.

Ben: What happens when Batman sees Catwoman?

I frowned.

Livy: I don’t know.

Ben: The Dark Knight rises.

I couldn’t help myself. I laughed. Sue me. It was funny.

Livy: Oh, that’s mature.

Ben: Well, truth. What do you call it when Batman skives off church?

I rolled my eyes because I could almost see where this is going.

Livy: I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?

Ben: Christian Bale.

I snorted a laugh then.

Livy: Let me guess, you’ve got a million of these.

Ben: Yup. Are we in trouble for being up so late?

Livy: No. All good.

There was more I wanted to say, but that was dangerous territory, and I wasn’t going to go there. I liked Ben. And as it turned out, he was a half-decent friend.

That man is no friend. That man is dangerous.

But Ben wasn’t the problem. I was. I needed to put him in the friend category and keep him there. No fantasizing, no nothing.

I watched the little dots flicker back and forth for a moment, and then his reply popped onto the screen.

Ben: What position did Bruce Wayne play on his baseball team?

Livy: What do you know about baseball?

Ben: Answer the question.

I laughed even as I tapped.

Livy: He was Batboy.

Ben: No fair, you’ve heard that one.

Livy: Maybe. These are kind of lame.

More little dots.

Ben: Oh really? How about this one? When is Joker not plotting murder?

I frowned then, trying to think of the answer, wanting to see if I could slide one by him again. But I didn’t know the answer.

Livy: I have no idea.

Ben: When he’s riding his Harley.

I frowned at that. What did a Harley Davidson bike have to— Suddenly, I snorted, finally understanding.? Harley.? God.

Livy: Do you only know the dirty ones?

Ben: Would you expect anything less?

Livy: No.

Ben: Okay, one more and you can go to bed.

Livy: Okay. Do your worst.

Ben: What’s Batman’s favorite part of a joke?

Livy: I have no idea, but I suppose you’re going to tell me.

Ben: You are in luck. I am going to tell you. It’s the punch line. Get it?

I laughed a genuine laugh. He was sweet and funny and knew I’d been sad all day. He was doing what he could to cheer me up. God, men like him existed in the real world. Women like me barely stood a chance.?But Ben wasn’t mine. If he wanted to be friends, then I was good with that. I had to be.

Livy: Thank you for everything today. It meant a lot.

Ben: What are friends for?

Then that was it. I turned off my screen, ignoring that part of me that was empty and lonely and sad. This wasn’t how things were supposed to work out. I also wasn’t a fool. Ben was my friend because I was someone unattainable. It worked, our little exchanges, because as a long-term prospect, he didn’t have to deal with me. But I knew men like him. The moment I became available, he’d become emotionally unavailable. So I needed to not get my hopes up. I needed to be wary.

He was not the balm to my broken heart. That job would have to be mine alone.

19

Livy

Ben and I were friends now?

It certainly looks that way.

At least “friends” was the word we were using. It felt odd. Outside of Telly and a couple of work acquaintances here and there, I somehow found myself without as many friends as I’d once had.

Surprisingly, Ben was easy to talk to, but he wasn’t the kind of friend I wanted. He was far too good-looking for me to ever be completely comfortable, and yes, I knew