confused. “Did you want to come in?”
Ben shoved his hand into the pockets of his gray slacks and cocked his head. He raised an eyebrow, giving her a look as though to say, Really? You fell for that?
Chloe hit her palm against her forehead. “Oh.” She felt totally, utterly stupid. “Got it. So, don’t invite him in. And if he suggests that he wants to, I’m supposed to play hard to get.”
Ben grinned. “Something like that.”
“Okay.” She smoothed down her skirt. “Let me try that again.” Taking a step forward, she put a hand on his chest. It felt firm beneath the thin material of his shirt. “Ben, I apologize. I am going to have to call it a night. But I had a really good time and I hope we can do it again sometime.” Looking up at him, she gave a prim smile. “How was that?”
“Good,” Ben said. He moved a step closer, his eyes locked onto hers in a way that made her mouth go dry. Suddenly, Chloe noticed that her hand was still on his chest. She could feel the steady rhythm of his heart. Unless she was imagining things, it was beating rather quickly.
“But if he tries to kiss you goodnight,” Ben said in a low voice, putting his hand over hers, “you should definitely let him.”
She swallowed hard. “Got it—” she started to say, but before the words were out of her mouth, Ben had pulled her into his arms and was kissing her.
Chloe was so startled she squeaked. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was that incredible spicy scent that had been wafting off him all night, but somehow she managed to forget that he was her best friend and she kissed him back. Gently at first, then as his tongue parted her lips and melded into hers, she felt herself turn to liquid.
She gave up all pretense of not wanting him and pressed her body up against his. She pushed her hands up and under the fabric of his shirt, until she could feel the taut muscles of his back. Ben let out a low growl, shoving her up against her door. Chloe heard somebody’s hand smack against the wood, but all she could feel was the sharp lightning passing between them.
A door creaked open down the hallway and Chloe snapped to her senses. This was Ben. Her best friend. Her neighbor. What the hell were they doing?
Chloe pulled away, her face probably as flushed and panicked as his. “Well,” she tried to say. It was a valiant effort to make some sort of a joke, to tell Ben she understood that the kiss was just another step in the practice date, but words failed her.
Like that day on the bed in junior high, Ben’s gaze was locked onto hers. Chloe felt an incredible need to wrap her arms around him and kiss him again, but she knew that if she did not walk away in that moment, they would cross a line they could never come back from.
“Okay,” Chloe forced herself to say. Her voice was trembling. “Have a good night.” Without ceremony, she ducked into her apartment and locked the door behind her.
Nineteen
When Chloe woke up the next morning, snuggled deep in her comforter, her hand was on her breast. It wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. She’d actually been in the middle of a dream, kissing the man of her dreams. She sighed, trying to figure out who it was. He seemed familiar. In fact, he seemed a lot like . . .
Aaaack!
Bolting awake, Chloe sat straight up and the comforter fell off her shoulders. The kiss she was dreaming about was the one that started at the door of her apartment. With Ben.
“No, no, no, no, no.” She hit her hand against the down comforter. It made a tiny puffing sound, like a deflated wedding dress. Whiskers, who was curled up in a warm little mound at Chloe’s feet, shifted in her sleep.
“Whiskers, wake up,” Chloe whispered. The whispering was necessary, on the off chance that Ben could hear her through the wall. “This is a serious crisis. Wake up.”
Whiskers lifted her head. Those pretty yellow cat eyes stared as though to say, You’re waking me up? I thought we had an understanding about that.
“I’m sorry,” Chloe said, “but how stupid can I be?” Scooping up her cat, she pulled the furry little body close to her chest. “Whiskers, I kissed Ben. Ben.”
Whiskers let out a strangled meow, squirming.
“Don’t