Page 102 of Just Enough

He nodded. “I got you, babe.”

“Okay. Good. You and Jared will be mine and Katie’s designated drivers for the night.”

I waited for some sort of sigh from him at the mention of Katie, but he just stepped away from me and moved back toward the door. “What?” He turned around and smirked. “Were you expecting some sort of reaction? I’ll give you the best one tonight when you’re riding my dick like a pony.”

My face blushed scarlet, and he took it all in with a heady expression before walking out and leaving me in the bathroom alone.

A good thirty seconds later, I finally managed to find words. “Jesus, Benjamin! That mouth…”

I love it so much.

_______

“He’s finally stealing you away for real this time,” Katie yelled, slamming her empty shot glass down against the bar.

Crash’s was slightly busy and alive with excitement, so her little outburst was barely heard over the rest of the chatter.

She tilted her head in the direction where Benjamin went to use the restroom with a sly grin on her cheeks. “So… Are you happy?” The smile was instant, bursting across my face. She chuckled. “I take that as a hell yeah!” She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “That makes me happy, Em… I’ve never seen this look on you before.”

“And what look is that?” I asked her.

“Happiness. Benjamin was always meant to be more. Maybe you never noticed, but he might as well had worn a crown when it came to the way you spoke of him.”

“I know,” I admitted softly. “I guess I was afraid, and it kept everything hidden.”

“Want another one?” Jared, Katie’s husband, asked as he ordered another round of shots.

“Come on, Em, you too this time,” Katie told me with a cheesy grin. “I never get to go out and drink after becoming a parent. Let’s make tonight our first time together.” She winked, and it had her husband shaking his head at us. Yet he ordered me one, and the bartender placed it in front of me right as Benjamin came back from the bathroom.

“Oh,” he exclaimed as he eyed the shot in front of me. “Is she finally starting?” He was talking to Katie instead of me, and of course, the two were actually getting along when it came to wanting me to drink tonight.

Funny how much I wanted something for so long, and then when I finally had the chance, I was afraid to take it.

I lifted it up to my mouth and swallowed it down in one gulp. The first drink was always easy to swallow. Katie was already ordering me another one, and I smiled faintly. Something cool touched my cheek, and I looked over to see that it was the back of Benjamin’s hand. His dark eyes raked over my face. “You enjoying yourself?” he asked me.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

How could I admit the truth? That I was afraid of what I wanted to experience. That just as much as I wanted to get drunk and let loose—at least just once, that I was absolutely petrified. How could I want to try something that was practically a disease to my childhood home? How could I even explain my irrational fear of addiction? That I never once got drunk with Katie or anyone for the simple fact that I was afraid of turning out like my father.

Even in my head, I knew how crazy I sounded, but could I make the thoughts go away? No, I couldn’t. My childhood shaped my views… Shaped me into this person that wanted to go out and have fun with her friends, only to fear it instead of enjoying it. My heart was pounding uncomfortably in my chest, not from excitement either… I was afraid the next drink would be all it took to spiral me down a path similar to Dad’s. It was foolish, the way my mind thought when it came to a drink in my hand.

“Bottoms up!” Katie cheered, and she emptied her shot glass.

“Emily,” Benjamin breath fanned my neck as he lowered his mouth to my ear and pressed his heated palm against my back. “You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to.”

I looked up and swallowed. “I want to.” And I did.

Benjamin was here, and I knew I was safe… But would I be in the morning? I knew I would be, but my nerves rested in my stomach uncomfortably. I lifted the shot glass and swallowed the burning liquid in one gulp. Benjamin was still close to my ear, rubbing my back leisurely when he attentively said, “For someone that’s always going on about wanting me to get drunk with her, you don’t look too excited to me about drinking.”

I took a deep breath and smiled over at him. “I do want to drink…” I looked over at Katie yelling at her husband for something, and he silently shook his head before asking, “Can we talk about this when we get home?”

“So how’s your dad taking the move?” Katie asked, stealing back my attention.

“He’s good with it.” I flashed her a smile. “I think it’s because of Benjamin.”

“Because he likes him?” Katie asked.

“Because he knows how much I’ve been pining after Emily…” Benjamin caught my eyes as I turned toward him, and my heart sped up a second or two in the second he held my gaze. “He knows I’d do anything to make her happy.”

---