Page 34 of Standing Still

“Ben, I’m not worried. I don’t care what they think.”

“Well, I do.”

He gets out of the truck and I huff, but actually, when I think about it, he’s pissed on my behalf. It’s kind of sweet, actually. He pulls my door open, surprising me again. He reaches for my hand, and I take it, getting out of the truck.

“Let’s just forget I acted like a dick, okay?”

“Forget you acted like a dick? Is that all?”

He stares at me, and I stare back. Something flares between us and his hand trails up my arm.

“Ben?”

We break our intense stare and I look up at the house. Ben’s mom is standing there, watching us. And just like that, the spell breaks.

Again.

And I’m not sure how I feel about that. Though disappointment is at the top of the list right now.

Chapter Fourteen

Watching Elle with my family brings back so many memories I don’t know how to deal with them. My brothers all welcomed her, introducing her to their wives and kids. Mom sat with her for an hour talking about what I can only assume is her books. I didn’t know she’d read any of them, not sure how I feel about mom reading that kind of thing, but apparently she has.

I help dad at the grill, making more than enough food to feed an army. But this is my family. We practically ate them out of house and home when we were growing up.

Denny spent most of the afternoon sitting on the bench near the grill wearing sunglasses and complaining. He has the hangover from hell, but my nieces and nephews aren’t giving him a minute’s peace. Neither is Jedi, who Lewis picked up on his way here.

My dog keeps clambering up on him, only to be pushed off. Funny, Jedi thinks it’s a game. He is usually the one to entertain the kids, and they can’t understand why Uncle Denny is borderline catatonic and grumpy as hell. He’s run inside twice to puke. Every time he came back, mom whisper-shouted at him, making him cringe. He is being teased mercilessly by our older brothers.

After we ate enough to make us burst, everyone is sitting around chatting and drinking, having fun. Things are always light and easy at my parents’ house.

Jared keeps eyeing me and then looking at Elle. I grab another beer and glare at him.

“What?”

“She keeps looking over,” he tells me.

I turn just in time to see Elle look away, ducking her head slightly. Claire, Zach’s wife and Natalie, Lewis’s wife, are with her and they’re all laughing, though I’m sure it isn’t because she just got caught looking at me. However, I can see Elle’s blush from here. When I grin, Jared gives me a knowing look.

The weather has brightened up a lot, and it’s hot in my parents’ backyard. Elle did what I suggested, wearing layers, but even though she only has a thin strapped top on, she’s still in jeans and boots, though she has removed the boots and socks, so she is barefoot. I had been feeling it too in my jeans and sneakers, but had clothes here to change into. I know mom offered Elle some shorts, but she politely declined, saying she was okay.

“How’s thecharminggoing?”

“I’m not doing that,” I groan. Not intentionally, at least. I’ve re-played that kiss in my head over and over since we got here. So much so, I had to go inside for a little while, on the pretense of getting changed. I’d stood in the en suite bathroom of the bedroom Jared and Lewis used to share and jacked off, thinking of her and what I wanted to do to her, to alleviate some of the pressure, and prevent embarrassing myself. A raging hard on is not something any of my brothers would let me live down.

I can’t fucking believe I was hiding in the bathroom, jerking my cock while my entire family is in the backyard and house. But that is what Elle is doing to me.

“Yeah, right,” Jared interrupts my thoughts.

“Not intentionally, anyway,” I relent.

“Meaning?” he raises his brows. “Although I can guess, I see the way the two of you are looking at each other. And don’t think I didn’t notice you disappear for a good ten minutes.”

“Fuck off,” I push him, but he just laughs. “I’m not gonna do anything underhand, Jared. She doesn’t deserve that. If she agrees to this deal, it’s going to be because she wants to. Not because I tricked her into it.”

“And what if she doesn’t?”

I shrug. It pains me to say it, but in the back of my mind, I guess I have been thinking about what I can do if the business is taken from under me. “The carpentry has been going pretty well.”

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