Page 40 of Every Broken Thing

“Thanks,” she whispered as we weaved through the crowd. “I don’t know why insists on bringing his girlfriends to these things when I don’t even know who they are.”

“She looked young,” I commented, and Kim grimaced.

“She’s twenty-two! That’s only four years older than me.” I squeezed Kim’s hand in support, and her brown eyes sparkled at the gesture. “Thanks, Silas.”

“Sure thing.”

The crowd parted, and my gaze landed on a certain blond-haired boy leaning against the wall holding flowers. He was adorable in his dark jeans and purple argyle sweater, and when his blue eyes met mine, his whole face lit up. I waved as we approached him, and his lopsided grin quirked in one corner as he took in my appearance.

“We had to look nice,” I grumbled the moment I was within speaking range, and Ben snickered as I smoothed my hands over my black button-up tucked into the nicest pair of jeans I owned. Dad had tried to get me to wear a tie, but I’d put my foot down. There were some lines I would never cross.

“You look nice,” he said, and my neck heated at the compliment.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, staring down at my beat-up Vans as Ben congratulated Kim on her performance.

“Here, these are for you.” He handed her a small bouquet of flowers, and she squealed and threw her arms around his shoulders, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Her lipstick left a mark, and his cheeks pinked when she pulled away.

He had a single carnation that he offered to me, an amused smile on his face. “And for you, because flowers are for everyone.”

I laughed and accepted the gift, my cheeks heating. “Exactly. None of that toxic masculinity shit for us.”

Before he could respond, Caroline joined us, copying Kim’s reaction when Ben handed her the second bouquet of flowers. I laughed when his ears turned red too, both of his cheeks sporting lipstick marks.

Harris and Jordan staggered through the crowd to complete our merry group, and Kim shoved me none too gently in Ben’s direction to create space for them in our circle. He smiled as I pressed into his shoulder, and I grinned back, tilting my head in question as he crouched down to a small cooler at his feet. He opened it to reveal a foam cup nestled inside a pile of ice.

“I got you this too. I’m pretty sure it’s still frozen.” He handed the cup to me. “You did great tonight.”

I recognized the logo on the cup and accepted it, startled. “What is this?”

He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal that he bought me a blue moon shake from the drive-in and kept it in a cooler during the whole performance. “I figured you’d like this more than the flower.”

Bringing the straw to my lips, I took a long sip and sighed. “Thanks, Ben.”

“You’re welcome.”

I didn’t notice until much later that Ben hadn’t brought flowers or gifts for Jordan or Harris. For some reason, that seemed important.

“Want a sip?” I offered him my shake, and he leaned in to capture my straw between his lips. I watched him pull the ice cream through the straw that was moments before in my ownmouth, and I internally high-fived myself for dressing in loose-fit jeans.

He licked his bottom lip to catch the drop of blue cream slipping out of his mouth, and, God as my witness, I almost tried to lick up for him.

“The rest’s for you.”

“Cool.” My weak voice cracked, and I shoved the straw in my mouth to occupy my lips and stop myself from kissing Ben’s beautiful face off. The slightest hint of spearmint remained on the plastic tube, and I bit back a groan.

“Ben, you’re coming to the after-party, right?” Jordan interrupted our prolonged eye contact, and Ben turned away from me to answer.

“Oh, uh, I don’t want to party-crash.”

“You should come,” I said quickly as his hands burrowed into his pockets. “We’re just hanging out at Steak ‘n Shake.”

“Okay.”

After clearing the stage and tidying the changing rooms, we all headed out, Ben following behind my truck as I drove Jordan to Steak ‘n Shake. It was almost midnight, but none of us cared as our rowdy crowd of thespians and stage crew filled most of the dining area. Ben sat between me and Caroline as Kim and Harris sat across from us. Jordan jumped around, never spending too long at one table, and I pitied the staff as we threw their restaurant into chaos.

I munched on french fries, laughing as Kim flirted with Harris until the poor guy was red as a firetruck. Caroline spurned Jordan’s advances anytime he graced us with his presence, and Ben remained mostly quiet beside me. He picked at the onion rings on his plate as Caroline turned her attention on him, and my ears perked when her interview began.

“So how long have you lived in Indiana?” She licked hot fudge off her spoon as she spoke.

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