Page 24 of Planning on Happily Ever After

“Perfect fit.” Holly hardly recognized herself, not only because her voice was breathy and low in a way it never had been, but because of just how comfortable she’d been touching him, feeling his body under her hands. Clothes separated them, but it was still the most satisfying physical encounter she’d had in a long time, possibly ever.

Ben’s body trembled under her touch, and Holly gave herself a mental high-five for eliciting such a reaction. Ben peered at her over his shoulder, a wry grin on his face. “Aren’t you going to check the fit of the pants?”

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly as she stammered a response. “N-not today.”So much for the seductress act.Annoyed at how easily she’d gotten flustered, Holly stepped down from the platform just as Gio returned from the back.

Ben tutted and shook his head. “Shame,” he said with a knowing smirk.

Damn him and his ability to flirt better than she could.I thought he was anxious around everyone.Holly was normally cool and collected, but he had the innate ability to turn her into a complete mess. Was this Freaky Friday? Had they somehow swapped personalities? Holly slumped down in a leather chair near the platform and exhaled sharply. She normally didn’t like feeling off-kilter, but somehow with Ben, it was more entertaining than frustrating, and when she saw him smiling at her affectionately, she wondered if maybe he liked their topsy-turvy dynamic too.

Twenty minutes later, Ben was back in his street clothes of blue jeans and a green sweater, and both he and Holly were giving their thanks to Gio and heading outside. The temperature hadn’t warmed over the last hour, and Holly shivered in the cold. Ben noticed this and shook his head at her, but he was smiling. “You really need to dress for the weather, Holly.” He shucked his overcoat and placed it around her shoulders, the cinnamon spice scent from his cologne wrapping around her. Holly tried her best not to inhale deeply like some kind of creeper, but it was difficult.

She gazed up at him with appreciation, another gentlemanly act warming her more than his coat. “Thank you.” Hopefully, Ben would attribute the blush on her face to the cold air and not to how quickly she was falling for him.

“You’re welcome.” He smiled at her before narrowing his eyes in thought. “We need to warm you up. Do you have any other business this afternoon?”

Holly would like to have been able to say her mind didn’t immediately go into the gutter, but she was having a hard time not thinking of all the myriad of ways Ben could warm her up. “Um,” she stuttered as she struggled to get her brain functioning. “I need to look at some wedding band videos, but other than that I’m free.”

“Hmm. What if we grab some take-out and watch them together?” Holly exhaled slowly. Thinking about warming up the fun way with Ben was one thing, but actually doing it was another. “Unless you would rather watch them alone.”

Holly chuckled at the concerned look on his face. “No, we can do that. My place?” Henry would likely be there to run interference and she needed the buffer. She slipped her arms into his coat and hugged it closer to her body. “Although, would that count as a real date? I thought we weren’t doing those yet,” she asked with a raised brow.

Ben stood in front of her and gripped the sides of his coat to close it tighter around her, smiling at her with something akin to adoration. “We did say that, didn’t we?” He looked up at the clear blue sky for a moment before his eyes met hers once more, a lightness there she wouldn’t mind seeing more of. “How about we think of this as an extension of the tux fitting. We can even stick to just grabbing some pretzel bites or something if it makes you happy.”

Returning his smile, Holly grabbed his hand, interlacing their fingers together. “Oh, I don’t think so, mister.” She started walking and tugged on his arm for him to follow her, beaming when he followed along willingly. “I’m at least making you spring for a burger and fries from the diner. It’s the least you can do after making me stare at you in that tux without being able to do anything about it.”

Ben stopped in his tracks, Holly’s body automatically whipping back toward his. He tugged at a lock of her dark waves and smiled, his eyes twinkling like starlight. “And what would you have done about it?”

This is where being better at flirting or acting coy would have come in handy, but that just wasn’t Holly, so instead of saying something clever or teasing, Holly took the hand that wasn’t holding his and gripped the back of his neck, taking just a little something of what she’d been wanting all morning.

“Probably something like this.” Raising onto her tip-toes, Holly leaned into him for a kiss, leaving the last inch of distance between them as a silent ask for permission. When Ben immediately crashed his lips against hers, she figured permission was granted.

The kiss wasn’t gentle, but even as urgent as it was, it was measured. They sipped from each other’s mouths, feeling each other out, simply enjoying the softness of the others lips until Ben ran his tongue across hers. Holly gasped slightly at the sensation and Ben used the opportunity to seek entrance into her mouth, their tongues dancing and tangling together as they tasted one another. Holly slipped her hand into his hair and tightened it when she felt his hand gripping her waist from beneath his coat, loving the feel of his hands on her body and pressing herself up against him. The kiss continued to deepen, as did the pressure between Holly’s legs, until finally she had to squeeze her thighs together to relieve some of it. When she thought she might combust from the heat and pleasure that had spread all throughout her body, Ben finally pulled back, the two of them struggling to catch their breath.

Holly smiled at him, incredulous at the feelings she had just experienced. She had kissed men before, but it never felt like that, like the puzzle pieces of her life were locking into place and she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Ben’s eyes were glassy, full of wonder, and it had Holly thinking that perhaps she wasn’t alone in that feeling. He continued to stare for a moment before a light chuckle burst from his lungs.

Shaking his head, he tugged on her arm and started them moving again. “Come on, sunshine, let’s get you fed and listen to some bad cover songs.”

Holly beamed at the endearment and happily followed along as Ben guided the two of them toward the diner. They had agreed to take things slowly, but it looked like that little bit of boldness she had displayed paid off. Holly bit her lip as they weaved through the people on the sidewalk. It had paid off this time, but it just as easily could have blown up in her face. Holly wanted to focus on the positive, but things had felt so right with Ben that she didn’t want to screw it up. Hopefully, she would be able to continue to walk the line between going slow and doing what she wanted without risking what felt like the best thing to happen to her in a long time.

---