Page 105 of Between the Blue
“She’ll get over it,” he shrugs. “There’s plenty of me to share.”
I chuckle, shaking my head at him.
“Busy night?” he asks.
“Busy day.”
“Hey, the place looks great though. And that photo booth is a hit.” He nods towards the long line formed behind it. “What time did you get here this afternoon?”
“This morning?” I laugh. “Around eight.”
Rhett blinks at me. “The event didn’t start until five.”
I shrug my shoulders.
“You sat in rush hour and took all day setting this all up?”
“I took the Rail.”
Rhett lets out a whistle. “You do too much, Little Dixon. We don’t deserve you.”
“Well, at least you’re aware,” I deadpan.
He shakes his head, grinning. “Tell you what, let me pay you back for all your hard work.” He takes a step closer, raising his glass up. “Let me drive you home tonight.”
I open my mouth and then close it. I would love to accept a ride home rather than having to take the Rail in the middle of the night, but I can’t help but feel guilty for putting him out. “Do you really want to do that?”
“I would love nothing more.”
“Well, if you’re sure, there’s no way I’m turning that down.” I clink my glass of water with Rhett’s glass of gin and tonic.
“That’s my girl,” he winks. “Okay, I gotta go make the rounds. I’ll find you later.”
“I’ll be counting down the minutes,” I say with a sarcastic eye roll, smiling at him as he walks away.
When Rhett’s turned his back to me, I shift my attention to my camera hanging around my neck, powering it back on. I turn around, clicking through my last few photos to see what other shots I should try to get when something makes my head lift.
And standing right in the corner behind me, halfway hidden and shadowed between two drapes of fabric, I find Ben.
I had no idea he was there, but clearly he was fully aware of my presence, his eyes locked on me like a target. His hands are shoved into the pockets of his dress pants, but I can still tell they’re balled into fists. He remains stone-still as he watches me, aside from the heavy rise and fall of his chest and the flaring of his nostrils.
My first instinct is to turn away from him, to avoid him like I have been for weeks. I even begin to, my body automatically starting to swivel away. But I stop myself, remaining strong. I turn fully back to him, dropping my camera to let it hang freely around my neck. And then I march straight up to him, his eyes following my every step until I’m right before him.
“Hi,” I say, putting my hands on my hips.
Ben’s eyes travel the length of my body, eventually settling once again on my face. He doesn’t say anything, but that doesn’t surprise me at this point.
“I don’t want to do this with you,” I tell him. “Let’s just forget what happened between us. All of it. We can both erase it from our minds and move on.”
His eyes narrow.
“Is that what you want?” he asks, his voice low.
“Is that whatyouwant?” I fire right back at him.
He presses his lips together, thinks for a moment, then slowly nods. “You have no idea how much I’d like to erase my mind.”
I rear back. Even though I offered the very thing he’s saying he wants, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt me a little to know he wants it.
