Page 30 of Because of You
Jordan
Yeah she was! So what’s the plan?
Jeremy
What makes you think there’s a plan?
Jordan
Ben, is there a plan?
Me
There is the beginning of a plan.
Jeremy
It’s the lake, isn’t it? That’s where you’re going to tell her.
Me
It’s the lake. It has to be. I’m going to tell her.
Jeremy
Fuck. Yes. Proud of you, brother.
Jordan
But wait, you can’t just blurt it out. You have to wind her up a little first. Take a day or two. Act different. Stand closer. Touch more. Flirt more. Show her. It will confuse the shit out of her. You’ll know if she’s into it. Then, when the time is right, you tell her.
Fuck, he’s right. He is so absolutely right. I’m going to show Hallie that we are meant to belong to each other. That we are endgame. That no other future makes any sense but the one where we end up by each other’s sides. Then, after I show her, I’m going to tell her. Finally.
Jeremy
For what it’s worth, I watched her tonight. Her eyes were on you when she didn’t think you were looking. She’s thinking about you, even if she doesn’t understand why.
Jordan
She’s yours Ben. Go get her.
Jeremy
Second that.
Me
Thanks guys. I needed this. See you at the lake.
Decision made, I lift up my beer bottle in a silent toast.
Buckle up, Hallie girl. It’s so fucking on.
Chapter Twenty
Hallie
Iwalk into the diner a couple blocks from my house where I’m meeting the girls for brunch before we head to the lake. I’m still off-kilter from the weird energy between Ben and me at the gala. Once I finally got into bed, I tossed and turned for hours. I replayed the way Ben’s eyes slid up and down my body when he first saw me in my dress, the way he whispered into my ear, and how his hands ghosted up and down my back while we were dancing. And the looks he gave me on and off all night. Holy hell.
