Page 140 of The Perfect Spiral
“I’ve had my moments, but I’m doing alright. I’m glad you’re here, Ben. I’ve missed you,” I admit, shimmying over to hug him.
“I’ve missed you too, sweet cheeks!” We play with the water between our hands, watching the small waves rise and fall over our exposed skin as we take in the sight of the bustling beach.
He turns to face the shore and I follow his gaze. He chuckles to himself as we spot Lauren posing for pictures in the distance for the paparazzi. I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“So, you weren’t interested in her, no?” I tease Ben, who throws his head back with a sigh.
“I’ve been with girls like her. Too much effort. High maintenance. I prefer the more carefree, natural girls. The ones you can have fun with without them freaking out about their hair or makeup. The naturally b—” He stops mid-sentence, and I wait for him to continue, but he doesn’t.
“Wow... She’s beautiful,” he whispers to himself, but I hear it and follow his line of sight. But I can’t find the person he’s talking about.
“Who?” I ask him, and then I see Hannah come into focus. She waves over at us and I wave back. I quickly turn to watch his reaction and he snaps his head back to mine.
“You know her?” He asks, a hint of shock in his voice.
I nod and smirk at him. “Hey, Hannah! Come here a sec? I want to introduce you to someone,” I call out, smirking at Ben.
“No way!” He murmurs, smiling in disbelief at me. He stands there, taking this in with a look of amusement. I grin widely at him and I hear her nearing, his cheeks flushing a soft pink.
Let’s play matchmaker again. It worked with Andy, and now for my other best friend.
“Hey!” Hannah greets us, approaching in a black and white striped bikini that hugs her in all the right places. Ben notices too, shifting his weight between his two feet, acting nervous.
I’m so setting these two up. Plus, Hannah has a thing for blondes.
“Hey—” I greet her back, grinning. “Ben, this is my best friend Hannah. Hannah, this is the Ben I was telling you about from Cali?”
She meets his eyes and immediately blushes, running her hand through her hair and pulling it to one side. She holds out her hand to shake his. “Hi, Ben. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve... I’ve heard a lot about you from Alex.”
He smiles back at her, his eyebrows shooting up. “It’s nice to meet you too, Hannah. Alex has told me a lot about you too. You’re different than how I imagined you’d be, a lot more beautiful.”
He takes a sharp breath in, realizing he said the last part out loud. She blushes, turning as red as a lobster, and so does he.
He rubs the back of his neck out of nervousness. This is so cute to witness. At least it’s not me this time.
“Oh, thank you. You’re a lot hotter th— I mean — Uh— shit— Um, well, you’re more handsome than I thought you’d be — I mean, well, I didn’t think you’d be ugly, I just... well... Um... yeah, I’m just going to stop talking now.”
She averts her gaze down at her feet, shifting her weight and playing with her hands. I’m trying my hardest not to laugh at the both of them, but I can’t. I release a laugh and get a smack on each arm from the two of them.
They stare at each other for a while until he asks her, “Do you surf?”
She shakes her head no and replies, “No, I don’t. I’ve been asking Alex to teach me, but she hasn’t had much time to. But I’ve always wanted to learn.” She beams at him, hoping he takes the hint.
“I can teach you if you want?” There we go! I silently high-five him for taking the opportunity.
“Really? I would like that.”
“We can start right now if you’d like? Just get you doing the basics on the sand?” She nods enthusiastically at him.
“You can use my board, Hannah, if you want? It’s over there, saves you the trip back to the shed,” I offer her, pointing to my board lying in the sand. She thanks me and they walk off onto the sand, chatting with each other.
Andy runs over to me and exclaims, “So, Hannah and Ben?”
“Hannah and Ben!” I echo with a huge smile on my face. My two best friends together. They’ll be so good for each other.
“You should’ve seen his face when he first saw her, Andy. It was so cute. When they were talking, they were so nervous and flustered! I couldn’t keep my laugh in.”
“Are you serious? They’re so cute together! If he messes with her, I swear I’ll kill him! I can’t believe I missed it,” she laments.
