Page 22 of Broken By the Bad Boy

His hand slides into my shirt, and I giggle as he tickles my belly button. Ben makes me super comfortable in my skin. He’s the only boy allowed to touch me. He makes having vitiligo feel okay.

My head falls back as his fingers trail up to my midriff. He nibbles on my jaw, then presses his lips to mine. I lock my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss before he pulls away. I was so wrong. Dating in high school is necessary.

Ben’s nose brushes mine. “You too. I love you,” he says, eyes wide with love and admiration for me.

“I love you too, babe.”

“Get a room, you two,” someone screams.

We don’t pull apart, only grin sheepishly at each other. We are used to it: the stares, second looks at our linked hands, and whistles. With Ben around me, it’s easier to look back at the gossip mongers and wink. I never have to second guess myself. Even Olivia can’t get to me. We are perfect for each other.

My lips crack into a big smile as my best friend struts towards us. Maria shoves Ben away from me and takes his place, dragging me in for a super unnecessarily long hug. Patting my hair, she sighs. Dramatic much? Maybe I am spending less time with my best friend and way more with my boyfriend. We need to rectify that now she and Daniel are back to the talking stage. I saw them kiss once, and I have been waiting for her to spill.

She places a hand on her chest and says, “You guys are too cute. I love it.” I love it too. We can’t get enough of each other. It’s like my love for him is so much that I will combust if I don’t share some of it through body contact. She turns to Ben. He didn’t have to do much to win her over. His charms did. Her smile grows. She winks at him, and I sit up. “Doing the Lord’s work, I see.”

On cue, my hand drops to the spot on my neck she is staring at, and she giggles harder.

What’s there?

Ben likes to kiss the spot between my neck and shoulder. I like that he has a spot on my body. His spot. Ben wiggles his brows and pries my hand from it. I narrow my eyes at the pair smiling in cahoots. It’s great to see two of my favorite people getting along, but not at my expense.

Sensing my fake anger, Ben whispers against his spot on my neck, “It’s nothing.”

He pushes Maria gently to the side to take his former place, and she screams, “It’s not nothing!”

Maria raises a finger to silence me while ransacking her purse. For the first time in weeks, she’s not wearing any flashy colors. Plain black top and navy-blue ripped jeans. I am not sure who is rubbing off on who, but I have started adding colors to my outfit while she’s doing less to hers.

It’s mostly blue because that’s the color of Ben’s eyes. No heels yet, maybe soon, but I alternate between my boots and sneakers with light makeup. Sometimes, Ben helps me pick out my clothes. We don’t do the matching couple thing, but once in two weeks, we show up in the same outfit.

Maria pulls out her compact mirror, and her lips spread into a wide grin like she finally found the secret to being sexy forever. It is one of her life goals. She jabs Ben. He glares at her, and she glares harder.

I gasp when I see the mark on my neck. A red mark that shows someone, which is me, was getting kissed on the same spot for so long it left a mini bruise. A hickey. My cheeks flush, and I frown at Ben, who stares at his feet. I should be mad, but I have never gotten a hickey. It feels like his mark of ownership.

“You.”

“Yes, me,” he says, with his lips pressing to the spot. “The boy you love. You like it?”

The boy I love.

I like the sound of that. I squint, and he bats his lashes. Not him acting like it’s a gift. Maybe it is. I love it. But I settle for saying, “How long?” I received stares when I had to go to class alone but attributed it to my new relationship status. Ben puckers his lips, and I poke his chest. I also want to brand him so everyone knows he belongs to me. “I want to give you one of mine, Benny.”

“Okay. Cut. Cut. Cut.” Maria separates us with her hands, her lips downturned. “Not on my watch, kiddo. When I’m gone, you two can maul each other.” Way to ruin a wonderful moment. Her gaze darts between Ben and me, and he bounces on his foot when her face goes serious. Jumping like an over-excited cheerleader, she says, “I wanted to ask you guys if you would like to go on a date. Daniel found this new place, and we thought, why not make it a double date?”

Ben’s eyes find mine, and he silently asks if I want to go. We haven’t had our date. He hasn’t fought since then. Anytime I want to make a request, I remember his long list and how badly that outing at Dan and Dan ended. He will tell me what riled him up that night when he’s ready, but it’s taking a while. I don’t want to add to his burden, but I want all the little moments a girlfriend should have with her boyfriend. I also want to know his fears so I’m more prepared to handle them.

“Come on, guys,” Maria adds. She sticks out her lip and turns to Ben. That look always works for me. If she is in the mood, she will force the tears out. Ben slides a finger into the tiny pocket of his jeans. Maria’s making my boyfriend uncomfortable. “If you say yes, Tessa will say yes.”

Ben tries to look over her head to catch my eyes, but she raises her hands to block his view of me. I want this date. I want us to dress up and go out. But he’s broke. Okay, not broke, but he can’t afford it now. Asking him to stop with his list has proven to be the equivalent of pouring water into a basket. I am taking a break from it.

I jump down to stand between them. “Nope, Maria.” I stick out my tongue. “Not interested.”

“That’s why I didn’t ask you,” she deadpans and returns her gaze to Ben like I don’t exist.

Ben hugs me from behind, tucking his head into the crook of my neck. I give his hand a slight squeeze. Maria groans and throws her hands up. Shifting her purse to the other hand, she shakes her head when she realizes how futile talking to Ben is. “You are just as terrible as your girlfriend.”

Feigning hurt, I gasp. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” I murmur.

Maria stomps her feet. Another second passes, and she lets out a tired sigh. “That was not a compliment, Theresa. Think about it, okay? The place is lit. Candlelight dinner. Great customer service. You even get a valet to parkyourcar. A freaking valet.” The more she talks, the more I want to go on this date, but I can’t move past their services. Such excellent service must come at a huge price. She nudges me with her hip. “Think about it, Tessa. Me, you, Daniel, and this ugly dude right here.”

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