Page 5 of Broken By the Bad Boy

It doesn’t look half as bad as it did when it was bleeding. I draw invisible lines around the closed injury, and Ben doesn’t flinch. I press a kiss on his neck and grind on his erection. His breath is warm against my ear. I nibble on his neck, and his hand slides into my shirt to unclasp my bra.

A gunshot from the television shoves us back to the present. I retract my hands from Ben’s chest, looking away from his tiny nipples. We share an awkward glance, and his arms drop to his sides.

Without meeting my gaze, he says, “Let’s pick a movie.”

Embarrassment colors my cheek red. “Yeah, yeah.”

Ben doesn’t release me. Arms locked around my waist, he carries me to the kitchen to pop some kernels. All done, he walks me outs with two bowls, joining me later with a wool quilt and two sodas. I hide a smile when he hands me a can of coke. He remembered. Coke is my favorite.

The lights go off, leaving only the TV rays as our source of sight. I return to my former position, head on his lap and feet on the armrest. “Horror or action?” Ben asks. I snort. “Okay, mystery?”

Our first unofficial date is about to happen, and my boyfriend thinks those genres are movie date appropriate. For movies, I’ll pick comedy, sci-fi, and biographies. And for books, I’ll choose romance and fantasy.

“None.” I snatch the remote from Ben and stop at a thumbnail of Marshall, one of those movies I will never grow tired of watching. It’s based on true life events, featuring a black lawyer who helps wrongly accused victims. Having Chadwick Boseman as the main lead might have ignited my interest. He killed it in Black Panther. I drop the remote far from Ben’s reach. “We can start with this one.”

The movie begins, and Ben whines in my ear. “Babe, come on. You don’t even like lawyers.”

“I like this one. He’s hot,” I reply. Ben groans. “Be good, and you will get a kiss from me.”

That does the magic. Ben clamps his mouth shut, and I roll onto my belly. We watch in silence, chewing and drinking in complete serenity. On occasions, Ben leans down for a peck. Other times, he grabs my hand for a quick kiss on the heel of my palm. He enjoys touching me. I like it.

Another scene comes up. I cringe when blood spills on the camera. Some thugs beat up the main character’s friend. I don’t think my boyfriend realizes when he reaches for my hand for a gentle squeeze. But my heart flutters and a hive of bees erupts in my belly. Instead of watching the rest of the movie, I watch him, and my cheeks ache from smiling so much. He is a real cutie.

“If that was my Gracie, she would have taken those motherfuckers down,” he mutters.

Liar.

They would beat me blue, black, and purple if I so much as tried to fight back. The only thing I would have done in that case was run. But I like that Ben thinks I am strong and capable enough to handle them alone. I peck him on his neck, and he stuffs my mouth with more of his popcorn.

The movie continues, and Ben grows more invested. He doesn’t know when he pushes away from me to hug a pillow. I giggle when he shakes his head at a scene that almost made me lose my shit the first time I watched it.

“Don’t tell me this dude is thinking of taking the deal,” Ben screams when the plaintiff offers the accused a plea deal. The guy is innocent, but no one wants to listen to him because of the color of his skin. Ben throws the pillow at the screen when the defendant tells his lawyer about taking the deal. “Are you fucking with me? Tell him, Thurgood. You’ve got weapons now, Joseph.”

My hand goes over my mouth, but the laughter breaks free. Ben’s eyes narrow at me. He pauses the movie to tell me, “Babe, it’s not funny, okay? We have come too far for Joseph to ruin this.”

I push my legs over his lap and fold my arms behind my head on the armrest. “Who’s we?”

Ben appears stunned by my question but shakes out of his trance. He taps his chest. “We. Me, myself, and I.” I wheeze with laughter as his fingers attack my side. I am too ticklish. “And Mr. Marshall. We have come far. We cannot allow Josef ruin this for us.”

Ben licks my nose like a puppy would. I scrunch my face in faux disgust, and he licks my lips. I would have freaked out if it were another person, but this is Ben. Everything he does is perfect.

I dip my hand into the bowl of popcorn and flick them across his face. “You are cute, Benny.”

“Handsome,” he corrects, “Handsome is the right word.”

“Okay, handsome.” Ben winks. I shake my head, so tempted to burst his bubble of confidence. Our attention returns to the television. We settle into our former position, and his fingers run across my feet. His subconscious touches are the best. “You are a cutie who is handsome.”

Ben barks out a laugh. The movie ends, and a new one plays instantly. I nod my approval when a female walks into her boss’ office wearing suede combat boots similar to the one I puked on.

“Sick boots,” Ben compliments, voicing my thoughts as he strokes my feet absentmindedly.

“Yeah. I need a new set to replace the pair I ruined at Nate’s Halloween party.”

Ben hums an inaudible reply, but I am confident he didn’t hear a word I said. His eyes haven’t left the TV. As the movie progresses, he turns to me. “I don’t like this one, Gracie. Do you like it?”

I don’t even know the title of this movie. I sit up and pass him the remote. “Here, you can change it.” He accepts the remote and mutes the TV. His gaze bores into my face, and my heart picks up a new rhythm. I should tell him before I chicken out. Here goes nothing. “My mom wants to meet you.”

In silence, Ben pushes my legs off his lap so he can switch on the lights. On his return, he sits on the other end of the couch. I bite my lips and stop as soon as his eyes narrow, and my heart kicks into overdrive. Our relationship is only a day old. Is it too soon to involve the parents? Way too early.

---