“Well, clearly I wasn’t off-limits that night.”
“We’d been drinking.”
“That can’t be the excuse for everything,” she rebutted. “And these little rules you make up have already been broken, somaybe we can just forget about this whole ‘off-limits’ thing.”
“It happened, but we shouldn’t do that again.”
Kendra’s brow furrowed. “You’re serious?”
He paused briefly. “I’m sorry, but yes.”
The silence between them was loud. Her shoulders dropped in defeat.Why won’t he give me a chance?“You—you had that other girl at the restaurant the other day... Is she the reason why you’re choosing to ignore whateverthis is between us?”
Ben huffed. “Come on. Don’t do that, Kenny.”
“Don’t do what? I’m just saying. There’s got to be a reason. Just keep it a buck.” She threw up her hands in frustration.
“Are you jealous?”
She stared up at the ceiling.Maybe.“I don’t know. I’m not saying I’m jealous. I’m just trying to understand why I’m so forgettable. Maybe it’s because you’vealready got a roster.”
She pictured him pinching the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut during the silence that followed. “Okay, comeon. You’re not forgettable. And you’re acting like I have a harem and I don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything about a harem. You’re making assumptions now and maybe a hit dog will holler.”
“Okay.” His strained voice sounded defeated. “I feel like we should do something about this whole memory situation—”
“Well, I just told you what happened,” she snapped.
“I’m not saying that. I’m saying—”
“What, you want a reenactment?” She rolled her eyes.
“Kenny,” he chuckled. “This would be a lot easier if you let me finish a thought. And, no, not quite, but I will admit thatI would like another round.”
“Another round? What are we doing? Fighting to the death?” she queried snarkily.
“You really are a piece of work.” BJ’s exasperation was palpable. “Very funny.”
She cackled. “Well, have a night with a woman where you beat the brakes off her and then she tells you she don’t remember getting her back broken. How might you feel?”
“I hear you,” he responded gently. “What if I made it up to you?”
She frowned.Wait.“Is this the round two you’re speaking about?”
“Yeah.”
Her interest piqued, and she sat up, crossing her legs in front of her. “Well, how would you make it up to me?”
“You gave me head.”
“Yeah. So? I didn’t start there; I was reciprocating.” She squinted at a spot on the wall, trying to stop the mental imageof BJ pressing his face between her thighs. She cleared her throat.
“So maybe I’ll start by returning the favor.”
“Oh, so this is going to be a please Kenny kind of day? I thought you said we shouldn’t do this again?”
“Not a day, a date. And I know what I said.”
