“You’re nothing but a fucking pussy wannabe.”
I stare at the man I used to call friend.
“So sick of hearing ‘how great Ben is’ from every single chick at work.” He snorts. “Hell, Clive used to be your biggest fan.” Sucking down the last of his drink, he turns, looking for the waitress again. I know I should stop him from drinking more, but he’s not driving, and this is getting interesting.
I decide to jump in with both feet. “Clive hates my guts.”
“Now.” He chuckles again. “Nowhe does.”
“Why is that?” I’m getting the distinct impression that Sam knows exactly why Clive hates me.
Leaning closer, he hisses, “He probably figured out what you’rereallylike.”
“What I’mreallylike?” This ought to be good.
“Yeah. You’re a guy who relies on his looks to get everything he wants.” Another chuckle.
What the hell is he talking about? “Interesting.” I’ve lost my appetite, so I do the only thing I can and sip my water.
“Isn’t it?”
“I didn’t realize you had such contempt for me, Sam.” I thought we were friends.
He sneers. “You think your shit don’t stink.”
“That’s not true.” I’m just staring at him now. I don’t know what else to say. The guy obviously hates me.
Pulling out my wallet, I throw down forty bucks. Standing, I slide my wallet back into my pocket and take my phone out. There are no messages, which isn’t a surprise. I turn to leave.
“Hey!” Sam shouts. “Where you goin’?” I keep walking toward the door. “Ben, man. What’s wrong?” Ignoring him, I get to the door just as he yells, “Fuck you, asshole!”
“Same to you,” I mumble under my breath. “Same to you.”
Chapter Sixteen
Alison
I haveto blink to make sure I’m seeing what I’m seeing. It is. It’s Ben Schilling, and he’s in my neighborhood. Weird. I’ve never seen him here before. He’s standing in line at Mike’s Pizza, one of my favorite fast-food places in the city. My first instinct is to turn and go the other way, but after talking to him in his office today, I feel like I need to say hello at the very least.
Moving closer, I can see he’s chatting with a young woman in line.
Maybe I shouldn’t bother him. Perhaps he’s on a date. When he turns and faces forward as the line moves, I decide he’s alone. At least I hope so.
“Ben,” I say a little louder than my regular voice. Luckily, he hears me.
“Alison.” Ben smiles brightly, and a warmth hits me smack-dab in the chest.
When I get about a foot from him, I pause before speaking to make sure I’m not interrupting a date or something. I peek at the woman behind him, making sure she’s not going to be angry. She’s on her phone, oblivious to me, so I say, “I’m surprised to see you in LIC.”
I don’t hear a response because for some insane reason, Ben grabs me and pulls me into him. His arms are wrapped so tightly around me that I can’t even move my own as he drags me back about three feet. I struggle to get free as I spit, “Ben. What are you doing? Let me go.”I was right about him. He’s all nice and normal at work, but the second I see him outside of the place, he’s a lech and a creep. I’m so angry I want to punch him in the other eye. When I feel myself falling forward, I squeeze my eyes shut, anticipating the impact with the ground all while I scream, “Ben! Stop!”
I feel us hit the ground hard. Hard enough that I’m nearly jostled free from the man’s grip but not quite. I’m able to raise my knee a little bit, but not enough to jam it into his groin. Too bad. I’d like nothing more than to rack this guy.
“Mister… your dog,” says a young voice from somewhere behind me.
“Sky?” Ben releases me, practically pushing me off him.
I roll onto my back and watch him jump up in one go and run. He doesn’t go far before he stops and drops to his knees. A small group has gathered around whatever Ben’s looking at. His back is to me, but I see him hunched down, shaking.
