‘Okay. See you then. Bye, Ben, Theo,’ I said without looking either of them in the eye before shuffling off.
I couldn’t believe Jess and Theo caught us.
They wouldn’t mind that we’d hooked up. I was just embarrassed because when I’d last spoken to Jess, although I’d confessed that I liked Ben, I was adamant that we definitely wouldn’t even kiss, never mind anything else.
I’d insisted that I would never sleep with my fake boyfriend. Yet here I was barely forty-eight hours later, sneaking out of his flat after letting him fuck me repeatedly. Just like the heroines always did in my favourite books.
Such a cliché.
Still, I had no regrets. If being a cliché was the price I had to pay for the ecstasy I’d experienced with Ben, I’d happily cough up a million times over.
Thirty minutes later, Jess and I were in Love & Lattes, trying to decide between a ‘Dark Romance Double Chocolate Muffin’ and a ‘Pop My Cherry Muffin’.
Maddie was really killing it with the creativity. And she’d be adding some new cookies soon based on some ‘feedback’ she’d received. I couldn’t wait to see what they’d be.
Guessing our conversation was best done away from our members, Jess suggested that we eat breakfast on the beach. So once we’d got our coffees and food, we walked over and found a bench.
‘So come on, young lady, spill! One minute you’re all like “I willneverpractise-kiss Ben!” and the next I catch him half-naked on his doorstep about to snog you as you start the walk of shame! That went from zero to three sixty fast!’
‘I know!’ I winced. ‘Although, sorry, not sorry! That man gave me the best sex of my life!’
‘Yeah?’ Jess’s eyes popped.
‘Hell yeah!Honestly, he really lives up to the hype. Whenever I overheard him spouting that nonsense about the ladies calling him Big Ben, I used to roll my eyes so hard. But Jesus Christ. The size of his dick! Forget Big Ben. I’m gonna have to start calling him King Dong or Ben Nevis. A mountain’s much bigger and girthier. Just saying. I’ve never seen or felt anything like it!’
Jess winced like she’d just drunk a carton of extra-bitter lemon juice.
‘Er, normally I’d be all for the details, but Ben’s basically my brother-in-law, so it feels weird to hear you talking about his bedroom skills.’
‘So youdon’twant to hear about how he ate me out in the lift, then fucked me on the balcony right above the wedding reception?’
‘Wait,what?’ Jess’s jaw crashed to the ground. ‘No way?’
‘Yes, way!’
‘Well, I guess I could make an exception. Just this once…’
I told Jess everything about the wedding, how Ben charmed the pants off everyone (and the knickers off me, lol!). And how Trent and Esme got their just deserts.
‘So, yeah. That’s what happened!’ I said, not even believing how much I’d packed into one weekend.
‘Wow. What a time you’ve had! I’m so happy for you, hon. You deserved a bit of fun after the shit you went through. I’m so glad that you put them in their place and that you got severalorgasms out of it too!’ She cackled. ‘It’s like you lived in a real-life romcom for a weekend. You had an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating, only one bed, forced proximity and destination romance.’
‘I know! It’s crazy!’
‘Like I said, I’m happy for you, but Theo mentioned that Ben doesn’t plan to stay in Sunshine Bay long-term, so are you gonna be okay with that?’
‘I know, I know, it’s just sex!’ I said a little too loudly.
Nancy, one of the local residents who worked in the flower shop, walked by at that exact moment and her eyes bulged from their sockets.
‘Hello, Nancy.’ Jess smiled. ‘Lovely day, isn’t it?’
‘It is, indeed. I’ll leave you to your conversation.’ She stifled a grin and once she was out of earshot, we burst out laughing.
‘As I was saying,’ I continued. ‘Ben was very clear about what he could offer and I said I was fine with it.’
‘And are you? Really?’
