“I can work with that.”
“Work with what, Benjamin?” My exasperated sigh floats between us.
He eyes me again. I look his way, trying to figure out what is going on in that brain of his. As hard as I try, he remains a mystery to me.
“Can I tell you a secret?” he asks instead of answering my question. I open my mouth to answer, but he just plows on. “I think I do want to get married… just not to Zoey.”
I peer into the empty solo cup in his hand. “How many of those have you had?”
He pushes his hair back again, stupid bicep bulging. “I’m being serious, Colette.”
“So am I!”
He turns to me fully. “We should make a pact.”
“A… pact…” I’m really not following now.
“A marriage pact. If we aren’t married by the time we are?—”
I’m gobsmacked. “Benoit Bardot! You have lost your mind. I amnotmarrying you!”
“Well not right now, obviously, Red.” He looks at me as ifI’mthe crazy one. “Do you want that, though? Want a partner?”
“I… I’m not sure.”
“Let’s give it until we are thirty,” he suggests. “That way, you have time to decide if you want a partner. I have time to find someone. Worst case, we get married for the tax benefit?—”
“There’s not always a benefit,” I interrupt.
“—and best case, we have someone we don’t hate to fuck around with.”
“Who says I don’t hate you?” I snap, genuinely curious.
He smirks. “The way you look at me says you don’t hate me, Red.”
I shake my head in disbelief, noting how Ben’s eyes watch the swing of my ponytail. “You have actually lost your mind,” I repeat.
Unfortunately, instead of deterring him, this statement causes Ben to get a twinkle in his eye. “What if we bet on it? I win beer pong, we make our pact. I lose, you can walk away from here and never think about me again.”
An actual growl leaves me. He knows I can’t turn down a competition. “Fine,” I grit out. “But I will win, Benjamin. And I’m so looking forward to never thinking about you again. It will be so peaceful. So quiet…”
“So boring,” he finishes, breath coasting across my face. I’ve somehow leaned entirely too close to him over the course of mylittle rant. He licks his lips and the smell of peppermint assaults my senses. If I leaned just a tiny bit closer…
“Cole! Come back insi—oh!”
I jump back about six feet, but Ben, to my chagrin, stays exactly where he was.
“So sorry to interrupt,” Maya says, a coy smile playing on her lips. “I noticed you slipped out, and I was coming to force you back into the fun.”
Ben stands, still staring at me but regarding Maya. “We were actually just about to come inside and play beer pong.”
My eyes dart back and forth between Ben and Maya, both of whom have their eyebrows quirked at me. I clumsily stand, a little drunker than I initially thought. A strong arm comes around, gripping me by the opposite elbow. Belatedly, I register that it’s Ben helping me up so I quickly yank away, falling right into Maya this time.
“Woah, Cole. Maybe beer pong isn’t the best idea!” Maya giggles.
“Of course it is,” comes my feeble reply as I use Maya to steady myself. “Benjamin here needs a reminder that I always win. And then I never have to think about him again.”
“Ooookay,” Maya drawls out, giving me awe’ll talk about this laterlook.
