I catch a glimpse of Ethel, the longtime owner of The Coffee Shop, as I attempt to stop my inevitable fall. It briefly crosses my mind that I need to find out her exercise routine because she doesn’t look even slightly off balance from our run-in, whereas I am bracing for my ass to hit the ground.
Suddenly, strong arms steady my off-kilter body while one single word is uttered into my ear. “Colette.”
My head whips around a little too quickly because my long ponytail smacks me right in the eye. I can’t even register the painbecause dammit, why the fuck is he here? I take half a second to steady my breathing. “Benoit. I didn’t realize you were home.”
He’s not supposed to be here. He’s supposed to be in Boston, far enough away that I don’t have to worry about running into him in town.
“It’s Christmas,” he deadpans.
Oh. Right. That.
“You don’t always come home for holidays.” As soon as it’s out of my mouth, I want to grab the words out of thin air and shove them right back in. Maybe he didn’t notice.
I could never be that lucky, though. He smirks, eyes running up and down the length of my body. “Keeping tabs on me, sweets?”
Sweets?! “Don’t call me that,” I hiss.
In response, he crowds my space even more than he already had. “Hmm, what should I call you instead?” he whispers, sending goosebumps out in waves from where his breath hits my neck, forcing a gasp from my lips. An indignant gasp, I tell myself.
“Cole?” Brody’s voice says my name all wrong. Ben and I turn our heads toward the sound but don’t move away from each other. I feel Ben’s thumb smooth across the skin at my wrist, where he’s still holding me steady, and that’s all it takes.
Hastily, I move away from him, but Ben stays still, taking Brody in. Scrutinizing him. Brody’s eyes move back and forth between the two of us uncomfortably. Clearing my throat, I pull Ben’s attention back to me. “I’m on a date.”
His eyes don’t move away from my lips. “Of course you are. You’re almost thirty, aren’t you?”
Almost thirty… I scowl. So he does remember. The idiotic, godforsaken pact that he’s never once brought up since we made it nearly twelve years ago. How convenient that he decides to bring it up now! While I’m on a date!
Glaring, I turn away from him without another word, guiding Brody back to our table. For the next forty-five minutes, I sip my mediocre espresso and listen to mediocre stories about Brody’s adventures in day trading. The entire time I can feel Ben’s eyes on me like a brand. It heats me from the outside in, my face probably turning bright red alongside my rising anger. This was supposed to be agooddate. Brody was supposed to fill a void. And Benoit is ruining that by simply existing in the same room.
I grit my teeth, desperately trying to focus on Brody when I hear Ben call, “Remember our deal!”
Now that catches my attention. I turn my head so quickly, I might get whiplash. Ben notices and looks smug as hell as he saunters toward my table. “I wasn’t talking about you, sweets, but I’m glad to see I’m top of mind.”
He can tell that calling me “sweets” rankles me, and the fleeting thought passes that I would prefer him to call me Red like he used to. Before I can gather myself, Brody asks, “Uh, can we help you with something?”
Ben doesn’t deign to look at him. “I don’t know… Colette, can he help us with something?”
“That’s not really what I…” Brody starts, but Ben and I are both ignoring him now.
“What is wrong with you?” I hiss, fiddling with the rim of my mug.
His hand comes down to cover mine, tan and veiny. Fuck, I bet nurses love him. “I’m just sick of watching you practically fall asleep over here. You need to be stimulated, Cole.” He leans in closer, whispering conspiratorially, “He’s not very stimulating, is he?”
Vaguely I hear Brody mutter, “What the fuck? I can hear you.”
“And how would you know what I need?” I snap. “You might have known me in high school, but you don’t know me anymore, Benoit.”
“Oh but I do. And you hate that, don’t you?”
Yes. No. Yes!
“I hateyou,” I seethe.
“Woah, maybe I should…” Brody stands, his chair scraping loudly across the floor, pulling me out of whatever haze I’ve been in.
Fuck.
Turning back to Brody, I desperately try to get him to sit back down. “No! Brody, don’t leave. Benoit is the one who is going to leave.” I give Ben my most pointed look.
