In the dictionary, under the wordspontaneous, there should simply be a picture of Ben, although I doubt anyone would ever look up any other word in the dictionary if that really were the case.
From a three-course dessert meal dressed in formal wear, to dancing at a club, to an impromptu hotel check-in, Ben was full of surprises. There was no one else quite like him.
And he wasn’t joking about ordering everything on the menu either. As soon as we got to the room, he picked up the phone, dialed reception and started ordering everything he could, including several bottles of champagne. The room was amazing: a huge bed, massive TV, huge bathroom, massive bath—everything there was big.
As soon as Ben put the phone down he walked over to me and kissed me again. I don’t think I could ever get used to the feeling of him kissing me.
“Start running a bath,” he said, slapping me on the bum as he pulled away and started fiddling with the TV. I walked over to the bath, it was situated on the other side of the bedroom in a very open plan bathroom. One could sit in the bath and watch TV and talk to the person in bed if you wanted. The bath was also huge. It was big enough for two, which was clearly the point. I poured in the sweet-smelling bubble bath and added a spot of fragrant bath oil, then sat on the rim running my hand in and out while I watched Ben flip back and forth through the stations until he found the music channels.
“Um . . . We have the soothing sounds of Kenny G, the groovy sounds of Motown, the killer riffs of hardcore rock, some bump and grind Hip-Hop, and some pop stuff.” He cringed. “Let’s give the pop a miss, I’m not a fan of barely pubescent boys singing and dancing.”
“Me too.” I moaned, “Bruce and JJ are obsessed with One Direction though. It’s a bit pervy old-man if you ask me.”
Ben turned. “It must be a gay thing,” he said. “My brother worships Gaga and secretly hopes to bump into a Backstreet Boy in a back alley.”
I laughed loudly.
Ben flipped channels again. “Oooh, what’s this?” The sounds of a babbling brook, birds chirping and wind chimes filled the room.
“You’re not serious?” It was the kind of stuff they played when you went for a massage, or the kind of stuff a stoned hippie might listen to while contemplating matters of deep, esoteric importance.”
“Why not?” he said, moving towards me. “It serves my purpose.” He was wearing his dirty bedroom look again and sat right next to me.
“What purpose is that?”
“To get you to relax some more and then shamelessly seduce you.”
I shook my head. “I’m already relaxed,” I said, as the sound of a wave crashing into a wind chime filled the air.
“I know. It suits you.” Ben started walking over to me with a look in his eye that could not be misinterpreted, but a knock on the door interrupted the moment. Room service had arrived. I sat on the lip of the bath as I watched him clear the little dining table, pick it up and carry it towards the bath. He then grabbed some glasses, dimmed the lights and opened the champagne.
“Ever had a midnight feast in a bath?” he asked, popping the champagne and pouring me a glass.
I took it, smiling at him and shaking my head.
“Well, it’s very simple. Just take off all your clothes and climb into the bath.” His eyes moved over my body slowly. “I’ll be right behind you.”
56. I Googled You
“So . . .” Ben said once we’d settled into the bath together and had adequately stuffed ourselves with food and drunk more alcohol. We were facing each other, our outstretched legs intertwined. I’d just had the pleasure of watching him undress, again. It was definitely not something I could ever get tired of. His entire back and torso were covered in intricate tattoos that ran all the way up his neck. One arm was completely covered too, all the way down to his hand, even some of his fingers. Looking at him like that, you could dismiss him as nothing more than a total bad boy, but he wasn’t. He was so much more than that.
“Do you realize I know nothing about you, Sera?” he said, lifting my legs out of the bath and resting my feet up on his shoulders. The move caught me off guard.
“What do you mean?” It was hard to concentrate when he started rubbing his hands up and down my legs.
“I mean just that. I know nothing about you.”
I smiled. “I thought you told me once that you knew everything you needed to know about me.”
“I did. But that was then, and this is now. And now I want to know everything.”
I shrugged. “There’s nothing that interesting, to be honest.” That was a blatant lie.
Ben looked at me flatly. “I don’t believe that for a second,” he said. “Because you once told me that your life was very complicated and that you also had secrets.” He leaned in. “So what are your secrets, Sera?”
I shrugged again, becoming very uncomfortable with where this conversation was headed, but also knowing full well that it was probably time to tell him.
“How about I tell you what I know about you, and you fill in the blanks?” he offered.
