Chapter Twelve: Number 13

Abby

*

My new ring tone for Ben, “I’m Too Sexy,” cut into the silent serenity of my kitchen and I nearly hit my head on the ceiling jumping in surprise.  The spatula in my hand flew to the ground, splattering sauce all over my recently cleaned floor and stove.  What’s he calling now for? I wondered, he’s not supposed to be coming over until after dinner.

*

“I hope you’re calling to tell me you plan on spending the evening scrubbing up the mess you just made,” I answered.

*

“Huh?”

*

“The phone startled me and caused marinara to defile my spotless kitchen.”

*

“Your obsession with the cleanliness of your kitchen is very weird, especially since it’s the only room of the apartment you ever clean.”

*

“Hey, my home is very clean.   I vacuumed yesterday.”

*

“Of course, my mistake.  Hey, I called for a reason, don’t distract me.”

*

“Sorry.  What’s up?”  Retrieving the spatula, I dropped it in the sink and pulled a clean one out of the utensil drawer to continue stirring.

*

“I need you to come outside.”

*

“Are you here?”

*

“Yes, come outside.”

*

“Why don’t you come in?  I’m making spaghetti.”

*

“Turn off the stove, get your keys, and come outside right now!”

*

“You are unusually obstinate today, Benjamin.”

*

“Just get your butt out here, Abigail.”  He hung up and I quickly did as I was told.  I moved the pan of sauce to a cool burner, fished around in my purse for my keys, and headed out the door.

*

Bounding down the stairs, I scanned the parking lot for Ben’s car, but didn’t see it anywhere.  I heard a motorcycle zooming around the building, but still I didn’t see Ben.  I was about to call him when the shiny red bike making all the noise turned the corner and stopped right in front of me.  The rider put the kickstand in place and swung his leg around, taking his helmet off as he stood up.

*

“Ben, what are you doing?  What are you thinking?  When did you get that?  Wait- is it even yours?”  I couldn’t feel the expression on my face, but it couldn’t have been good, because the smile on his faded away almost instantly.

*

“Yes, it’s mine.  My parents and Tracey got it for me for my birthday.  And I like it.  It’s fun.”

*

“Your parents got you that for your birthday?  That’s crazy.  My parents got me a coffee pot for my birthday.”  We stood there silent for several minutes, arms folded across our chests, staring at each other.  I could tell I was not reacting very well, or at least not the way he wanted me to.  I don’t know why it bothered me so much.  I guess it just seemed extravagant.  Unfair, maybe.  What’s wrong with me?  Why should it upset me that his parents can afford to get him such a nice gift?

*

“I’m sorry, that last thing came out a little harsher than I intended.  It’s a really nice bike.  You’re lucky your parents have such good taste.”  His expression softened as my bitterness did and he took a step towards me.

*

“Wanna go for a ride?”

*

“On that?  Are you crazy?”

*

“Come on, it’ll be fun and I won’t let anything happen to you.  And look,” he stepped to the bike and came back with a dark blue helmet, “Tracey got me an extra helmet.”

*

I took it and looked from the bike to Ben and then back to the bike.  I knew the only way to experience the exhilaration of flying through the streets with the wind chasing me was to get on the motorcycle, but I was absolutely terrified.  Ben didn’t say anything else, just got back on and waited.

*

Over the past few months I’d experienced a life I never knew was possible.  He made my stomach turn cartwheels and my heart ached when we were apart.  He held my hand and listened patiently while I explained why sex wasn’t an option right now.  If I could open myself up to him in that way, why couldn’t I get on the back of the motorcycle and experience that with him, too?

*

“You are too young to be so afraid,” he said softly.

*

He was right.

*

I pulled the helmet over my head and jumped onto the bike behind him.  I clutched him around the waist and he took off, soaring out of the parking lot.

*

Instantly, my hold on him tightened and my eyes squeezed shut, but after a few minutes, I began to pay attention.  The air whipped past us and I wished the helmet were unnecessary: I wanted to experience that wind blowing violently through my hair.  I could feel every muscle in Ben’s back as he swerved in and out of traffic.  My eyes opened of their own volition, adrenaline pumped through my veins, and the speed really was exhilarating.

*

Looking to my left, the cars passing in the opposite direction seemed to slow down in response to our presence, and to my right, house and store fronts came into sharp focus; all fear drained from my head and I loosened my hold on Ben’s waist, but tightened my legs around the bike.  Cautiously, I let my hands fall free and gave in to the ride.  Splaying my fingers apart, I relished in the air soaring through my skin.

*

We continued racing through the city for another twenty minutes or so, but it seemed like only a few seconds before we arrived at my apartment.  I gripped the back of his jacket to steady myself while he shut the engine off and put the kickstand into place.  He got off first and easily lifted me off the bike.  We removed our helmets simultaneously; he was grinning ear to ear so irresistibly I grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him.

*

“So, I guess that’s your way of saying you liked it?”

*

“Oh yeah.  I really did.”

*

“Good.  I hope this teaches you to never doubt me again.”  We laughed and he pulled me into a tight hug.

*

Ben

*

Abby shared her spaghetti with me and after we were both finished, I helped her with the dishes.  I couldn’t decide the best way to bring up the offer I wanted to make.  I wasn’t sure how she’d react.  Maybe it was too soon.  But, I knew I’d regret not asking.  And I didn’t really think she’d say no.

*

The last of the suds slid down the drain, Abby handed me a towel, and I dried the plates.  When I couldn’t stall with the dishes any longer, I started with the obvious.  “My birthday is this Friday.”

*

“I know.  The big two-eight.  You’re getting to be an old man, Mr. Harris,” she teased.

*

I fixed my eyes on her as she moved about piling the dishes into the cabinet and packing up the leftovers.  She buzzed past me on her way to the living room and I reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into a quick hug before holding her out at arms length.

*

“Matt, Trish, myself and some other people usually go down to Florida for a couple of days every summer and Matt has a client who’s agreed to lend us his house this weekend…”

*

“You should definitely go and have fun,” she interrupted.  “You and I can do something to celebrate when you get back.”  Slipping out of my hands, she opened the fridge and kept her back to me as I continued.

*

“That’s not what I was going to say.  I was going to ask if you’d like to go down to Florida with us for the weekend, to celebrate my birthday.”

*

She spun around, the fridge door still open, and looked straight into my eyes.  Crease lines formed on her forehead, but I couldn’t tell if she was confused, surprised, or scared.  It might have been a little of each.

*

“Oh.” She paused and shut the door slowly, then leaned back against it.  Her eyes fell to the floor.  “I don’t know.”

*

I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but it wasn’t that.  I don’t know?  I ask her to go away with me for the weekend and that’s her only response?  Isn’t four months together enough for her to know what she wants?

*

“You don’t know?  What kind of answer is that?”

*

She shrugged.  “The kind you give when you need to think for a few minutes.”

*

“I don’t get it, what do you need to think about?  Why does it always seem like I’m begging my girlfriend to spend time with me?”

*

“That’s incredibly unfair, Ben.  I love spending time with you.  It’s not about that and you know it.”

*

“Do you want to go or not?”

*

“I don’t know,” she said firmly, crossing her arms across her chest.  I clenched my jaw and tried to stay calm.  We stood on opposite sides of the kitchen, just staring at each other.  She didn’t speak again and I didn’t know what else to say.

*

“Fine.”  Pulling my keys out of my pocket, I walked past her and opened the front door to leave.

*

“Where the hell are you going?” She grabbed my arm.

*

“Home.”

*

“I find it very interesting that you’re allowed to go home in the middle of an argument but I’m not allowed just a few minutes to gather my thoughts about a serious decision.  So fine.  You wanna leave, leave.  Makes my decision really easy.”  She dropped my arm and turned to walk into her bedroom, but I crossed in front of her and blocked the opening.

*

“I’m sorry.  For trying to leave.  You’re right, I overreacted.  I just don’t understand what you’re thinking sometimes.  To me it sounds like an easy decision, who doesn’t want to go and hang out on the beach in Florida?”

*

“Hanging out on the beach sounds great, but you haven’t given me any details.  Do I need to take Friday or Monday off work?  Are we flying or driving?  I can’t exactly afford a last minute plane ticket.  And sleeping arrangements…”

*

“We’ll leave after you get off on Friday and come back Monday morning.  We’ll fly, I’ll buy the tickets.”

*

“Ben, no.”

*

“Why not?”

*

“It’s your birthday and you’re going to pay?  I don’t think so.”

*

“I planned the trip and I’m inviting you.  Besides it’s practically free if I use the points from my credit card.”

*

“It just doesn’t feel right.  You pay for everything.”

*

“Well, I’m the guy and I have the money to pay.  I don’t see why it bothers you.”

*

“Of course you don’t.”  She rolled her eyes and pushed past me into the bedroom.

*

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”  I followed and sat beside her on the bed.

*

“Nothing, it means nothing.  I’m sorry, forget I said it.  You didn’t answer the last question.”

*

“Which one?”

*

“Sleeping arrangements.”

*

“Oh.  Well, it’s a big house.  You can have your own room, or you can share a room with Trish, or…”

*

“Or with you?”

*

“Yeah.”

*

“Ben…”

*

“No funny business.  But really it’s your decision.  The trip isn’t about sex or trying to convince you to change your mind, I don’t want you to ever think that.  I just want to spend some time with you and my friends away from work and responsibility and life.”

*

“That does sound appealing.”

*

“Yeah, so what do you think?”  I took her hand and she scooted closer to me on the bed, resting her head against my shoulder.

*

“I think I want to go, but let me see if I can get off work on Monday.”

*

“Really?”

*

“Yeah.”

*

The silence that fell around us this time was peaceful, comfortable.  I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and we sat together in quiet contemplation for several minutes until Abby lifted her head and kissed my cheek.

*

“What do you want for your birthday?” she asked.

*

“World peace,” I answered.  She laughed and draped her arms around my neck, pulling my face to hers for a deep kiss.  She continued laughing when she pulled away.  I didn’t think it was particularly funny, but I wasn’t going to argue with anything that made her laugh like that.

*

*

<– Chapter Eleven: Breakfast and Dinner********************Chapter Thirteen: Number 18 and Number 20–>