“I don’t need the recipe when I have you here to make them for me.” He leans forward to grab two cookies, taking a big bite out of one and settling back against the couch.
“I’ll make them whenever you want them.” I sit down on the other end, careful not to jostle him or his leg. “Do you need me to adjust your leg at all?”
“Pepper, I’m perfectly capable of adjusting my leg.” He smirks, and I can feel my cheeks flush.
I turn my attention back to the TV, flipping through the channels before landing on Chopped, my favorite cooking show where the contestants have to cook with mystery ingredients.
“You think you could help me with something?” he asks.
I widen my eyes, excited that he seems to be perking up. “Of course.”
“I think I’m going to apply to go back to school. I think it’s time I pursue what I want to do.”
“To get your master’s?”
“Yes, I’ve been researching it, and I think I can swing it. I need to focus on myself too.”
“I think so too,” I say softly.
He gives me a slight grin. “I thought you might help with the application process since you just went through your own.” He shrugs.
I’m so happy for him. He deserves this.
“I can do that,” I say.
He nods, sitting back and munching on another cookie.
“Let’s play Truth or Dare but with one difference,” I say, opening my water bottle and taking a long drink.
“What’s the difference?”
“There is no dare since you can’t move.” I gesture to his leg.
“So, you want to play Truth or Truth?”
He chuckles, and I grin.
“Well … I guess that’s really what it is.”
“Why don’t you just ask me whatever you want to ask me?”
“It’s more fun in a game.”
“But it won’t be a game if you can’t pick anything other than truth.”
“Dadgummit, Ben. You are sucking the fun out of Truth or Truth.” I laugh and pull my legs up, crossing them under me as I angle my body toward him.
“Okay, you go first.”
“Truth or truth?” I say.
He smiles and then squints his eyes. “Hmm. That’s a hard one. I’m going to pick truth.”
I can feel my heart pounding, and I resist the urge to wipe my palms on my shirt. “Good choice. How long have you liked me?”
Maybe I went for the childish version of Truth or Truth, but I want answers.
Ben pauses for a moment as he looks at me. His face is carefully blank, and I stare back expectantly.
“Went for a hard first question, huh? Aren’t you supposed to ask for my favorite color?”
“Already know your favorite color. Now, quit stalling.”
“How do you know what my favorite color is?”
“It’s obvious that it’s green, the color of your entire room. Now, answer the question, Ben,” I say jokingly through clenched teeth.
“Since I met you, I’ve felt an attraction.”
I blink and then stare at him.
Since he met me?
He’s been attracted to me since he met me. So, what were we doing, being just friends this whole time?
“You know we’d met before all this, right?”
“We did?” He grabs his third cookie and starts on it.
“Yep, at the holiday party. I thought you looked familiar when we met, but I couldn’t place it until Mason told me you were there.”
“I had a feeling we had met too. It’s coming back to me. It was when you and Mason were arguing.” His eyes are wide like he can’t believe he didn’t think of it himself.
“So, was that when you started liking me?” I give him a teasing smile.
He rolls his eyes. “No, it was about the time you came in and talked my ear off about nothing while waving your bottle of mace in the air.”
I cover my mouth before I spit my water out. “Oh my God, I forgot that I had mace when we met.” I start laughing and sit back. My heart races, and butterflies tumble around in my stomach as I remember the day we met right here, in this apartment. All because of this couch we’re now sitting on. “You never got to sell your couch.” I run my hand over the cushion underneath me.
“It’s okay. I have better memories of it now,” he says and gives me a wink.
I let the uncertainty of the last few days wash off of me. This Ben is the old Ben, the Ben I’ve grown to know and … maybe even love?
Love? Do I love him?
“Scoot over here,” he says, and I glance at the space between us.
I shift toward him, tucking my body under his outstretched arm and laying my head on his chest.
“My turn. Truth or truth?” His voice vibrates low beneath my ear.
“Hmm. Truth.” I smile against him.
“What did you think about the other night?”
I pause a moment, thinking over his question. “The night we had sex?”
“Yeah,” he says.
I blush. I’m glad I’m lying on him because he can’t see my face.
“Why are you asking that?” I stall, trying to get my thoughts together. It was great and wonderful. But I don’t want to seem too eager.
“Because we haven’t talked much about it, and it was a huge moment for both of us.”
“That’s true.”
“So? What are your thoughts?”
He reaches up, lightly tickling my ribs, and I squirm. I suck in a deep breath and sit up slightly, tucking my chin in my palm as I rest my other arm behind his shoulders.
“It was amazing,” I say, a smile on my lips, and I’m pretty sure I’m turning even redder. “Amazing for me. I mean, since it was my first time, I didn’t know what I was doing, and you were so thoughtful to make me feel comfortable.”
“That was my goal.”
“You succeeded.”
We pause. It should be awkward, but it’s not. I’m happy that he brought it up, so I can stop thinking so hard about it.
“Was it good? You know … for
