Ben & Gabrielle Ch. 09

"Should we get up?" she asked, finally.

"Absolutely not," he said. "We should never move from this spot."

Five more minutes passed before Ben sat up. He reached out for the towel Andy'd brought from the bathroom. Gingerly, he wiped off her back, and her leggings, before cleaning himself.

"Did you get it all?" she asked.

"I think so," he said, inspecting her closely.

"You can put more on me anytime you want," she whispered.

"Feel like heading to the bedroom?" he asked, struggling to stand up.

"Absolutely," she said, with a smile.

Ben helped Andy to her feet and led her down the hallway.

Saturday morning, Ben's cell phone rang. He and Andy were spooning, his chest against her back. Without opening his eyes, he rolled over and felt for his phone on the nightstand. After a few seconds of fumbling about, he opened one eye, squinting against the sunlight coming through the window. As he picked up the phone, he caught sight of the alarm clock – 10:53am.

"Hello," he managed to say, more asleep than awake.

"Hey, Babe," Gaby said.

"Hey," he said, still clearing away the cobwebs of sleep in his brain.

"Are you still in bed, lazybones?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Mmmm, hmmm," he allowed.

"Is Andy still there?" she asked.

He opened both eyes and looked at the other side of the bed. He gazed at Andy's bare shoulders, then her chest, as she rolled over toward him.

"Yes," he said, with a smile Gaby could almost hear.

"I take it you two had fun?" she asked, rhetorically.

"Oh, yeah," he said.

"Is she awake?" she asked. "Let me talk to her."

Ben handed the phone to Andy.

"You skank," Gaby said, loudly, when Andy answered. "What are you doing with my man?!"

Andy burst out laughing while Ben looked on, left wondering what could be so funny. It took several seconds before Andy could respond.

"I'm doing all the dirty things he likes, bitch," Andy said.

Ben's eyes went wide. The two women talked for more than a minute while Ben watched helplessly.

"You better stay away from my baby daddy," Gaby warned, before Andy returned the phone to Ben.

Gaby was still giggling when he again greeted her.

"Women are going to be the death of me," he said.

"Oh, you love it," she said, "two hot chicks fighting over you."

It was Ben's turn to laugh. They spoke for several more minutes.

"I guess I'd better get dressed and do the 'walk of shame' out of here," Andy said, after Ben hung up.

"Want to get breakfast first?" Ben asked, smiling.

Andy leaned against him. She kissed his lips, then moved down to his neck. Without stopping, she trailed her tongue down to his chest.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind," Ben said, letting his fingers trace over her skin as she moved lower, "but, this is good, too."

Sunday morning, Ben arrived at the airport with enough time to park his Jeep and go inside. He'd printed a sign – Gabrielle Sarsaparilla Armadilla – to hold for Gaby. His mind turned over and over while he watched the numbers change on the flight status board.

She smiled when she caught sight of him. Carrying her backpack, she ran and jumped into his arms, knocking him backward a step as he struggled to catch her.

"I missed you, Baby," she said, a minute later, when she broke their kiss.

"I can tell," Ben said, smiling. "Have you been doing your special exercises."

She laughed at him.

"We need to get home fast," she said, looking into his eyes.

"OK," he said. "Should we get your other bags first?"

"Fuck 'em," she whispered.

He began to laugh, but she stopped him with another kiss. It took a full minute – and the disapproving or envious stares of several people around them – before they moved off toward the baggage claim area.

The drive home went slowly. The airport and the highway were busy; full of people returning from weekend trips. Gaby chatted about the conference – saying she'd picked up one or two things she might try in her classroom – and about Miami. She noticed that Ben was remaining quiet – quieter than usual.

They decided to grab some Chinese take-out for dinner. Sitting on the couch, they ate, and watched TV. As they cleaned up their dishes, Gaby brought up the subject she sensed Ben had been avoiding.

"So," she asked, standing at the sink, "how is Andy?"

He hesitated for a moment.

"She's good," he said, finally.

"You guys had fun?" Gaby asked.

"Yes, we did," he allowed, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"You don't sound sure," she said, looking back at him over her shoulder.

"Oh, we did," he said. "Several times."

"Then what's wrong?" she asked, quietly

"We...I...broke...some of the rules," he said.

She turned to face him.

"Some," she questioned, walking over to him.

He nodded.

"Well, I knew you'd have to break rule two," she said. "I was 1,000 miles away."

Another nod.

"And, rule one?" she asked.

He explained what had taken place in the shower the previous Friday. She thought for a moment.

"OK," she said. "On a technicality, since it was anal penetration, not vaginal, you're safe there. I mean, I don't have to worry about Andy getting pregnant, right?"

"Right," Ben confirmed.

She went quiet for several seconds before proceeding.

"What about rule three?" she asked, cautiously.

He looked up at her and reached out to take her hand. He pulled her to him.

"I'm really attracted to Andy," he said.

Ben felt Gaby's body stiffen. Her hand tried to withdraw from his.

"What..." she began, hesitantly. "What does that mean? Do you love her?"

"Yes and no," he said.

She looked at him quizzically.

"On some level I do," he allowed.

"Are you saying you're going to leave me?" she asked.

"No," he said, emphatically. "The feelings I have for Andy only clarified what I feel for you, Gaby."

"And, that is?" she asking, prodding him.

"I love you," he said. "Like no one I've ever known. I just wanted to tell you how I feel, because I want you to trust me, and believe me when I tell you I love you."

"Do you feel guilty?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered, truthfully.

"Are you sorry?" she asked.

"Yes, of course," he said. "I don..."

"Then say it," she ordered, cutting off his statement.

"I'm sorry, Gaby," he said, quietly.

She looked down at him for a few moments, and then a wide grin spread across her face.

"You big dummy," she said in a whisper, crawling onto his lap. "I knew you were attracted to Andy. I could tell the moment I introduced you to her."

He looked into her eyes as she put her hands on his cheeks.

"I know you better than you know yourself," she said, laughing. "And, I never would have let Andy come over here if I didn't trust you."

"Why you dirty little..." he began. "You know what happens when you tease me."

"I could've asked any of our friends to come over," Gaby said, "Whitney, Kate, Denise...even Brit."

He tilted his head at the way her voice changed when she said Brit's name.

"Yes, I feel the same way about Brit," she said. "I love her. But, I don't love her the way I love you."

He hugged her body to his, squeezing tightly.

"I've told you, I'm your girl and you're my guy," she said. "I'm not letting you get away."

He turned his head and kissed her, long and deep.

"Mmmm, you taste like sesame chicken," she said, standing and pulling him to his feet.

"You taste like eggroll," he countered, following her to the bedroom.