“Ready to go?” Ben stands up from the couch armrest he was perched on and offers my coat.

While he holds it in place, I slip my arms into the familiar sleeves and welcome my layer of armor settling around me. I’m not so exposed anymore. Still, Annabelle’s words are splinters, burrowing under my skin. I have trouble looking at Ben without imagining what she said.

And not just the sex part.

We walk out into a night chillier than when we arrived. Even more of an excuse for me to huddle into myself.

“Is that how you got him?”

There are some girls who’ve made an art of finding others’ vulnerable spots and then just picking at them.

She practically read my mind, my fears of Ben only being nice to me because of what I could do for him.

Then, there’s the shame of knowing that’s what my intention was when I first decided to spend time with him. Keeping Ben happy means keeping cousin Fred happy, which means Marcus will get his kidney. But, now, I just want to be around Ben because of him.

That doesn’t mean that Ben feels the same.

I flinch when his warm hand grasps mine. He opens my fingers and slides the cool car keys into my palm. Somehow, without me even realizing it, we’re already at his car.

Just a short drive and a long night of work before I can go home and bury myself in my bed.

BEN

I can’t get a fix on Holly.

At the beginning of the night, she gave me a look that I would have sworn was a result of naughty thoughts. Then, she went off to dance with Jasper, leaving me alone with my ex. When I realized that situation was partially my doing and I tried to make up for it, she didn’t even touch my offered hand. But then we felt like a team, dominating the pool table, and I got to see her competitive side and earned multiple triumphant laughs. Things seemed better after that, and I was sure she returned some of the heat I felt. Maybe I shouldn’t have bitten her hand, but I hadn’t really thought about it. And I figured she’d slap me if I’d really messed up. But Holly just stared at me with her chocolate-brown eyes open wide and her pale pink lips slack.

I like surprising her.

One of the most conflicting moments of the night was on those stairs. I didn’t want to be a perv, but goddamn, that short skirt swayed on her pert ass right in front of my face as she sauntered her way up each step. I actually had to adjust myself, so I didn’t walk back into the party with a prominent hard-on. So, yeah, I was horny and considering ending the night with a confession of my feelings in hopes that I might actually get to taste those little pink lips.