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Their moans come louder and faster, punctuated with Annie’s sweet little gasps and whines. When Ben’s eyes lock on to me and he groans my name too, I can’t hold back anymore. I nearly fall out of the chair and stumble to the sink as I come, turning my head so I can watch the way Annie convulses in Ben’s arm, my name tearing out of her one last time, along with a string of curses. He doesn’t even wait for her to come down from the orgasm before he drops her legs and seizes her around the waist, pinning her arms to her sides. Folding her over and lifting himself off the bench, he pumps hard and fast, burying his face into her hair and letting out a muffled cry as he fills her up.

“Fuck, Annie!” His movements become jerky, slow, and he finally releases her, then collapses back onto the bench, pushing his soaking wet curls out of his face. Annie giggles and turns to straddle him, trailing her hands across his chest, kissing his neck while his fingers roam over her ass and up her back. I zip my jeans back up and lean against the countertop, letting my phone capture the images of them whispering and smiling at each other. Ben gently tucking wet strands of hair behind her ear. Annie turning to kiss the palm of his hand. The adoration in his eyes. Those will be the images I really want to have if I lose one of them…or both of them. When Annie stands up to rinse her body and hair, I turn my phone off, feeling awkward now. She steps out of the shower and I run my eyes over her curves as I grab a towel.

“It’s not fair,” I laugh, helping her wrap it around her chest. She kisses me on the cheek, letting her hand linger on my chin before she saunters out of the bathroom.

“Take those clothes off and get in here so I can make it fair,osito,” says Ben quietly. I do as he says and step into the shower, where he’s waiting with a bar of soap. He pulls me into the stream of water and starts to rub it over my chest, then over the tattoo on my upper arm.

“Poppies?” he asks, tracing a thumb over the red petals and green stems.

“For Gabe,” I reply, then I fall silent as he runs the soap down my ribs and stomach.

I still have a hard time understanding how he’s even real–how someone like him came intomytrainwreck of a life and decided they wanted to stay, make a few repairs, maybe even get things up and running again. I guess his life wasn’t exactly on the tracks either, but still. Ben’s the kind of guy who could have anyone he wanted, whether he’s living out of his car or not, and he chose me. As stupid as it might be, helovesme. I still don’t know what to do with that, but I guess showing him that I love him is a good start, since we can’t talk about it right now.

“So, what’s the cover story today?” he asks softly, moving behind me and kissing the tops of my shoulders as he washes my back. “What are we telling your friends?”

“Well,” I mutter, “I thought we could tell them the truth…”

“The truth?” Ben laughs.

“Yeah, figured I’d start with you stealing $600 from me, and then I’ll explain how I kidnapped you. We’ll finish with the part where you sucked me off in the back of a car.” I look over my shoulder to grin at him, and he lets out a loud, barking laugh.

“You’re leaving out the shadow-wielding demon girlfriend.”

“We’ll have to keep up the whole ‘Annika from Sweden’ bit, but one of my friends apparently saw you and me in the park, and I had to say you were my roommate. I don’t want to lie to them, but…”

“So…don’t lie,” Ben says, pulling my arm gently and turning me around so our chests press together. His hand drifts up to my cheek and his dark eyes flicker around my face, a tiny crease between his eyebrows. “Tell them we’re together. Tell them I’m your…boyfriend.”

My breath catches in my throat as he leans forward and kisses my jaw. “Is that the truth?”

“God, I hate how high school it sounds, but…it is if you want it to be…” Ben says, and I can practically feel the electricity shooting through my body as our eyes meet.

“I do.” I pause and clear my throat. “I do want it to be true. I just…”

“What?”

“I’m anxious, I guess.”

“About introducing me to people that way? I thought your friends knew you’d dated men.”

“It’s not that,” I sigh. “I was with Ros for so long, and we almost got engaged. It’s only been a few months since we broke up.”

“You think they might judge you for moving on too fast?”

“I think…it’s just one of those things my brain is lying to me about,” I explain. “My friends have never been anything but loving and supportive. They liked Ros, but…they weren’t exactly devastated when we broke up. She wasn’t really ‘their type’, I guess.”

Ben smirks. “Am I their type?”

“Yes,” I laugh. “So much so that I’m actually a little worried about keeping you all under control.”

He keeps smirking, but falls silent and grabs the shampoo bottle. “You wanna know what I think?” he says at last. “I think you’re worried that if you introduce me that way to your friends, you’ll eventually have to introduce me that way to your family, and you’re scared about howtheymight react.”

“I’m not ashamed of–”

“You’re too worried about what other people think,osito,” Ben says with a soft smile. “I met your family, and I can tell they’ll love you no matter what. Even your hard-ass Catholic dad.”

I drop my eyes to the water circling the drain, shamefully remembering what Ben told us about his own family not speaking to him. We finish showering in silence, then get out and dry off.

“You should know, Ben, that it’s not about you,” I tell him once we’re in the bedroom getting dressed. “It’s me, and my insecurities, and my own bullshit. You’re…perfect.” I wave my hand at him, and his face splits back into a playful grin.