Page 147 of Hell Bent

I put her down at last, because I had to do it sometime, then thought,What the hell,and hugged Ben, too. He didn’t seem to mind. He said, in fact, “You did awesome yesterday. Way to win. Alix about had a heart attack, though. She practically took my hand off holding it, see?” He lifted his hand and showed me some marks like little red crescents. Fingernails.

I said, “It’s good to see you, too. Why do you look terrible?”

“Maybe because we had to get up at five to get this stupid flight?” Ben said. “I didn’t get to bed until after one.”

“You guys went out, huh?” I asked, grabbing Alix’s suitcase before she could protest, then grabbing her again, too. My hand around her waist, feeling that springiness. Feeling good.

Oh. Chelsea. I said, “Hang on.” The girl was still staring at me, and now, her mouth was open. I told her, “Yeah, I’m him. Good job recognizing the kicker.”

She gasped a little, then said, “I play soccer. You used to play soccer.”

“I did,” I said. “I think I’m better at football, though. Do good this season, OK?” Then I smiled and walked out with Alix and Ben, saying, “Got time for breakfast before work, Alix? I feel I deserve a good breakfast. There’s a place near here that seems reasonable.”

She said, “You came to meet us.”

“Evidently.” I didn’t say that it had been weird to get home last night and find only Lexi to greet me, and that I hadn’t got to bed until one myself. Still buzzing, but nobody to share it with. “Come on. Let’s go have breakfast. Guess what, Ben? They have burgers.”

“Good,” he said. “I need a burger. And coffee.”

“You drink coffee?”

“I just started. When I went out with Annabelle and Dyma after the game.” He said it very casually.

“Ah. The light dawns.” I looked at Alix. “But you didn’t.”

“No,” she said. “I was too keyed up to be with anybody but you.” And smiled at me like crazy.

Yeah, it was good to have them back.

Then we went to breakfast, and things went sideways.

Alix

It wasn’t easy to focus on food. Sebastian and I kept grabbing each other’s hands across the table until finally, Ben sighed, slid out of the booth, and said, “Switch places with me, Alix.”

“What?” I said. “Why?”

“Because,” he said, “you guys are so goopy, it’s making me sick.”

“Maybe it’s your breakfast doing that,” Sebastian said,although, yes, when I slid in beside him, he leaned over and kissed me. It was really nice.

Oh. Ben. He said, “What? I was hungry.”

He had, in fact, finished his burger and fries in record time, and was now polishing off an enormous strawberry waffle with whipped cream. Sebastian said, “I used to be able to eat like that. Weird that football likes me better, because I sure worked harder in soccer.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, “like it’s so easy to do what you do. I just—I have to say this, OK? What kind of grit does it take to come back in a game like that? To do what you did at the end?”

He said, “Takes belief. We had belief. And …” He broke off.

“What?” I asked. “I was so proud of you. I have to say this, too. You have so much strength and so much composure. You’re really something, you know? You are aman.”At which he kissed me again.

Ben sighed, piled the last mini-mountain of whipped cream onto the last bite of waffle, swirled the whole thing in syrup, and shoved it into his mouth. When he wasalmostfinished chewing, he said, “I’m going to the bathroom. I’ll probably throw up.”

‘I told you not to eat all that,” Sebastian said.

“That’s not what’s making me throw up,” Ben said. “It’s you guys. I need to go home and hang out with Lexi and Thomas. Thomas hardly ever looks at me goopily and tells me what a man I am.”

“Lexi does, though,” I said.