Page 12 of Storm in a Teacup (Love in Edinburgh #3)

I bump into a few other people, apologizing over and over, but I do eventually make it to the restroom.

There’s a small line that I’m fine to wait in.

Finally, I get in and close the stall, covering the seat in toilet paper before I sit down heavily and let myself cry.

I hate feeling like this. It’s just a broken glass, but no one gets it .

It’s so hard to explain how much this frustrates me—how I feel like an inconvenience wherever I go.

Once I get the tears to stop, I emerge and wash my hands. My eyes are red and my makeup is smeared. I do what I can to fix the makeup with a wet paper towel, but not much can be done about the redness. Hopefully, no one will notice.

When I exit, a hand stops me. Ben is waiting for me in the hallway.

“Hi?” I say curiously.

“Hiya, I figured I could walk you back to the table.”

My heart swells. “Thank you.”

“Are you alright?”

I shake my head. “Not really.”

His mouth turns down. “I’m sorry you broke the glass.”

“Me too.” I push into him, circling my arms around his waist and leaning my head against his chest. His arms wrap tightly around me in return, cheek resting against my head. He is warm and comfortable and consuming in the best way—and a part of me senses that he needs this hug as much as I do.

I’m not sure how long we stand there, but a few people have to push past us with annoyed grumblings to get to the restroom. Ben holds me until I pull away.

“We should get back,” I say, crossing my arms over myself. “We’ve been gone a while.”

“I have a good explanation for that,” Ben says.

He licks his thumb before dragging it across my lower lip.

My body flushes at the contact, instinctively craving more.

I shove that feeling aside because I don’t understand what he’s doing—until he presses that thumb to the corner of his mouth, smearing a bit of my lipstick. Ah .

He takes my hand and leads me back to the table. We sit down as we have been sitting, with me on his lap.

Mel catches my eye and mouths, “You okay?”

I nod with a shrug. I look down at Ben and laugh, ready to go back to maintaining our ruse. “Oh, Benny, you got a little lipstick on you,” I say loud enough for at least Atti to hear. I lick my thumb and wipe it off with a smile on my face. He grins back at me.

Everyone else orders another round, but I refrain. Two was my plan for tonight anyway. Once they’re all done, we move on tothe club, our last stop of the night.

As we walk there, Mel takes my arm and ushers me away from Ben. “You good?” she asks again.

“Fine. Generally. Annoyed with myself.”

She hums. “Sorry.”

“Yeah.”

She veers me away from one of those metal roadblocks that line the pavement.

I say, “God, I hate those things. It’s like they purposely put them out of my sightline.”

“Well, the whole world is against you.”

“I agree,” I grumble, only half-meaning it.

We wait in line for a bit before we get in, and once we do, we head to the second floor. I look longingly at the dance floor, excited to let loose and dance off the shitty parts of tonight.

Over the loud music, Ben says in my ear, “Want anything to drink?”

“No!” I yell back. “I’m fine!”

“I’ll be right back, then. You okay?”

“Good!” I yell.

Mel grabs my hand and pulls me onto the dance floor with her. She throws her arms around my shoulders as we dance. Soon enough, Ben comes back and hands me a glass.

“I said I didn’t want anything!”

“It’s water!”

“Oh! Thank you!” I take a swallow of the water, not realizing until now how much I needed it. I gulp the rest of it down.

Mel gives me a wink and lets Ben move into her place. His hands land on my hips as his eyes ask, This okay?

I bob my head as I throw my arms around him so we can dance together.

We continue to dance through a couple of songs, staying close and moving with one another.

This is fun. This is what I was looking forward to.

After another song finishes, Ben says in my ear, “I have to use the toilet. You need a pitstop?”

“I’m okay!”

“Alright. Stay here. I’ll find you when I’m back.”

I look around for Mel and the others until I spot them a little bit away, faces aglow by the pink and blue lights of the club.

I’ll stay where I am so Ben can find me.

A really good song starts next, so I keep dancing with my whole body.

I bump into someone and apologize, but I don’t even care because everyone is bumping into everyone here.

But apparently, that is not the general consensus. A voice says in my ear, “You need a shield around you.”

I flinch at Atti’s sudden appearance. I search for a moment before I determine his girlfriend is not there and ask, “Where’s Bridget?”

“Toilet. Where’s that guy?”

“Ben,” I say flatly. “Also in the bathroom.” I look away from him, continuing to dance. I am not in the mood for this. As I move, I hit someone very lightly with my hand.

“Seriously, Linny?” Atti admonishes .

I spin on him. “ What is your deal?”

He peers down at me, his tone the height of condescension. “You need to be more careful. It’ll make things easier for everyone else.”

I groan, head falling backward. “Why is everything I do so embarrassing for you?! We are not together anymore, Atticus. You are no longer obligated to be embarrassed by me!”

A hand touches my back. I know without looking that it’s Ben.

“Why don’t you go find your girlfriend?” he suggests to Atti in a way that does not sound like a suggestion.

“Whatever,” Atti spits before stomping away.

Ben does not remove his hand from me as he rotates me toward him, pulling me back into the dance. I appreciate that he does not ask me if I’m alright. I’ve been asked that enough for tonight.

We keep dancing until my feet start to kill me and I need to go sit.

Ben and I find a little couch to rest on, me leaning against him.

Soon enough, Amber and Imani join us, followed shortly by Paul, cheeks flushed and dark blond hair somewhat dampened by sweat.

Ben lights up when he sees Paul, who sits down next to him—and I don’t miss the way Ben’s eyes drag over Paul’s chest now that he’s stripped down to a fitted T-shirt.

Ben wraps his arm around me as he and Paul pick up a conversation from earlier. I’m happy to just lean against him, feeling safe beside him. My eyes are heavy as I drink more water.

The night eventually wraps up, so we head back to our respective hotels and residences.

I did what I hoped to accomplish—my feet are so numb that they don’t even hurt anymore, so the walk is not bad.

Even though the streets are well-lit enough for me to make it to our hotel without assistance, Ben holds my hand the entire way. And I let him.