Your Guardian Angel

Chapter 29

Knock, knock, knock!

Ben waited patiently with his very expensive bottle of whiskey in the crook of his arm and balancing a plate of Cassie's famous cookies in his hand. Just as he was about to knock again, it opened to Tom frantically tucking his shirt into his pants.

"Hey, mate," Tom smiled. "Come on in." He stepped aside and let Ben in. Ben quirked an eyebrow at his friend. "What? I just lost track of time. Just got out of the shower." Ben looked around suspiciously. Quickly changing the subject, Tom asked, "Did Cass make those? For us?"

He took them and led Ben into the kitchen. "Yeah," Ben told him, still cautious of who else could be in this house, "she knows how much you enjoyed them at dinner, so she made you a batch. Well, us. I'm definitely having three or four of those."

He showed Tom the bottle of whiskey and Tom practically gave Ben grabby hands to take it. He popped it open and poured them each a glass. He handed Ben his, then held up his glass in a toast. "To our new tradition of a weekly guy's night."

Ben clinked his glass. "To Cassie for allowing this to happen. I was a little insulted when she was so eager about it." He took a sip of his drink. Just as he was about to swallow it, Katie came bounding into the kitchen. He choked on his drink and started coughing.

Katie gasped and practically jumped when he saw him. "Oh my God! Ben! Wow! I, uh, I didn't know you were here!" She gave a pointed look to Tom, who had his head down sipping on his drink. She looked back to Ben. He looked like he didn't know what to say! "Don't tell Cass," she begged. "I'm planning on telling her tonight."

Ben glanced back and forth between the two. "And...what is there to tell?" His eyes landed on Tom. Again, he put his head down and drank.

Katie rolled her eyes with a smile, then went over and kissed his cheek. "Have fun with boys night," she said in a sing-song tone. "See you later, Ben!" Both men were silent up until the door closed and a few moments after.

Ben cocked his head at Tom and smirked. "I fucking knew it."

"Fuck off, no you did not," Tom retorted.

"Oh, please," Ben scoffed. "I know you, Tom, more than you think. So are you two dating?"

"No," Tom quickly told him. "If you knew me as much as you claim, you'd know that is not on the table."

Ben shrugged. "True. But I do know Katie and I know she's a catch. I also know she can be very persuasive."

Tom finished his drink. "I don't want to talk about it." Ben shrugged and let it go, which made Tom anxious. "Are you actually not going to ask me about it anymore?" Ben shook his head. "And why not?" He seemed almost insulted!

"Because," Ben said as he picked up a cookie from the plate, "I'll hear all about it when I get home. Trust me, I know more about Katie's sex life than I care to. So if there's anything you want me to know from you, let's hear it."

Tom pondered for a moment. "I'm excellent in bed."

Ben threw a crumb from the cookie at Tom and picked up the whiskey bottle. "What's on the agenda tonight?"

Cassie blew out the candles and shut off the lights when she heard the front door unlock. Ben came stumbling in and shushing inanimate objects that made any noise. Cassie listened from the living room with her hand over her mouth trying not to laugh.

She crept into the foyer to see Ben struggling with his jacket. She bit her bottom lip as to not laugh. "Need help?" She eventually asked. Ben nearly jumped out of his skin, clearly not expecting her to be up.

"Bloody hell, why are you up?" He asked with slightly slurred speech.

"Why are you drunk and driving home?" She playfully - but seriously - retorted.

He rolled his eyes. " 'm fine," he slurred. "You need sleep, come on." He got his pesky jacket away, then took her hand and led her up the stairs. "How'as girl's night?"

"It was great," she smiled. "How was boy's night?"

Ben let out a little chuckle. "It was good, yeah. Tom loves your cookies."

"Oh, I'm sure he does," she laughed. "I think he might like Katie's a little more, though..."

Ben turned to her on the stairs and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God she told you. I was bursting to text you all night!"

"You knew!? How!?"

He chuckled, "Saw Katie in Tom's house. He won't kiss and tell so I'm relying on you for the details."

Cassie was more than happy to oblige on the details. Apparently, after the dinner they hosted, Tom and Katie decided to swap numbers to keep tabs on Best Man and Maid of Honor duties. Well, their texts seemed to get more and more flirtatious - which was no surprise to either Ben or Cassie - until Tom had invited her over.

They didn't even get to the small talk before sleeping together. After that, Tom ordered them some food and they had talked all night. Katie says it's practically been non-stop for weeks since. When asked about how serious it was, Katie told her that Tom insisted he didn't want a relationship, only fun.

Katie is very sure of herself, though, that she can get Tom to come around.

"I'll let Tom know to watch himself," Ben said as he got into bed. "If there's one thing he's good at, it's letting women think he's interested, but then letting them down later. Kate's gone through too much for him to do that to her."

"It's so sweet that you care," she said as she snuggled up to him. "Also, she told me he's "marvelous" in bed." Ben snorted and shook his head.

He put his arm around her and pulled her close. "Of course I care about her. She's family." He pecked a kiss to her head and was ready to go to sleep. He took in a deep breath, put a hand over her stomach and relished in the silence.

"...Ben?" His eyes jolted open, then closed them before humming in response. "Can you promise me something?" He hummed again as his answer. "Don't drink and drive again. Please?" He opened his eyes and looked over at her. She was so worried and he could see it. "If you need a ride, call me or get an Uber."

He nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry." He pressed a reassuring kiss to her forehead. "And I'm sorry to you, too." He kissed her stomach. "Daddy is always going to come home to you." He gave it another kiss and felt kick where his lips were.

He looked up at Cassie with a wide grin. Nothing was ever going to stop him from coming home. He was going to make sure of it.