Fall ❈ Benny Rodriguez

xvi. manhattan

CHAPTER SIXTEEN!
MANHATTAN　KINGS of LEON

　

　

BERTRAM'S NEW PICKUP truck pulled into the gas station. He killed the engine, and as he made his way inside, he twirled the keys around his finger, a permanent little smile on his lips. Pride rolled from his skin like steam.

　There were no backseats, so while Ivy claimed the passenger's seat, I, along with Benny, Kenny and Leah, sat in the bed of the truck. Coming to a stop was an immense relief, because Kenny had his back against the tailgate—and after all of the panicked remarks I had made, begging him to move, I suspected that he stayed there for his own amusement.

　"I'm going to use the bathroom," Benny said, who'd sat at my side, directly across Kenny, his arm always wrapped around my shoulders. He turned his warm hazel eyes on me. "Do you need to use it?"

　"No, but can you get me a drink?"

　"Sure." Benny, whose soft gaze had never left mine, smiled lightly. There was something so infinitely pleasant and warm injected into his every word, his every look, and it filled me to the brim with love.

　With a slow-growing smile, I pecked his lips. Then he hopped to the ground with Kenny, just as the passenger's door slammed shut. Now it was just me, Leah and Ivy—the latter climbed into the back, pink sneakers glinting in the sun.

　"So," Ivy grinned, hastily moving to sit at my feet. Her curls were pulled tightly into two buns, a couple of twisting strands of hair framing her face. Under the sunlight and with her smile, she glowed like gold. "Tell me everything!"

　Without clarification, I knew that Ivy was referring to my trip with Benny. Our phones had not been of use in the mountain, with no service, so we had been unreachable. Apparently, most had learned of Benny and Brandy's breakup around the same time as I did; Ivy claimed that she had tried texting me with the information, only to learn, by Luke, that I had left with him.

　The trip had lasted for two days, each of which were filled with adventure and...love. In truth, I didn't feel too different—just sore in low places and lacking the innocence I had once possessed. Still, there was something infinitely comforting, knowing that I had become intimate with Benny. That I had explored foreign territory with someone that I trusted and loved. Someone that I had always and would always love.

　Admitting that I had lost my virginity was a bit of a scary topic. At the same time, I wanted to talk about it to someone. A shy smile turned on my lips, and I said, "Well, if it isn't obvious, we're together again."

　"Duh!" Ivy's grin brightened, and Leah, who sat against the tire bump to my left, smiled as well, more to herself than anything. "That's clearer than Paradise. Girl, you are glowing."

　"Really?"

　Leah fixed me with her emerald eyes then, the smile on her mouth growing. "Yeah, you are. You look happier than I've seen you since...well...freshman year."

　Truly, it was no surprise. No surprise that, in spite of all that I'd gone through with Jordan, the infatuation and the heartbreak, something vital just clicked into place now that Benny was mine again. Now that I was his. And I recalled always feeling like his lips had been shaped specially for mine, but it was more than that. It was his whole being, his soul that seemed a perfect match for mine.