Love Me Sweet (Love Me book 1)

Chapter 21

         

Lia threw Huck in the bathtub and rinsed him. It got rid of the flour, but it made the entire apartment reek of wet dog. She gave him a good telling off while she was at it, and when she finished, she shoved him out of the bathroom, slamming the door on his wet butt, telling him to stay off the couch. She then quickly stripped and hopped in the shower herself, she didn't want to take too long since she hadn't given Ben a time.

When she got out of the shower, she hopped across the hall to her room and threw on whatever clothes were at hand. She had been thinking about what had just happened at Ben's house, and she wasn't too sure what was about to happen next. She was wondering exactly how honest she should be. She was a direct person by nature, so she had a feeling it was going to turn out that she said more than she should.

When she rounded the corner to her kitchen, she stopped short. Ben was already there, setting the table with plates and Chinese to-go containers.

"I hope you like Chinese," he said as he stole a bite of something that was in one of the containers.

"I like most food," she answered honestly as she sat at the table.

"I like the outfit, you're obviously out to seduce me. What do you want to drink?" he asked looking in her fridge.

Lia looked down at her fuzzy pajama bottoms that had snowmen on them and the t-shirt that was way too big and had the name of an old band on it. "I was in a rush. I'll have a soda," she said, reaching for a to-go container and placing some food on her plate.

Ben joined her, handing her a drink as he sat next to her. Huck laid on the floor between them, keeping a close eye on every morsel that passed their lips.

"Where do you want to start?" Ben asked, taking a bite of food.

"Let's start with what Kimberly meant when she said we had a lot to talk about?" She eyed Ben as he chewed.

"I have a book tour starting in a few months. I'll be away from home for about a month." He looked up at her.

"Kimberly goes with you on this tour?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could.

Ben nodded. "Yes, she set the dates and arranges the travel."

"Was she the reason you didn't come home last night?" Lia asked watching him.

"I did come home last night, but it was late. We had a lot to go over with regards to the tour, why, were you worried?" he teased.

Lia shrugged. "A little," she admitted. However, now she was jealous, and she wouldn't admit that. The idea of Kimberly having him all to herself for a month, staying in hotel rooms, constantly together. It was enough to drive her nuts if she thought about it too much.

"You and Kimberly, you're close?" she asked.

He paused, food halfway to his mouth. "No, not really." He set his food down and looked at her. "She's very good at her job though. Is this some of those consequences you were talking about?" he asked as he reached for his drink.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Jealously."

"I don't have a right to be jealous," Lia denied.

"But if we have a physical relationship you might feel as if you have a right to be," he suggested.

"Feel as if, no, I would definitely have a right to be jealous. I don't have casual sex, Ben. If we move this to the next step, then in my mind this would be a very real relationship. You would be mine, and I would have the right to be jealous, and I would have a serious issue with you traveling around the country with Kimberly. She's out to get her claws into you."