13. To Be Or Not To Be (1/2)

13 – to be or not to be

felicity pushed the motel room door shut and locked it. "phew. what do you think that girl's problem was? she acted like the kid started the fire on purpose."

"i don't know," ben answered with a genial shrug. he grinned. "i'm just sorry it ruined your chance at a rematch of air hockey."

"you are not sorry," she scolded. "look at you. you're gloating."

"maybe i'm gloating a little bit."

with a rueful shake of her head, she went to her suitcase and opened it to gather supplies for her shower.

ben caught her by the wrist, and she nearly sprang into the air. he pulled her close. "where you going?"

"i was…just going to…"

"i'm not done gloating about my win," he teased, swooping in to kiss her.

they have to make some kind of pill for ben-covington-induced vertigo, she thought with a smile. this is becoming a common issue.

his hands slipped around her back, and he rested his forehead against hers. "gloat, gloat, gloat."

she giggled. "okay, i give up. you won. you are the master of all air hockey."

"all right, i'm done gloating." his amused expression changed in an instant, and he kissed her more softly, drawing her closer.

felicity felt her knees dissolving and leaned forward against him. he took a few steps back, pulling her with him, and sat on the edge of the bed with her on his lap. she put her arms around him, sinking into a blissful oblivion of everything around them.

ben

oke the kiss to look at her. "we can stop, if you want."

his words slithered into her pleasant haze. "what?"

he looked a little embarrassed. "this. we can stop. you said you weren't ready."

with the haze still clouding her mind, she blinked. "to kiss you?"

he cleared his throat and dropped his gaze. "not just that."

her heartbeat started surging in her chest. "oh. i—i don't think… i'm not sure…" she felt her cheeks burning, and couldn't meet his eyes. "do you think i'm a prude?"

his gaze snapped back up. "no," he answered, sounding genuinely startled. "felicity…if you're not ready, you're just not ready. that's totally fine." his eyes softened. "i would love to be with you, but i'm not going to push you into it."

the tiny, icy seed of anxiety in her stomach melted, only to be replaced by another. she hedged a bit before asking, "what are we?"

"what do you mean?"

"you and me. this. i love it," she hurried to say, "but i've been kind of wondering what you and i are now. what this is."

his

ow furrowed in puzzlement. "why do we have to call it something? why can't it just be whatever it is?"

the blush crept from her cheeks up into the roots of her hair. "i don't know. i just…kind of want to know where this is going."