Totally and Completely Fine(84)
We were both lingering.
“This was nice,” I said.
Ben grinned at me. “I’d love to say I told you so, but I’ll be a gentleman.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“Will Lena be waiting up for you?”
I shook my head. “She’s at her grandmother’s tonight, though she’d usually be over at Eve’s.”
“The two of them are a hoot,” he said.
I wasn’t sure if he knew they were a couple.
“They truly are,” I said. “Thick as thieves.”
“Two of a kind.”
“Two peas in a pod.”
“Like a pair of socks.”
“Socks?” I laughed.
I was pretty sure he knew they were together. Mainly because he wasn’t looking me in the eye.
“I’m glad they have each other,” I said. “It’s hard enough standing out in a small town—at least they can do it together. As a couple.”
He let out a gust of air.
“You know?”
I smiled. “I know. They told you?”
“The other day at the theatre,” he said.
They’d been helping out there after school. Apparently, they’d already started angling to get paid for what I’m sure Gabe had assumed would be volunteer work. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they formed their own two-person union and managed to get health insurance as well.
Eve was that kind of kid, and Lena was that much in love with her.
It made me so happy to see them together.
“They talked to Ollie, but he thought I’d be a better resource,” Ben said. “Since I’m a child myself.”
“Ha,” I said. “Just don’t encourage them to jump out of airplanes.”
“Not until they’re eighteen at least,” he said.
“No. Airplanes,” I said.
He lifted his hands. “Fine. But how do you feel about paragliding?”
“No,” I said. “Nothing resembling flight.”
He laughed.
“I do have to tell you something,” I said.
He glanced over, looking concerned.
“For someone who is a professional actor, you’re a terrible liar.”
“Thank you,” he said. “I hate lying.”
“Isn’t that what acting is?”
“Is that what you think?”
I shrugged.
“Acting is about telling the truth,” Ben said, and I could see him warming to the topic. Something he clearly cared about—had thought about. “But you do it through someone else. Someone else’s words, someone else’s character. You get to inhabit a new world, and you can bring people along with you. But it’s all about connection—you are reaching out, to show them something new about themselves. About others. About the world around them. It’s a chance to be open and vulnerable. To practice empathy. Lying is about being closed off. Putting up distance and walls and deception.”
“Oh,” I said.
We got out of the car.
I’d never thought about it that way.
“Sorry,” he said. “I tend to get a little preachy when it comes to that stuff.”
“You care about your work,” I said.
“I do.”
“You’ll make a great James Bond,” I said.
He held up a hand, fingers crossed.
“What about you?” he asked.
“I don’t think I’d be a very good James Bond,” I said.
He smiled. “I mean, what do you get preachy about?”
“Salt,” I said. “It needs to be in everything.”
A gust of wind blew through the parking lot. I shivered, and Ben draped his leather jacket over my shoulders. It was time for me to go home. Time to say goodnight.
“Early morning tomorrow?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Just the usual—unpacking books, setting up supplies, reorganizing the office. There’s also this broken step in the back of the Cozy that I need to put a sign on so no one else trips on it. We’ve had a few close calls.”
“It probably has a loose screw or nail,” he said.
“Probably,” I said. “I keep meaning to call someone.”
Ben lifted his eyebrow.
“What?” I asked.
“Do you have a hammer? Screwdriver?”
“Of course,” I said.
It seemed probable that there was one of those somewhere in the store.
“Then I can fix that step,” he said.
“Oh,” I said.
He moved closer to me. Brushed hair away from my face.
“Let me fix your step, Lauren,” he said.
“Okay,” I said.
Chapter 45
Now
It turned out that we did not have a screwdriver or a hammer.
“Well, shit,” I said.
“If you can get one tomorrow, I can come by and fix it,” Ben said, pushing up from the crouch he’d been in. “It won’t take much. Just a screw or two.”
I looked at him. He looked at me, eyes twinkling in the dim light.
We were both waiting for the other to pick up that dropped innuendo.
It wasn’t going to be me.