“Good, I was hoping it would be okay. How was that?” I asked.
“The best I’ve ever had. Amazing,” he said.
“I know I have school in the morning and you have work, but I don’t want to be alone tonight,” I said.
“I would’ve already said yes, but after that I’ll definitely say yes. I’ll take you home early. You might as well just bring some stuff to leave next time, because I have a feeling you’ll be over a lot,” he said.
“If you’ll let me,” I said.
“Oh yeah, I’ll let you,” he said, grabbing my hand and holding it.
“Good,” I said, before he turned around and headed towards his house.
As I looked at him driving, I couldn’t help but smile as I thought that no longer was Bentley just some guy I was going on dates with. He was mine, and I was his, and I couldn’t have been happier. I didn’t think anything could ruin this.
Chapter Fourteen
Bentley
After what Anna did for me in the car, I couldn’t just let her go on without any type of, well, compensation for her job. I had to do something that would make her happy, and since I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, I had to settle on something else.
Let me preface this by saying that I’m not big on feet. They’re gross, I hate them, and I don’t know why anybody would want to go around and touch them. Anna, however, loved foot massages, as she’d told me, and I knew that if I really wanted to pay her back for her selflessness earlier, I should probably give her a nice foot massage.
“Okay, let me at them,” I said, as she smiled from ear to ear.
I had a bottle of lotion on the coffee table and some cooking competition played on the television. I pumped a large squirt into my hand and covered my hands while she put her feet in my lap. I wanted to cringe, even though her feet weren’t ugly or calloused, but instead I kept a happy smile on my face and put her before myself. I guess that’s what a good boyfriend is supposed to do.
She let out a sound as the lotion rubbed on her left foot and my hands gripped her toes and began to massage them.
“That feels really good,” she said, her head back on a pillow and her eyes closed.
“I’m glad you like it. Now just relax and enjoy it,” I said as she breathed in slowly and let it out even slower.
I looked down at her feet, squirting more lotion into my hand, before pushing my thumbs into the arch of her foot and seeing her toes curl a little. I smiled, knowing that I was making her feel good, and that she was happy in this moment. I suppose that was all that I ever wanted to do—make her happy, and make sure she was happy with me. I think when we enter new relationships we usually try our best to impress the other person with things we might not normally do. Maybe it’s like those birds in the rainforest who push out all their colorful feathers and do weird dances around the females. We want to show how great we are to snag the person and keep them around.
With her left foot moisturized, I put some more lotion in my hands and started on her right foot as I saw the stress melt off her face and body. The volume on the TV was low, though still loud enough to make out what they were saying. I turned and watched the chefs fighting over a pineapple as I tried to keep my visual focus off her feet. I guess working with my hands really did have its perks, for her at least.
After about twenty minutes, ten on each foot, I stopped, tapping her shin and telling her to wake up. She did, saying she never fell asleep, though she looked both tired and refreshed at the same time. She curled her toes a little, not moving her feet off me, as she smiled at me and suddenly her stinky feet didn’t seem to matter. I moved in and gave her a kiss, her hands going onto my cheeks, like she didn’t want me to stop.
“I’m getting a little sleepy,” she said, yawning.
“Yeah, I’m getting a little tired, too. Plus, we have to wake up earlier tomorrow so I can get you back home,” I said.
I turned off the TV and she slowly took her feet off me before sitting up and yawning once more, which in turn made me yawn. We walked upstairs, turning off the lights behind us, before I went into the bathroom and washed my hands and face and brushed my teeth before going into the bedroom, where she was already under the covers and presumably knocked out.
I turned on my nightstand lamp before walking back towards the door, shutting it, and turning off the overhead light. She moved as I got back into bed, moaning a little bit as she scooted towards me and cuddled up to me. She wrapped her arms around my torso as I turned off the lamp and the faint moonlight provided just enough glow in the room.
I could feel her falling asleep as I yawned and felt my eyes water a little. I turned my head and looked at her, her pretty face fast asleep, before I brushed back her falling hair with my free hand, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead and closing my eyes. I had about twenty cars coming into the shop tomorrow, plus I had to talk to Dad about the new shop, so needless to say I needed my sleep.
Feeling her grip on me soften, I felt her fall fast asleep as my own mind drifted off. Goodnight, my beautiful girl.
Chapter Fifteen
Anna
Panicked, I wiped spit off the side of my cheek as I sprung up from Bentley’s bed and put my clothes back on.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up with half-closed eyes.
“We have to go! I have class!” I said.
“Shit, you’re right,” he said, looking over at his clock.
We weren’t late yet, but we were about to be if we didn’t leave in the next five minutes. We were already leaving too late anyway, but Bentley got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and came out dressed for work as I kept on the clothes from last night, which were good enough to go to class in should I be that late.
We went downstairs and he grabbed his keys and jacket before we headed outside, the sidewalk a bit slick from the rain and cold air last night, and got into his car. Checking his watch, he pulled out of his driveway with the car rumbling and put it into drive before quickly heading down the street.
“How did you sleep?” I asked.
“Good, but not as well as you. You were out like a light,” he said.
“That foot rub really did wonders. I might have to get another one someday soon,” I said.
“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” he said, looking over at me.
We quickly made it back to my place, where I gave him a kiss and ran out of the car and to the front door before fumbling a little with my keys as I put it into the lock.
“Where have you been?” Nina asked, eating a bowl of cereal as I walked in.
“I spent the night with Bentley after our date. I have to get ready for class,” I said.
“Classes until ten are cancelled,” she said nonchalantly.
“What? Why? When did you hear that?” I asked, stopping dead in my tracks.
“They put out the alert on the website. I guess the rain did so much freezing that it’s unsafe until they salt everything. Plus I guess two buildings have heat problems with the furnaces outside or whatever it said because of the rain. So no class until ten,” she said.
“Fuck,” I said, setting down my purse and keys on the table next to her.
“Most people would be happy,” she said.
“I am, but Bentley and I rushed here because I thought I’d be late. I could’ve had more time with him and more time to wake up,” I said.
“You’ll see him again soon. How did the date go?” she asked.
“Well, he asked me out,” I said.
“To be official?” she asked, perking up.
“Yup,” I said, smiling.
“Oh my God, that’s amazing, Anna!” she squealed, hugging me.
“It’s something else, that’s for sure. I guess I never expected anything like this to happen. I mean, I hoped it would, and I really wanted a relationship, but Bentley Hawthorne? Still feels like a dream,” I said.
“I wonder if Cash and Liam are single,” she said.
“I’m not asking. Last thing I need to do is screw this up,” I said.
“Oh, calm down, not like I’d ever date them anyway. Just a fun thought. We could both be fucking a Hawthorne,” she said, smiling, before giving a wink.
“You’re crazy,” I said, getting up and walking into the kitchen.
“Hey, you know it would be cool. Like some high-school girl’s dream come true,” she said as I poured myself a bowl of cereal.
“Looks like it will still stay just a dream then,” I said jokingly.
“Wait until Maggie hears about you dating Bentley. That girl will implode,” she said.
“Knowing her, she’ll probably pester Bentley personally next time he’s here about Liam. She can be a little out there sometimes,” I said.
“I think she’ll be more than a little out there. I better finish getting ready, though. I have a class at ten and I need to leave a little earlier for the bus. I think they’re running behind or something,” she said, putting her bowl in the sink and going upstairs.
I sat there eating my own bowl before taking out my phone and texting Bentley about the situation and apologizing for having to leave so early, especially when it turned out I really didn’t need to at all. After a few minutes he replied, saying I had no way of knowing and that it wasn’t a problem. I liked how he was like that, not blaming me or making it seem like my fault in some way. I wish I could say that my ex would’ve done the same thing, but he definitely wasn’t anywhere near as nice or understanding as Bentley.