Better with Ben (How to Tame a Heartbreaker Book 3) (6 page)

Chapter 6

By 8PM that evening, Taylor and Hannah had a little buzz going. For Taylor, it was the kind of buzz that made her silly rather than sad, a fact for which she was extremely grateful, given the circumstances.

Kent had come home for a few minutes to change before leaving again, but Gina hadn't yet been home. She text Taylor earlier to check on her and let her know she was studying at a friend's house. Taylor told both of her concerned roommates she was fine which, thanks to Hannah and two-and-a-half White Russians, was the truth.

A few times she'd felt her heart start to race, but she was able to talk herself down and go back to a somewhat normal mindset where she forgot about the panic enough to make the symptoms disappear. All in all, she felt like it was a pretty good night—one where she felt mostly in control.

It was ten times better than the day before.

"What are you thinking?" she heard Hannah say.

"About how I'm getting good at talking my brain into believing my heart's working."

"What?" Hannah asked, thinking Taylor was just being silly.

Taylor laughed it off. She was feeling good at the moment, and didn't want to kill it by explaining it to Hannah.

"Hey, you know how Molly's brother had to leave when we were all out the other night?" Hannah's question was so out of left field that Taylor had to think for a minute about what she was saying. Yeah, she remembered Ben having to leave right after they got to the bar. Hannah explained, "This picture reminded me of him." She pointed to a magazine that was lying on the coffee table. There was a guy on the cover with a ton of tattoos.

"Does he have that many tattoos?" Taylor asked.

"No, but he's got one gigantic one. It takes up his whole arm and chest. I think it's on the right side. It's a—"

"I know, it's that tribal stuff. I saw it. He had his shirt rolled up the other night and I could see the bottom of it." She paused, remembering. "And yes, it's on the right side."

Hannah looked at her like she was surprised she paid that much attention to it.

"Why'd you ask me that?" Taylor asked.

"Ask you what?"

"You asked if I remembered him leaving the other night."

"Oh, nothing. I was just gonna say that I talked to Molly the next day and she said he left her a note saying he had to go out of town for work."

"What's he do? Isn't he in the Army?"

"He got out of the Army," Hannah said. "He does landscaping."

"He must be good if he gets called in on out of town landscaping jobs during the middle of the night."

Hannah laughed. "I know, right? It cracked me up when she told me that." She sighed a content, definitely buzzed sigh. "And now that I think about it, it's the left side."

Taylor gave Hannah a confused look. "Are you talking about the tattoo?"

"Yeah."

Taylor shook her head decisively. "You're wrong. It's definitely on the right."

"I think I'd know," Hannah said teasingly. "I saw him with his shirt off and you only saw a little sneak peak down on his arm."

"Well, that sneak peak was definitely on his right arm, so unless you're willing to put your money where your mouth is, you better just agree with me and know that it's on the right side."

Hannah cracked up laughing. She had no idea what side it was on, but she enjoyed getting a rise out of Taylor.

"What are you doing?" Taylor asked when she saw Hannah staring down at her phone stubbornly.

"I'm texting Molly. We'll settle this right now."

"Good," Taylor said. "I can't wait for her to tell you it's on the
right
."

Hannah was quiet for a moment as she considered what to text and then typed it out.

Hannah: "Hey Molls, we're having a big debate… Ben's tattoo. What arm?"

Molly wrote back almost instantly.

Molly: "Who's debating?"

Hannah: "Me and Taylor."

Molly showed the stream of texts to her brother who happened to be sitting next to her on the couch. He smiled as he read the words, and she could tell he liked the idea of the girls talking about his tattoo.

Molly: "Who says what?"

Hannah: "Just tell me."

Molly: "Where are you?"

Hannah: "Taylor's. Which arm?"

Molly: "We'll come by there so you can see for yourself. Ben came home in a brand new truck and I want to take a ride. You mind?"

Hannah: "Of course not. Come on over."

Molly: "We'll be there in a few."

Molly showed the second series of texts to her brother who's gaze snapped up to meet hers with an annoyed expression when he read the part where she said they'd be dropping by Taylor's house. Molly smiled and shrugged.

"It's right down the street, and I want a ride in the new whip anyway." She knew calling it his new whip would make him feel the need to show it off.

"Why do they care about the tattoo?"

"Because it's hot."

Ben smiled. "Are we supposed to be leaving
now
?"

Molly shrugged down at her phone as if she were just following its directions.

"You're the one who instigated this whole thing," he said.

"No, I'm not. They're the ones who had to know about your tattoo."

"You could have just told them what side it was on."

"And miss my ride?"

"I would have taken you on a ride. All you had to do was ask."

"Well, now we have somewhere to go," she said.

****

Hannah held out her phone so Taylor could read the correspondence with Molly.

"Wait," she said as she read. "Is this saying they're coming over here
tonight
to show us the tattoo?" She stared down at the phone for a few more seconds before looking up at Hannah, who nodded.

"Tonight? Right now?"

Hannah nodded again. She was wearing a big grin like Taylor should be
glad
at the news.

"He can't come over here tonight!" she said.

Hannah looked genuinely surprised. "Why?"

"Because I'm… because I'm barely out of my pajamas and I have this." She held up the cast. It was white plaster. Her other options had been neon pink or camo, and she wasn't really in the mood for either of those.

"Who cares? They're just coming by for a second. I think she just wants to check out Ben's new truck."

"Hannah, I can't have company."

"Sure you can. It's just Molly and Ben." Hannah had shared a few convenience kisses with Ben over the years, but was more like a little sister to him. To her, it was no big deal for them to stop by, but for Taylor was different.

"I have to change," she said nervously. "And what am I gonna do with my hair?"

Hannah laughed. "Don't worry about it. It's just Ben," she said. "He's the coolest ever. You'll see."

"I'm still gonna run a brush through my hair," Taylor said. They picked up their drinks and Hannah followed Taylor to the bathroom.

Hannah sat on the counter as Taylor tied her hair up, and put on some powder, mascara, and lip gloss.

"Beau-ti-ful," Hannah said when she was done. "I won't point out that you didn't do all that when we ran those errands earlier, but now that
Ben's
coming over, you want to get all dolled up."

Taylor glared at her. "You just
did
point it out, and I'm hardly all dolled up," she said. "And if you want to know why I didn't do it earlier, it's because we didn't know any of the people I'd be seeing when we ran errands, but we know Molly and Ben."

Hannah smiled at how eager Taylor was to justify herself, but decided not to tease her about it. "I'm just messin' with you," Hannah said. "Ben's a really cool guy. I don't want you to be nervous or feel like you have to impress him."

Taylor wasn't trying to impress him necessarily, she was just trying to avoid un-impressing him.

She went into her bedroom where she traded the sports bra she was wearing for one with a little padding. She also changed shirts since she was pretty sure hers had a little ice cream on it from earlier when the blender wasn't closed completely.

Hannah smiled at her transformation when she came into the living room, but didn't mention it. They both knew Taylor needed the distraction. It was nearly nine by the time Molly and Ben knocked on the door.

Taylor ran across the living room to answer it. She had on black tights and a grey sweatshirt with the word
peace
written in black. It hung off her shoulders, showing the black tank she wore underneath.

Molly, who had no idea about the dead body, smiled broadly when she opened the door. Ben was standing a little behind her, standing there sort of looking away as if he was just expecting to let the girls catch up. It was dark out, and the porch light shone on Molly, leaving Ben in the shadows.

"Come on in," Taylor said, trying not to get caught catching a glimpse at Ben.

"What
happened
?" Molly asked, taking in Taylor's cast.

"Oh, I tripped and landed on it wrong," Taylor said simply. She moved to the side and they started to cross the threshold, but Molly stopped.

"Let's show them your truck," she said, looking back at Ben.

He made a face like they didn't need to do all that, but Molly ignored him. She looked back at Taylor and Hannah who were gathered in the doorway. "You have to see this truck," she said. "It's so boss I think it just drove us over here without Ben doing anything."

Hannah looked at Ben and stuck her hand out.

"What?" he asked, smiling.

"The keys," she said. Their brother/sister relationship was obvious in his playful scowl. Taylor watched as he dug them out of his pocket and gave them to Hannah. The way he smiled as they took off toward the driveway was irresistible. He had Molly's golden brown eyes and dark hair that he wore in a short (although not Army short) haircut. It was long enough on top for him to have some sort of product keeping it in place. Taylor caught herself marveling at how sharp he looked. Then she remembered Molly was probably always grooming him for practice because she was still in beauty school.

"I don't know what she's so excited about," he said. "Both of their boyfriends probably have one of these for every day of the week."

Taylor had been thinking about his haircut and it took her a second to catch on to what he was saying. Hannah and Molly had already taken off toward the new truck and Ben was remarking about how rich their boyfriends were.

Taylor wasn't rich.

Every penny she had was earned, and if any money were to exchange hands between her and her parents, it would be her giving it to them and not the other way around. Taylor laughed. "I think they each have two or three cars, and that's fairly modest, considering."

"Still overkill," he said.

She smiled knowing he liked Nick and Jason but glad he was willing to joke about them being ridiculously rich.

"Who's talking about overkill?" she asked, gesturing at the immaculate SUV. She looked at him like he was crazy for acting like he didn't have money. She'd probably
never
have the budget to afford something like the truck that sat in her driveway. She actually wasn't sure if she'd spend the money on it even if she
did
have it. Taylor just wasn't a car type of person. It didn't matter to her what she drove, and she couldn't imagine blowing that much money on a vehicle even if she could.

Despite the poor lighting outside, it was easy to see how nice the vehicle was. Even in the dark, it shimmered and sparkled like it should have a Price is Right girl standing next to it gesturing at its grandness.

Just then, Molly turned and motioned to it as if to ask what Taylor thought. Taylor cracked up at the sight of her Price is Right fantasy coming true.

"That thing is brand spankin' new," Taylor said.

Ben laughed.

It was ridiculously shiny. He'd thought about looking for a dirt road to drive down so it wouldn't be so conspicuous.

"Where'd you get this, Ben?" Hannah asked. She wasn't the type to beat around the bush and she knew Ben's job couldn't account for a truck like that one.

"It's a company truck," Molly interjected.

Ben would have said the same thing so he just nodded in agreement.

"What company?" Hannah asked.

"That landscaping place." Molly said.

Ben wasn't planning on lying; he was going to tell them he had a government job from his experience with the Army. He was only working a day or two a week at the landscaping place, and that was just because he enjoyed it. His freelance job paid extremely well, and he didn't need the extra work.

"What's it called? Hannah asked, obviously impressed.