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“Yes… yes I did.”

“I can’t believe you don’t trust me!” exclaimed Ben. “Do you think I’m not being sincere?”

She sighed and thought about what she wanted to say. She was determined to be honest with Ben. Her hesitation in telling Ian how she was feeling was part of what led to the disaster that ended their friendship. Taking in a deep breath, she turned on the couch to face him and sat cross-legged. “Ben, you’ve got to understand something. I just met you yesterday. Yesterday! I don’t trust some people that I’ve known for years, and now all of a sudden you’re in my life and I don’t know exactly how to handle it. Look, this isn’t something I normally do. I’ve never met someone who I liked so quickly and who liked me back and decided to actually do something about it. It’s all very sudden.”

Ben looked confused. “What are you saying? Are you saying this is too fast?”

“No, Ben. It’s perfect. I think that’s why it’s so scary. It’s…it’s like a dream. I’m afraid I’ll wake up from this weekend and you’ll be a distant memory.”

“That’s not going to happen,” said Ben, looking insulted.

“But don’t you see? How am I supposed to know that? That’s exactly why I talked to your brother. I wanted to find out what kind of person you are. I give my heart away too quickly, and I need to protect myself.”

Ben nodded and looked at the floor.

“But…” Kate continued, “… I feel like I can trust you. Darren had nothing but wonderful things to say about you. And I don’t know how to describe it, but I just feel like you’re a good and decent person. That’s why I’m here with you now. And I don’t do this. I don’t meet men one day and wind up cuddling on the couch with them the day after. It’s just not me. So please understand that this means something to me.”

Ben looked deep into her eyes. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Kate,” he said. “Look, you’re not the only one who’s scared. I may seem confident on the outside, but I’ve been hurt badly by women in the past and I have a hard time believing in anyone. Women will send me all these signals and allow me to get close to them, but as soon as I say that I want anything more, they tell me they just want to be friends. Women can be so manipulative and cruel.”

“Ben. Listen to me. I am
not
one of those women. I’ve learned that being honest and straightforward is the best way to live. There is nothing I want more in this world than to be a support and a companion to that one special man who’s out there for me. I have no desire to be one of those women you’re talking about. I know what I want, and when I find the person I want and can believe in, you better believe that I’ll never leave his side.”

Ben ran his fingers through her hair and looked deep into her eyes. “I can’t believe that a person like you exists.”

He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. It had been so long since she had felt the warmth of a truly passionate kiss, and the simple fact that she trusted this man made the kiss better than any kiss she remembered. She let go of all of her fear and her worries and allowed herself to get lost in the moment.

Kate awoke before the sun came up. She looked up and saw Ben, fast asleep. They had both fallen asleep on opposite ends of the couch. Not wanting to be seen by the others, she gingerly lifted herself off of the couch and tried not to disturb Ben. “I’m going to go back to my room,” she whispered when he stirred slightly. “Keep sleeping.” She kissed him on the forehead and stared at his peaceful face for a moment before tiptoeing off down the hall.

As she slipped into the bed that she and Brooke were sharing for the weekend, she heard Brooke grunt from a half-asleep stupor.

“Kate? Is that you? What time is it?”

“Shh, it’s me,” Kate replied. “It’s almost five o’clock. Go back to sleep.”

“Almost five…five in the morning?” said Brooke, slowly gaining consciousness and becoming more coherent.

“Yes,” said Kate.

“Have you been with Ben this whole time?” Brooke hissed.

“Well, yes,” she said sheepishly. “It was perfectly innocent!” Her tone turned indignant when she saw the look on Brooke’s face.

“Uh huh. Come on. Details.”

Kate proceeded to tell Brooke about what had just transpired. She told Brooke how they talked about both being scared, how they seemed to find a mutual trust in each other, and of course, about the incredible kiss. “It didn’t go any further than kissing, though. You know I’m not like that,” Kate said. “It was so amazing, Brooke. We stayed up until three just talking and cuddling. I didn’t want to fall asleep because I didn’t want the night to ever end.” Kate looked up at the ceiling with a love struck expression on her face.

Brooke covered her face with a pillow and let out a girly squeal. “This is so amazing! It’s so romantic! I can’t believe this is happening to you!”

“Neither can I,” said Kate with a happy sigh. “Neither can I.” And with a crooked smile on her face, she pulled the covers over her and went to sleep.

~~~~~

After enjoying a late brunch that morning, the group of friends packed up the car and started driving back towards reality. Kate wished she could stay at the beach house forever. The seating arrangement was a little different in the car on the trip home than it was just two short days ago. Kate and Ben sat in the back seat holding hands, both fast asleep within minutes of leaving the beach house.

“So what do we think about the backseat twitterpation?” said Amy, turning around in her seat to face Brooke and Darren.

“Shhh!” hissed Brooke. “They’re going to hear us talking about them.”

“Honey, they are dead asleep,” said Amy. “Here, watch. Yo, Kate! Ben! I’ll give you a billion dollars if you wake up.”

Neither person in the back seat stirred.

“See, told you so,” said Amy. “So…come on. This is pretty exciting, huh?”

“I haven’t seen her this excited about a guy since…well, ever!” said Brooke.

“She really deserves a good man,” said Rick from the driver’s seat. “Too bad he’s related to Darren.”

“Hey!” cried Darren indignantly.

“Oh stop it, Rick. I actually think it’s perfect that she’s into your brother, Darren,” said Amy. “This way, if he breaks her heart, we’ll know where to find him. And kill him.”

“Well I sincerely hope that won’t happen,” said Darren.

“It better not,” said Brooke. “Your brother is a good guy, right?”

“Of course he is. I never would have told Kate to go for it if he wasn’t. He’s just…I don’t know…”

“What?” asked Brooke. “Wanted in seventeen states? Addicted to gambling? One of those people who only showers bi-weekly?”

“Um, no. None of the above. I hope. He’s just kind of a big manchild.”

“Pretty sure we all are, dude,” said Rick.

“True, true,” said Darren. “But you know what I mean. He’s just used to always getting his way, and I think he enjoys his freedom. I actually think it’s time for him to grow up a bit and settle down, and from everything both he and Kate have told me, it seems like they are both serious about this.”

“If she makes me wear pink at the wedding, I’m not coming,” said Amy.

“We’ve all got to grow up eventually,” said Rick. “If I could do it, then so can Ben.”

“We’ll just call you a work-in-progress, honey,” said Amy, patting her husband on the cheek.

~~~~~

Kate’s apartment was the first stop when they got back into town. “Kate, wake up! You’re home,” said Rick from the driver’s seat.

She raised her head off of Ben’s shoulder and rubbed her eyes. “We’re here already?”

“Yep. You slept the whole time. I can’t possibly imagine why you are so tired,” said Darren, never one to miss an opportunity to tease Kate when one presented itself.

“I’ll get your bag,” said a groggy Ben, who had also just woken up.

As they walked towards her front door, Kate was suddenly hit with a wave of sadness. She didn’t want the weekend to end. It had all been too perfect, and now she was headed back to reality. They reached the door and Ben put her bag on the ground.

Kate looked back at the running car, and although she couldn’t see through the tinted windows, she was very aware that all of her friends were watching her and Ben. “I had a great time this weekend, Ben.”

“Yeah, it was all right,” he replied with a grin.

“You’re so awful!” she said.

“It was amazing, Kate. Absolutely amazing.” He leaned in and hugged her tightly. “I’ll call you soon, okay?”

She nodded and watched Ben walk back to the car. She unlocked her door and stepped inside her apartment, and heard Ben yell “Kate!” just before she shut it behind her.

Stepping back outside, she saw Ben running back towards the door. He grabbed her, kissed her quickly but firmly, and ran back to the car. She stood there breathless and watched the car drive away.

~~~~~

Kate unlocked the door to The Bestselling Dwelling on Monday morning and headed to her desk. “Good morning, Meredith,” she said cheerfully as she walked past Meredith’s open office door.

“Good morning, hon!” replied Meredith. “Once you’ve made your coffee, come in and tell me about your weekend. I don’t have any new magazines today, so I need to get my morning gossip fix from somewhere.”

Several minutes later, Kate sauntered into Meredith’s office with her favorite mug full of hot coffee. “What…what is this look on your face?” said Meredith, pointing her finger at Kate and moving it around in a circular motion.

With a sly smile, she said innocently, “Look? What look? I can’t possibly understand what you might be referring to.” She took a long sip from her mug.

“Katherine!” cried Meredith.

Kate chuckled, thoroughly enjoying seeing her boss clearly dying to be in the know. Not wanting to torture her any longer, she said, “I met someone.”

“You met someone? But I thought you went away for the weekend. Where did you meet someone?”

“It’s Darren’s brother, Ben. He was in town on business, and Darren invited him to the beach for the weekend with us,” said Kate.

“Well, well, well…” Meredith said, shaking her head in disbelief. “You crazy kids. Okay, I want the full story!”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course you do,” she said. She told Meredith about the weekend, stopping to answer questions and to giggle when she got embarrassed.

“He sounds like a wonderful man, Kate. I’m so excited for you.”

“Thank you. He is pretty wonderful,” replied Kate, who was looking positively giddy.

“So where does this leave you now? He’s up in DC, you’re down here in Rocky Mount. Are you going to have a long distance relationship?”

“Well, I’m not exactly sure. We haven’t really talked too much about the future,” said Kate. “But I know this wasn’t just a weekend fling. I mean, he’s already text me three times this morning, and we’ve made plans to speak on the phone tonight. We’re still just getting to know each other. I’m sure we’ll work out the distance thing somehow.”

Kate heard the front door open and got up from her seat in front of Meredith’s messy desk to go and greet the customers. She spent the next ten minutes of her morning helping a couple in their 50’s find several travel books for their upcoming vacation to Rome. Meredith spent that entire ten minutes deep in prayer for Kate. “Father,” she whispered, “protect my sweet Kate. Be with her and Ben as they get to know each other, and help them to be good to each other. Please don’t let him hurt her.” She looked up and could see Kate flipping through a book with the couple, pointing out some of the highlights and laughing as the man apparently made a joke. “Please don’t let him hurt her,” she repeated fervently.