Hot
(Day 11: Wednesday Afternoon)
"What is it?" Ben smiles. "You're not getting sick of picnics, are you? Because if you are, you should have told me. I could have taken you to a movie instead."
"No," Mal evenly answers. "I like the quiet and beautiful scenery."
"Then what's the problem?"
"Nothing," Mal denies, but then she looks up at him. "It's just— Why did you tell Fairy Godmother you're concerned about me? Now that my friends know, Evie's been keeping time every time I use the bathroom."
"I was just worried," Ben explains. "I'm sorry if it's made things more complicated with your friends, but I had to make sure you'd be okay." He places his hand to her face and whispers, "I love you. I couldn't bear to lose you."
Mal looks away from him, forcing his hand to drop back down, "You sound like Evie."
"Is that such a bad thing?" Ben questions. "I care about you, just as your friends must care about you." She doesn't look at him. "You're important to us. Losing you would be like losing a part of ourselves."
"But you were never going to lose me," Mal looks back at him in insistence.
"Maybe," Ben shakes his head. "But I couldn't take that risk." She looks away from him again, and he inquires, "Do you even know what you said, how it sounded? You were crying and listing every horrible thing you had done. You made it sound like you didn't think you deserved me. You made it sound like you didn't think you deserved to live at all."
"You're being dramatic," Mal disbelieves. "Sometimes I'm afraid of hurting those I'm close to, but that doesn't make me suicidal."
"So, what? You were just trying to push me away? There has to be more of a reason than just that, Mal."
She senses the heat coming off of him and smiles, "Let's not talk about this." She moves onto her knees and leans forward so that she can wrap her arms around him. "You're so hot." She kisses him and slowly moves down to his neck.
"Ah. Mal?"
She whispers, "I want you." before she guides his back down onto the red blanket.
He feels her hand move under his shirt, "You're avoiding the subject. You're doing this to forget about what's really going on." He feels her sucking on his neck, "Reckless actions of sexual behavior is a form of self-harm."
"Who told you that?" Mal whispers.
"There were required classes. They— They said—" He lets out an unsteady breath, "We shouldn't be doing this."
"We won't take it too far." She moves her hand under his back, "I just want to hold you. Kiss you." She kisses his neck again, "And." before she playfully bites it.
Ben releases a breath of defeat and places his hand on her back, "You're pretty feisty, aren't you?"
"Do you like it?"
"I don't know," he sincerely responds. "Audrey was pretty tame. You know, even if she was cheating on me."
"Really? She cheated on you?" Mal lightly laughs in disbelief.
"She never admitted to it, but I'm pretty sure it was happening for a couple months." He shuts his eyes when Mal begins to suck on his neck again. "It doesn't take a private investigator to know constant phone calls to the same guy and flimsy excuses are signs of cheating." After a moment of quiet he asks, "Mal? You'd never cheat on me, would you?"
She smiles, "You're the only guy for me."
"Good," Ben whispers back as they lie beneath the sun. "Good."
- Key word: guy. Technically she didn't lie.