Benny's POV
"You kissed her?" Ethan asks in disbelief. "And then she ran away?"
"I was just following your advice, dude," Benny says.
"I told you to tell her how you feel, not kiss her!" Ethan says. "Now Jesse is going to really kill you."
Benny had walked in the house with a dreamy look on his face. He was soaking wet from walking in the rain, but he thought it had been worth it, he had kissed Abbey.
He'd been a little disappointed that she'd run away and didn't kiss him back. But then again, she had a lot on her plate.
"I should've thought this through…" Benny trails off regretfully. "Jesse probably will kill me."
"Maybe she won't tell him," Ethan says hopefully.
"She'll tell him alright," Benny sighs. "She didn't tell him about the whole dream and look where that got her."
Abbey's POV
As soon as I became conscious, one thought was running through my head: Benny had kissed me and told me that he loved me. I didn't know how to deal with that. My dreams had consisted of one thing: Benny telling me he loved me and leaning in to kiss me. It just kept playing in my head on repeat, especially when I closed my eyes.
I open my eyes and let out a sharp intake of breath.
Jesse was laying on his side, watching me sleep.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes. "Did I scare you?"
I nod, speechless.
He starts to lightly caress my cheek with his fingers.
"What're you doing here?" I ask him.
"I've been thinking," Jesse answers. "And I realized that it was wrong of me to get mad about a dream."
"I'm the one who should apologize," I whisper. "I should've told you about all of it, not parts of it."
"You should've," he agrees. "But, it was my fault because I let jealousy get in the way of what truly matters."
"What's that?"
"You."
I smile at him in the darkness.
He puts his arms around me and pulls me closer to him, encasing me in his embrace. I lay my head against his chest.
I wasn't going to tell him about Benny kissing me because I feared for Benny's life. I knew Jesse would kill him if he got the chance. I was going to keep our kiss a secret. For now anyway.
"I didn't tell Jesse," I inform Benny.
I was sitting in Lotta Latté, nursing a cup of coffee, talking to Benny. I had told him that we needed to talk.
"What?" he asks, caught off guard. "Why?"
"I fear for your life," I answer. "He already doesn't like you. How do you think he'd react if I told him?"
"You think he would kill me," Benny doesn't say it like a question.
"And if he tried, I probably wouldn't be able to stop him," I reply truthfully.
I take sip of my coffee, enjoying the wonderful taste of vanilla and cinnamon that overwhelmed my taste buds. Benny didn't order anything. I asked him why and he said that it had to do with zombies or something.
"Look," he says, snapping me out of my reverie. "I don't want things to be weird between us."
"They already are," I point out. "You kissed me and told me you loved me."
"They don't have to be," Benny says. "They only are because you ran away."
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm getting married!"
"Yeah, I've noticed."
"If you'd told me that you loved me before all of this happened," I say, sorrowfully. "Maybe things would be different."
"Why can't it change things now?" he asks.
I hold up my left hand, indicating my ring.
"Right…" he trails off.
"I'm sorry, Benny," I whisper.
"It's not your fault," he answers. "It's mine. I should've told you before all of this happened."
"You did," I say. "When I first moved here."
"You were already a fledgling by the time I realized how I felt," Benny confesses. "And you liked Rory."
"I did feel something for you that night," I admit. "I just didn't know how to react, and I was too absorbed by Jesse to notice much else."
"You still are," he says.
"I know," I sigh.
"Aha!" Benny exclaims. "So you admit it!"
"Maybe a little…" I trail off.
I look up at him, and he's smiling. I can't help but smiling back.
"I was hoping," I began. "That we could keep the kiss a secret. Just between us."
"Okay," he agrees nervously.
"Benny…you told somebody, didn't you?" I question accusingly.
"Maybe…" he trails off, not meeting my eyes.
"Benny!" I scold. "Who?"
"Ethan," he answers.
"Please tell him not to tell anyone. Even Sarah."
"Alright."
I look at the clock on my phone. 5:43 PM.
"I should go," I tell him apologetically. "I told my mom that I'd be home at six for dinner."
I grab my coffee as I'm getting up.
"I'll see you later," I promise. "'Bye."
"'Bye," he mutters, looking down at the table as I throw my cup away in the trash can and walk towards the door.