Two Sides of a Secret by Kelly Cain

Author:Kelly Cain
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781959988540
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2023-03-24T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

Ben

Ben pulled on the same pajama pants he wore to the museum. He’d bought them especially for the occasion because he normally didn’t have use for sleepwear. No pajama top so he dug in his bag for a clean T-shirt. He didn’t own many of those either but packed a couple for the trip. The one he pulled out was a plain soft cotton in heather green.

Lauren was sitting exactly where he left her. There was something on her mind and Ben could almost guess what it was. Their kiss had been electric, which scared Ben. He was fairly certain the kiss spooked Lauren too. It was so unexpected and charged, probably from the bliss and excitement of riding down the zipline, but he couldn’t muster up the regret he should feel. The attendant riding down the line broke them apart, otherwise Ben wasn’t sure where that kiss would have led.

He set his bag next to the futon. “Did you find anything?”

She sat with her long legs tucked underneath her. Her hair was still in the bun she’d put it in for her bath. The remote was pointed at the television but only the guide rolled along. “I really don’t have a clue. There’s too much. What do you normally watch?”

“Well, usually some fantasy or sci-fi adaptation. Dad and I watch cozy mysteries together all the time. Do you enjoy those?”

“You mean like Agatha Christie?” She furrowed her eyebrows and Ben wanted to smooth them out. Preferably with his lips.

“Sure. Or Murder She Wrote.” He lifted his own eyebrows.

“Really? That seems…tame.”

He sat on the futon, a pillow and blanket separating them. “Do you think I’m wild?” He smirked but couldn’t quite muster the heat behind it.

“I think you’re quite wild.”

Ben laughed and laid back, stretching his legs out in front of him. “I guess I walked right into that one.”

“You’re not only wild though. You have a genuine kindness lurking below. You prefer to hide it.”

The laughter died in his throat, and he leaned toward her, balancing his forearm on the pillow. “I’m not kind, Lauren.”

She searched his eyes, her gaze penetrating his thoughts.

What she saw there, Ben could only guess. He tried to maintain a barricade between his real self and what he wanted someone to see. That block didn’t hold up under Lauren’s intense scrutiny though.

With a quick nod, she picked the remote back up. “This looks good.” She clicked.

A movie Ben hadn’t heard of started. It wasn’t cozy but a hardcore crime thriller and when the first bloody body appeared, he turned to Lauren.

She wasn’t watching. Her gaze was pointed in the general vicinity of the television, but not actually on it. When a car exploded and blood and guts flew in different directions, she didn’t even flinch.

“Do you want some popcorn?” Ben stood and strolled into the makeshift kitchen before Lauren could answer.

“Sorry, what?”

“Just going to get us some popcorn.”

She nodded.

Ben opened the box and pulled a cellophane-wrapped package out, unwrapped it, and placed it in the microwave, then pressed the popcorn button.

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