The Love Cube

Chapter 17 : Ghosts of the past pt.2

The rule had always been 'the weekends,are for the boys' but after seeing the text message from Heather,had Ben thinking about breaking his rule for the first time in years. He fisted his hand around his phone while wondering what he would tell Ned and his boyfriend, who had come over for their gaming date which would always be followed by heading to a bar to crown the evening. Now he was struggling to come up with an excuse to ditch them.

" Put your phone down before you break the poor thing and come back so that I can kick your ass,'' Ned called for him while focussing on the screen,selecting a character for their next round.

" Umh.. something has come up?'' he said while rubbing his eyebrow, trying to avoid eye contact with both of them, especially Ned who could sniff out his lies in an instant.

" You are lying,'' Ned replied in a beat.

" How do you do that?'' Ben asked, surprised he had caught on to that.

'' You rub your eyebrows when you lie,'' Ned replied while smiling.

"It has something to do with that message you just received, right? Which heiress is that important ?'' he asked.

Ned knew him well enough to know that he never cut short their hangouts for anything that wasn't really important.

" Its not an heiress, '' he mumbled, feeling embarrassed, as the minute Ned would discover who exactly was the source of it, he would tease him to no end.

" Please,he is flushing. This has to be good,'' Ned's boyfriend added to the teasing.

" Will you just tell us or do we have to get it out of you?'' Nwd asked with his eyebrow raised, challenging him.

" It's Heather,'' he replied and the answer was received with hoots by both.

" You can go. I can't stand in the way of destiny, but change into something else first,'' Ned replied while shooing him into his room. He couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with his outfit. He looked good. Black jeans and a white tshirt were good enough for him.

It was like Ned was telepathically connected to him and he suddenly shouted from behind his door,

" Wear the back muscle shirt with the V neck. Don't forget your studs too. Keep the jeans. They make your butt look good,'' only Ned would say such things.

Before rummaging through his closet, he sent Heather a text confirming they could meet at his favorite bar at eight, giving them each an hour to get there.

Satisfied with how he looked, he picked up his keys and told the couple to lock up once they left.

" Hope you get some tonight , '' Ned winked at him before he got to close the door. He wished, but in as much as both him and Heather flirted with each other, he felt like there was not enough sex.ual tension for them to jump into bed together. Yet.

He decided to pick his sports car, a tamer option for the night. With no traffic, he got to the bar in a short time and since he did not see Heather's car in the parking lot, he figured she had not arrived yet.

Scanning the bar, his eyes landed on the counter where a woman who was none other than Heather was drinking. Her bottle was halfway finished, the bartender chatting her up.

'' Couldn't wait for me,'' he whispered right next to her ear and he did not miss the shiver that ran down her spine.

" I got tired of waiting,'' she replied and he could tell she was a bit buzzed.

" So naughty and impatient,'' he tsked while getting a seat beside her.

" Do I get punished?'' she asked while looking at him through her eyelashes.

She looked different tonight. Her hair fell around her in waves and she wore a red satin dress that matched her lipstick.Her eyes were free from any make-up, just in their normal state that contrasted the sinful way she looked.

From his position he could see the clear outline of her nipp.les, the satin doing little to hide anything. She seemed to have invited him out with a motive.

" You look lovely,'' he answered, deflecting her earlier question, which caused her to laugh. The bartender had made his way to him asking him what he would have.

Heather was having Whiskey and since he was not a big fan of hard liquor, he opted to have a beer instead. And that was what made him realize that something was troubling her. She did not seem keen on conversation but kept on refilling her glass after glass, not flinching downing the drink like it was water.

" Something happened at work?'' he asked, concerned as she tried to get the last drops from her bottle.

" Nothing happened. Just needed a drink and company,'' she replied while calling over the bartender and ordering another bottle. He decided to just sit beside her as she quietly drank while at times just staring at one singular spot. He slowly nursed his single beer since he would be driving back home.

" Sometimes those people we trust the most can truly betray us and its the worst type of pain,'' she spoke suddenly while playing with the drink in her hands.

" Don't trust me either,'' she continued, her words slightly slurred before downing the drink.

She pulled some bills from her purse ready to pay but she was not able to suddenly dropping both the money and the purse and Ben slowly sat her down, gathering them for her and returning them in her purse before he took his wallet and paid.

" I invited you, let me pay,'' she said in between slurred words while swaying on her spot.

" I invited you first. You can pay next time,'' he replied gently while helping her up. He would drop her at her place, he decided, but thinking about how much she had drunk he was scared if she vomited through the night there was a possibility of her choking,so he decided against it.

He could look after her instead. Slowly he helped her out of the bar to his passenger seat. Thankfully, she was a well behaved drunk just following his motions quietly. He drove to his place and she did not seem to object, just quietly subdued. He was not sure if she was the same woman who he was used to.

Luckily, Ned and his partner had cleaned up the living room before leaving. He helped her sit on the coach, noticing how she was shivering. He went to his room, got one of his smaller shirts and sweat pants and offered them to her, slowly instructing her to change. Her drunk-hazed mind somehow managed to understand his instructions and when he came back with a bottle of water, she was still quietly sitting where he had left her.

Slowly, he fed her the water, giving her small sips from the bottle till he was sure she had enough.

" Are you okay?'' he asked, still surprised at her shift in character.

She nodded before answering that she just felt sleepy. He had younger sisters and he knew how important it was for her to remove her makeup before she slept. Despite her protests, he helped her remove her make-up, brush her teeth and even her hair before tucking her in.

Before he left, she suddenly pulled him back, causing him to fall on her as she proceeded to softly kiss him.

"Thank you Derrick. I love you and I am sorry,'' she whispered before she dozed off, leaving him confused.