Ben wakes with my mouth around his dick. He shoots up from the bed and my hands clamp down on his thighs. Taking his length into my mouth, my tongue swirls around his dick. Face scrunched, Ben gives me a thumbs up. I manage a smile, sucking till the salty taste of his sperm overwhelms my senses.
I flash him my teeth and a warning flits across his face. He is too cute. Cum shoots down my throat, I swallow and stick out my tongue at him. Ben drags me up and ruffles my hair. I swat his hand but it only comes down to mess up my hair again.
“That’s the only way to wake a man up,” Ben says, his grin big enough to light up a stadium.
I laugh. “You’re not yet a man, Benny.” Ben will turn twenty-one in how many months time? Four or five? I’m not sure anymore. “You’re a boy.”
“A boy, huh?” He flips me under him. I cross my arms on my chest but he holds my hands above my head. “Can a boy...” he starts as his other hand trails up my leg, pushing my nightgown up my thigh. I gasp when his fingers near my clit. He flicks a finger over it and my back arches. His eyes darken and he does it again. “Can a boy do that, Gracie?”
“No,” I breathe out.
Prying my slick folds with his fingers, he teases and taunts till I am on the brink. “Can a boy also do that?”
I shake my head so fast it makes me dizzy for a second. Ben chuckles. “Am I a boy or a man?”
“A man,” I reply immediately. “A man, Benny.”
Ben’s fingers return inside my wetness, a few more flicks and my orgasm shatters over me. He buries his nose into my neck and draws me up in a hug.
“Good morning, babe.” Switching positions, his back meets the headboard so I can straddle him. I pinch his cheeks and he tugs on mine. His hair is a mess but I like it. “How was your night?”
“Awesome,” I reply with false excitement. Ben sees through it. He frowns. Throwing my arms around his neck, I force a genuine grin to my lips. “Okay. I am still nervous. What if I fuck it up, babe?”
“You can’t,” he says. “I trust you.” He tugs on one of the sticky notes glued to the headboard and reads out a line I easily complete. His smile is bigger after he tapes it back to the headboard and I grin along. “See, I know you can do it. Trust yourself, Gracie.”
I take a deep breath and nod. Yes, I can. I can do it. “You’re coming, right?” I ask as I get off him. I stop in front of the door leading to the bathroom when I don’t get his reply. “Benny, you are coming, right?”
Today is my first play at school. It’s not a big deal. What am I saying? It’s a huge deal for me. I’m the female lead of the romantic play.
Ben raises the ticket on the dresser. “Sure. I won’t miss it for the world.” My boyfriend got a front row ticket, courtesy of his awesome girlfriend. “I have to do some stuff at the office but sure, I’ll be there.”
I back out of his room slowly but stop when I am almost outside. Pointing two fingers at him, then myself, I say, “I’ve got my eyes on you, babe.”
His laughter follows me into the bathroom. I flip a bird sign at the door. I have lost count of the number of nights I spend in his room. My room is for my clothes and guests. Whenever Maria is dropping by New York and won’t be staying for long, she uses it.
I finish my business in the bathroom, change out of my nightwear and skip to the kitchen. It’s my turn to cook today. Ben cooks six out of seven days. I got only one day because I bake better and I might have set off something that caused the fire alarm to go wild the day I tried to cook. It wasn’t funny then but it’s something we laugh about now.
The batter for the pancake is ready in no time. It’s safe and easy to prepare. Zero to no chances of burning anything. I flip the pancakes onto a round plate and start on the next batch. Ben walks in at that moment. He places a kiss behind my neck and stalks to the fridge to bring out the carton of yoghurt.
When I turn around, the table is set. Empty glasses and two table mats. We eat in the kitchen sometimes when we are in a hurry to leave. I set two plates for us and Ben snatches the syrup from the table before I can reach it.
I grit my teeth in annoyance and stomp my feet in protest. But it earns me nothing but a grin. Ben pours the syrup over our pancakes. He does that because I’m extra with the syrup or anything that has to do with sugar. I’ve got a sweet tooth. Still sulking, I plonk onto the seat and he pushes my plate towards me. He should have given me a pass today.
“Tastes nice,” Ben says after his first bite. It’s partly to pacify me but I pay no interest to him. I dig into my pancake, eating slowly to avoid a conversation. “Babe. If you don’t talk to me now, I’ll tickle you.”
“Fine. I love you. And you’re the best.”
“That’s more like it,” he says with a proud grin. He starts on his second pancake. As if on second thoughts, he passes me the bottle of syrup. “You can have some of that but you really shouldn’t be taking too much sugar.”
“I know. I know.” Much to his horror, I empty more syrup over my pancakes till they are drenched. Shaking his head, Ben sighs. I think I frustrate him sometimes. “You love me either way, don’t you?”
“Sure.” He resumes eating and I pour myself some yoghurt. I take a small sip. “What time is the play?”
“3 pm. But I have to get there this morning.” For final rehearsals, stage checks, cast calls and other things. I’ve read my script, I know my lines offhand but my nerves are trying to get the best of me. Ben finishes eating before me. “What’s the plan?”
“I have just one class today.” Ben dumps his plate in the sink and returns to his seat. I offer him my leftover pancake and he throws me a scowl. “Then I’ll be at the office. I’m covering for a sick staff so I will be spending more time there than I usually do. But the boss asked nicely so I couldn’t say no.”
“Okay,” I mutter. I stare at my plate, there’s one more pancake to go but my stomach is full.
“Benny. Help your Gracie.” I push the plate to him, he rolls his eyes but wolfs down the pancake. “Thanks.”
In a few minutes, we are ready to leave the house. Ben is driving. He will drop me off at the theatre, we will go home together after the play. I hum a familiar tone under my breath as the car drives into school. It’s a song from Maria’s new album. Ben hums along. I have initiated him into the Maria franchise.
“We are here,” he says.
I glance at the building housing some of my classes. “We are.” There’s a thick door leading inside. Some familiar faces troop out. I turn to Ben and he wiggles his brows. “Do you want to come in?”
We have a few minutes until my first class. Ben slips his hand into mine without saying anything. I poke his ribs. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
The door opens, cutting off my reply. Marcelo walks out. He’s the male lead of the play. A cocky asshole that’s actually likeable once you find a common ground with him. For us, it’s the play.
Marcelo notices the car and waves. I roll down the window and wave back. He starts towards the car and Ben asks, “Who’s that?”
“A friend. He’s in the play,” I answer without looking away from the young male walking over.
Based on looks alone, he’s date-worthy. His Italian roots came through for him. But he has a shitty attitude. Ben gives my hand a squeeze and my gaze returns to him. “What role does he play?” he asks.
“Andre,” I answer. I have spent so much time rehearsing my lines around him that he knows most of the characters’ names. “The guy she marries.”
His brows draw together for half a second. “Oh.” He nods when he remembers. “Any kissing scenes?”
“Nope.”
Uncertainty flashes across his face but he doesn’t say anything. He looks behind me. My head raises.
“Hey,” Marcelo says. His head pokes into the car, he ruffles my hair and I slap his arm. Marcelo waves at Ben and smirks at me. “Are you ready?”
“Sure.”
Ben plays with my hand while the two of us talk. It’s a very short conversation. “I’ll leave you two to it,” Marcelo says with another wave. “Bye, Lily.”
Lily is Andre’s partner in the play. Ben squeezes my hand so hard I glare at him. Once Marcelo is out of sight, Ben pinches me. “Babe, I don’t like him.”
I tilt my head to the side to inspect his face. Ben’s serious. I bring his hands to my cheeks. “Marcelo can be cool sometimes. It’s just the play,” I say with a laugh. Ben doesn’t laugh along. “We got talking for the play and we are not even that close, Benny.”
“Alright. I have to go.” I press my lips to his for a brief kiss. “See you later, okay?”
“Okay.” I open the door and place a foot outside. “Love you too. Don’t forget. 3 pm.”
“I won’t.”
I continue waving even after the car is gone.
A hand lowers to my shoulder, I look up to a grinning Marcelo. “Who was that?”
“The love of my life,” I tell him.
Marcelo laughs, guiding me into the class so we can have our first lecture of the day.