Chapter 13
Museums, a castle, and Prosecco, sign me up. Italy continues and I’m exploring the small town of Conegliano. Take the wine road and enjoy the bubbles.
~ Adventurous Amanda, June 2013
“So how many drinks are we going to need for this emergency dinner? And why were you so cagey on the phone after you texted your request?” Penny asked, after they were seated in a spacious booth at Lanzi’s.
Amanda had woken up that morning, stumbled out of her room, and headed to the coffee pot, but it was already percolating. Since she lived alone, she’d paused to look around.
And then she’d remembered her mother. Her new roommate. Fucking hell. She’d been calm when her mother had come out of the bathroom a few minutes later, wrapped in Amanda’s robe, steam following in her wake.
She’d been calm when her mother had continued to sob over Dante, the latest love of her life and how could he treat her that way. He was supposed to be the one.
She’d been calm when her mother had suggested they grab lunch and go shopping. Amanda hated shopping. That’s what the internet was for.
But when, while they were enjoying sangria with lunch, her mother had asked about Ben—that hot man Amanda had been sitting on, and if he had friends and where Amanda had met him—the calmness had vanished. It was always the same. Her mother was never going to change. At what point was her mom going to take control of her own life and stop being dependent on the men who filtered in and out of it, covering her expenses, claiming they loved her, and then walking away?
So she’d texted Penny and Lexi and called for an emergency dinner. She’d needed to escape her own freaking house. Because she couldn’t kick her mother out. Well, she could, but she wasn’t that awful. No matter how much her mother deserved a swift kick in the ass, Amanda wasn’t ready to give it to her.
And now they were roommates. It was the first time since her grandfather had died that they were living in the same house. The buffer she needed to stay sane in the wake of her mother was gone. In her tears, she’d reached out to her friends, and they’d jumped to agree. She really had the best friends.
“So, last night I took Ben home with me,” she started.
“Yes you did,” Penny said, holding her hand up for a high five.
“And then my mom showed up,” she continued.
“Oh fuck,” Penny muttered, her hand sinking back down to the table.
“Are you kidding me?” Lexi asked.
“Oh, how I wish I was. There we were, on the couch. Me straddling his lap, his hands under my shirt, and before he could whip it off over my head, there she was saying oh, is this a bad time?”
Penny gasped. “Oh my God.”
“Yep,” Amanda said, shaking her head.
“Hey Soph, we’re going to need at least one bottle of the house pinot now,” Lexi called out to the hostess, who also happened to be her boyfriend Grant’s cousin.
“No problem, Lexi,” Sophia said, and then headed to the kitchen.
“So. That’s awkward,” Lexi said.
“You think? And her latest fling kicked her out, so I have a new roommate,” Amanda said, waving her hands in the air like she was a magician who’d just completed a stellar trick. Only the trick was on her and she wanted to scream.
“Should I bring over another bottle?” Sophia asked, placing the wine chiller and open bottle in the middle of the table.
“I’ll keep you posted,” Lexi said, and then grinned.
“Whoever he is, he’s not worth it,” Sophia said.
Amanda laughed. “It’s not a guy. It’s my mother.”
“Oh. I’ll make sure we have another bottle on standby,” Sophia said.
“Thanks,” Lexi said.
“I’ll send over an order of fried ravioli. It can fix almost anything. Even make you forget meddling mothers for a split second,” Sophia said before heading back to the kitchen.
“I bet she doesn’t have a mother that just shows up randomly,” Amanda said.
“Nope, but she has an Italian mother and they take meddling to the next level. Good thing the food is good and I love Grant’s mom, Rose,” Lexi said.
Penny chuckled and turned back to Amanda. “What can we do? Or what are you going to do?”
“I have no idea. But I wanted to finally have sex with Ben. That’s what I freaking wanted to do, and she waltzed right in like she owned the place. She doesn’t. I do,” she grumbled. “I should’ve changed the locks.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lexi said, trying to hold back a laugh. She wasn’t trying hard enough.
“It’s not funny. I can’t live with her. And she’s always going to come back. It’s not like I haven’t experienced this cycle before. It’s been my entire life,” she muttered.
Penny reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I know how much this sucks. I just don’t know how you get rid of her or how you get her to see that you have your own life and she needs to figure out how to get her own. How to be independent.”
Four breakups ago, Amanda and Penny had been home in between junior and senior year of college. Amanda had spent her summers with her grandfather since she never knew where her mother would be or for how long. That summer, her mother had come back to live with them. Another failed relationship. One that had kept her mother in Portland for the previous three years.
Amanda had refused to become that. She’d also decided during her senior year that living on the other side of the world might be a good idea, and that’s why she’d put California in her rearview mirror as soon as she’d had her diploma. Let her be the one randomly showing up and disrupting her mother’s life instead of the other way around.
“You’ll figure this out,” Lexi said, squeezing Amanda’s shoulder.
“She just makes me crazy.”
“I’m so sorry. But it’s only temporary. It always is,” Penny said.
Amanda shrugged. “Let’s hope.”
“And you can crash at my place any time you want.”
“I’m not letting her kick me out of my house. My grandfather, her father, gave me the house for a reason.”
“Damn straight. And you do what you need to do,” Lexi said.
“But in the meantime, let’s enjoy this food and talk about Ben’s reaction. Did he panic? Poor guy. He’s so shy to begin with. Being busted in on by your girlfriend’s mother has to be awkward as hell,” Penny said.
“First of all, I’m not his girlfriend,” Amanda started.
“But you want to be,” Penny interjected.
Amanda ignored her. And the thought of actually being in a relationship with Ben. It held a lot of appeal. A lot.
“And second,” she paused. “Oh, God, it was awkward, but he was remarkably okay with it. Just straightened our clothes and kissed me before he shifted me off his lap, and then squeezed my hand.”
“I’m impressed. Definitely thought he’d get flustered,” Penny said.
“Then he said she looked like my sister, and my mom twittered and asked if we could keep him,” she finished, dropping her head to the table, narrowly avoiding the fried ravioli that had just been dropped off.
“Oh no,” Lexi gasped.
Penny snorted. “Shit. I’m sure that went over well. Have you talked to him since he left?”
“Just a few texts. What the hell was I supposed to say? Come over and we can go to my room? Don’t mind that my mom’s there? It’s like I’m a damn teenager again.”
“Ben does have his own place,” Penny said.
“I’m not just going to invite myself over. We’ve barely gone past the making out stage. We keep getting interrupted,” she bit out. “What’s a girl got to do to have some quality naked alone time with him?”
“I don’t know. But you should text Ben and see what he’s up to tonight. Maybe you could swing by his place,” Lexi said.
“That reeks of a booty call,” Amanda said.
“And the problem with that is what? It’s not like you’re never going to see him again. I highly doubt he’s a one and done guy,” Penny said.
“I know. I’m just tired of second guessing myself. I never second guess myself,” she muttered.
“Yes. It’s refreshing, isn’t it?” Penny asked.
“Are you kidding? It sucks.”
“Yeah, I know. But it also means that this means something,” Penny said.
“Stop reading into everything. You always do that.”
“Just go with it. You never know what could happen,” Lexi said. “Now, let’s order. I’m starved. Think Rose would let me start with the tiramisu?”
***
Amanda had just dug into her lasagna thirty minutes later, the first delicious bite heading toward her mouth, when the front door opened and Ben walked in. His eyes met hers, and he smiled, while she continued to suspend a forkful of pasta in the air, a string of cheese on her chin.
She popped the bite in her mouth and wiped her face. Not how she intended to see him again.
“Umm, did you text Harty before or after we placed our dinner order?” she harshly whispered to Penny.
“What are you talking about?” Penny turned to watch the guys head toward them. “What the hell is he doing here? I swear I didn’t call him. I wouldn’t do that.”
“So, they just happened to show up where we’re having dinner?” She wouldn’t get excited that he was seeking her out. She wouldn’t. Oh hell, of course she was excited. Giddy almost. As amazing as the lasagna was, she’d rather have him in her mouth.
And now her cheeks were on fire. Good thing the lighting was dimmed for ambiance.
“Fancy meeting you guys here,” Ethan said, stopping at the edge of the table with Ben and Finn at his side.
“Really? You’re going with that? You crashed our dinner,” Penny said.
“We were hungry, and I forgot you mentioned that you were coming here tonight,” Ethan said.
Penny scoffed. “I don’t believe that for a minute. And you can’t sit with us.”
“Wouldn’t dream of interrupting your night out,” Ethan said, leaning down to kiss her. “But you’re tastier than any dish on this menu.”
“Ethan, not now.” Penny’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“As long as you guys promise not to make out at the table, why don’t you join us?” Amanda asked.
“Really?” Penny asked, before leaning across the table. “You aren’t agreeing just so we’ll stop talking about last night and your mom, right?”
“It’s fine. Nothing is going to be settled with her tonight,” Amanda said. She turned to face the guys. “Join us, dinner crashers.”
Talking about her mom wasn’t getting her anywhere, but Ben squeezing in next to her in the circular booth made her feel slightly better. Okay. A lot better.
“You sure? I don’t want to invade,” Ben said, sitting down next to her.
“Invade all you want,” she said, and her cheeks flamed to life again. “Shit, I didn’t mean it that way.”
He leaned down and whispered just for her. “Yes, you did, because tormenting me gets you off.”
Well, okay then. She was no longer in the mood for lasagna.
Ben had no idea where those words had come from, but watching her cheeks flush made it worth it. He had a newfound love of teasing, but just with her.
“Everything good?” he asked, squeezing her hand under the table, hearing her soft sigh. He wished they were alone, away from prying eyes.
“You aren’t even going to pretend that you didn’t crash our dinner, are you?” she asked.
“Nope,” he said, trying not to smirk.
Her soft chuckle buzzed awareness throughout his entire body, and he wanted to speed through dinner.
“But really, is everything okay? With your mom?” he asked.
“Ugh. Can we not talk about her?” she asked, shaking her head.
“Yep. No mom talk tonight.”
“Or ever,” she mumbled. “I’m so sorry she ruined last night.”
“Hey, she didn’t ruin it. It just ended earlier than I’d hoped,” he said, tilting her head up to look at him and giving her a smile.
“Thanks.”
“More menus?” the hostess asked, popping up at the end of the table.
“Yeah, thanks Soph,” Lexi said. Ben had only met Lexi a few times.
“Come here often?” Finn asked. “And I swear that wasn’t a line,” he said with a grin.
Lexi laughed. “This is my boyfriend’s family’s restaurant, so yes, I’m here a lot. Make sure you get the tiramisu.”
“Good to know,” Finn said.
“Oh, sorry. Guess I should introduce everyone,” Penny said. “Lexi, this is Eric Finnegan. He plays for the Strikers.” Then she turned toward Amanda. “You’ve met Eric, right?”
“Yeah, the other night at Crash and Byrne,” she said. “Hi, again.”
“Hello all. Blame them for crashing. I’m just here for the food,” Finn said.
“Yes, so tell me why you crashed our dinner,” Penny said, turning to Harty. “Couldn’t be away from me on a non-game night?”
Ethan grinned. “You know it. But really it was because of Cheesy. I heard a rumor that someone interrupted them last night and he was super grouchy at practice.”
“Oh my god, you told them?” Amanda asked. “That’s it. I swear guys gossip worse that women.” She didn’t seem too pissed, if her shaking shoulders and soft laugh were anything to go by.
“She’s been pretty grouchy, too,” Penny said.
“Not cool, Penny, not cool,” Amanda grumbled, and then dug back into her dinner.
“We’re fixing that tonight,” he said, low into her ear, and she stiffened against him.
“You keep promising that, but it still hasn’t happened,” she whispered back, her cheeks adorably pink. He wondered if that blush would spread all the way to her toes.
He shifted on the bench, and brushed his hand along her hip. If that’s how she wanted to play it, he was game.
“I’m following through tonight, and that’s a guarantee.”
Her hand dropped to his thigh, his muscles bunching under her touch. “Again, promises, promises.”
Hell, they’d be lucky if they made it through dinner.
***
An hour later, their dinner plates were cleared, and Ben was teetering on the very edge of sanity. She’d spent that last sixty minutes casually brushing her hand over his thigh, his fingers, and bumping into him with her shoulder. He was a ticking time bomb.
“Need a ride home?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” she said, that grin in place, her hand traveling to the inside of his thigh.
“Okay, I’m heading out,” Lexi said when she returned from saying goodbye to everyone in the kitchen. Finn had ordered his dessert to-go and bailed ten minutes ago, and Harty looked ready to pull Penny into his lap.
Ben itched to do the same thing with Amanda.
“Yeah, we should go, too,” Amanda said, giving his thigh one last squeeze.
Finally.
“I grabbed tiramisu for Grant,” Lexi said, holding up a to-go box. “And some for each of you,” she said as the hostess dropped off four more to-go boxes.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Penny said. “But thanks for giving each of us a box. I’m definitely not sharing with Ethan.”
Lexi laughed. “Only monsters ask to share dessert.”
Ben laughed, knowing that he wouldn’t eat most of what was in the rather large box. He kept his sugar and simple carbs intake low, especially during the season, but from what he knew of Penny and Lexi’s love of sweets, he kept that to himself. They’d probably be horrified.
“Should we go, then?” Ben asked.
“Yes,” Amanda said, inching along the bench and practically pushing him out.
Penny smirked. “A little overzealous?”
“Shut up. Like you want to continue chatting over coffee.” Amanda fired back.
Penny laughed.
Within minutes, they’d said their goodbyes and Ben escorted Amanda out the front door of the restaurant.
“Did you drive here?” he asked.
“No. Penny picked me up,” she paused to stare at him. “Wait? Are you sure they didn’t set this up so you’d have to drive me home?”
Ben chuckled. “I wouldn’t put it past them, but who are we to argue?”
“Oh, I’m not arguing.” That twinkle was back in her eyes. He’d missed it.
He wrapped his arm around her, steering her toward his car, and then held the door open for her.
“Such a gentleman,” she said, standing on her tiptoes and brushing a kiss along his jaw. “Try not to be one tonight.” She dropped into the seat while Ben was still trying to catch his breath.
She ran her hands down her jeans, and he was happy to see that she was just as tense as he was. Served her right for taunting him.
Not that he hadn’t given it right back to her all night. It was a playful side of himself that he wasn’t used to. Wasn’t sure he’d ever had before. Even with the woman he’d imagined spending the rest of his life with.
Fuck. He took in a deep breath as he rounded the hood of the car. He didn’t want to think about Tara—especially tonight. Tonight was only about him and Amanda. There was no room for their past disasters.
He got in the car and turned to face her. “Ready?”
She huffed out a laugh. “You have no idea.”
“I think I do,” he said, then leaned and sealed his lips to hers, consuming her soft sigh, and groaning when she sank her hands into his hair, her nails scraping across his scalp. Every thought vanished from his mind, and he focused on her.
His tongue traced the seam of her lips, and she granted him entry, her tongue darting out to meet his. He deepened the kiss, angling his head so they fit perfectly. He’d give anything to be home right now, with nothing between them. He couldn’t get close enough to her, and when she moaned into his mouth, he put his hands on her waist and lifted her, to tug her over the console and into his lap where she belonged.
She pressed a hand to his chest and didn’t move. “We are not doing this again,” she said with a huff.
“What?” She had to be joking.
Her laugh came out harsh. “Oh, Ben. We are definitely doing this. Just not in the car. I want to go home where I can take advantage of you properly and not get interrupted or have to stop.”
Her flush had spread to her chest above the deep scoop neck of her shirt, and he trailed his finger along the edge of her shirt, his thumb resting on her collarbone as her pulse raced beneath his touch. He tightened with need, his pants painfully snug.
“So, my place?” he asked.
She grinned, her breaths shallow. “Yes.”
“Do you want to stop at your place for anything?”
“Nope.”
He chuckled. “It’s that bad, huh?”
She dropped her head down. “Can we please not talk about that tonight? I’m still recovering. I might need therapy,” she grumbled.
“If you want to talk about her, I’m here to listen,” he said.
“No, not tonight. Tonight there will be no talking. Unless it involves directions.”
“Directions? I know how to get home.”
“I meant when we’re finally out of all of these clothes,” she said, reaching over the console and running her hand across his upper thigh, his muscles bunching under her fingertips as he shifted in his seat.
Of course, it had the opposite effect of relief, since it caused her hand to move even further toward his painful erection. Fuck. The drive home was going to be brutal.
She scooted closer, her mouth next to his ear. She took a quick nip. Also not helping his cause. “Can we go now?”
He peeled out of the parking lot. His tires may have screeched. He could count the number of fucks he gave on his closed fist currently wrapped around the steering wheel.