More Than a Fantasy

Kelly’s lids popped open in time to see her parents’ wide-eyed, nosy neighbor Rose Bush driving past and slip into a handicap parking slot. Kelly grimaced. Her mother would know as soon as Ms. Bush got to a phone. Ugh. She’d get a lecture from her father about insurance costs. She groaned and Jessie patted her arm. 

Sometimes living in a small town sucked. Nobody could get away with anything. Most times, it was a good thing, but she was a twenty-seven-year-old woman and a full-time teacher, and she could take care of herself. A smile flitted across her lips but fell off again when she looked at the rearview mirror.

The officer in mirrored sunglasses made her heart gallop. She glanced away, hoping it wasn’t anyone she knew. But in Fortuna, Texas, that was impossible, since her sister-in-law worked at the station and her father golfed with the chief, Colin Copper. And she had gone to school with most of the younger guys. 

The side mirror revealed the squad car door opening. The man approached her car. She tried to meld with the seat but couldn’t vanish. He paused next to her door, and she swallowed, lowering the window.

“Howdy, Ben,” Piper said from the backseat. She stuck her hand out Kelly’s window and waved. Ever since the officer had helped Cole, Piper’s husband, rescue her from the stalker who kidnapped her, the couple considered him a close friend. 

“Good afternoon, ladies.” Ben tipped his head so Kelly could see his dark eyes over the mirrored lenses. “Kelly, do you know why I stopped you?”

No, she didn’t. Well, not really. It appeared daydreaming and driving don’t mix. Kelly may have run a stop sign, almost hit someone, and nearly killed her friends. She opened her mouth to speak, but Piper answered for her. “Kelly’s clueless. She’s been thinking about sex.”

“Again,” Jessie mumbled.

Kelly jerked her head toward her friends. Her neck ached from whiplash. “What?” Her cheeks heated, and she knew her face was the same color as her cherry red car.

Ben pushed the glasses back and leaned forward. “Ladies?”

Jessie giggled, but Piper took command of the mystery. “She’s had this brilliant smile for the last few days. It has to be a guy.”

Kelly’s face pulled tight into a high smile. She couldn’t help it. She hadn’t meant that night to happen, but it did. It had left its mark, though.

“Yes, she’s been smiling for days. It started Wednesday.” Jessie looked to Piper to confirm.

“No, that smile was there Wednesday morning. It had to have been Tuesday night, because Tuesday afternoon she wasn’t in a good mood.” Piper rolled down the back window, letting in the warm humid morning air. “Whatever happened, happened Tuesday night. It just has to be a guy.”

“Not Sawyer, either,” Jessie chimed in.

Kelly clamped her fingers around the wheel and clenched her teeth at the mention of her ex-boyfriend’s name.

“See. Look at that frown. It’s definitely not him.” Jessie pointed to Kelly’s face as Piper stuck her head between the headrests to see it. 

“I saw Kelly Tuesday night,” Ben offered. 

Kelly sucked in a quick breath and glanced at him with her peripheral vision. His eyes were hidden, but one side of his lips quirked up in a smirk. 

Both of her friends leaned so they could better see Ben’s face, their eyes wide in expectation. “Well, it was at Hammered. I suppose she was hungry, because she sat down at the bar and ordered a burger. That was before she noticed Mona flirting with Sawyer.” 

He’d said Mona with a hint of hostility. They had gone on a couple of dates before Mona decided Ben wasn’t her type. Kelly never understood why Mona wasn’t attracted to Ben.

Jessie groaned. “Not those two.”

Kelly crossed her arms and held tight. Mona used to be one of her best friends, but now that Mona had set her sights on Sawyer, Kelly felt betrayed. She couldn’t stand to be around them when they hung on each other.

“Mona came over to talk to me.” Ben glanced behind him, as if he’d find her there. “Kelly told her to take a hike. Thanks for that.” He nodded at Kelly and she shrugged. 

“Mona retreated and must have boo-hooed to Sawyer because he came over next. He said some stupid things and made Kelly mad. She told him off, then got her food to go.” Ben stopped talking and straightened. 

“That’s it?” Piper asked, blinking.

“I saw her leave the restaurant with her takeout.” Ben shifted.

Kelly let out a long breath and relaxed her arms. Ben didn’t say anything that her friends couldn’t already have guessed. They didn’t need to know what happened later. The smile returned.

“It’s back,” Jessie said, nudging Piper. Her brows crinkled as she inspected Kelly’s face. “It happened later on Tuesday.”

Kelly chanced a peek at the officer. His lips were pressed into a thin line, but there were creases beside his eyes indicating his amusement. Ben looked good in his uniform, his shirt pulled tight over muscled biceps. He’d graduated a few years before Kelly and Jessie. She swallowed. Her face and body grew hot even though the air was on full blast. 

“There’s only so many single guys in Fortuna,” Jessie hummed, rubbing her hands together.

“Kelly said she’d had the best sex ever,” Piper prodded.

She’d said no such thing but that hadn’t stopped her friend from trying to get her to admit something. Kelly clamped her lips shut and sent a pleading look to Ben. 

That was a mistake. His smile, now full-blown, shined like a beacon even though his own face had turned beet red. She wished she could see his eyes.

“Are you going to give me a ticket?” She hoped the swift subject change would divert the conversation away from her sex life. She thrust her license toward him.

Ben chuckled and took it. As he stared at the information he asked, “So are you going to see him again?”

Both Jessie and Piper giggled and reiterated the question. Kelly closed her eyes, and the smile came back. She couldn’t help it. Piper had been right—it had been the best sex ever. Kelly could have ignited, as she remembered his body next to hers. She sighed as a wave of desire rolled over her.